Wildflower events for Mother's Day weekend

May 8, 2014 at 8:01PM

Don't know your trillium from a trout lily? Several parks are offering guided walks this weekend as well as naturalist kits and interpretive signs designed to help visitors get to know ­Minnesota's wildflowers.

Eloise Butler Wildflower Sanctuary: Close to a dozen guided walks and activities are scheduled this weekend to highlight flowers and birds. 612-370-4903; www.minneapolisparks.org.

Interstate State Park: Look for several wildflower walks and birding events this weekend, including an adults-only trip along the Sandstone Bluffs Trail. Daily pass required. 1-651-465-5711; www.mndnr.gov.

Great River Bluffs State Park: The park offers a Mother's Day wildflower walk at 2 p.m. 1-507-643-6849; www.mndnr.gov.

Carley State Park: Saturday's Carley Bluebell ­Festival runs 9 a.m.-3 p.m. with wildflower card-making, trout fishing, archery and a guided walk into the woods surrounded by bends of the Whitewater River. 1-507-932-3007; www.mndnr.gov.

Wild River State Park: Take a guided wildflower walk along the St. Croix River this Saturday from 10-11:30 a.m. 1-651-583-2125; www.mndnr.gov.

University of Minnesota Arboretum: Look for endangered dwarf trout lilies and other spring blooms in the Grace B. Dayton Wildflower Garden and the bog area. Admission to the sprawling 1,137-acre gardens is free Friday for National Public Gardens Day. 952-443-1400; www.arboretum.umn.edu.

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