G. Richard Thompson Wildlife Management Area
Dennis Freeman – Canon Compact, May 8, 2011
The G. Richard Thompson Wildlife Management Area, near Markham, Virginia is about to explode in a spectacular display of large-flowered trilliums shortly.
The season is short, and weather-dependent. Go before, not after, a rain storm! Expected peak is between ~May 1-10. Start looking for posts about trillium blooming near the end of April.
Hiking is not difficult. If you just want to shoot the best flowers and return with a minimum of effort you don’t need boots, water bottles, lunch, etc. Trilliums and Yellow Lady Slippers are within the first half mile of the trailhead on easy trails (as shown in the photo above). If you want to do a few miles, the trails get a bit more rugged, so bring water, maybe a lunch, sturdy hiking shoes and a trail map.
Bring a macro lens or a telephoto zoom no matter what! Here is a topo map of the area – the parking and Ted Lake Trail are indicated, Map
There are literally trillions of Trilliums, thousands of Showy Orchis and, if you know where
Dennis Freeman: Yellow Lady Slippers, 135mm, f/3.2, 1/320 sec, ISO 100, handheld
to look, some very impressive Yellow Lady Slippers (look for a few ~20 foot informal side paths that dead end off the main trails).
The Trillium turn to a deep fuchsia color as they age. There is also Rue Anemone, May Apple, Wild Geranium – too many to count, several varieties of violets, and many other flowers. You are likely to run into botanists, birders, and photographers from around the country.
It now requires a $4 per person Virginia Dept. of Game and Inland Fisheries Wildlife permit to hike there, and you can get an account and purchase a permit online. Their website gives more information: www.dgif.virginia.gov/
Direct link to obtain ($4) day permit: www.dgif.virginia.gov/access-permit/
Directions
It is approximately 1 hour 20 minutes from Silver Spring.
The ridge top (western) portion is reached from State Route 55 at Linden. From D.C. take I-66 West. From I-66 take exit 13, Linden, and travel east on State Route 55, turn left (north) on Route 638 (Freezeland Road). Just past Fox Hill Winery (excellent return stop), look for a gravel parking lot on the right. Use this address in Google Maps: 3750 Freezeland Rd, Linden, VA 22642. Apply “Satellite Map” overlay to see the gravel lot among the trees. The Ted Lake Trail trail head is at the end of the gravel lot.