Native Plant Society's Wildflower Weekend at Natural Bridge

KNPS’ 2022 Wildflower Weekend is scheduled for April 8, 9, & 10. The weekend will offer wildflower hikes Friday and Saturday, led by some of the best botanists in the state. These hikes will explore the region’s rich natural history and resources in the state park and the Red River Gorge. Friday evening there will be a campfire social gathering at the group campsite near the Middle Fork Campground to meet your fellow native plant enthusiasts. Our Saturday night the keynote speaker will be Mike Homoya, former Indiana State Botanist/Plant Ecologist and author of numerous excellent botanical field guides. His presentation is titled, “Rare Plant and Natural Communities along the Ohio River, from Cincinnati to the Mississippi River.”

We are still in the process of lining up folks for the wildflower hikes. We are also looking for folks to help the hike leaders so that we can allow for more people on each hike. If you are interested in leading or helping on a hike, please send us an email at [email protected].

This event is open to the public and kid-friendly. Admission is $10 for adults, $3 for ages 13-17, and free for ages 12 & under.

As COVID-19 will still be a concern, we will be making every effort to minimize potential exposure for everyone:

Pre-registration: attendees will be able pre-register for the event as well as the guided hikes. This will better help us make arrangements for social distancing, as well as reduce crowding at hikes. Pre-registration will be opened online several weeks before Wildflower Weekend. Members of KNPS will be allowed to register before the registration is opened to the general public.

Meet-up locations for hikes: each hike will have a separate designated meeting point outside of the lodge, and we ask that everyone head straight to those outdoor locations rather than congregating together in the lodge lobby.

Social distancing: as much as possible, we will keep our group interactions outdoors. However for the Saturday evening presentations in the Woodland Center, we will reduce the number of chairs and spread them out so folks can easily socially distance.

Masks: in all cases, we will abide by the public health rules of our host, Natural Bridge SRP. To that end, we request that folks wear masks when indoors.

We appreciate your help in keeping this event as safe as it can be!