Spring ephemerals are a blink-and-you-miss-them sorta situation (hence the name!). The best place to catch these native wildflowers is Heron Rookery, part of the Indiana Dunes National Park, starting now and into and early May.

Heron Rookery, which features a trail running along the Little Calumet River, is no longer a nesting ground for great blue herons, though at one time there were more than 100 nests here. It does, however, feature a unique microclimate hospitable to flowers you won’t see anywhere else in the region. In past years I’ve hiked the trail just a few days apart and have seen entirely different plants flowering, so it’s worth a couple visits per season. (All the photos in this post were taken in past years.)

If your timing is right, you’ll see Dutchman’s breeches (so named because they look like tiny pants), carpets of trillium (including some of the rarer maroon-red variety), yellow trout lilies, mayapples, spring beauties, several kinds of buttercups, and more. You might also see salmon in the river; it’s a popular fishing spot.

There are two parking lots; I like the west lot, which only has room for maybe four cars but is rarely full. The east lot is far bigger but you’ll need to hike in a 1/2 mile or so before flowers start appearing. (Officially a National Park pass is required to park in either one.) The trail is 3.2 miles out and back, and can be muddy. If you luck out and catch it on a dry sunny day when the woods are carpeted with flowers, it’s some kind of magic.

Heron Rookery, 1336 600 E, Michigan City