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 Currently Blooming section below, which summarizes 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.
• Wildflower photo galleries - Collections of subalpine and forest wildflowers.
• Wildflower video gallery - Preview Mount Rainier's blooming wildflower meadows by watching these short videos.
• The Seasons of Mount Rainier - View short videos of different plants found in various parts of the park.
• Ecological Restoration - Watch short videos about the Ecological Restoration program's work in the park.

---

A pink Lewis' monkeyflower at Tipsoo Lake, 7/21/26

NPS Photo

Currently Blooming

Last Updated: July 21, 2026
Pink and yellow monkeyflower are thriving along many of the park's streams and creeks. Pink monkeyflower (Mimulus lewisii), also known as Lewis’ monkeyflower, grows in dense patches of flowers. Its stems are 12-24 inches (30-60 cm) tall with oval, toothed leaves. Similar in appearance, yellow monkeyflower (Mimulus guttatus) is generally found at lower elevations than pink monkeyflower, which favors the subalpine regions of the park. Both are commonly found growing together along waterways in the park.

Please stay on the trails.

As snow continues to melt away, it may be tempting to skirt remaining patches of snow or mud that are covering trails. However, by going off trail you are walking on and damaging the wildflowers that you may be coming to see! It is better to stay on the trail even if that means crossing snow, particularly in the high-visitation meadows around Paradise and Sunrise. Also, there are plenty of opportunities for the perfect mountain + wildflower photo from the trails! No need to step off trail and crush other flowers in your quest for the perfect shot.

 

Wildflower Reports

Longmire Area	Paradise Area
Nisqually Entrance-Longmire Road (7/13) - cow parsnip, lupine, large-leaf avens, goats beard, tiger lily Trail of the Shadows and around Longmire (7/10) - twinflower (lots!), foam flower, tiger lily, smooth alumroot, forest penstemon, oceanspray, pipsissewa, common speedwell, wall lettuce, self-heal, pink wintergreen, candystick (late), lupine, salal	Paradise Meadows (7/16) - full bloom: american bistort, beargrass, broadleaf arnica, broadleaf lupine, columbia tiger lily, cusick's speedwell, fan-leaf cinquefoil, gray's lovage, huckleberry, jeffrey's shooting star, lupine, magenta paintbrush, partridgefoot, pink mountain heather, rosy spirea, scarlet paintbrush, sitka valerian, subalpine buttercup, subalpine daisy, white mountain heather; late bloom: avalanche lilies, pasqueflower seedheads; early bloom: pearly everlasting
Around the park	Sunrise Area
Tipsoo Lake (7/15) - full bloom: american bistort, arrowleaf groundsel, bird's-beak lousewort, broadleaf arnica, crimson columbine, cusick's speedwell, lewis' monkeyflower, lupine, magenta paintbrush, narrow-sepaled phacelia, pink mountain heather, rosy spirea, rusty saxifrage, sitka mountain ash, sitka valerian, small-flowered penstemon, subalpine daisy, tea-leaved speedwell, yellow monkeyflower; late bloom: pasqueflower seedheads, phlox; early bloom: false hellebore Cayuse Pass (SR123/410) to Chinook Pass (SR410) (7/15) - Oregon sunshine, scarlet paintbrush, lupine, Sitka valerian, Sitka mountain ash, American bistort, silver wormwood Westside Road (7/8) - goat's beard, thimbleberry, buttercup, self-heal, yarrow, fireweed, thistle, Cooley's hedge-nettle, common speedwell, bitter aster Silver Falls Trail (6/24) - twinflower, foam flower, pathfinder, pink wintergreen, pipsissewa, starflower, western coralroot, candystripe, pinesap, salal, wild rose, forest penstemon, bunchberry (late), rattlesnake plantain (early)'	Sunrise Meadows (7/16) - american bistort, avalanche lily, bracted lousewort, broadleaf lupine, elephanthead, fan-leaf cinquefoil, gray's lovage, magenta paintbrush, pasqueflower seedhead, pink mountain heather, white mountain heather, scarlet paintbrush, showy jacob's ladder, sitka mountain ash, sitka valerian, small-flowered penstemon, cliff penstemon, smooth mountain dandelion, arnica, spreading phlox, subalpine daisy, tiger lily

 

Subalpine wildflower meadows bursting in full bloom

NPS Photo

Wildflower Photos

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 wildflower photos are available on Mount Rainier's Flickr page.

Plan Your Visit

Paradise and Sunrise are two of the main visitor center areas at Mount Rainier National Park. Both areas are well known for their impressive wildflower meadows. The park also maintains dozens of trails perfect for wildflower viewing.

 

 

Meadow Preservation Enjoy wildflowers? Stay on trails