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.
Arrowleaf groundsel, pink monkeyflower, and other wildflowers, 8/10/18. NPS/Ivie Metzen Photo Currently Blooming Sunrise and Paradise are popular destinations for wildflower viewing. However, numerous unnamed creeks, ponds, and wetlands create oasis of wildflowers throughout the park. These wildflowers were photographed along SR123. Please Note: As snow melts away, it may be tempting to skirt remaining patches of snow 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 trail even if that means crossing snow, particularly in the high-visitation meadows around Paradise and Sunrise. Wildflower Reports Paradise Area (8/15) - fireweed, scarlet paintbrush, magenta paintbrush, pearly everlasting, pink monkeyflower, arrowleaf groundsel, Cascade asters, gray's lovage, rosy spirea, false hellbore, bog gentian, broadleaf arnica, subalpine daisy, American bistort, Sitka mountain ash, cinquefoil, lupine, sickletop lousewort, partridgefoot Stevens Canyon Road (8/10) - fireweed, pearly everlasting, paintbrush, goldenrod, Sitka valerian, Cascade aster, false hellbore= Tipsoo/Naches Peak Loop Trail (8/1) - pasqueflower seedheads, Sitka valerian, grey's lovage, false hellbore, scarlet paintbrush, magenta paintbrush, lupine, American bistort, lupine, pink mountain heather, white mountain heather (late), Cusick's speedwell, sickletop lousewort, arrowleaf groundsel, silver wormwood, cinquefoil, avalanche lily (late)
Mountain Bog Gentian 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.