Hoosier National Forest's Wildflower Viewing Areas

By jan schultz on Jul 7, 2012

Where to find rare native plants and flowers on the Hoosier.

Wildflower Viewing Areas are sites of high botanic interest selected by botanists for the native plants and flowers found within them. Five of these areas can be found on the Hoosier National Forest. Consider visiting these sites during your next trip to the forest. Don't forget your camera!

Boone Creek Special Area (Tell City District): The Boone Creek Special Area on the Hoosier National Forest contains several rare barrens communities in close association with adjacent dry forests. Beginning in mid-summer, these small openings explode with the color of brilliant wildflowers. Although the area does not have a developed trail system, visitors can view colorful wildflowers from the roadside on the north and southeast boundaries. A short hike along down the ridgelines with southern or western aspects brings visitors to the remnant barrens. More on this Wildflower Viewing Area…

Charles C. Deam Wilderness (Brownstown District): Each spring a small corner of the Charles C. Deam Wilderness on the Hoosier National Forest provides a gorgeous display of pale blue wildflowers. This area has a rich flora of spring wildflowers due to its close proximity to a geologic feature known as the Mount Carmel Fault. Wild hyacinths and twinleaf dominate the area, but a closer look rewards visitors with a delightful display of many more spring wildflowers. More on this Wildflower Viewing Area…

Clover Lick Special Area (Tell City District): The Hoosier National Forest is fortunate to contain barrens plant communities, which offer a mid-summer wildflower-viewing site in contrast to the floral bloom of spring ephemerals. This rare natural community offers the forest visitor the opportunity to see a spectacular display of wildflowers and grasses more often seen in a prairie setting. One of the best areas for observing limestone barrens and adjacent dry forest communities is within the Clover Lick Special Area located on the southern portion of the Tell City Ranger District near the Ohio River. More on this Wildflower Viewing Area…

Haskins Tract (Tell City District): The Haskins Tract includes a large area of over 125 acres that the Hoosier National Forest maintains as an Early Successional Habitat and Native Pollinator Resource Area. Beginning in 2007, the Forest seeded the prior 100-acre row-crop field with a native seed mixture of 18 forbs and 6 grasses. The site contains two newly created ponds and the Forest planted the adjacent fields with several different native hardwood tree species. More on this Wildflower Viewing Area…

Tell City Ranger District Pollinator Garden (Tell City District): As part of an Eastern Region FY 2008 Native Plant Funding proposal, the Hoosier National Forest began the creation of a native plant pollinator garden at the Tell City Ranger District. All of the species selected for inclusion in the garden are native to southern Indiana and are readily used by local pollinator species. The bulk of the species are "prairie-like" plants that typically occur in barrens and/or dry forest plant communities found on the Hoosier National Forest. More on this Wildflower Viewing Area…

Contact person: Kirk Larson kwlarson@fs.fed.us or (812) 276-4773.