Most of these are out for a few weeks and gone. The months on each entry are the ones worth walking for, and the spring ephemerals on the north-facing slopes are done before the canopy closes over them.
Booking
None. Sites are first come, first served.
Fee
$10 a night for a standard site, $20 for a group site, paid at headquarters. Maryland DNR.
Check in
Sign the sheet at headquarters when you arrive, then go to the site.
Is it free tonight?
This page cannot know. The app shows what the sign-up sheet last showed, with the photo's age.
Every photograph here is openly licensed and credited to the person who took it.
The recordings are in the app — open the nature
guide to hear them.
A crisp white flower with a golden center, opening on sunny days and wrapped by a single scalloped blue-green leaf; the stem bleeds bright orange-red sap when broken.
Where to look
Moist, shaded forest floors and slopes
When
Blooms briefly in early spring (Mar–Apr)
Months
March to April
Do not touch
The red sap stains and is a skin and eye irritant, and the plant is toxic if eaten, so don't break the stems.
A stout gray-green plant with broad paired leaves, drooping globes of dusty-pink starburst flowers, and, the famous part, warty pods that split to release silk-parachuted seeds.
Where to look
Sunny road edges, field margins, and clearings. Check the leaves for monarch caterpillars in yellow, black, and white stripes
When
Blooms June–August; pods split September–October
Months
June to October
Easily confused with
Dogbane has similar sap but smaller flowers and reddish stems; milkweed's flower globes and pods are distinctive.
Do not touch
The milky sap can irritate skin and is painful in the eyes, so wash after handling. Toxic if eaten, which is the monarch's whole defensive strategy.
Yes, a real cactus in Maryland: flat green paddles sprawled over bare shale, with big silky yellow flowers in June and reddish egg-shaped fruits after.
Where to look
Hot south-facing shale barrens and roadcut edges, the driest ground in the forest, which is exactly why it's here
When
Flowers June–July; paddles visible year-round, deflated-looking in winter
Easily confused with
Nothing. It's the only cactus native to Maryland.
Do not touch
Don't grab it. The obvious spines are fair warning, but the real trouble is the tufts of hair-fine glochids, which lodge in skin by the dozen and take days to work out.
A low plant with rounded, scalloped, kidney-shaped lower leaves and small four-petaled white flowers on top; crushed leaves smell distinctly of garlic.
Where to look
Shady trail edges and woods, often carpeting the ground
When
White flowers Apr–May
Months
April to May
Easily confused with
The garlic smell when you crush a leaf is the giveaway: native violets and other look-alikes have no odor.
Invasive
One invasive you're actually encouraged to pull. It yanks out easily, roots and all. Bag it (don't compost, since it keeps seeding) and pull before it sets seed in late spring.
An odd hooded green-and-maroon flower: a little upright 'preacher' (spadix) standing inside a striped canopy (the pulpit); becomes a cluster of bright red berries by fall.
Where to look
Damp, shady woods and low spots
When
Hooded bloom Apr–May; red berry cluster in late summer–fall
Months
Apr, May, Aug, Sep
Do not touch
Don't taste any part. It's packed with needle-like crystals that burn the mouth and throat if eaten raw. The red berries are toxic too.
Dense thickets of hollow, bamboo-like green stems with reddish speckles, big heart-shaped leaves, and sprays of small creamy-white flowers in late summer.
Where to look
Along streams, ditches, and damp disturbed ground, in dense colonies
When
Tall leafy stems summer; white flower sprays Aug–Sep
Months
June to September
Invasive
Extremely hard to remove and spreads from tiny root and stem fragments. Never pull and toss it, since a broken piece can start a new patch. Report to MD iMapInvasives (imapinvasives.org) and don't move soil or cuttings.
A sprawling, pale-green annual grass with short lance-shaped leaves marked by a silvery stripe down the middle; forms soft flattened carpets over the forest floor.
Where to look
Shady trailsides, roadsides, and disturbed woods
When
Carpets the ground summer; seed heads late summer–fall
Months
July to October
Easily confused with
The off-center silvery midrib stripe distinguishes it from native grasses.
Invasive
It pulls up easily, roots and all. Pulling or mowing before the fall seed set helps. Boot treads and tires carry the seed, so clean up before leaving.
A small clover with unusually long, narrow leaflets and creamy-white flower heads, hugging bare shale. Named for Kate's Mountain in West Virginia where it was first discovered.
Where to look
Shale barrens only. One of the rarest plants in Maryland; finding one is a brag-for-years event
When
Blooms May–June
Months
May to June
Easily confused with
Ordinary white clover has round leaflets and lives in lawns; this one's leaflets are three or four times longer than wide, and it lives on rock.
Do not touch
Do not pick or disturb. This is a genuinely rare shale-barren endemic. Photograph it and report the sighting to Maryland DNR's Wildlife and Heritage Service.
Colonies of knee-high umbrella-like leaves; a single nodding white flower hides beneath the paired leaves of mature plants, later forming one lemon-sized fruit.
Where to look
Shady woods and clearings, often in big patches
When
Leaves and flower Apr–May; fruit ripens summer
Months
April to July
Do not touch
Only the fully ripe yellow fruit is edible, in small amounts. The leaves, stems, roots, seeds, and unripe fruit are all toxic. When in doubt, leave it.
A carpet of small starry flowers, white to pale pink with darker pink candy-striping, on delicate stems with grass-like leaves, often blooming by the thousand.
Where to look
Rich woods and floodplain flats. One of the first true spring wildflowers here
When
Blooms March–May, then vanishes completely by summer
Months
March to May
Easily confused with
Rue anemone blooms alongside but has round-lobed leaves; spring beauty's pink pinstripes are the giveaway.
A tall leggy plant with paired, coarsely toothed leaves and dangling strings of tiny green flowers, every surface bristling with fine translucent hairs.
Where to look
Damp rich ground: streamside trails and floodplain flats, often exactly where you want to walk in shorts
When
Up May–October; stings all season
Months
May to October
Easily confused with
Wood nettle stings too but has alternate leaves; false nettle doesn't sting at all. When in doubt along a creek, assume sting.
Do not touch
Don't brush bare skin. The hairs inject formic acid and friends, leaving instant burning welts that last an hour or two. Harmless, but you'll remember it. If stung, resist scrubbing; cool water helps.
The default white flower of dry fall woods: sprays of small white daisies with yellow-to-purple centers on zigzag stems, heart-shaped leaves near the base.
Where to look
Dry open woods and trail edges everywhere once late summer arrives
When
Blooms August–October
Months
August to October
Easily confused with
Dozens of asters bloom in fall; if it's carpeting dry woods with heart-shaped lower leaves, this is the one.
