Flora

E&A NATURE TRAIL

Elkin, North Carolina

The E&A Nature Trail is a 3 mile section of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail which includes the Elkin Recreation Park and a length of the 100-year old Elkin & Allegheny Railway bed along Big Elkin Creek. Portions of this trail had been isolated and undisturbed since the 1920’s, the rails removed and old bridges long demolished. Since 2010, the Elkin Valley Trails Association has rebuilt three large bridges and created many miles of interconnecting trails which host an abundance of native Appalachian and Piedmont wildflower species in every season.

Since 2023 I have compiled a personal plant inventory along the trails. This is a work in progress, but as of August, 2025 I had recorded 270 different species of native and introduced flowering plants, trees, vines, and ferns [see updates below!].

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The link below will take you to a PDF of the inventory master list, organized taxonomically by plant family. I will replace with an updated version as new species come to light. Feel free to download, distribute, and share, and if you discover additional species along the trail please contact me!

— Bill Griffin, EVTA Naturalist

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E&A NATURE TRAIL PLANT INVENTORY

[ click to download — updated 05/27/2026; 323 species ]

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Each year around the last Saturday in February, I begin a series of naturalist hikes on the E&A Nature Trail. Every two or three weeks we encounter a new universe of flowers blooming and leaves emerging. Never the same walk twice! Phenology is the scientific study of periodic or seasonal biological phenomena, like bird migration and nesting, fish spawing, insects hatching. Meander down this page to discover Spring advancing photo by photo, and enjoy!