Wolf Creek Trout Lily Preserve, Feb, 15, 2019

The amazing volunteer crew worked hard and smart and created great signage making the experience interesting and enjoyable for visitors. The inclined trails were covered in pine straw reducing slipping hazards and giving them a luxurious appearance. the lower trail has become too muddy with all the rain and has been roped off. There has been a lot of attention paid to the many species of trees, shrubs, vines, orchids and wildflowers on the preserve. Owls could be heard hooting as well as peeping frogs. You may want to bring a magnifying lens to get a great view of the blooming orchids and to see the trout lilies up close. They come in many unique shapes!
Please try to be careful and not trample the flowers!

Shenks Ferry Wildflower Preserve April 21st 2018

We arrived on Saturday, April 21 around 3:00 PM. We hiked about 2 1/2 miles and spent about 2 1/2 hours at the preserve. The blooming cycles were much later than they were in years past. We were at the point where the Dutchman’s breeches were in full bloom and the freshest. Many of the bluebells and trilliums were still in the earlier stages of blooming and some have not even opened yet. Only a few of the phlox were blooming. We got to see some of the white Trout Lily. The weather was perfect ! We met some folks from the Lancaster Conservancy, the new owner, who were there picking up trash. There was also some new signage and the trails were maintained very well. We also noticed that there was much less garlic mustard than in years past.

The Susquehanna Trillium

The Erythronium albidum, the white Trout Lily