Spring Wildflower Glory
There is a small window of wildflower glory each spring in Ontario. The time of year when wildflowers take centre stage before the leaves of the forest canopy cast their shadows. Here is an ideal tour route to help you take advantage of this window and experience the showy displays of Ontario’s wildflowers.
Bruce Peninsula – Home of the annual spring Orchid Festival and 44 species of orchids, it is no wonder the Bruce Peninsula is a magnet for botanists. Sauble Falls Provincial Park provides the perfect base camp for exploring the Bruce. The park provides easy access to discover the ancient cedars that cling to the cliffs of the Bruce Trail, the carnivorous plants found in the fens of Lake Huron and the delicate orchids, which are scattered throughout the varying landscapes of the peninsula.
Bronte Creek Provincial Park – Bronte Creek is a great first stop on any spring wildflower tour. Not only is it an accessible urban park, it boosts one of the best spots to view thick carpets of blooming trilliums. Appropriately named, the Trillium Trail is an easy 45 minute hike through an abundance of wildflowers, including an array of Ontario’s provincial flower.
Along the way … heading north from Bronte Creek, be sure to stop by one of the several farmers’ markets in the towns along the way to the Hills of Headwaters region.
The Hills of Headwaters – Famous for spring rainbow trout runs up the Boyne and Credit Rivers, The Hills of Headwaters region is also a great place for wildflower spotting. Stops at either Forks of the Credit, Mono Cliffs or Earl Rowe Provincial Park will reveal forested trails, open fields and cliff faces brimming with a variety of wildflowers.
Along the way … continuing north towards the Bruce Peninsula some fun places to stop include Collingwood’s Scenic Caves, the quaint village of Thornbury and the Tom Thomson Art Gallery in Owen Sound.