Wolf Mountain Hiking Trail

The Wolf Mountain Hiking Trail provides access to a diverse display of spring wildflowers and rock outcrop plants. The trail is short but quite steep. It starts at the end of Forest Road 9300, and heads upward through tall sugar maple and oak trees. On either side of the trail may be seen flowers including yellow violets, downy Solomon's-seal, false Solomon's-seal, bloodroot, Canada mayflower, wild sarsaparilla, blue cohosh, baneberry, wild leek, zigzag goldenrod, jack-in-the-pulpit, wood nettle (beware its stinging hairs!), bottlebrush grass, large leaf aster and trout lily, as well as the delicate maidenhair fern. As the trail reaches a higher elevation and becomes sunnier, pearly everlasting and northern bush honeysuckle can be seen. After about 0.29 miles, a lookout is reached, with a wide view to the west, looking over the forest canopy below. The lookout features exposed rock with abundant kinnickinnick (bearberry), dogbane, and pussy-toes below serviceberry, staghorn sumac, and white pine. Rock spike-moss (Selaginella) and rusty woodsia may also be seen growing on the exposed rock.