Trillium Bloom in Pictured Rocks
In the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, after months of a snowy white landscape, with the fresh smell of spring in the air, our woods explode with a new carpet of white during trillium season! Depending on the season, from late April through May, when the first trillium bloom, the forest will contain thousands and thousands of these beautiful flowers.
Trillium bloom in the spring before deciduous trees are in full leaf, and form large colonies that carpet the floor near the edges of forests. The name of this favorite Michigan wildflower is derived from its three leaves, ‘tri,’ and similarity to a lily. Remarkably, once a trillium begins to grow from a seed, it can take 5 to 7 years before it will produce it's first flower!
Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore is one of our favorite spots on in the Upper Peninsula to spot trillium. From the winding scenic drive along H58, or the drive out to Miners Castle, is where you can spot the flowers from the comfort of your vehicle. Our preferred method of spotting and “being” with the trillium is to hike along side them on the Lakeshore trail just west of Grand Marais to Grand Sable Dunes. The foliage along this trail is fantastically lush with the green and white wildflowers.
These beautiful plants are extremely fragile, and picking the flowers seriously injures the plant by preventing it from producing food for the next year, often effectively killing the plant and ensuring none will grow in its place. As with all flowers in the park, picking or removing trillium is illegal.
