Wildflower season is arriving in Southwestern Pennsylvania.
With warmer temperatures comes nature’s wonders springing from the earth in a variety of colors and shapes.
Some wildflowers have already started blooming in lower elevations, and this week would be a good time to check out the early types, said Rachael Mahony, environmental education specialist at the Forbes State Forest’s Laughlintown office.
“When we get those warmer stretches, that helps out a lot,” Mahony said.
Wildflowers in some places won’t bloom until early May, said Angela Yuele, horticulturist with the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy. For spring wildflowers — look down and take your time, she said. Summer wildflowers, which are much taller, bloom in Pittsburgh’s Frick and Schenley parks from July to October.
Yuele suggested taking weekly hikes toward the end of April to catch the best blooms.
“That way, they’ll really get the most joy out of it,” she said. “They’re fleeting; they’re something you have to enjoy right now.”
Different plants will bloom over the next several weeks in a “natural succession,” Mahony said.
Typically, the first wildflower to bloom is skunk cabbage, followed by coltsfoot which looks similar to a dandelion, she said.
Both women said other wildflowers common in the area include trillium, bloodroot, wild geraniums, cutleaf toothwort, Jack in the pulpit, spring beauty, hepatica and squirrel corn.
“Trillium is one of those signs of spring for us,” Mahony said.
Several spots across the region are worth checking out for wildflowers, including:
Westmoreland County
• Linn Run State Park, Cook and Ligonier townships
• Grove Run Trail, near Linn Run and Forbes State Forest
• Duff Park, Murrysville
• Pleasant Valley Park, Murrysville
• By vehicle on the hillsides through Loyalhanna Gorge between Latrobe and Ligonier
• Cedar Creek Park, Cedar Creek Gorge, Rostraver
• Braddock’s Trail Park, North Huntingdon
Allegheny County
• Fall Run Park, Shaler
• Trillium Trail, Fox Chapel
• Indian Hill Meadow, Boyce Park, Monroeville
• Frick Park, Squirrel Hill and Regent Square, Pittsburgh
• Schenley Park, Oakland, Pittsburgh
Elsewhere
• Raccoon Creek State Park wildflower reserve, Hanover Township, Beaver
• Meadow Run Trail and others, Ohiopyle State Park, Fayette
• Fallingwater, near Ohiopyle, Fayette
• Flight 93 National Memorial, Stonycreek, Somerset
• Wolf Creek Narrows Natural Area, near Slippery Rock, Butler
• Mingo Creek County Park, near Finleyville, Washington
