Spring Wildflowers | Page Valley, VA

Here in the Shenandoah Valley, we’re wild for wildflowers. From April through June each spring, the season puts on a spectacular show, adding further beauty to the surrounding Blue Ridge Mountains and the valley below.

Wildflowers can be found throughout Page Valley and Shenandoah National Park beginning in late March, when the season’s first blooms push their way through forest floors and grassy fields.

As the days grow longer and the afternoons become warmer in April, redbuds come alive with their umbrella-like crowns of pink blooms. Spot these picturesque trees along with showy flowering dogwoods along winding country roads and scenic byways, like Skyline Drive.

Did you know?

Shenandoah National Park is home to 862 wildflower species — more than half of the 1,406 vascular plant species found in the park.

Other popular April blooms include serviceberry. Also called juneberries or Saskatoon berries, these small deciduous trees and shrubs feature white spring flowers, yellow and red fall foliage, smooth gray bark, and purple berries, making them a year-round beauty.

The display continues in May with the white and pink tubular blooms of wild azaleas and the deep violet petals and yellow eyes of blue-eyed grass.

The month marks an ideal time to visit Shenandoah National Park and celebrate the season during the park’s annual Wildflower Weekend. Held each May, the event features guided hikes and programs that focus on the diversity and importance of not only hundreds of species of flowering plants that are protected by the park, but other season changes.

LEAVE WHAT YOU FIND

Even though it’s tempting to pick wildflowers, removing them from Shenandoah National Park is prohibited. As part of the park’s Leave No Trace program, all plants, animals, rocks, and artifacts are protected in the park. Visitors are asked to preserve a sense of discovery for others by leaving all natural and cultural artifacts as they find them.

Blooms continue through June, as spring shifts to summer, with bluets, wild strawberry, golden ragwort, black locust, and dozens of other species. Spot your favorite blooms and discover new beauties at Page Valley parks.

Head to Lake Arrowhead for a stroll along a wooded trail that circles the lake. In historic Downtown Luray, hit the award-winning Luray Hawksbill Greenway to take in sights of the season along a 2-mile walking trail that runs through the heart of downtown and along the Hawksbill Creek. Or soak up the splendor of the season on the banks of the Shenandoah River at one of eight public boat landings, including the Shenandoah Landing and River Park.

MORE TO EXPLORE

View Shenandoah National Park’s wildflower calendar for a list of wildflowers that are most frequently seen, as well as the months they bloom, or view the park’s complete species list. Track what you spot out on the trails, on scenic drives, or from your cabin’s backyard with Page Valley’s Spring Wildflower Bingo Card, as seen below.