Martin’s Woods is a Waukesha County Land Conservancy property feature mesic and wet-mesic forests on Edgewood Avenue just west of Big Bend.  There is no dedicated parking area and not much of a shoulder to speak of, so just do your best in terms of parking as far off the road as you can.

The parking here is not ideal and it always makes me nervous when there is not much of a shoulder on which to move over.  The road seems fairly well-traveled which prompted me to make this visit shorter than I would have liked.  With the canopy closed by this point in late May, the ephemerals were largely gone.  Large-flowered trillium leaves were plentiful, suggesting this would have been a wonderful site to visit a couple of weeks earlier.  Virginia waterleaf was the only other flowering species noted.  A small stream coursed through the forest and an intermittent trail beckoned here and there amongst the trees.  Poison ivy is abundant here, though I didn’t have trouble avoiding it.  I am not unconvinced that I am somewhat resistant to its nefarious effects, but I am not about to intentionally test that hypothesis.  I would like to return here a bit earlier in the spring to see what the ephemerals are like at that point.  An autumn visit would likely yield nice fall colors as well.

Wild Ginseing

Forest

Stream

Virginia Wateleaf

Stream

Forest

Sign

Large-flowered Trillium

Woodland Phlox

More of my photos (and full-res) from Martin’s Woods can be viewed here.

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