With over 5,000 acres to explore, Skytop Lodge is one of the best resorts in Pennsylvania for visitors looking to rediscover the beauty and variety of nature. Over the nearly 100 years that we have been open, our resident naturalists have helped to inventory and conserve the extensive variety of wildlife on Skytop Estate including several varieties of wildflowers. Here are just a few of the native wildflowers you might encounter during a stay at Skytop Lodge.
Native to the Skytop woodlands, the plant’s bright red and yellow flowers have earned it the moniker the Eastern red columbine. The drooping, bright colored flowers attract butterflies and hummingbirds who are specially equipped to get the nectar from the back of the flower’s recognizable, backward pointing spurs. Our West Rim Trail is the best place to see these flowers at Skytop.
The emergence of the marsh marigold’s bright yellow blooms is one of the sure signs of spring here at Skytop. The flowers of the marsh marigolds grow in clusters above broad leaves that are slightly heart-shaped. Known by a myriad of other names, including kingcups, the marsh marigolds dot the landscape of the Skytop Estate and can be seen along several of our nature trails.
This edible native plant grows low to the ground, but the flowers themselves extend quite a bit above the leaves. The flowers have a deep blue or purple colored center that may fade to white at the edges of the petals. These delicate flowers are most likely to be seen along the Raven Trail.
These are only a few of the woodland wildflowers you might encounter when walking the nature trails at Skytop Lodge. We work to maintain a sustainable relationship with all that nature has to offer here, from the remote cranberry bog to the animal and insect inhabitants. Our commitment to conservation of our natural world has made us one of the best resorts in Pennsylvania when it comes to sustainability. The ideal time to spot wildflowers at Skytop is in the spring, so contact us today to book your springtime nature retreat.