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.
Forest penstemon in Longmire, 7/1/25. NPS Photo Currently Blooming Last Updated: July 3, 2025 This bright pink-purple wildflower pictured here goes by many names: forest penstemon, woodland penstemon, turtlehead, woodland beardtongue, woodland snapdragon, or scientifically as Nothochelone nemorosa. “Nemus”, the root of nemorosa, means forest, wood, or grove in Latin. By any name, this rose of the woods is currently blooming along with many other forest wildflowers at Mount Rainier. In subalpine areas, many wildflowers are starting to bloom along roadsides and other areas where snow is melting quickly. NOTE: Always check current trail conditions before heading out! Subalpine areas like Paradise are still completely snow covered. Please stay on the trails. 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 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 Paradise area (7/3) - Lower Skyline Trail: avalanche lilies, glacier lilies, cinquefoil, penstemon, speedwell, rosy spirea, bistort; Along roadways: paintbrush, lupine, bear grass; by Reflection Lakes: Jeffrey's shooting star, elephanthead, lousewort; NOTE: many areas are still partially snow-covered! Sunrise area (7/3) - NOTE: Opens for the season July 4; pasqueflower, pasqueflower seedheads, glacier lilies (few), fan-leaf cinquefoil, paintbrush, spreading phlox, showy Jacob's ladder, pink mountain heather, white mountain heather Longmire area (7/1) - twinflower (lots!), cow parsnip, lupine (late), beargrass, salal, smooth alumroot, spring beauty, forest penstemon, coral root, trailing blackberry, foam flower, slender bog orchid, starflower, tiger lily, common speedwell, self-heal, sickletop lousewort, northern microseris Stevens Canyon Road, east to west (6/25) - columbine, tiger lily, harsh paintbrush, lupine, Menzie's penstemon, spreading stonecrop, rock lewisia, yarrow, narrow-sepaled phacelia, Oregon sunshine, Cascade penstemon, harebell, scarlet paintbrush, phlox, salmonberry, goat's beard, subalpine daisy, Sitka mountain ash (early), red elderberry, rosy spirea (early), avalanche lilies SR123/410-Cayuse Pass (6/25) - lupine, paintbrush, subalpine daisy, goat's beard, columbine, phlox, red elderberry, tiger lily, cow parsnip, bear grass, Oregon sunshine Narada Falls area (6/23) - glacier lily, subalpine daisy, bluebells, pink monkeyflower, Jeffrey's shooting stars (early)
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.     Meadow Preservation Enjoy wildflowers? Stay on trails