#subalpine meadow

[mountrainiernps]

Fall color is peaking in subalpine meadows around the park. In the subalpine regions, most of the fall foliage comes from a variety of shrubs instead of from trees. Common shrubs include huckleberry, wild rhododendron, Sitka mountain ash, and rosy spirea, among others. They create a patchwork of red, orange, and yellow colors in the meadows. Even on cloudy days the meadows can look bright! Where are you finding fall color?

Please remember to stay on trails and avoid trampling plants! Help protect subalpine meadows so that you can continue to enjoy them into the future.

NPS Photo of fall foliage along the High Lakes Trail, 9/29/24.

[professor-buffalo-blog]

When visiting Paradise Meadows in Mount Rainier National Park, I find that the best lighting is in the early evening. The other benefit of exploring these meadows at the end of the day is that the crowds are leaving and the wildlife is coming out.

[mountrainiernps]

“What are the Truffula Trees called?”

It is one of the most common questions we get from kids this time of year at Mount Rainier. These fluffy, green plants that remind so many of the famous trees from Dr. Seuss’ 1971 children’s book “The Lorax” are actually the seed heads of the western pasqueflower, one of our early season blooms. While the pasqueflower doesn’t bloom for very long, its seedhead will linger all summer in meadows throughout the park, giving us all a constant reminder of the Lorax’s famous quote “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” 

If you care a whole awful lot about Mount Rainier and our meadows, please remember to stay on trail and not to pick the flowers so that we can preserve our beautiful scenery for years to come.

NPS/E. Blotz Photo of pasqueflower seedheads along the Sunrise Nature Trail, 7/25/24.

[mountrainiernps]

Subalpine meadows are full of colorful wildflowers! Rosy spirea (Spirea splendens) is a shrub with dense, flat-topped clusters of pink blooms. It is common along roadsides like the Paradise Valley Road, and around lakes and other wet areas. What wildflowers are you observing in the park?

Remember to always stay on trails to avoid trampling the wildflowers! There are many options for that perfect mountain + wildflower photo from the trail. Help ensure wildflowers thrive so that you can enjoy them the next time you visit!

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

NPS Photo of rosy spirea along the Paradise Valley Road, 7/30/24.

[mountrainiernps]

Subalpine meadows are approaching “peak bloom” with numerous wildflowers blooming throughout the park. Here is a sample photographed in the last couple weeks of July. Common wildflowers to look for are magenta and scarlet paintbrush, Sitka valerian, subalpine daisy, spreading phlox, and pink mountain heather, and more. What wildflowers are you observing in the park?

Remember to always stay on trails to avoid trampling the wildflowers! There are many options for that perfect mountain + wildflower photo from the trail. Help ensure wildflowers thrive so that you can enjoy them the next time you visit!

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

NPS Photos of July wildflowers: pink mountain heather (Bench & Snow Lake Trail), spreading phlox (Sunrise), paintbrush (Glacier Basin Trail), and a wildflower meadow (Owyhigh Lakes Trail).

[mountrainiernps]

October has brought a mix of weather to Mount Rainier, from beautiful sunny days like last weekend to snow this week! If you are prepared for the mix of conditions, the park has an abundance of fall color. Subalpine meadows are still glowing with red, orange, and yellow huckleberry shrubs, Sitka mountain ash, and numerous other meadow plants.

While visiting, you may be tempted to go off trail to skirt a snow patch or venture into the meadow for that perfect photo, but please remember to stay on trail! Many perennial meadow plants may be losing their leaves, but they are not dying. Instead, energy to survive the long winter is being channeled into their roots, and trampling the plants can do irreparable damage. Please help protect the colorful meadows so you can continue to enjoy them in future years!

NPS/L. Shenk Photo of fall color along the Skyline Trail at Paradise, 10/7/23. ~kl

[mountrainiernps]

The subalpine meadows of Mount Rainier are gleaming with red, orange, and yellow fall foliage! Higher elevation areas have already seen some snow and mornings can be quite frosty, but if you bundle up and are prepared for the conditions, it is a great time to get out.

There are a variety of subalpine plants with fall colors, including deep red huckleberry bushes (above, left) and bright yellow wild rhododendron shrubs (above, right).  

Where are you finding fall color in the park?

NPS Photos of fall color along the Bench & Snow Lake Trail, 9/30/23. ~kl

[mountrainiernps]

During the summer, subalpine meadows are prime locations for wildlife viewing. This bull elk was spotted loping across the subalpine meadows of Grand Park in August, 2013. Elk move to higher elevations during the summer to graze in subalpine meadows. They eat primarily grasses in summer, shifting to woody plants and fallen leaves in fall and winter.

NPS Gifs (original footage by J. Jarodsky) ~kl