Unexpectedly coming across an amazing animal to photograph is probably the top thrill for a wildlife photographer. I had such encounter in August 2023 when I found this Black Bear at Mount Rainier. The bear was right off the path at the Paradise Visitor Center foraging for berries.

I was staying at the nearby Paradise Lodge doing wildflower photography and decided to take a walk to the Visitor Center early in the evening after dinner. Imagine my surprise at finding this Black Bear about 30 yards from the Visitor Center. The bear wasn’t hard to spot, as a large crowd had gathered to watch the bruin eat dinner. I photographed the bear for about 20 minutes and the shot above of the bear with Mount Rainier is one of my all-time favorite wildlife photos. I feel very lucky and blessed to have stumbled upon this magnificent animal to photograph!

Interesting note. You may be thinking that this isn’t a Black Bear, it looks more brown. It turns out that Black Bears are often black but can also be brown or cinnamon colored.

The Paradise are at Mount Rainier where I found the bear is a special place. This is true all year round but especially in late July and early August when the wildflowers bloom. There’s a network of hiking trails that head up the mountain from the Visitor Center that take you to the amazing wildflowers. You may also encounter wildlife on these trails, including bears, marmots deer and birds.

Unfortunately, my visit was a little late for peak wildflowers and I didn’t get a lot of flower shots. No matter–the scenery was amazing! (And I got some amazing bear shots too.) I took the sunset shot below of the Tatoosh mountain range with a few wildflowers in the foreground from one of the trails above the Pardise Visitor Center.

Mount Rainier National Park is only a few hours from Seattle. If you’re ever in the area during the summer be sure to make time to visit the Paradise area.