Cannot promise what will be blooming, but if you haven't been to Huntington Library and Gardens, I think you would enjoy it very much.

I just went to their website, and I do not think it does the gardens justice. They have a large and impressive desert garden, a Japanese Garden, a Conservatory, Chinese Garden, Children's Garden. There is a lot to see besides the art and buildings, and a lot of walking.

It is outside LA near Pasadena, in San Marino.

Also, Eaton Canyon Nature Center in Altadena features a walk to the falls once a month and I think a bird walk every Sunday morning. ecnca.org.

Here is a link that might be useful: Huntington

UC Santa Cruz Botanical Gardens should look pretty good in February. They have a lot of Proteas, Grevilleas, Leucodendrons, etc. that should be in bloom as well as a native area, succulents, and others, and lots of trails to wander on.

Here is a link that might be useful: UCSC

If we get some rain this year, Malibu State Park will be a great area in which to wander. (Ick- that sentence sounded stuffy.)

February is tricky, since it can be cold and dry, in which case nothing looks good, or warmer and wetter, in which case there is an explosion of green. The flowers do not usually come until March.
Renee

A bit of a hidden gem for hiking through oaks is Olompali state park in Marin county on Hwy 101, just north of San Rafael.

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Despite me living in LA, all my suggestions would be in that general area - the forests and beaches of Pt Reyes, the botanical collections in Golden gate Park and in Berkeley's Tilden Park and the redwoods in Muir Woods.

I think you might enjoy Quarry Hill Botanical Garden located in Glen Ellen in Sonoma County. Over the last 25 years they have been collecting plants from expeditions to Asia. What was once a rock quarry in the hills above Sonoma Valley has been converted into a natural looking botanical garden of unusual Asian plantings. A little hiking is required in delightful native surroundings. Al

In case you weren't aware, we are suffering a grave budget crisis here in California, and the regular hours for most state parks have been drastically cut back. A lot of parks are no longer open to the public(legally, anyway), during the week, so if you do pin down your itinerary, check on hours of operation for the parks you intend to visit.

I'd also recommend the easy to visit botanical gardens at UC Berkeley and San Francisco Botanic Garden, with UC Santa Cruz another favorite of mine. All three of these will certainly have lots of things in bloom. Tilden Botanic Garden will also have lots of native Manzanitas in full bloom in February, but most wildflowers do wait until March, unless you are right along the coast. It might be fun to check out a larger nursery such as Annie's Annuals in Richmond, as she has both many natives and ornamentals from all over the world, and lots of things in bloom year round. The new botanic garden is San Luis Obispo is supposed to be interesting, and Montana de Oro is a fantastic state park nearby. The Santa Barbara Botanic Garden in Mission Canyon is also fabulous. My last plug might be for the Bancroft Garden in Walnut Creek, in combination with a trek to the north side of Mt. Diablo Mountain State Park. I am not sure of what the winter hours of operation are for the Bancroft Garden, however, so check their web site.

For wildflowers you might check this link based on last years sightings.
http://calphoto.com/wflower.htm

Santa Barbara botanical garden is very nice
http://www.sbbg.org/

If in the LA area, I second Huntington and also Descanso is nice:
http://www.descansogardens.org/site/home.cfm
and another in LA is:
http://www.rsabg.org/

If in the northern San Diego area do not miss:
http://www.buenacreekgardens.com/
Pack a lunch and spend the morning or afternoon wandering around. It's actually a nursery but you wouldn't know it once you get there.

As someone else mentioned Muir Woods if you like a lush green forest.

If you get this far south, I'd recommend the Quail Botanical Gardens in Encinitas and the arboretum at Cal State Fullerton. Both have a lot of native plants, as well as exotics. Also check to see if the Flower Fields in Carlsbad is open. According to their website, March 1 is the beginning of their bloom season. That might be the opening date.

The desert garden at the Huntington is truly spectacular. Lots of Aloes in bloom at that time.

If you get this far north, Bidwell Park in Chico has an impressive botanical collection and some interesting geology as well.

Santa Barbara Botanic Garden might be worth a visit. There was a huge and destructive fire that swept through the area last summer, but the resilience of a fire ecosystem should make it a gorgeous display. There is the old mission dam and aquaduct that served the original mission on site as well.

Here is a link that might be useful: Santa Barbara Botanic Garden

I was away on a business trip, thus the late response, but am delighted to see so many wonderful suggestions. Thankyou to everyone!

Now, if only we could stretch the visit to 2 or 3 weeks. (but I guess there is always the next time(s).....)

Bob

Google the mid-peninsula open space district.
These are nature preserves in the southern Bay Area beginning in the foothills above Palo Alto and continuing to the coast. Many of the preserves are accessible off of Skyline Boulevard.
There are several interesting hiking trails within the various preserves. Monte Bello has oaks and meadowlands. If you like redwoods, Purisima Creek Redwoods is pretty good too. Some preserves are rugged and don't have a lot of visitors, but others are more level and mellow. They are all free and I believe they are always open to visitors.
I know about them from my mountain biking days.
Check out the website and if they coincide with your itinerary...they are an alternative to the botanical garden scene.

Places to check should you end up in the beach cities of LA (aka "The Southbay" - south of the airport including the Palos Verdes Peninsula):

South Coast Botanical Garden
Manhattan Beach Botanical Garden (very small, but lots of natives)

For hiking, you might want to see what the Palos Verdes Land Conservancy has to offer.

An article just appeared in the SF Chronicle today on Bay Area state parks and the budget crisis hit to hours/days/facilities available. Note they say almost no updates have made it to the park website(s). I've included a link to the full article.

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Many state parks keep hours despite cutbacks
Tom Stienstra, Chronicle Outdoors Writer
Thursday, December 3, 2009

....In this new era following California's budget-deficit triage, state parks in the Bay Area and beyond are a work in progress, a case-by-case study as rangers scramble to keep facilities open. Most of the news is good, only some of it is bad. In many cases, the cutbacks are far different than what State Parks first announced and posted on the internet. In most cases, no updates have been made at the state park's Web site pages since summer.

Here is a link that might be useful: Many state parks keep hours despite cutbacks

You also mentioned oak covered trails and hills. If only you had north California in your sights as well. The area along Bald Hills Rd. at Redwood National Park has beautiful prairies and oaks, and the redwoods just below.

And the redwoods there, and nearby at Prairie Creek or Avenue of the Giants are pretty huge compared to Muir Woods which has more of a city park flavor.

Haven't been to Mendocino, but understand there is a botanical garden there.

Oh yes I 2nd Prairie Creek and the Avenue of the Giants.
I was just there in May.
Prairie creek has miles of trails.
I sat in the Avenue of Giants and watched birds and small animals for hours.
LadyBird Johnson grove in Redwood National Park was awesome. Was there in the morning a little bit of fog with sunlight streaming thru was just cool.

Here's a pic for everybody to enjoy.
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hoo-ray for foggy/misty/sprinkling mornings in redwood forests
salamanders and banana slugs
then the sun breaks thru

What a beautiful shot, goblue!

Ditto Huntington Gardens, they're wonderful. If you go, try to make time to have tea, overlooking the rose garden. Won't be in bloom in Feb, but it's a great part of the experience.

For a completely different view of CA plants, The Living Desert in Palm Springs area is all desert natives, and I think there is a botanic garden at the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, near the Salton Sea.

In the Bay Area...

I second the UC Botanical Garden. (I'm a member, it is a gem.)

Nearby you can visit our beautiful Redwood Regional park. Walk the French Trail & the Chown Trail for a good workout among huge trees and an amazing stream. Wear your hiking boots, it can be muddy in February.

Along Skyline Boulevard, between the Botanical Garden and Redwood Park is a place called Huckleberry Nature Preserve. It is a beautiful, mostly flat mile or so long trail that has an interpretive guide.

In San Francisco, you could have a great time walking through Golden Gate Park and Crissy Field. Strybring Arboretum is fabulous, and there is a living roof on the new science museum that is pretty cool. Walk up the hill from Crissy Field to Pacific Heights and enjoy the mansion gardens. (Hint, there is not a weed or fallen leaf for blocks and blocks.)

Sonoma Horticultural Nursery is a great place to visit, even if you don't want to buy anything. Their grounds are fabulous-acres and acres- and some of their rhodos will be in bloom by then.

There is a demonstration garden outside Sonoma called Crossroads (I think.) It is series of changing gardens done by designers.

I could go on and on...

Here is a link that might be useful: East Bay Regional Parks