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Top Smoky Mountain Spots for Spring Wildflowers

Enjoy an extended wildflower season in the Smokies.

As the days lengthen and the weather warms, colorful signs of spring begin to pop up from forest floors and trailside shrubs. Brilliant wildflowers of all shapes, sizes and colors appear across the North Carolina Smoky Mountains in waves from February through late summer, to the delight of gardeners, hikers and adventurers of all ages.

butterfly on a bloom
Butterfly Weed

A fleeting group of flowers known as spring ephemerals — including showy three-petaled trillium, lady slipper orchids, fire pink and columbine — are first on the scene beginning in late February. Bright bee balm, black-eyed susans and jewelweed take over in the summer months, alongside native shrubs such as flame azalea. As summer wanes into August and September, asters and goldenrod prelude the fall foliage display.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park boasts more than 1,500 kinds of flowering plants, earning it the nickname of “Wildflower National Park.” Likewise, the varying elevations and habitats of the Blue Ridge Parkway make it an excellent route for flower-sighting in spring.

Look for seasonal blooms along the edges of trails, roads and rivers, or any sunny open area. To ensure there are plenty of flowers for everyone to enjoy, resist picking any blooms and keep your feet on designated trails. Be sure to bring your camera!

Here are some of the top spots in the Smoky Mountains to see spring wildflowers:

purple flowers
Mountain Bluets

Deep Creek Trail

Located north of Bryson City, this easy trail in Great Smoky Mountains National Park leads past two waterfalls in a two-mile out-and-back walk, or hike the whole loop for 4.9 miles and a third waterfall!

Graveyard Fields

A favorite stop along the Blue Ridge Parkway at milepost 418.8, the loop trail at Graveyard Fields takes hikers past waterfalls, through open meadows and along wooded paths. Visit in May or June for a peek at pinkshell, flame azalea or mountain laurel.

Oconaluftee River Trail

trillium blooms
Trillium

This easy 1.5-mile (one way) trail begins at the Oconaluftee Visitor Center and leads along the river to the outskirts of Cherokee, N.C. It’s a favorite for jogging, biking and walking pets (and one of only two Great Smoky Mountains National Park trails that allows both bikes and pets).

Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest

A 2-mile loop trail offers a breathtaking view of this virgin forest cove, which is a great place to spot trillium, crested iris, dutchman’s breeches and violets in spring. Take a break from your flower search to look up into the canopy of the forest’s centuries-old trees.