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 tiger lily with a small yellow spider in Longmire, 7/7/26

NPS Photo

Currently Blooming

Last Updated: July 6, 2026
As you drive along park roads, you may glimpse pops of bright yellow color from blooming tiger lilies. Tiger lilies (Lilium columbianum) can grow on stems up to 6.5 feet (2 m) tall, though generally shorter. The flowers hang down, with curling-back yellow petals with brown-purple spots. Take care when you look closer- there may be more than spots on the petals! Tiger lilies grow in open forests up to lower subalpine elevations 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 (7/9) - full bloom: lupine, scarlet paintbrush, magenta paintbrush, bistort, fan-leaf cinquefoil, Jeffrey's shooting stars, pink mountain heather, white mountain heather, partridgefoot, Cusick's speedwell, pasqueflower seedheads; early bloom: subalpine daisy, Gray's lovage, Sitka valerian, rosy spirea, huckleberry, arnica
Around the park	Sunrise Area
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 (7/9) - lupine, pink mountain heather, small-flowered penstemon, pasqueflower seedheads, tiger lily, magenta paintbrush, scarlet paintbrush, spreading phlox, Sitka valerian, Cusick's speedwell, showy Jacob's ladder, fan-leaf cinquefoil, Gray's lovage, bistort, smooth mountain dandelion, subalpine daisy

 

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