Finding Wildflowers On the John Muir Trail
There’s no reason to mince words—hiking the John Muir Trail is hard! You’re likely shuffling with your blistered feet, heavy pack, eyes glued to the ground below your feet.
Fortunately, that ground is dotted in a spectacular rainbow of high alpine wildflowers! June and July are prime wildflower spotting months in the High Sierra.
So whether you’re stopping to enjoy a scenic lunch break or huffing and puffing up another mountain pass, here are some of the flowers you may stumble across.
Fendler’s meadow rue
Distribution: Common throughout, on both sides of the Sierra Crest
Habitat: Stream banks, moist forest, marshy areas
Elevation: 3,300’–11,000′
Season: Mid-June–late July
Locations: Virginia Canyon, Dana Gardens (western base of Mt. Dana), Duck Pass Trail, Rae Lakes Basin
Brewer’s miterwort
Distribution: Common throughout west of the Sierra Crest, and occasional east of the Sierra Crest, becoming rarer farther south
Habitat: Moist, sheltered locations, including stream banks, seeps, wet forest, and willow thickets at meadow edges
Elevation: 6,500’–11,000′
Season: Early June–mid-July
Locations: Virginia Canyon, Dana Plateau trail, Duck Pass Trail, French Canyon, Vidette Meadow
Blue elderberry
Distribution: Fairly common throughout most areas but especially common in drainages in the eastern Sierra
Habitat: Dry slopes and flats, stream banks
Elevation: 1,000’–10,000′
Season: Late June–late July
Locations: Convict Creek drainage, Mono Creek, South Fork Big Pine Creek, Baxter Pass Trail, Mt. Whitney Trail
Yarrow
Distribution: Common throughout, on both sides of the Sierra Crest
Habitat: Meadows, vegetated slopes, forest
Elevation: 3,600’–10,500′
Season: Late June–mid-August
Locations: Tuolumne Meadows, Rock Creek Basin, Evolution Valley, Vidette Meadow, Cottonwood Lakes Basin
Heartleaf arnica
Distribution: Fairly common on both sides of the Sierra Crest, from the Yosemite area south through the Bishop Creek drainage, then rare to absent until the far southern Sierra
Habitat: Moist forest, damp meadows
Elevation: 6,000’–11,000′
Season: Late June–mid-August
Locations: Gaylor Lakes, Mt. Dana, Tyee Lakes, Marie Louise Lakes (Bishop Creek drainage)
Alpine gold
Distribution: Common throughout, usually near the Sierra Crest or other high ridges
Habitat: Gravelly alpine slopes, alpine fell-fields, gravel in between talus
Elevation: 9,500’–14,500′
Season: Mid-June–mid-July
Locations: Dana Plateau, Donohue Pass, Mt. Agassiz, summit of Mt. Whitney, New Army Pass
Spearleaf stonecrop
Distribution: Occasional throughout, on both sides of the Sierra Crest
Habitat: Flat granitic sands that are moist early season, moist fell-fields
Elevation: 7,000’–12,000′
Season: Early June–early August
Locations: Mt. Dana, Mono Pass (Rock Creek Basin), Coyote Ridge, Kearsarge Pass Trail, Lake South America Trail
Scarlet gilia
Distribution: Occasional throughout the eastern Sierra; mostly absent west of the Sierra Crest
Habitat: Dry slopes and flats
Elevation: 7,000’–11,500′
Season: Late June–early August
Locations: Virginia Lakes Basin, Minaret Summit, Coyote Ridge, North Fork Big Pine Creek, Shepherd Pass Trail
California Dock
Distribution: Common throughout the eastern Sierra; occasional in the western Sierra
Habitat: Seeps and other moist locations, including on rocky slopes and on lakeshores
Elevation: 5,800’–11,300′
Season: Late June–early August
Locations: Warren Fork Lee Vining Creek, trail to Dana Plateau, Seventh Lake (North Fork Big Pine Creek), Ladder Lake, Baxter Lakes Basin, Bullfrog Lake
Rosy pussytoes
Distribution: Fairly common throughout, on both sides of the Sierra Crest
Habitat: Alpine fell-fields, dry meadows, open slopes; often growing alongside rocks
Elevation: 7,000’–12,300′
Season: Late June–mid-July
Locations: Dana Plateau, Rock Creek Basin, Lamarck Lakes Trail, New Army Pass
Woollypod milkvetch
Distribution: Fairly common in specific areas, usually near the Sierra Crest, but absent elsewhere
Habitat: Open, rocky areas, especially alpine fell-fields; typically found on metamorphic rock
Elevation: 3,500’–12,500′
Season: Early June–early July
Locations: Tioga Crest, Dana Plateau, Convict Creek drainage, Green Lake (from South Lake)
For a thorough guide of all the wildflowers you can find along the John Muir Trail, grab a copy of Wildflowers of the High Sierra and John Muir Trail by Elizabeth Wenk.
