On Friday, April 12th and Saturday, April 13, nearly 200 members and friends enjoyed KNPS’s 35th Wildflower Weekend, at Natural Bridge SRP! With more hikes, workshops, and kid’s activities than we have ever had and with many of the best botanists in Kentucky in attendance, Wildflower Weekend 2024 was an unqualified success.

Wildflower Walks

Wildflower walks and hikes are the defining activities of every Wildflower Week, but this year we also included hikes about fire ecology, geology, birds, herps, butterflies, pollinators, reptiles and more! Beginning at noon on Friday and running through the end of the day on Saturday, we enjoyed a record number 25 flora and fauna walks, led by over 30 of the best botanists, zoologists and naturalists in the country. Exploring the amazing diversity of the plant communities in Natural Bridge SRP and the Red River Gorge Geological Area, participants learned about and enjoyed dozens of native plant species, the fauna associated with them, and the amazing geology and hydrology that surrounds them.

In addition to our usual “all things botanical” hikes, we had hikes concentrating on birds, reptiles and amphibians, geology, fire ecology, and pollinators and butterflies. There were also a couple of workshops, “Non-Native Invasive Species Management” and an art workshop, “Reflecting on Nature through Artmaking.” These new additions to Wildflower Weekend were enjoyed by all who participated and brought in several new faces to our annual gathering.

Everything is set for KNPS’s 35th Wildflower Weekend, on Friday, April 12th and Saturday, April 13, at Natural Bridge SRP! With more hikes, workshops and kid’s activities than we have ever had, many of the best botanists in Kentucky in attendance, and with beautiful weather forecast, Wildflower Weekend 2024 would be a great destination for everyone this weekend.

In addition to our usual “all things botanical” hikes, we have a hikes concentrating on birds, reptiles and amphibians, geology, fire ecology, pollinators and butterflies. There will also be a couple of workshops, “Non-Native Invasive Species Management” and an art workshop, “Reflecting on Nature through Artmaking”.

We have always tried to make Wildflower Weekend a family friendly event (kids 12 and under attend free). This year we are offering two kid centered activities, a “Junior Botanist Adventure for Kids!” on Saturday morning and then, on Saturday afternoon, the “Kids Activities Table“, a drop-in activity (no registration required), with fun botanical and nature activities designed for the young naturalist. See details in the schedule below.

Kentucky Native Plant Society’s
Wildflower Weekend 2024
Natural Bridge State Resort Park
Friday, April 12th & Saturday, April 13th, 2024

The schedule is set and registration is now open for Wildflower Weekend 2024, April 12th-13th, at Natural Bridge State Resort Park. Join nature lovers, families, community scientists, amateur naturalists, and professional botanists from across the Commonwealth, as we explore the beauty and diversity of Kentucky’s natural history. Wildflower Weekend is open to the public and family-friendly.

This year we are celebrating 35 years of Wildflower Weekend! That’s right! Naturalists and nature lovers from all across Kentucky have been gathering in the spirit of botanical appreciation, fellowship and education at Wildflower Weekend since May 1989! We are proud to host this year’s event at Natural Bridge SRP, the original location of the very first KNPS Wildflower Weekend.

We are offering over 20 different hikes this year, the most we have ever had at any Wildflower Weekend! In addition to our usual “all things botanical” hikes, we have a couple of hikes concentrating on birds, a couple of hikes concentrating on reptiles and amphibians, and one featuring butterflies. There will also be a couple of workshops, “Non-Native Invasive Species Management” and an art workshop, “Reflecting on Nature through Artmaking”.

This year we are celebrating 35 years of Wildflower Weekend! That’s right! Naturalists and nature lovers from all across Kentucky have been gathering in the spirit of botanical appreciation, fellowship and education at Wildflower Weekend since May 1989! We are proud to host this year’s event at Natural Bridge SRP, the original location of the very first KNPS Wildflower Weekend (scroll down to page 3).

Help Us Celebrate with Your Photos!

To help celebrate our 35 years of Wildflower Weekend, we are planning to put together a montage of photos from prior Weekends that we will show during the Saturday evening talks. It would be great if everyone would look through their old Wildflower Weekend photos and pick out a few that you would like to share. If any of our longtime members have actual photos from the days before digital cameras a scan of those would be extra special.

Use the link below to access the drop folder for your images. Please include the year of the Wildflower Weekend as part of the file name (e.g. WW2010). If you have any questions, just email us at WildflowerWeekend2024@knps.org. Thanks.

Drop Folder For Images of Previous Wildflower Weekends