Yes, spring has arrived in the north woods, where an abundance of beautiful wildflowers are now covering the forest floor. At Historic Mill Creek, the Yellow Trout-lily are at their peak. The Marsh Marigold are in full bloom along the edge of the stream, while the Large-flowered Trillium and the smaller Nodding Trillium are starting to bloom. Even the beautiful Jack-in-the -Pulpit are making their appearance.
All these spring wildflowers were in a race with the trees of the forest canopy. They had to leaf out before the trees did and soak up enough
sunlight to fuel the growth of their flowers and ultimately their seeds. Once the leaves of the trees fully open, many of these wildflowers will no longer receive enough sunlight to produce flowers. If these early spring wildflowers waited until summer to bloom they would not get enough sunlight to produce seeds, and they would eventually disappear from the north woods.
Historic Mill Creek is open every day from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. There are more than three miles of groomed, easily-marked hiking trails that works away around the creek. For more information click here.
