Beargrass Hikes in Oregon and Washington

Beargrass is an unusual wildflower that blooms in June and July. The white bulbs at the top of the 3-4′ high stalks are actually clusters of many tiny flowers. While beargrass plants are commonly seen at high elevations, they don’t actually bloom every year. There’s a common misconception is that it blooms every seven years, but the interval varies from place to place. For example, at Silver Star Mountain starting in 2006 (the first year I hiked there) the intervals have been three years, four years, two years, three years, three years, and four years.

A note about the term “superbloom“: many people use this in reference to a good beargrass display, but the term actually refers to an explosion of spring wildflowers in an arid region such as California or Arizona, following a period of above average precipitation.

Below are recommended hikes for seeing beargrass. Good bloom years for each hike were either seen by me, or I saw a report online. These aren’t necessarily comprehensive, and some good bloom years may be missing.