Forest Preserves of Cook County 2026 Spring Brochure

When spring arrives, the days get longer. With no leaves on the trees yet to block the sun, light pours freely onto the forest floor. This extra sunlight fuels one of spring’s earliest phenomena: the arrival of ephemeral wildflowers. The landscape, once muted, begins to glow with new color and life. Ephemerals like blue violet, bloodroot and Dutchman’s breeches only bloom for a short period of time before losing their flower and foliage and go dormant. They are the first flowers to appear and provide vital food for insects. Once the leaves fill out the canopy, the forest floor goes dark, but not all wildflowers disappear. In the Forest Preserves’ woodlands, mayapples push upward in green umbrellas. Normally they grow one branch, but the ones with two branches grow fruit in May. Spring’s return becomes unmis- takable in sound. Birds like the red- winged blackbird fill the canopy with calls, adding liveliness to branches that have yet to leaf out. From the forest floor and wet areas, American toads contribute their distinctive trills, adding an additional texture to the chorus. Water from melting ice trickles steadily, tapping lightly on fallen leaves, while the soft rustle of the early breeze joins the mix. You can feel spring’s arrival, too. Thick mud signals thawed ground and active soil. The forest floor feels springy rather than frozen, and the bark of trees, once icy and rigid, absorbs warmth from longer days. As the forest floor softens, it releases the earthy aroma of moisture and decomposition that has been sealed beneath snow and ice. Patches of mud carry the rich smell of bacteria, worms and insects. This change in scent signals the start of new growth long before leaves appear in the canopy. Light brings the final layer to spring’s emergence. Longer days illuminate fine details: the shine of wet branches, the translucence of forming buds and the reflective surface of melting snow. As the sun climbs higher, the forest brightens from within. Come back to a favorite preserve a few times in the spring, and you can notice that the signals gather slowly yet steadily. Birdsong grows fuller. Blossoms increase. Water runs more freely. The forest’s scent deepens as soil continues to warm. Together they create a portrait of spring beginning to take hold, quietly transforming the Forest Preserves one moment at a time. As winter loosens its hold on the Forest Preserves of Cook County, you can sense the earliest signs of spring. The landscape shifts in small but powerful ways as new scents rise from the ground, new sounds echo through the air and new colors brighten the landscape . For Spring Wildflower events, visit: fpdcc.com/flower-power 27