Wildflower Walks

Missoula Parks and Recreation, REI, the Montana Conservation Corps and high schoolers with the Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership group will hold a National Trails Day service project on Missoula’s Waterworks Hill on Saturday, June 7.
Starting at 9 a.m., volunteers will line the main trail up the hill with large rocks to help protect native Missoula phlox [...]

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Here’s a video of a short walk at the National Bison Range.

Justin Grigg

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Arrowleaf balsamroot
Balsamorhiza sagittata

Description:Large golden flower 2 to 4 inches across, consisting of rayflowers surrounding tubular diskflowers. Stands atop stem 8 to 24 inches tall with hairy, arrow-shaped leaves up to 1 foot long and 6 inches wide growing from base. Found in dry soil of valleys and hills. Blooms late April to July. (Peterson Field [...]

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Camas is beginning to bloom on the Crazy Canyon side of the Pattee Canyon Recreation Area.
To find it, take trail 302.5 uphill about half a mile from the Crazy Canyon trailhead to a junction with a short spur trail that connects with the cross-country ski loops. Here, you’ll find the light blue flowers atop tall, [...]

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Long-plumed avens
Geum triflorum

Description:Pink flower with five petals that hangs from a bent stem 6 to 24 inches tall with hairy, fernlike leaves at base. Also known as prairie smoke because styles elongate and become wispy as plant ages. Found in medium-dry soil of plains, hillsides and ridges. Blooms May to early July. (Peterson Field Guides [...]

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Several wildflower species can be found in bloom in Blodgett Canyon, northwest of Hamilton, right now.
Down low, near the trailhead, you’ll find big yellow arnica and climbing purple clematis. Farther up, tall white wakerobin and golden glacier lilies are growing.
And about five miles up the trail, on a rocky slab at the base of a [...]

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The Swan Ecosystem Center is planning a Wildflower Walkabout this Sunday, May 25, as part of the Alpine Artisans’ Loon and Fish Festival.
Native plant enthusiasts are invited to join local experts for a hike to Holland Falls beginning at the Holland Lake Trailhead. Two hikes have been scheduled – one at 11 a.m. another at 1 p.m. [...]

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From a recent walk along the Sam Braxton National Recreation Trail in Pattee Canyon.

Justin Grigg

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Glacier lily
Erythronium grandiflorum

Description: Flower is made up of 1- to 2-inch petal-like segments that curve backward with stamens dangling from center. Hangs from 6- to 12-inch stalk with two broad leaves growing from base. Found on sagebrush slopes and in mountain woodland openings, often near melting snow. Blooms March to August. (National Audubon Society Field [...]

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Three more prominent wildflowers have arrived on Missoula hillsides: glacier lilies, lupine and arrowleaf balsamroot.

The Pattee Canyon Recreation Area is carpeted with golden glacier lilies right now – take your pick of trails, and look for a Wildflower Walk featuring the species in the Unwind section of Friday’s Missoulian.
At Waterworks Hill, big, bright arrowleaf balsamroot [...]

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