Dwarf Ginseng, Violets And Many Other Spring Wildflowers At The Frog Hollow Nature Area in Schuylkill County

I love Spring here in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Nature slowly  awakens after it’s long Winter sleep. Wildflowers bloom in the woodlands , migratory birds return and sing in our trees,  and frog, salamanders, turtles and insects  appear in our wetlands.   I enjoy roaming the woodlands  watching this awakening every year.    I  visited the Frog Hollow Nature Area in Schuylkill County for the first time a few weeks ago.   The website for the Nature area  states  ” Many spring ephemerals bloom and complete their life by the time trees break out in leaves.  Look for skunk cabbage peeping out with still snow on the ground.  May apple unfurls early and places bloom by May.  A variety of violets, bluets, pyrolas and spring beauties flower in April.”   So, last Sunday, I  returned to the Frog Hollow to look for wildflowers, frogs, birds and whatever other wonders of nature I could find, photograph and share.

It didn’t take long after arriving  at the parking lot along Stone Mountain Road in Wayne Township to find some beautiful native wildflowers. These Virginia bluebells were blooming near the start of the  appropriately named Wildflower Trail.

It was mild with  partly cloudy as I followed  the trail through the  mature oak, maple, tulip and birch forest  in this  area of the 28 acre nature preserve .   The first green buds had appeared on the trees since my last visit.  I missed the blooming of the many daffodils  that grew along the trail.

I did see the first of the many species of violets that grew all along the trails  on my 5 mile hike. This is a common blue violet.

In some areas they covered the ground creating a beautiful blue carpet under the trees.

The other violets I saw on my hike included,  Labrador violets,

marsh blue violets,

prostrate blue violets,

downy yellow violets and,

sweet white violets.

I followed the Wildflower Trail to the  field where the home of Elise Krammes once stood. She was the last of her family that owned  this properly. She  gave the property in trust to the South Schuylkill Garden Club on her death.   A local church took ownership from the Garden Club who  conveyed it to  the Schuylkill County  Conservancy and  Schuylkill County. It became the second Park maintained by the County. All that remains of the home is the chimney in the middle of the field.

Here some of the many daffodils that were planted around the home were still in bloom.

Ground ivy flowers also bloomed in the field.  Neither of these flowers are native to Pennsylvania.

In the field I saw    this male northern cardinal,

and hairy woodpecker in the surrounding trees.

I left the field and followed the followed the Creek Walk Trail along the Upper Little Swatara Creek.

There were now eastern hemlock and white pine trees  growing among the hardwood trees.

Under these trees there were many dwarf ginseng, and

May apple or mandrake flowers, both  native to  Pennsylvania.

The lush new  NewYork ferns and

shag bark hickory leaves were  unfurling along  the trail.

I came to the pavilion,

and followed the Pavilion Trail along the creek and up a  ridge back to Stone Mountain Road. 

Here I saw many more of the common blue violets and Labrador violets blooming along the trail as were native   wood  anemone flowers,

Spring beauty flowers,

and wild geranium flowers, all native to Pennsylvania.

Garlic mustard  and

common and lowly dandelion flowers also bloomed on this part of the trail, both invasive, but were still  a welcome sight after the long, dark, dreary Winter.

I also saw a few more birds here,  a few year long residents,  including this   white-breasted nuthatch ,

a white throated sparrow,

a tufted titmouse and

a red bellied woodpecker.

There were also a few migratory birds, the blue gray gnatcatchers,

and this eastern phoebe, that returned to our woodlands now that the insects have also returned.

I also saw this Carolina chickadee. This was the furthest north I saw this cousin of the black-capped chickadees common to Northeastern Pennsylvania. Here is a link to a gallery on my blog website with some more photos of the birds I saw on my hike.  Frog Hollow Schuylkill County birds April 19 2026.

There were also a few fishermen along the creek. They told me there are a lot of native trout in the creek.

I walked back to the pavilion and crossed a wooden bridge over the creek and followed the Pinesap Trail,

along a sluice where I found  the frog and salamander egg masses on my last visit here. Their were still some remnants of the egg masses but the tadpoles and salamanders had already hatched.

This is the area of the trail where I saw thousands of trout lilies on my last visit. Sadly,  most had bloomed already, and only a few of this delicate, pretty, but  short lived flowers remained. Trout lilies, like the other ephemeral  native wildflowers I saw,   bloom briefly on the forest floor from late March to mid-May, taking advantage of sunlight before tree leaves emerge.

I continued along the trail which took me through the mixed pine, hemlock and hardwood woodlands.  The sun broke through the clouds but I  there was still not a lot of bird activity.I did see a few chipmunks scurrying along  the trail.

And I saw a few more fishermen. It seems this  area of the Upper Little Swatara Creek is a very  popular fishing spot, as I encountered more fishermen as I walked along the trails.  I walked back up on the  Wildflower Trail and then followed walked on the short trail Woodland, Fern and Skunk Cabbage Trails. On the Woodland Trail and Fern Trails,

I  saw a lot of rock polypoly  ferns, and,

some wild oats flowers

And, on the Skunk Cabbage Trail I found the wet ground covered in skunk cabbages and  May applesor mandrakes.  

There was also some Pennsylvania sedge plants growing in this wet soil.

Following all of the trails I only walked a little over 2 miles, so I re-traced my route again seeing a few of the same birds bad wildflowers I saw earlier,

and also noticing a few new  wildflowers,  pretty fringed polygala flowers,

rue-anemone flowers,

azure bluet flowers,

celandine poppy flowers and,

barren strawberry flowers, all ephemeral  native Pennsylvania wildflowers. I have seen many of these flowers on my hike but never so many in such small area. The guide to Frog Hollow did not exaggerate, this is a wonderful place to see the short lived Spring flowers native to our Commonwealth. Here is a link to a gallery on my blog website with some more photos of the  wildflowers  I saw on my hike.  Frog Hollow Schuylkill County wildflowers  April 19 2026.

It was still a little to early to see another of my favorite Spring  wildflowers, the triliums.  I hope to get back in a week or two to  see these pretty flowers and share some photos here on my  blog. And also, hopefully, some more of the song birds that will be returning to our area. I love the Spring and I love this new area to hike at Frog Hollow.  Here is a link to a gallery on my blog website with some more photos from my  5 mile hike.  Frog Hollow Schuylkill County April 19 2026.

“You belong among the wildflowers, you belong somewhere you feel free.” – Tom Petty

Almost every person, from childhood, has been touched by the untamed beauty of wildflowers.   -Lady Bird Johnson