Date of trip: Sept. 13, 2023 Start time: 5PM EDT Location: Pine Creek Barrens Nature Preserve, Bullitt County, KY Difficulty of hike: Moderate, approximately 2 miles and 2 hours.
Alan Abbott, hike leader.
Join Kentucky Native Plant Society member Alan Abbott for a sunset tour of Pine Creek Barrens. We’ll be discussing some of the different plant communities of the Louisville area and looking for a number of late-season flowers in bloom, such as Clasping Aster (Symphyotrichum patens), Rough Blazing Star (Liatris aspera) and Obedient Plant (Physostegia virginiana).
The hike starts at 5pm and it should take about 2 hours to complete the 2 mile trail. Meet at the main parking area. There is usually a porta-potty there. Make sure to bring plenty of water and tick protection.
This is a joint event with the Fairdale Seed Library.
Register for this field trip
Because this is a joint field trip, we limited signups to 5 people. The trip is now filled. If you have any questions, email us at KYPlants@knps.org.
Date of trip: July 29, 2023 Start time: 9AM CDT Location: Ballard WMW, Ballard Co., KY Difficulty of hike: Easy. We will car pool/caravan on the gravel roads in the WMA, getting out to walk short distances on flat terrain. Conditions will be hot and humid.
Join KNPS President, Jeff Nelson, as as we explore the native plant ecosystems in the wetlands and river bottoms of the Ballard WMA in Ballard Co.
Ballard Wildlife Management Area is 8,000 acres located in the Ohio River bottomlands ecoregion in far western Kentucky. The WMA is mostly wetland with 39% of the acreage in wetland, 28% forest, 27% open land, and 6% open water. Much of the wetland is comprised of rare, cypress-tupelo swamps and sloughs which many Kentuckians have not had the opportunity to experience. The Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves lists cypress-tupelo swamp as a state endangered ecosystem.
We will drive as a caravan around the WMA, making several stops where we will get out and observe the botany of Ballard’s diverse ecosystems. We will carpool as much as possible to reduce the number of cars in the caravan, but anyone who prefers to drive themselves is perfectly welcome to do so.
Carolina spiderlily (Hymenocallis occidentalis)
We should see several uncommon, wetland plant species. We hope to find Carolina spiderlily (Hymenocallis occidentalis) in flower.
Although we will not be hiking any distance, we will be taking walks of less than 1/2 mile at a couple of stops, all on the road or trails. We will walk into areas off the road to get a better view many of the plants. There is likely to be some muddy spots where we will be walking, so be prepared.
There are no bathroom facilities or water available at the WMA. It will be hot and humid. If conditions are such that the heat index will be over 100, we will cancel the trip. We will email you on Friday the 28th if the trip is canceled.
This should be a great field trip with many native species in flower, some that are rare or uncommon in KY. If you have any questions, just email us at KYPlants@knps.org. Register for this field trip using the form below.
Date of trip: July 29, 2023 Start time: 10AM EDT Location: Fleming WMA, Fleming Co., KY Difficulty of hike: Difficult, approximately 2 miles and 2 hours. Given the heat and terrain this could be a challenging hike.
Explore a part of Kentucky’s wilderness with KNPS!
Join us at Fleming Wildlife Management Area on July 29th at 10AM for a two-hour hike. The WMA has an oak-hickory forest mixed with flatwoods and small wetland openings, which means we might spot orchids and wetland plants.
Alan Abbott, hike leader.
We’ll meet in the main parking lot shortly before 10AM. Look for the hide leader, Alan Abbott. The hike begins at 10AM. It’s two miles and should last two to three hours.
Consider bringing bug spray, and we suggest wearing tall boots. Given the heat and terrain this could be a challenging hike.
This is a joint event between KNPS and the Kentucky chapter of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers (KYBHA), another group focused on conserving and exploring Kentucky’s natural landscape. Registration for this hike is required. Members and friends of KNPS can use the form at the bottom of this article to register. Members and friends of of KYBHA can RSVP on their Event page, KYBHA Plant ID Walk.
All WMAs are owned and maintained by the Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources and open most of the year to the public. In a coming issue, you’ll learn more about these WMAs and how you can visit to enjoy Kentucky’s flora and fauna.
Register for this field trip
KNPS members and friends can register for this hike using the form below. Because this is a joint field trip, we are limiting signups to 5 people.
Date of trip: June 17, 2023 Start time: 10AM EDT Location: Lilley Cornett Woods, Letcher Co., KY Difficulty of hike: Medium difficulty, approximately 1.5 miles
Join us for a hike at one of the most notable natural areas in Kentucky and a registered national landmark, EKU’s Lilley Cornett Woods. Located in Letcher County, Lilley Cornett Woods is an old-growth forest, a forest that has not undergone any man-made changes in 150 years. During your hike LCW guides will provide you with an educational experience on various topics ranging from the 12 characteristics of old growth, mixed mesophytic forest, diverse flora and fauna native to Appalachia, and most notably LCW’s incredible “big trees.”
The Shop Holler trail is LCW’s shorter trail at approximately 1.5 miles with medium difficulty. Plan to be on the trail for about 3 hours with the guide, while you traverse the mountainside through different forest communities. This is LCW’s most popular trail due to its shorter length, but don’t be fooled, you will be amazed by the diversity of the area and be able to truly understand a mixed mesophytic forest.
No pre-registration is required for this hike. You will meet, register, and sign waivers at the Visitors Center. From the parking lot the Visitors Center building is on the hill, up the sidewalk. Hike leaders will be outside the Visitor’s Center waiting for you.
Lilley Cornett Woods is located at 91 Lilley Cornett Branch, Hallie, KY. Driving Directions.
If you have any questions, email us at KYPlants@knps.org
Date of trip: 7/9/2022 Start time: 10AM Location: Buena Vista Glade, Taylor, Indiana Difficulty of hike: Moderate to Difficult. The glade is very rugged. We’ll hike about a mile and it will take probably two hours knowing plant nerds. And there are always ticks.
Whorled milkweed (Asclepias verticillata)
Join Kentucky Native Plant Society member Alan Abbott on a field trip to Buena Vista Glade in Taylor, Indiana, about 50 minutes west from downtown Louisville. Plants that will likely be in flower include green milkweed (Asclepias verdiflora), whorled milkweed (Asclepias verticillata), and glade St. John’s-wort (Hypernicum dolabriforme). With a little luck we might also see Ozark bunchflower (Melanthium woodii) in bloom.
Ozark bunchflower (Melanthium woodii)
One of the defining characteristics of the Bluegrass and Pennyroyal Plateau regions is the presence of small, rocky glades. Broadly speaking, a glade is any clearing in a forest. But in our part of the country, it tends to refer to areas with a shallow soil and a limestone bedrock, usually on south- or west-facing slopes. Without trees shading everything out, a rich layer of grasses and forbs emerges. As islands of grassland within larger forested areas, they tend to have high rates of endemism, or plants found only within one, relatively small area. Some plants can be found only in a few counties (like Kentucky gladecress, Leavenworthia exigua var. laciniata) or a narrow region, like the Interior Low Plateau, which runs from northern Alabama, through central Tennessee and Kentucky and into south-central Indiana.
Their isolation means that glades separated by only a few miles can have surprisingly different plant communities. In Harrison County, Indiana, which has similar shallow soils and limestone bedrock as Kentucky’s Bluegrass Region, one glade may have hundreds of Echinacea and a similar one walking distance away won’t have any.
Sign Up for the Field Trip
Because of the fragile nature of glade plant communities, we are limiting sign-ups to 10 people.
Date of trip: 06/11/2022 Time: 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM (approx.) Central Time Location: Ballard County Difficulty of hike: Easy – We will caravan/carpool on the gravel roads in the wildlife management area, stopping to view a variety of native plants and habitats. At a couple of the stops, we will walk distances of under a 1/2 mile.
Swamp Candles (Lysimachia terrestris)
Join KNPS President, Jeff Nelson and Ballard WMA employee, Gerald Burnett, as as we explore the native plant ecosystems in the wetlands and river bottoms of the Ballard WMA in Ballard Co.
Ballard Wildlife Management Area is 8,000 acres located in the Ohio River bottomlands ecoregion in far western Kentucky. The WMA is mostly wetland with 39% of the acreage in wetland, 28% forest, 27% open land, and 6% open water. Much of the wetland is comprised of rare, cypress-tupelo swamps and sloughs which many Kentuckians have not had the opportunity to experience. The Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves lists cypress-tupelo swamp as a state endangered ecosystem.
We will caravan (carpooling as much as possible) around the WMA, stopping to examine the botany of Ballard’s diverse ecosystems. We should see several uncommon, wetland plant species. In particular we should see the rare swamp candles (Lysimachia terrestris), a more northerly species that in Kentucky is only found in two far western counties. Although we will not be hiking any distance, we will be taking walks of less than 1/2 mile at a couple of stops, all on the road or trails. We will walk into areas off the road to get a better view many of the plants. There is likely to be some muddy spots where we will be walking, so be prepared.
Registration is Required
Please fill out the form below to register for this field trip. This trip will be limited to 20 people.
KNPS Field Trip to the Land Between the Lakes on July 6, 2019. Devin Rogers is the hike Leader.
Our 2022 schedule of KNPS Field Trips is coming together! Already scheduled, we will have field trips in June to Ballard WMA and in July we will visit a glade community across the Ohio River, in Indiana. Other field trips across the Commonwealth are in the planning stages and will be announced here in the Lady Slipper when they are scheduled.
Several years ago, KNPS adopted the policy of requiring preregistration for field trips and KNPS members are given the first opportunity to register for these trips. Once KNPS members have had a chance to register, signup forms will be available on the web site approximately 30 days before the field trip.
Swamp candles (Lysimacha terrestris)
Our first field trip this year will be on June 11 to the Ballard Wildlife Management Area, in Ballard Co. Ballard Wildlife Management Area is 8,000 acres located in the Ohio River bottomlands ecoregion in far western Kentucky. Much of the wetlands are comprised of rare, cypress-tupelo swamps and sloughs which many Kentuckians have never had the opportunity to experience. The Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves lists cypress-tupelo swamp as a state endangered ecosystem. We should see several uncommon, wetland plant species. In particular we hope to see the rare swamp candles (Lysimachia terrestris) in bloom, a more northerly species, that in Kentucky is only found in two far western counties.
On July 9, KNPS member Alan Abbott will lead a field trip to Buena Vista Glade in Taylor, Indiana, about 50 minutes west from downtown Louisville. Plants that will likely be in flower include green milkweed (Asclepias verdiflora), whorled milkweed (Asclepias verticillata), and glade St. John’s-wort (Hypernicum dolabriforme). With a little luck we might also see American columbo (Melanthium woodii) in bloom. Read more about glades in Alan’s article, What is A Glade? Registration for this field trip will open up in early June. Watch the Lady Slipper for the announcement (or if you are a KNPS member you will receive an email when registration is open).
If you have any questions about these trips or if there is a natural area in KY that you think would make for a good field trip, send us an email at KYPlants@knps.org. We are also always looking for folks to lead field trips. If there is a natural area with some nice native plant species that you would like to share with other KNPS members, send us an email. We will take care of organizing and publicizing the trip, you just have to share you love of native plants with the participants.
