In years past, the peak time for wildflowers at Niquette Bay State Park has been the last weekend in April. On previous hikes during this weekend, we have seen twenty or more varieties of wildflowers in bloom. This year, however, I knew that the season started late because of the cold and gray weather we’ve had. Even though I warned people that we wouldn’t see as many flowers as usual, I had about 15 people sign up for the hike. But, when April 27th rolled around and the temperature was in the upper 30s early in the morning and the forecast was for chance of showers, about 10 people opted out of the hike. But, five brave souls showed up to join me on the hike. By the start time for the hike, 12:30 p.m., the showers had stopped and it wasn’t too bad for a hike day.

We did see several flowers in bloom – Dutchman’s Breeches, Hepatica, Bloodroot, White Trillium and Trout Lily – and many more kinds of flowers were just about ready to pop out. We also saw our first Red Eft of the season.

Trip Leader: Sheri Larsen

Participants: Rich Larsen, Sally Rice, Jeanette Ruffle, Jean Anderson, Marlene Price

Sheri: Photos Attached (in order): Dutchman’s, Red Eft, Bloodroot