Visitor Enjoying Field of Larkspur on The Energy Loop: Huntington/Eccles Canyons Scenic Byway (UT) [1]
Though it's still wintry in some parts of the country, spring is right around the corner. It's never too early to plan a trip along a byway to celebrate the change of the seasons. Here are some ideas for viewing the spectacular blooming wildflowers and trees that cloak the roadsides.
In Tennessee and North Carolina, spring-seeking travelers can look for the white blossoms of Large-Flowered Trillium on sunny hillsides along the Cherohala Skyway. Drivers will also see Columbine, Bloodroot and Violets. Don't forget to stop at Haw Knob. At 5,472 feet, it is the highest point along the 40-mile byway and offers a spectacular view of the lower Appalachians. Locals call spots this high "walking in the clouds," because at these elevations you can see clouds and mountain tops below you. At the higher elevations, wildflowers bloom well into the summer.
Flowering trees dot the landscape along Crowley's Ridge Parkway in Arkansas and Missouri. Wild plums are the first arbor blooms of spring, appearing in March. Their brilliant white flowers have a wonderful fragrance from a distance, but don't put your nose directly on the flower -- unless you like the smell of wet chickens! In mid-April and early May, the fiery Redbuds can be seen blooming next to the glowing white blossoms of Dogwoods. Though not wild, peach and apple orchards line the byway, providing brilliant white blooms in the early spring as well.
The West Cascades Scenic Byway in Oregon spans 220 miles along the Cascade Mountains, where, in March, wildflowers begin to bloom in the lower elevations. Look for the blue flowers of Spring Queen, one of the first blossoms of the season. You can even see them blooming in February if the weather is mild enough. Take one of the many trails along the byway where Rock Penstemon grows in the clefts of rocks, and fields of Blue Phlox bloom as the weather warms.
