Natural History Wanderings

Everything You Need To Know About Colorado Wildflowers: Locations, Hikes, Floras and Field Guides

Rocky Mountain Nature Photographers
http://www.naturephotographers.net/imagecritique/bbs.cgi?a=vf10&ns=1 (each year there is a section with postings for what is now in bloom)

Cwildflowers.com http://www.cwildflowers.com/Colorado.htm
(resources for wildflower hunting in Colorado including)

• Wildflowers in Colorado identification tools
• Wildflower Pictures from Colorado

Eastern Colorado Wildflowers  http://www.easterncoloradowildflowers.com/

• photographs and information for over 525 plant species growing east of the Continental Divide in Colorado.

Colorado Native Plant Society http://www.conps.org/

• Plant Lists (statewide, regional and local)
• Plant Keys
• Fieldtrips

Rocky Mountain Region U.S. Forest Service Viewing Areas in Colorado: http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/regions/rockymountain/index.shtml

• Boreas Pass – Pike National Forest
• Clark Ridge – White River National Forest
• David Canyon Road – Comanche National Grassland
• Embargo Creek – Rio Grande National Forest
• Grand Mesa Visitor Center Wildflower Garden – Grand Mesa National Forest
• Mosca Pass – San Isabel National Forest
• Mt. Goliath – Mt. Evans – Arapaho National Forest
• Pikes Peak – Pike National Forest
• Priests Lake – San Juan National Forest and Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre, and Gunnison (GMUG) National Forests
• Shelf Lake Trail – Pike National Forest
• West Elk Scenic Byway – Gunnison National Forest

Wildflower Hikes in Colorado Hiking by Trails.com   http://www.trails.com/activity.aspx?area=12777

Books on Wildflower Hikes

• Colorado’s Best Wildflower Hikes Vol 1: The Front Range Pamela D. Irwin (author)
• Colorado’s Best Wildflower Hikes Vol 2: The High Country Pamela D. Irwin (Author), David Harlan Irwin (Photographer)
• Colorado’s Best Wildflower Hikes: VOL 3 The San Juans (Colorado’s Best Wildflower Hikes) Pamela D. Irwin (Author), David Irwin (Photographer)
• Colorado’s Newest and Best Wildflower Hikes: Boulder, Breckenridge, Colorado Springs, Denver, Fort Collins, Rocky Mountain National Park, Vail Pamela Irwin (Author), David Irwin (Photographer)

Field Guides and Flora of Colorado Wildflowers (books and websites)

• Colorado Flora: Eastern & Western Slopes William A. Weber (Author), Ronald C. Whittmann (Author)
• Rocky Mountain Flora James Ells (author)
• Guide to Colorado Wildflowers, Volume 1, Plains and Foothills G.K. Guennel (author)
• Guide to Colorado Wildflowers, Volume 2, Mountains G.K. Guennel (author)
• The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers, Western Region Richard Spellenberg (author)
• Northern Colorado Plants: A Field Guide to the Flora of the Northern Front Range Urban Corridor Alix Gadd (author)
• Wild About Wildflowers: Extreme Botanizing in Crested Butte, Wildflower Capitol of Colorado Kathleen Darrow (author)
• Flora of the San Juans: A field Guide to the Mountain Plants of  Southwestern Colorado Susan Komarek (author)
• A Guide to Colorado’s Best Photography Locations Andy Cook and Shar Scofield (authors) (guide to wildflower, fall foliage and landscape photographic locations)
• Southwest Colorado Wildflowers, Ferns and Trees: http://www.swcoloradowildflowers.com/index.htm#top
• Eastern Colorado Wildflowers: http://www.easterncoloradowildflowers.com/
• Colorado State University Herbarium Database: http://herbarium.biology.colostate.edu

 Articles on Wildflower Viewing In Colorado

San Juan Mountains Wildflowers  http://mycolorado.org/wildflowers.html

Before the Summer Ends, Take Time to Look At Colorado Wildflower in Front Range Living http://www.frontrangeliving.com/outdoors/Wildflowerhikes.htm

Best Wild Flower Hike in Colorado at examiner.com  http://www.examiner.com/outdoor-adventure-in-denver/best-wild-flower-hike-colorado

Leadville Weekend Part 3: Mayflower Gulch to Gold Hill Wildflower Hike  http://colorado-lifestyle.blogspot.com/2008/07/leadville-weekend-part-3-mayflower.html

The Decline of Rocky Mountain Wildflowers https://naturalhistorywanderings.com/2011/07/07/the-decline-of-rocky-mountain-wildflowers/
(Article on the effects of Climate Change on wildflower bloom)

suggestions and additions welcome