Natural History Wanderings

Mt. Rainier National Park reports

Currently Blooming – July 13, 2017

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.

With a short growing season, subalpine wildflowers make the most of it as soon as they are free of snow. Roadsides in the park already have a beautiful variety of wildflowers blooming, while the actual subalpine meadows are just getting started. Many of the trails in the Sunrise area still have significant snow cover, but along the trail to Fremont Lookout look for alpine wildflowers like dwarf lupine, cliff paintbrush, and alpine yellow fleabane.

• Wildflower Reports
  • Paradise (7/11): still early; avalanche lilies, marsh marigold, western springbeauty
  • Longmire-Paradise Road (7/11) – avalanche lilies, Jeffrey’s shooting star, cinquefoil, Sitka mountain ash, pink mountain heather, Sitka valerian, American bistort, alpine aster, bluebells, penstemon, paintbrush, bear grass, goat’s beard
  • Longmire (7/10: slender bog orchid, pinesap, coral root, forest penstemon, pipsissewa, foam flower, twin flower, bunchberry (late), fragrant bedstraw, tiger lily, rattlesnake plaintain (early), agoseris, Lewis monkeyflower
  • Sunrise (7/6): Rim Trail/Shadow Lake – magenta paintbursh, glacier lily, sitka valerian, fan-leaf cinquefoil, spreading phlox, broadleaf lupine, western springbeauty, arnica, marsh marigold, voilets, penstemon, showy sedge, pink mountain heather
  • Steven’s Canyon Road (7/6): penstemon, harsh paintbrush (peak!), lupine, goat’s beard, columbine, tiger lily, Oregon sunshine, sitka valerian, sitka mtn ash, avalanche lilies, pink monkeyflower, cow parsnip, yarrow, phlox, thistle
  • Eastside Trail (7/6): foam flower, pathfinder, self heal, Pacific blackberry, bunchberry, Queen’s cup, penstemon
  • Glacier Basin Trail (7/2): Davidson’s penstemon, yellow monkeyflower, Lewis monkeyflower, thimbleberry, elderberry, harsh paintbrush, rein orchid

  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.

• Subalpine and Forest wildflower photo galleries
• Wildflower video gallery – Preview Mount Rainier’s blooming wildflower meadows by watching these short clips.
• The Seasons of Mount Rainier – View short clips of different plants found in various parts of the park.

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.