Wonderful Wildflowers Across the Country
Home / Articles / Wonderful Wildflowers Across the CountryThe first full week in May is National Wildflower Week. From fiery reds and oranges to majestic purples, these photos capture a rainbow of beautiful blossoms in forests and parks across the country. Remember to practice Leave No Trace principles when you are exploring – leave what you find, stay on designated trails, pack out your trash, and respect wildlife – so that everyone can enjoy these incredible blooms for years to come.
Discover places to enjoy beautiful wildflowers this spring and summer
Grand Teton National Park
Wyoming
Grand Teton National Park (Shelle Lau, Share the Experience)
Visit Grand Teton National Park to witness a beautiful and diverse array of wildflowers during their season of peak bloom, May through September. With only about 60 continuous frost-free days a year in the area, the growing season for flowers is rather short and blooms vary from week to week. Bring your camera and get ready to appreciate the colorful flowers beneath a breath-taking backdrop. Check out the reservable campgrounds at the park for an extended stay!
Chugach National Forest
Alaska
Chugach National Forest (US Forest Service)
The Chugach National Forest is full of special places, from the Kenai Peninsula to Prince William Sound, to the eastern shores of the Copper River Delta. These special places offer a myriad of habitats from glacially influenced valleys with flowering shrubs to meadows graced with numerous species of beautiful wildflowers including tall fireweed, chocolate lily, northern geranium, Nootka lupine, and Sitka valerian. Choose from among 51 cabins, campgrounds, or day-use areas that may be reserved on Recreation.gov, providing access to stunning scenery, abundant wildlife, and unforgettable experiences.
Tonto National Forest
Arizona
Tonto National Forest (Sue Cullumber, Share the Experience)
The Tonto National Forest represents the best of Arizona’s unique outdoors, with mountains, deserts, canyons, rivers, and grasslands to explore. Spring is the best time for wildflower-viewing in the Sonoran Desert, and just walking out into the desert from any campground can lead to fabulous scenic hiking. Pass Mountain Loop Trail is a 7.8-mile (12.6 km), moderately challenging trail that showcases the best of Sonoran Desert wildflowers. Gold poppies, purple lupine, white desert chicory, and colorful cacti blooms are just some of the arrays that grace the desert each spring.
Navarro Mills Lake
Texas
Wolf Creek Campground (Casey Soper, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)
Looking to brighten up your late winter? Liberty Hill and Wolf Creek Parks are two of the favorite viewing areas for wildflowers at Navarro Mills Lake. The brilliant array of native wildflowers draws visitors from all over to the Navarro Mills Lake area during the spring. Bluebonnets, paintbrushes, and a myriad of other native plants transform the winter landscape into an incredible palette of colors.
Mount Rainier National Park
Washington
Mount Rainier National Park (Scott Eliot, Share the Experience)
Mount Rainier is well known for its stunning wildflowers, but the key to viewing them is to plan ahead as they only bloom for a limited amount of time every year. Peak bloom is heavily dependent on weather and precipitation patterns each year, but typically many flowers will have grown by mid-July, and by the first of August the park should be decorated with blossoms all around. You can expect to see lupine, American bistort, broadleaf arnica, and more lighting up the meadows with color.
Explore Related Trips
Bring Home a Story
- Wolf Creek Campground Navarro Mills Lake, Texas
- Liberty Hill Campground Navarro Mills Lake, Texas
- White River Campground Mount Rainier National Park, Washington
- Grand Teton National Park Backcountry Permits Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
- Goose Bay Cabin Chugach National Forest, Alaska
- Schoolhouse Campground Tonto National Forest, Arizona