Discover Wildflowers

Penstemon wildflowers growing along the road to Sunrise.

NPS Photo

 

Mount Rainer's renowned wildflowers bloom for a limited amount of time every year. The "peak" bloom for wildflowers is heavily dependent on weather and precipitation patterns, so accurate predictions are difficult. In most years, many flowers will be blooming by mid-July, and by the first of August the meadows should be very impressive. Frost can occur by late August, but even after light frosts the meadows continue to be very beautiful, thanks to changing leaf colors and seed pod development that take the place of colorful blossoms.

For a better idea of what the wildflowers are doing this year, please see the Subalpine Wildflowers or Forest Wildflowers tables below, which summarize what's blooming where.

Explore further:

• Wildflower Guide - Unfamiliar with Mount Rainier's wildflowers? Photos and brief descriptions of some of the common wildflower species can be found in the park's online wildflower guide.
• Subalpine and Forest wildflower photo galleries
  
• Wildflower video gallery - Preview Mount Rainier's blooming wildflower meadows by watching these short clips.
  
• Wildflower Highlight - wildflower photo of the week
  

Note: Wildflower updates for different park areas/trails can vary dependent on ranger activities and observations. Not all areas/trails will have wildflower updates, or be updated on a regular basis. Major areas of the park, such as Paradise, will have regular updates during wildflower season.

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Updated: May 17, 2013. Subalpine regions are still snow covered. Spring vegetation is starting to fill in throughout the lower elevations in the park.

Subalpine Wildflowers	Currently Blooming Location and stage of bloom (early, peak, late).
Aster, Alpine Aster alpigenus
Aster, Cascade Aster ledophyllus
American Bistort Polygonum bistortoides
Arrowleaf Groundsel Senecio triangularis
Bear Grass Xerophyllum tenax
Broadleaf Arnica Arnica latifolia
Broadleaf Lupine Lupinus latifoliu
Cascade Huckleberry Vaccinium deliciosum
Cusick's Speedwell Veronica cusickii
Elephanthead Pedicularis groenlandica
False Hellebore Veratrum viride
Fan-leaf Cinquefoil Potentilla flabellifolia
Gray's Lovage Ligusticum grayi
Harebell Campanula rotundifolia
Heather, Pink Mountain Phyllodoce empetriformis
Heather, White Mountain Cassiope mertensiana
Jeffrey's Shooting Star Dodecatheon jeffreyi
Lily, Avalanche Erythronium montanum
Lily, Glacier Erythronium grandiflorum
Lousewort, Bird's Beak Pedicularis ornithoryncha
Lousewort, Bracted Pedicularis bracteosa
Lousewort, Coiled-beak Pedicularis contorta
Low Jacob's Ladder Polemonium pulcherrimum
Marsh Marigold Caltha leptosepala, var. biflora
Microseris, Northern (Apargidium) Microseris borealis
Monkeyflower, Lewis Mimulus lewisii
Monkeyflower, Mountain Mimulus tilingii
Mountain Bog Gentian Gentiana calycosa
Paintbrush, Magenta Castilleja parviflora
Paintbrush, Scarlet Castilleja miniata
Partridge Foot Luetkea pectinata
Pasqueflower Anemone occidentalis
Pearly Everlasting Anaphalis margaritacea
Penstemon, Cliff Penstemon rupicola
Penstemon, Davidson's Penstemon davidsonii
Penstemon, Small-flowered Penstemon procerus
Rockslide Larkspur Delphinium glareosum
Rosy Spirea Spirea densiflora
Sitka Mountain Ash Sorbus sitchensis
Sitka Valerian Valerian sitchensis
Smooth Mountain Dandelion Nothocalais alpestris
Spreading Phlox Phlox diffusa
Subalpine Buttercup Ranunculus eschscholtzii
Subalpine Daisy Erigeron peregrinus
Tall Bluebells Mertensia paniculata
Tolmie's Saxifrage Saxifraga tolmiei
Western Columbine Aquilegia formosa

Other species currently blooming to look for:

 

Wildflower Highlight of the Week

The photos featured here are usually taken by park staff and volunteers from all over the park. Share your own wildflower photos in the Mount Rainier Flickr group! Higher resolution versions of past wildflower highlights are available in Mount Rainier's Wildflower Highlights set on Flickr.

 

Trillium (Trillium ovatum) are starting to emerge, a flash of white against the forest floor. This flower actually spreads its seeds through a relationship with ants. Trillium seeds have a fleshy outer layer that is an attractive food for ants. The ants collect the seeds and devour the nutritious coating, while leaving the rest of the seed intact. The seeds then germinate in new areas away from the parent plant. Photo taken May 15, 2013, near Longmire.

NPS, Kristyn Loving

 

Updated: May 17, 2013

Forest Wildflowers	Currently Blooming Location and Stage of Bloom (early, peak, late).
Canadian Dogwood (Bunchberry) Cornus canadensis
Cascade Oregon-grape Berberis nervosa
Crimson Columbine Aquilegia formosa
Fairy Slipper Calypso bulbosa	Longmire - peak (5/17)
Fireweed Epilobium agustifolium
Foamflower Tiarella trifoliata
Lily, Tiger Lilium columbianum
Pink Wintergreen Pyrola asarifola
Pippsissewa Chimaphila umbellata
Queen's Cup Clintonia uniflora
Red Huckleberry Vaccinium parviflorum
Salal Gaultheria shallon
Salmonberry Rubus spectabilis
Sweet Coltsfoot Petasites frigidus	Westside Rd - early to peak (5/17) Nisqually to Longmire - early (5/9)
Thimbleberry Rubus parviflorus
Twinflower Linnaea borealis
Violet, Yellow Wood Viola glabella
Western Coralroot Corallorhiza mertensiana
Western Trillium Trillium ovatum	Nisqually to Longmire - early to peak (5/17)
Wild Strawberry Fragaria vesca
Yellow Skunk Cabbage Lysichitum americanum	Longmire - peak (5/17)

Other currently-blooming flowers to look for: Evergreen Violet, Western Dog Violet (5/17)