Mount Rainier National Park

National Trails Day falls on a time of the year when snow is still melting from Mount Rainier’s subalpine meadows. The meadows may look muddy and bare, but soon they will be bursting with wildflowers. It's extremely important to stay on maintained trails when they are visible, walk on snow when necessary, and cross streams at appropriate locations to avoid damaging young meadow plants just starting to grow.

It takes very few people walking off-trail in the same area to compact soil enough that flowers and other plants will not grow. Because of the short growing season, some areas may not recover without intensive restoration.

Look for snow-free trails around Longmire, White River, and Westside Road, but remember if you follow trails to higher elevations, you may encounter snow.

During your visit, please pay close attention to where you travel, stay on trails, and respectfully encourage others to do the same.

Learn more at https://go.nps.gov/MeadowPreservation.

It’s hard to imagine the forests of Mount Rainier without vanilla leaf. Vanilla leaf (Achlys triphylia) carpets the forest floor with its green leaves. “Achlys” means mist in Greek, perhaps referring to the way the spikes of vanilla leaf flowers float above their leaves. Look for it blooming throughout the low elevation forests of the park. What spring wildflowers are you finding in Mount Rainier National Park?

Remember, as snow begins to melt, please stay on trails to avoid trampling wildflowers just starting to grow!

For updates on what’s blooming where visit https://go.nps.gov/RainierWildflower

Unfamiliar with Mount Rainier’s wildflower species? Check out the wildflower guide at https://go.nps.gov/RainierWildflowerGuide

While subalpine areas are still covered in snow, lower elevation forest wildflowers are already in full bloom! Cascade Oregon-grape (Berberis nervosa) is common in areas like Longmire where it lights up the forest with its spikes of bright yellow flowers. The flowers are framed by evergreen leaves with many toothed leaflets. Pollinators include bees and other insects, but also hummingbirds. What spring wildflowers are you finding in Mount Rainier National Park?

Remember, as snow begins to melt, please stay on trails to avoid trampling wildflowers just starting to grow!

For updates on what’s blooming where visit https://go.nps.gov/RainierWildflower

Unfamiliar with Mount Rainier’s wildflower species? Check out the wildflower guide at https://go.nps.gov/RainierWildflowerGuide

This Memorial Day we honor those who gave all for our country.

The National Park Service has the distinct privilege of preserving sites that commemorate and honor those who died during military service. Sites such as American Memorial Park in Saipan, War in the Pacific National Historical Park in Guam, Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial in California, and World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument and Pearl Harbor National Memorial in Hawaii, to name a few. We invite you to visit a memorial site at your next opportunity.

Along streams fueled by spring snowmelt, you may find patches of blooming Candy Flower or Siberian miner’s-lettuce (Claytonia sibirica). This plant has long-stemmed oval basal leaves in addition to pointed leaves going up the stem, topped in tiny, five-petaled flowers. The white flowers have faint pink stripes and can sometimes appear pink in color. This patch was found near Christine Falls, where ephemeral waterfalls create the perfect habitat. What spring wildflowers are you finding in Mount Rainier National Park?

Some of the first wildflowers of the season are starting to bloom along roads as the snow melts away. Please take care when driving park roads and never stop in the roadway. Use pullouts along the road and watch for traffic.

For updates on what’s blooming where visit https://go.nps.gov/RainierWildflower

Unfamiliar with Mount Rainier’s wildflower species? Check out the wildflower guide at https://go.nps.gov/RainierWildflowerGuide

Spring has arrived and so have the wildflowers! Subalpine areas like Paradise are still covered in snow, but at lower elevations, like Longmire, many flowers are starting to bloom. Trillium (Trillium ovatum) is a common early season favorite. With three petals framed by three large leaves, trillium is easy to recognize. The petals start white and turn pink as the flower ages. It can take several years for trillium to bloom so please take care to not damage these delicate forest plants!

What spring wildflowers are you finding in Mount Rainier’s forests?

For updates on what’s blooming where visit https://go.nps.gov/RainierWildflower

Unfamiliar with Mount Rainier’s wildflower species? Check out the wildflower guide at https://go.nps.gov/RainierWildflowerGuide

Not all of the peaks in Mount Rainier National Park are rocky craigs. Tumtum Peak in the southwest area of the park is completely forested. At 4,678 feet, it is far from the highest summit in the park, but it is noticeable from a variety of locations.

The Nisqually-Longmire Road skirts the base of Tumtum Peak not far from the park entrance, where the slope rises nearly 2,500 feet above the road in one mile! This steep-sided peak is visible from Rampart Ridge Trail, Kautz Creek Trail, Inspiration Point along Stevens Canyon Road, and other higher elevation locations on Mount Rainier. Have you noticed Tumtum Peak while exploring the park?

Around 40,000 years ago while the summit was being formed by a series of lava eruptions, a lava flow from the flank of Mount Rainier built a ridge now called Ricksecker Point. Massive Ice Age glaciers that existed during the period hemmed in the lava flow to create the steep-sided ridge we see today.

Ricksecker Point is now bordered by deep river valleys. To the west flows the Nisqually River, while to the east is the Paradise River. Narada Falls is formed from the Paradise River flowing over cliffs created by the same lava flow that formed Ricksecker Point. Have you stopped at Ricksecker Point or Narada Falls on your way up to Paradise?

The upper portion of Mount Rainier was built of many lava flows that erupted between 40,000 to roughly 15,000 years ago. You can clearly see some of these lava strata, or layers, in the side of Success Cleaver, pictured here.

These lava eruptions coincided with the last major ice age which peaked about 20,000 years ago. The massive ice age glaciers hemmed in the lava flows. Numerous thin layers of lava built up between the glaciers, creating the rough ridges that radiate from the summit of Mount Rainier. Modern glaciers, like the Success Glacier at the bottom of the photo, are much smaller than the ice age glaciers.

Today is World Art Day! National parks have inspired many artists, from photographers to poets to painters. Some treasured art in the park are the painted wildflower lampshades that hang in the lobby of the Paradise Inn.

When the Inn opened in 1917 it had Japanese lanterns, but these were replaced in the 1930s by parchment shades painted with local wildflowers by the wives of park employees. After decades of use, the deteriorating wildflower lampshades were replaced in 1989 with new lampshades painted by former Chief Naturalist Dale Thompson. These newer lampshades, which still hang in the lobby today, feature blooming wildflowers and insects painted in a simple style to match the rustic design of the Paradise Inn.

Learn more about the lampshades from Dale Thompson himself in this 2014 interview: https://go.nps.gov/PaintingParadiseInnLampshades

Have you visited the Paradise Inn and viewed the painted lampshades? How has the park inspired you to create art?

Arguably the most challenging climbing route on Mount Rainier is Liberty Ridge on the north side of the mountain. Liberty Ridge is a very steep, narrow ridge that rises out of the Carbon Glacier from 8,000-13,000 feet to reach the summit of Liberty Cap. It is framed by Curtis Ridge to the east and Ptarmigan Ridge to the west. Due to the prominence of the neighboring ridges, Liberty Ridge never defines Mount Rainier’s skyline from afar but has a striking appearance when viewed head-on.

Have you climbed or viewed Liberty Ridge?

The most popular climbing route on Mount Rainier is called the “Disappointment Cleaver-Ingraham Direct” because it uses a prominent feature on Mount Rainier called the Disappointment Cleaver.

A cleaver is a type of narrow ridge that splits the flow of a glacier (like a knife cleaver cutting through food). The Disappointment Cleaver divides the Ingraham Glacier and the Emmons Glacier. There are several other cleavers dividing the glaciers of Mount Rainier.

Have you climbed the Disappointment Cleaver or another Mount Rainier cleaver?

What wildlife have you observed in the park lately? Our Rangers recently found a noisy flock of pine siskins visiting the Longmire Meadow. A few individuals from this group were filmed exploring one of the Longmire mineral springs, possibly enticed by the bubbling waters to come down for a drink. Pine siskins form nomadic flocks that can travel widely in winter as they look for food. They are commonly glimpsed flitting between treetops and hanging from branches to collect seeds.

Caution: The mineral springs are not safe for people to drink from, though historically the waters were once promoted as a health tonic.

The Inter Glacier is a cirque glacier visible from the Sunrise area. Typically, cirque glaciers are small glaciers that occupy a bowl-shaped basin at the head of a mountain valley. Cirque glaciers are usually the remnants of much larger valley glaciers. In this case, the Inter Glacier rests on top of triangle-shaped Steamboat Prow, a landscape formation on the east side of Mount Rainier.

Have you noticed Inter Glacier when looking at Steamboat Prow from Sunrise? It is easy to overlook compared to the much larger Emmons and Winthrop Glaciers that descend from the summit of Mount Rainier as valley glaciers on either side of Steamboat Prow.

Women's History Month

Basketmaking is a time-honored tradition among American Indian women in the Pacific Northwest. Anna Squally, grandmother of Leonard and Caroline Squally, was a highly skilled basket weaver. She wove some of her baskets tight enough to hold water. It took Anna about three months to complete a watertight basket.

Baskets in this region use a decorative technique called imbrication. They weave fibers of different colors into a basket’s surface, creating distinctive patterns. Women journey to mountain slopes in search of bear grass (Xerophyllum tanax). Bear grass fibers add white to a basket maker’s color palette.

NPS Photo of the Winthrop Glacier with Steamboat Prow visible on the left, 1961.

Like the prow of a ship cutting through ocean waves, the landscape formation known as Steamboat Prow splits apart the two largest glaciers on Mount Rainier. The Emmons and Winthrop Glaciers are connected from the summit down to Steamboat Prow, then divide into separate valleys.

NPS Photo of Steamboat Prow from Sunrise with the Emmons Glacier, 2014.

Viewed from Sunrise, Steamboat Prow is the large, triangular shaped formation on the eastern slopes of Mount Rainier. Emmons Glacier flows down on the left and is the source of the White River. The Winthrop Glacier descends on the right and is the source of the West Fork of the White River. The West Fork rejoins the White River outside of the park, which eventually flows into the Puyallup River and into Puget Sound.

Can you swagger like a raven? Visit Mount Rainier with confidence by thinking like a raven!

• Talk to a ranger. Before hitting the trails stop in a visitor center for current conditions. – Ravens often work with others to find food and solve problems.

• Bring the right tools, like warm clothing, food, water, and the other 10 Essentials. – Ravens use their large, strong bills and clawed feet to catch and scavenge for food.

• Stay connected. Tell someone trustworthy your itinerary and bring a map and compass. Most of the park does not have cell coverage. – A common raven call is a loud, gurgling croak that can be audible for more than a mile.

• Have a Plan B. If parking is full, have another trail or destination in mind. – Ravens nest on cliffs, in trees, and on structures – whatever works! They are found in many habitats in the northern hemisphere.

What raven traits will you adopt for your next visit in the park?

NPS Video of a raven in Longmire, January 2026.