Spring Flowers of McGilvra Woods

The spring flowers are now blooming at McGilvra Woods State Natural Area near Baraboo. Now, these are not the “showy” wedding photo-type flowers… This is an understated bloom of small spring ephemerals.

McGilvra Woods is a small SNA that is little more than an island of trees in a sea of agricultural land. However, its open forest floor contains more than 110 species of spring flowers! It’s worth noting that many forests in the area of McGilvra Woods & Hoot Owl Valley Road west of Baraboo, are also filled with spring flowers right now but they are all on private land. McGilvra is a public space open to hiking, hunting, and more. But of course, be respectful of the land and carry out anything you bring in or anything you see that shouldn’t be there.

If you go, the important thing to realize is that there is only a short trail from the parking lot. It’s certainly long enough to get into the woods and see the ocean of tiny white and pink flowers. Anyone venturing deeper into the SNA, should stay to areas where flowers are not growing (which isn’t easy!) and use surfaces such as rocks and fallen trees to avoid stepping on the flowers. If you can’t go ahead without trampling flowers, turn around and walk back the way you came.

Click Here For A Map & More Information.

Derrick Mayoleth

For nearly 2 decades the Skillet Creek blog has focused on 3 main goals; To inspire you to visit and explore the Devil’s Lake region, to help you get the most your visit by sharing tips, events, and other helpful information. Lastly to advocate for our environment & wildlife and talk about how we can keep our natural areas amazing now and into the future! That last goal can sometimes cause controversy, but it’s the only way we can accomplish the first two. – Derrick Mayoleth, Owner.