Take a Walk at Ivy Creek

School Trail
Finding Your Roots:
Learn the Native Trees of Virginia

From the parking lot, walk across the field on the Red Trail. As you enter the woods, the School Trail is on the right.

Tree Identification

With five distinct geographic regions and a central location along the East Coast, it is not surprising that Virginia has the greatest variety of trees of any state in the Union. So you might think it is a daunting task to learn the native trees found in your area. Not so.

The best way to learn to identify your forest trees is to narrow down the possibilities. There are 60 different species of trees found at the Ivy Creek Natural Area (see list) but only about 20 of them are common. The School Trail has 14 native Virginia trees labeled along the trail. This will get you started.

When you have mastered these, take a walk with the list of the Trees of Ivy Creek and the newly revised field guide "Native Trees of Virginia" and have fun. Knowing your trees will make all your walks more enjoyable.

Download a take-along guide to the trees of the School Trail

Start your self guided walk

 

kids with tree
Inspecting an American Beech