Explore the Beauty of Wildflowers at Headquarters!

Stop and smell the wildflowers on this wander at the Refuge HQ, including a small portion of the Martin Tract!

On this wildflower wander, we will stop and take the time to get to know the beautiful wildflowers on the Refuge. We will work together using guides and nature applications to identify the flowers and appreciate their purposes and uses.

This hike is a great opportunity to learn about wildflowers, and take a break from the busy pace of life :) This is also a great opportunity to learn how to use your wildflower guides and get to know some of the nature applications you can use to identify flowers wherever you are!

Who is this hike for?

If you enjoy spending time getting closer to nature, this is a great hike for you! Wildflowers come in many different shapes, sizes and colors, and we will take the time to examine them as we move through the trail.

If you are familiar with flowers and plants, we welcome your knowledge on this hike as well all work together to learn more about the natural world around us.

We will stay on easily accessible, relatively flat trails and move at a slow pace. 

How difficult is this hike?

This is an easy hike on relatively flat terrain. This hike will include portions of the Refuge HQ, and, time permitting, a trip out to a small portion of the Martin Tract which involves a short car drive behind the Refuge HQ.

What should I bring on this walk?

Please consider bringing a camera and your wildflower guide if you have one! There will be plenty of time to appreciate and photograph the flowers, as well as use the wildflower guides to identify them.

We also recommend the following nature based applications to help you identify birds and flowers. Please download these in advance if you’d like to use them because Doeskin Ranch has very limited reception. We may not be able to use these on the trail based on the limited reception, but we will attempt to use them where it is available so we can demonstrate how to use them -

• Seek (by iNaturalist)

• iNaturalist

• Merlin (by Cornell Lab of Ornithology)

PHONE RECEPTION: Some phone-based GPS’ will not work in this area. A printable/downloadable map can be found here.

WEATHER ADVISORY & OTHER CANCELLATIONS:In the event that we need to cancel due to extreme weather or other unforeseen conditions you will be notified via email before 10:00 AM on the day of the hike.

PARTICIPANT CANCELLATIONS:Our hikes are popular and often have wait lists, if you need to cancel, we ask that you try to do so at least 48 hours in advance so that a wait-list participant is notified in adequate time to be able to join us on the trail! You can cancel in two ways:

• Log in to your profile on the Friends website and use the my event registration link to cancel your registration

• Send us an email at hikes@friendsofbalcones.org.  Looking forward to seeing you at the Refuge!