Bluebell Season In The Cumberland Valley

As I’m writing this on April 14, 2024, it’s Virginia bluebell season in the Cumberland Valley of Pennsylvania. The delicate blooms are awash along the Appalachian Trail in the vicinity of the Conodoguinet Creek and other places in the Valley. Those of us who regularly hike the A.T. around here consider “Bluebell Central” to be the A.T. section from the Scott Farm to Sherwood Drive. Every year these small ephemeral blooms give us a dramatic show for two to three weeks.

My wife and I were on the Trail yesterday and witnessed the amazing display. There were several fields of blue for as far as we could see. I recall that twenty years ago they came out a couple of weeks later, closer to May 1. It seems that climate change is affecting these blooms as well as the timing of so many other natural events. However, the actual time that the blue wonders open up varies somewhat from year to year. This makes it hard to plan organized events well in advance to view them.

The Virginia bluebell's scientific name is mertensia virginica. It is native to North America and has a range from Kansas in the west, to Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia in the south, and to Maine in the northeast. They can also be found in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. It loves rich, marshy soil, which means it is right at home along the Conodoguinet.

There are two A.T. parking lots in good condition near Bluebell Central. Both are in Middlesex Twp., Cumberland Co. The Scott Farm parking lot is at 301 Bernheisel Bridge Rd., Carlisle, PA. It’s a paved lot with a sign kiosk. Here is GPS information: 40.26004934155056, -77.1044713448419 From the parking lot, walk across the road to a short blue blazed trail which quickly intersects with the white blazed A.T. Turn left (north) onto the A.T. with the creek to your right. You’ll soon see the blue wonders.

The Sherwood Drive lot is a well maintained gravel parking area right on the A.T. at the intersection of Sherwood and the Trail. It’s a little more than a mile north of the Scott Farm lot. For your GPS, use this: 40.27446578140919, -77.09930004592596 Walk south from the lot with the small creek to your left. Bluebells will come into view as the small creek flows into the much larger Conodoguinet.
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Even if you miss the bluebells, this portion of the Trail is still worth your time throughout the year. Plenty of other plants are out during the year, including trout lilies and some rare sedges. Squirrels, chipmunks and the occasional deer and fox can be found as well. Waterproof boots or shoes are a good idea, as it can get marshy.
 

• Jim Foster

​Jim Foster is past President of CVATC, serving from 2009 to 2013. He has maintained a section of the A.T. for CVATC since 2005. He also maintains a section of the Darlington Trail for the Susquehanna A.T. Club. Jim supervises the work of Keystone Trails Association on its section of the A.T. He lives with his wife Tracey in Enola, PA.