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.

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NPS Photo of rockslide larkspur at Box Canyon, 6/12/26

NPS Photo

Currently Blooming

Last Updated: June 22, 2026
While snow continues to melt out of the subalpine meadows, other areas of the park have wildflowers already in full bloom. At Box Canyon, rockslide larkspur (Delphinium glareosum) is covering the glacier-smoothed rocks in swaths of purple, along with yellow mountain monkeyflower. The vivid blue flowers of larkspur have rounded petals with a long “spur” on the back of the flower. They are easy to spot from the path at Box Canyon, but can also be found along streambanks throughout the park up to mid-elevations.

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 (6/22) - columbine, bunchberry, cow parsnip, thimbleberry, lupine, large-leaf avens, goats beard (early) Longmire-Paradise Road (6/17) - cliff penstemon, phlox (near Canyon Rim viewpoint), Sitka mountain ash, lupine Trail of the Shadows and around Longmire (6/11) - three-leaf anemone, piggyback plant, bunchberry, trailing blackberry, thimbleberry, whitebark raspberry, leafy mitrewort, rusty saxifrage, littleleaf miner's-lettuce, smooth alumroot, lupine, spotted coralroot, western coralroot, pinesap, star-flowered false Solomon's seal, five leafed bramble, thyme-leaf speedwell, devil's club, slender bog orchid, pink wintergreen (early), starflower, bear grass, largeleaf avens, Alaska violet, foam flower, small-flowered buttercup	Paradise Valley Road (6/15) - glacier lilies, avalanche lilies, pasqueflower, Jeffrey's shooting stars, marsh marigold, yellow violets Paradise Meadows (6/21) - Still snow-covered at higher elevations, but early season wildflowers emerging in melted areas include: marsh marigold, subalpine buttercup, avalanche lily, glacier lily, magenta paintbrush, pasqueflower, yellow violets, cinquefoil (early), pink mountain heather, Jeffrey's shooting stars Lower Skyline Trail - lots of avalanche lilies & glacier lilies, pasqueflower, marsh marigold
Around the park	Sunrise Area
Stevens Canyon Road (6/15) - phlox, avalanche lilies, glacier lilies, false Solomon's seal, cinquefoil, harsh paintbrush, magenta paintbrush, cliff penstemon, Menzie's penstemon, Sitka valerian, Sitka mountain ash, red elderberry, Oregon sunshine, silverback lunia, columbine, rusty saxifrage, redstem ceanothus, trailing blackberry, yarrow, rosy spirea, tall bluebells Box Canyon (6/12) - rosy spirea, Cascade penstemon, spotted coralroot, mountain monkeyflower, rockslide larkspur, rusty saxifrage, star-flowered false Solomons seal (late), bunchberry, Oregon bedstraw, devil's club, starflower	Not yet open for the season. Check back for updates later in the summer!

 

Red Columbine Flower

NPS Photo / Filo Merid

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