New River Gorge Wildflower Weekend 2011

The arrival of spring is being celebrated throughout the New River Gorge region: Wildflower Weekend 2011 will include events in the New River Gorge and programs at Babcock, Hawks Nest, and Pipestem state parks. A nature-inspired art exhibit will be on display at Tamarack and the 6th annual New River Earth Day Celebration will be observed in Fayetteville.

Schedule of Events

The National Park Service will host a series of events during Wildflower Weekend associated with the celebration of the arrival of spring. For more information, please call the National Park Service's visitor centers at Canyon Rim, at (304) 574-2115, or Sandstone, at (304) 466-0417.

April 5-30, 2011

Youth Arts in the Parks, Tamarack

8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Art exhibit in the vestibule across from the David L. Dickerson Fine Arts Gallery, Tamarack in Beckley, WV. Artworks by Independence Middle School students inspired by the nature of our public parks— especially wildflowers.

Friday, April 22, 2011

Garlic Mustard Pull, Pipestem

9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. McKeever Lodge, Pipestem Resort State Park in Pipestem, WV. Celebrate Earth Day and help manage the natural beauty of this site by remove this non-native, invasive species. Walk parts of the River and County Line trails to Indian Branch Falls during this 3.5-mile working hike. Participants should bring work gloves.

Glories of Appalachian Spring, Tamarack

1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Auditorium, Tamarack in Beckley, WV. See how forests and rivers come alive with wildlife, trees and wildflowers.

Blooms of Big Branch, Big Branch Trailhead

2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Big Branch trailhead, New River Gorge National River off River Rd. near Hinton, WV. Join rangers on a two-mile round trip hike up a somewhat strenuous creek-side forest trail that's a wildflower hot-spot. Be prepared for stream crossings.

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Hike Into Spring, Grandview

9:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Grandview—Shelter #4, New River Gorge National River in Grandview, WV. Join rangers and naturalists on a leisurely 2.5-mile hike from Grandview down to the New River, finding wildflowers along the way. Be prepared for some steep terrain as we travel down the Little Laurel Trail, an old dirt road. A free return shuttle will be provided. Reservations requested by April 20; call 304-466-0417.

1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Grandview - Cliffside Amphitheatre, New River Gorge National River in Grandview, WV. Kids can paint their own flower pots and plant wildflower seeds in them, plus pound yard plants into cool designs.

New River Earth Day Celebration

12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., Court Street in Fayetteville, WV. Celebrate Mother Earth at this afternoon of music and festival activities for all ages. Learn more about recycling, composting, alternative energy, water conservation, sustainability, and reducing one's ecological footprint.

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Spring Birding, Babcock

9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Glade Creek Grist Mill, Babcock State Park in Clifftop, WV. Stroll the diverse habitats of Babcock in search of the region’s more secretive beauties—birds.

Native Wonders , Canyon Rim

11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Canyon Rim Visitor Center, New River Gorge National River in Lansing, WV. See a display on wildflowers of the season, plus hear tales of past and present flora uses.

Blooms and Beauties Hike, Hawks Nest

3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Rail Trail trailhead, Hawks Nest State Park in Ansted, WV. Explore the many wonders of the New River Gorge on this walk along the Hawks Nest Rail Trail. See both flora and fauna on this easy hike along an old railroad line. Great photo opportunities.
Visit our hiking trails section for more information on the trails in the New River Gorge region.

Where the Wildflowers Are

Spring is one of the best times to enjoy wildflower blooms in the New River Gorge and to explore its hard-to-reach archeological sites.

According to Leah Perkowski-Sisk, an interpretive ranger for the New River Gorge National River, the post-winter lack of vegetation renders ruins in the gorge easier to find. And, as the season progresses, the first woodland wildflowers will begin blossoming along the river and its lower tributaries.

"Early spring, before the vegetation starts growing, is a great time to visit some of the more historic sites in the park, such as Kaymoor," says Perkowski-Sisk, a 20 year veteran of New River Gorge interpretation.

"In April, trails lower down in the river corridor are great places to see spring wildflowers."

Historic sites, such as the ruins of the former coal-mining community at Kaymoor, near Fayetteville, WV, may be visited year-round, but many of the pits and broken stone walls that are part of their archeological footprint are most visible in spring.

Spring wildflowers will begin to make their appearance in the gorge mid-season, and visitors to the gorge are encouraged to add a hike along some of the low-lying trails in the parkland to their itinerary for that reason. 

Coltsfoot, bloodroot, trout lilly, trillium, and spring beauty are among the blooms commonly found along trails lower in the gorge, such as Big Branch, Island Loop, Stone Cliff, and Glade Creek trails, she said.

Spring wildflowers will be at their peak in April, when wake-robin, great trillium, Dutchman's breeches, and carpets of Virginia bluebells are in blossom.

Heirloom Flowers
of Early Spring

According to a Wikipedia article, the definition of the word heirloom plants is highly debated. One way of defining heirloom cultivars is to use the definition of the word "heirloom" in its truest sense. Under this interpretation, a true heirloom is a cultivar that has been nurtured, selected, and handed down from one family member to another for many generations. Regardless of a person's specific interpretation, most authorities agree that heirlooms, by definition, must be open-pollinated.

The following are a few examples of blooming heirloom flowers of early spring found in the New River Gorge region, from a heirloom garden in Mount Hope cultivated by four-generations over a 95-year period.
Yellow Daffodils
Yellow Daffodils
(Narcissus)

Star-of-Bethehem
Star-of-Bethlehem (Ornithogalum umbellatum)

Money Plant
Money Plant
(Lunaria annua)
Field Speedwell
Field Speedwell
(Veronica polita)

Grape Hyacinth
Grape Hyacinth
(Muscari)

Ground Ivy
Ground Ivy
(Glechoma hederacea)
View larger pictures of the spring flowers (above) in the Traditional Flowers and Shrubs of Early Spring section of our Photo Gallery.





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