In August of 1888 the famed naturalist John Muir had his first close encounter with Mount Rainier: “Out of the forest at last there stood the mountain, wholly unveiled, awful in bulk and majesty, filling

by Donovan Tracy “. . . between woods so dense and ice so deep . . .” In John Muir’s book Our National Parks, 1901, he describes a zone above Mount Rainier’s forests of the

It has been a pleasure to work with Dr. David Giblin, collections manager for the University of Washington Herbarium, in the production of the third edition of Alpine Flowers of Mount Rainier. Thirteen species have

There are 246 miles of maintained trails and many miles of unmaintained ‘boot paths’ in Mount Rainier National Park. These trails offer exceptional opportunities to experience wildflowers for the day hiker, the primary audience of

More than 97 percent of Mount Rainier National Park is designated as wilderness. The wild nature of this environment offers wonderful opportunities but also presents some challenges.  It is recommended that hikers review the following

Midday August 12, 1888 John Muir came upon a meadow and experienced his first close encounter with The Mountain. He later recounted the moment: “Out of the forest at last there stood the mountain, wholly

The splendor and majesty of the Flowers of Rainier website was featured in the Seattle Times Weekend Plus edition on August 9, 2024.

Primary sources used for plant descriptions and species identification: The Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, University of Washington Herbarium Image Collection. http://biology.burke.washington.edu/herbarium/imagecollection.php  Giblin, D.E. & B.S. Legler (eds.). 2003+. WTU Image Collection Web