Summer is prime time for wildflowers in the alpine mountains of the American West. As the winter snows recede, colorful blooms take their place, painting mountainsides and meadows in an array of colors.
But where are the best places to go? The following are several places you can reach by car, and from there, you can get out and wander around.
Hurricane Ridge, Washington
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Located in Olympic National Park, Hurricane has a road to its crest, and then you walk among the wildflower-filled meadows up there. As a bonus, you get great views of the Olympic Mountains, including their highest, glacier-clad Mount Olympus.
Paradise and Sunrise, Washington
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These are two highly scenic drive-up areas in Mount Rainier National Park. On clear days, the views of the namesake peak are spectacular, and there are wildflowers pretty much everywhere where snow isn’t. Since Sunrise is higher and more alpine, you should definitely visit both to see more varieties of wildflowers.
Crater Lake, Oregon
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The Rim Drive around the lake is great for viewing wildflowers and seeing this stunning lake from different perspectives. If you enjoy photography, get some close-ups of wildflowers with the deep-blue lake waters in the background.
Tuolumne Meadows, California
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The heart of Yosemite National Park’s high country, Tuolumne Meadows has, as the name implies, an abundance of meadows you can stroll through. You’ll see a lot of great wildflowers, and they’re sometimes best along the streams that run through the area. This area isn’t truly alpine since it’s not above timberline. For that and the flowers that bloom in that zone, hike the steep trail up Mt. Dana.
Logan Pass, Montana
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Logan Pass is the crest of Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park. It’s right at the edge of timberline on the Continental Divide, and there are staggering views of mountains in all directions. The landscape gives way to alpine tundra here, and it comes alive with color as summer progresses.
Since tundra is delicate and can take decades to recover when damaged, the Park Service doesn’t allow random wandering through it, but you do have the Hidden Lake Overlook Trail, which leads through the tundra and has boardwalks in sensitive areas. It’s the most scenic short trail in the park.
Beartooth Pass, Wyoming
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The celebrated Beartooth Highway is a section of U.S. 212 connecting the Montana towns of Cooke City and Red Lodge, but much of it is in Wyoming. As you climb to the pass, you’ll see different types of wildflowers, and the pass itself is above the trees and has alpine tundra all about.
Kirwin, Wyoming
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Located high in the Absaroka Range near the tiny town of Meeteetse, Kirwin is a ghost town left over from a brief mining boom in the early 1900s. The surrounding landscape is a mix of forests, meadows, and streams, and it’s somewhat fascinating seeing wildflowers blooming among old, weather-beaten buildings.
Getting there is a bit of an adventure, though. Expect at least 90 minutes of driving, most of it on unpaved roads, and both high clearance and four-wheel drive are imperative due to steep grades and three stream crossings.
Snowy Range, Wyoming
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This small alpine range near Laramie is a wonderland of lakes, meadows, and wildflowers. The Snowy Range Scenic Byway crests at timberline in a spot called Libby Flats, where you can get out to see alpine tundra. To get even higher and experience the area more intimately, take the two-mile spur to Sugarloaf Recreation Area.
Trail Ridge Road, Colorado
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Trail Ridge Road is the east-west through road for Rocky Mountain National Park. For several miles, it winds through alpine tundra and bare rock above timberline. There are several pullouts where you can enjoy the scenery, and there’s also the Tundra Communities Trail, a good way to walk through the tundra without trampling it.
Independence Pass, Colorado
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At Independence Pass, Colorado 82 crosses the Continental Divide above timberline. Wildflowers and views are great here, and there’s a small tarn with marshy banks often rife with alpine marigolds. Not far away, there’s a ghost town, and hiking trails take you up higher to alpine lakes and passes.
Yankee Boy Basin, Colorado
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The San Juan Mountains are unofficially the best part of Colorado for wildflowers, and Yankee Boy Basin, near Ouray, is unofficially the best place for wildflowers in the San Juans. Most vehicles can make it about 10 miles in to the 2wd trailhead. There, you can explore the surroundings or hike up the road all the way to its end if you want, where you’ll be close to 13,000’ in altitude. The blue columbine, the state flower, gets the most attention here, but make sure to appreciate all the other beautiful blooms here.
Alpine Loop, Colorado
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Here’s an alpine off-road adventure you’ll never forget. The Alpine Loop is a system of unpaved roads in the San Juans connecting the towns of Ouray, Silverton, and Lake City. You need an ATV or a truck/SUV with 4wd to negotiate steep grades and rocky sections.
On this journey, you’ll see lakes and streams, cross high mountain passes, pass by old ghost towns from the region’s mining days, and more. Oh, and there are wildflowers everywhere.
Albion Basin, Utah
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Just west of Salt Lake City is the Wasatch Range, famous for its great skiing. A road up Little Cottonwood Canyon penetrates the mountains to an altitude of over 9000’ where timberline is near. The meadows here are known for their prodigious blooms all summer, and trails lead to lakes and mountain passes.
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