Events

Most of our forest plants go dormant on the winter, but there are some species in the understory that are still showing their colors this time of of year. Join botanist Kendall McDonald to learn identification and ecology of some of Floracliff's more recognizable lichens, mosses, and ferns. This hike will also feature the Kentucky River.

This hike will cover about 4 miles and will feature the Kentucky River, Elk Lick Falls, Elk Lick Creek, and the oldest documented tree in Fayette County. We may even see some early spring wildflowers such as hepatica, purple cress, and snow trillium.

End your day with a quiet and relaxing “magic hour” hike at Floracliff. This hike will feature Elk Lick Falls and the oldest documented chinkapin oak in Kentucky.

Learn how to identify some of our earliest blooming plants and help get Project Budburst started at Floracliff.

This wildflower hike will cover natural history, folklore, pollinator relationships, and other information about some our early spring ephemerals.

Join biologist Joyce Bender for this hike featuring the Clara Wieland Wildflower Trail during peak wildflower season.

This wildflower hike will feature the Trail's End tract, where we will head to Kentucky River to see Virginia bluebells, false rue anemone, and dwarf larkspur.

Guest hike leader Hannah Helm will lead this hike and share her knowledge of our native wildflowers. Expect to see squirrel corn, dutchman's breeches, and more.

This wildflower hike will cover natural history, folklore, pollinator relationships, and other information about some our early spring ephemerals.

This wildflower hike will cover natural history, folklore, pollinator relationships, and other information about some our early spring ephemerals.

End your day with a quiet and relaxing “magic hour” hike at Floracliff. We will hike down to the Kentucky River, taking in the early evening sunlight shining through the trees and reflecting off the palisade cliffs.

Learn how to use iNaturalist to document plants and animals while contributing to conservation in Kentucky.

Enjoy a full hour immersed in the sights and sounds of Elk Lick Falls. This program offers the opportunity to slow down, connect to nature, and disconnect from electronic devices while sketching, journaling, or meditating.

Zeb Weese, Executive Director of the Kentucky State Nature Preserves Commission, will lead this program for all ages to find some of our native frogs, snakes, salamanders, and turtles in the various habitats of Floracliff, including ponds, fields, and streams.

We will spend time learning our native frogs by sight and sound, then head to the ponds to listen and record data.

End your day with a quiet and relaxing “magic hour” hike at Floracliff. This hike will feature Elk Lick Falls and the oldest documented chinkapin oak in Kentucky.

The Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves and Dourson Biological Consulting are conducting an 18-month project to survey the land snail species of Kentucky, update existing records and determine the status of land snail species in the state. This project seeks the collaboration and cooperation from a wide variety of sources across the state including biologists, teachers, land managers, park naturalists and most importantly, CITIZEN SCIENTISTS who are interested in contributing to a scientific study of a lesser known group of organisms that are the building blocks of the ecosystems.

Join Floracliff Naturalists on this trek along a scenic 1/2-mile section of of the creek to explore the biodiversity and take in the beauty of the area.

End your day with a quiet and relaxing “magic hour” hike at Floracliff. This hike will feature Elk Lick Falls and the oldest documented chinkapin oak in Kentucky.

Learn how to identify over 40 of our most common butterflies to prepare for the upcoming summer butterfly count (date TBD). This program will be entirely indoors.

For the 3rd year, Floracliff is hosting and organizing the Central Bluegrass Butterfly Count. Butterfly enthusiasts and citizen scientists are encouraged to help us count and document butterflies at various locations throughout Lexington. All data will be submitted to the North American Butterfly Association. Participating sites include the Arboretum, Floracliff, Raven Run, Hisle Park, McConnell Springs, and Wellington Park.

Elk Lick Creek flows through the heart of Floracliff and provides habitat for a diversity of amphibians, reptiles, insects, fish, and more. Join Floracliff Naturalists on this trek along a scenic 1/2-mile section of of the creek to explore the biodiversity and take in the beauty of the area.

Floracliff has a diversity of moths that come in many different sizes and colors. We will have a few light stations set up with sheets to get a close-up look at our moths and other nocturnal insects.

Enjoy a full hour immersed in the sights and sounds of Elk Lick Creek. This program offers the opportunity to slow down, connect to nature, and disconnect from electronic devices while sketching, journaling, or meditating. At the end of the hike, participants will have a chance to share as much or as little as they want.

Elk Lick Creek flows through the heart of Floracliff and provides habitat for a diversity of amphibians, reptiles, insects, fish, and more. Join Floracliff Naturalists on this trek along a scenic 1/2-mile section of of the creek to explore the biodiversity and take in the beauty of the area.

Preserve Director Beverly James will lead this fall wildflower hike highlighting identification and natural history of our late-blooming flowers and the butterflies they attract. Expect to see asters, goldenrods, lobelias, and more.

End your day with a quiet and relaxing “magic hour” hike at Floracliff. This hike will feature Elk Lick Falls and the oldest documented chinkapin oak in Kentucky.

Learn the basics of tree identification and how to record your observations using two different apps.

Over 100 species of woody plants grow in the woodlands and forests of Floracliff. On this hike, we’ll learn to identify both common and unusual species that live along the banks of Elk Lick Creek.

Apart from the major trees in our forests, smaller woody plants add greatly to the diversity of our ecosystems. We can use the same skills and field characters that are used to identify the oaks, maples, and other major trees, and apply them to learning the many understory woody plants that add to the complexity of our native vegetation. Understory shrubs and small trees can also help us understand a site’s soil characteristics and disturbance history. This workshop will include a morning hike at Floracliff and an afternoon hike in the Daniel Boone National Forest.

Enjoy a full hour immersed in a select location of Floracliff with some of our favorite trees. Starting 2 hours before sunset, this program offers the opportunity to slow down, connect to nature, and disconnect from electronic devices while sketching, journaling, or meditating.

Join us for our annual fall long hike. This hike will cover about 5 miles and will feature the Kentucky River, Elk Lick Falls, Elk Lick Creek, and the oldest documented tree in Fayette County.

End your day with a quiet and relaxing “magic hour” hike at Floracliff. We will hike down to the Kentucky River, taking in the early evening sunlight shining through the trees and reflecting off the palisade cliffs.

The remarkable topography at Floracliff and Elk Lick Falls is the result of a series of geological events beginning some 400 million years ago with the epicontinental seas of the Ordovician Age. More recently the Kentucky River fault zone, the continental glaciers of the Pleistocene Ice Age, and the evolution of the Ohio River all have had their effects on Floracliff scenery. We will explore the remnants of the seas that covered the area and the rich marine fauna that lived then as well as the evidence for distant volcanoes during that time. With a visit to the falls and to the Kentucky River Gorge we will explore the reasons for their existence. Along the way we will see the effects of the Kentucky River Fault, estimate its immense vertical displacement and see evidence for the river's former existence as a meandering stream over 300 feet above its present position.

This hike will cover about 5 miles and will feature Trail’s End, the Kentucky River, Elk Lick Falls, Elk Lick Creek, and the oldest documented tree in Fayette County.

If you are considering birdwatching as a new hobby, wintertime is a great time to start. We will cover winter birds of the forest and backyard and provide information on how to participate in one of the longest running citizen science programs.