Flowers abound at Nerstrand Big Woods State Park

Last week we made our second trip over to Nerstrand Big Woods State Park this spring. Nerstrand is a White Trout Lilly heaven. The woods are carpeted with Trout Lilies. It is also the home to the rare Dwarf Trout Lilly which can only be found in three counties in south eastern Minnesota.

White Trout Lily

The White Trout Lilies were just starting to bloom so this week should be an excellent time to visit the park.

White Trout Lily

The park ranger indicated that a single Dwarf Trout Lilly was in bloom and indicated where we could find it. As expected we walked right past it. Fortunately there were some flower folks ahead of us and they point it out to us. Luckily it was right along the trail but it is so small that it is difficult to see. It’s about a fifth the size of the normal Trout Lilly. It was a popular stopping point on the trail with lots of folks gathered around to look at it.

Dwarf Trout Lily

There were also a lot of other flowers blooming. Spring Beauty, False Rue Anemone, Bloodroot, Downy Yellow Violets, and Common Blue Violets were only a few of the flowers blooming in the park. The park website does an excellent job of identifying the flowers in bloom.

Spring Beauty

False Rue Anemone

Bloodroot

Common Blue Violet

Nerstrand Big Woods State Park

Several weeks ago I was reading an issue of Outside Magazine and noticed a small blurb about Nerstrand Big Woods State Park. I checked out the park website later in the day and concluded that it was worth a trip over to the park. Last Friday was a beautiful day and probably the last nice day we are going to have for the next week so my wife and I decided to drive over to the park and check it out.

Hepatica

The Hepatica were just starting to bloom but it will be a couple of weeks before the flowers really start to bloom. The park is noted for its abundance of Trout Lilies particularly the Dwarf Trout Lily which is a rare species found in only three Minnesota counties.

Hidden Falls

Hidden Falls was flowing although I expected more water during the spring melt.

Leaf on Platteville Limestone

More photos of Nerstrand Big Woods State Park can be found on my website.