Best Early Wildflower Hikes

Bellwort blooms in late May and June in Door County woodlands. Photo by Craig Sterrett.

You have to know where to look for April flowers

Do you want to be in the best place at the best time for a spring wildflower hike?

Wisconsin’s busiest Master Naturalist, Jane Whitney, volunteers throughout Door County and leads orchid observation at The Ridges Sanctuary. She usually has an idea what wildflowers she’ll see when she shows up at a park or nature preserve.

But in early April, Whitney said finding wildflowers takes more strategy and patience than in May and early June.

“In May you can just sort of blunder through the trails and find wildflowers,” said Whitney, who logged more volunteer hours than any other Wisconsin Master Naturalist from 2014 to 2023.

After Easter, Whitney expects to find skunk cabbage in low-lying wetland areas, such as the Door County Land Trust’s Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal Nature Preserve east of Sturgeon Bay. The 400-acre preserve has a diversity of habitats – much more than the beach and the mouth of the canal near the main parking area.

Yellow cowslip, or swamp cup, should appear while the large upright green leaves of swamp cabbage are withering, and marsh marigolds should appear in May at the edges of calm waterways or wetlands. Wetlands at Anderson Pond in Ephraim and Three Springs east of Sister Bay also are worth checking out, Whitney said. 

Wherever she hikes or works in April, she watches for tree blooms, red maple flowers, pussywillows and blooming shrubs.

For example, warm weather in early and mid-March brought out blooms of dwarf mistletoe – which she found on a black spruce branch.

“Dwarf mistletoe is in bloom,” Whitney said during a warm week in March, when it looked like more wildflowers could get fooled into putting on flowery displays. “That’s the tiniest shrub in North America. It’s a quarter of an inch long.” 

She also finds the trails on top of Ellison Bluff County Park to be a great location to spot early-season wildflowers, such as hepatica, though those trails also are great in May and June. 

“I think the trick for April is subtlety – just get out and look at shrubs and small things dangling from trees,” Whitney said. “You might see just one or two flowers. There are apt to be blooms you have never seen. They’re small but worth it.”

In late April and early May, hikers at The Ridges may spot Arctic primrose and trailing arbutus – which looks like a tiny violet on a vine. 

In late April start looking for Dutchman’s breeches and the similar squirrel corn in hardwood forest and below maples, as well as spring beauties. Also on the forest floor, ramps, or wild leeks, start to appear.

“April is really preparing for the explosion in May, in terms of what we will notice [easily],” Whitney said. 

Some of her favorite trails for wildflower hikes include those at The Clearing, prior to classes starting in June; the public trails between Loritz Road and Kangaroo Lake that are operated by The Rushes; The Ridges’ properties including Appel’s Bluff; state and county parks; White Cliff Fen and Forest State Natural Area; and Lautenbach Woods Nature Preserve on County Road G north of Carlsville.

Sam Hoffman and Tony Kiszonas from The Ridges said if you only have 40 minutes in May for a wildflower hike, pay the daily or membership fee and enjoy the Logan Creek trail.

Of the three miles of trail, the one heading straight from the parking lot to the woods leads to the largest wildflower patch in the understory under maple and beech trees.

Later in the spring into early summer, hikers on boardwalks and ridgetop trails in The Ridges can see the state-threatened dwarf lake iris and some of the 29 orchid species that have been found in the sanctuary.

Paige Witek and Tina Lee from Door County Land trust also suggest visiting Richter Community Forest Nature Preserve near the ferry dock on Washington Island in May to see trillium and bluebead lily (Clintonia borealis), which has a delicate yellow bloom, followed in summer by a round, shiny blue fruit on a stalk.

Whitney recommends keeping your eyes open and scanning all around when enjoying Door County’s natural areas. One year, she went to Weborg Point in May to look at migrating warblers. 

“We looked back away from the bay side and spotted an enormous patch of bloodroot,” Whitney said. “The leaves themselves are almost as spectacular as their blooms.”

Also, just because spring flowers have wilted in one part of the county, they might be in full bloom on the other side.

“If something is blooming in Sturgeon Bay, we may be two weeks behind,” said Sarah Stepanik, Whitefish Dunes State Park Manager.