June brings the long Pacific Northwest twilight, the first Yakima cherries, nesting seabirds on the Salish Sea, and the start of the high-country thaw — though the famous subalpine meadows of Rainier and the Olympics are only just beginning to clear of snow.
Week by week in June
June 4–10
- Marbled Murrelets commute inland to old-growth nests while Tufted Puffins ferry fish to Salish Sea burrows.
- Sow fall and overwintering brassicas now, and water the new transplants as the dry Northwest season sets in.
- Foxglove spires through the westside clearcuts and salmonberry and thimbleberry flower and begin to fruit in the understory.
June 11–17
- The first Walla Walla sweet onions arrive with peaking cherries and the first raspberries and blueberries from Whatcom County fields.
- Common Nighthawks boom at dusk and fledgling chickadees, juncos, and towhees work the lowland gardens.
- Riverside black cottonwood releases drifting white seed-fluff along the lowland rivers in the warm early summer air.
June 18–24
- The solstice brings Washington's shortest nights; true darkness lasts only a few hours at the state's northern latitude.
- The first avalanche lilies bloom at the receding snowline of Mount Rainier and the Olympics, the leading edge of the meadow display.
- Early parnassians and meadow fritillaries appear in the lowest subalpine slopes as the high country begins to clear.
June 25 – July 1
- Cherries peak and the first apricots arrive from the Yakima and Columbia valleys, alongside new potatoes and garlic scapes.
- Deep, consistent watering is now the central westside task as the rain shuts off for the dry Northwest summer.
- Sooty Grouse hoot and Hoary Marmots whistle in the high Cascade meadows as the subalpine season opens to hikers.
Birds This Month
June is peak nesting, and the long days mean birdsong from before 5 a.m. until nearly 10 p.m. Westside forests are loud with Swainson's Thrush, Pacific Wren, Black-throated Gray and Wilson's Warblers, Western Tanager, and Olive-sided Flycatcher, while Vaux's Swifts wheel over the canopy and Common Nighthawks boom at dusk. Anna's and Rufous Hummingbirds tend second broods.
The Salish Sea colonies are at their busiest — Rhinoceros Auklets and Tufted Puffins ferry fish to burrows, Pigeon Guillemots nest in the bluffs, and Pelagic Cormorants and gulls crowd the rocks. Marbled Murrelets commute inland to old-growth nests. East of the Cascades, the shrub-steppe sings with Sage Thrasher, Lazuli Bunting, Bullock's Oriole, and Lark Sparrow, and high ponderosa country holds nesting White-headed Woodpeckers and Williamson's Sapsuckers.
What's Blooming
June is the bridge from lowland spring to mountain summer. The coast rhododendron finishes its bloom in the western woods, while oceanspray foams creamy-white along every westside roadside, foxglove (naturalized) spires through the clearcuts, cow parsnip and fireweed begin, and nootka rose and native thimbleberry and salmonberry flower and fruit. Coastal headlands on the Olympic Peninsula glow with seaside lupine and Indian paintbrush.
In the mountains, the lowest subalpine slopes begin to clear, and the first glacier lilies and avalanche lilies push up at the receding snowline of Rainier and the Olympics — the leading edge of the great meadow display still to come. East of the Cascades, the shrub-steppe is drying and going gold, its spring bloom past, but buckwheat, blanketflower, and mariposa lily hold on along the cooler draws and higher slopes.
Garden This Month
June is full-growth month in the westside garden, and the start of the long dry season that defines Northwest summer. Keep direct-sowing beans, summer squash, cucumbers, and successive lettuce, carrots, and beets, and set out any remaining tomato and pepper starts early in the month. Harvest the first peas, strawberries, lettuce, and early garlic scapes. Now is the time to start seed for fall and overwintering brassicas — broccoli, cabbage, kale, and the famous overwintered crops the maritime climate allows.
Watering becomes essential as the rain shuts off; mulch deeply to hold moisture and reduce irrigation. Stake tomatoes and dahlias, thin apple and pear fruit, and keep after the slugs. East of the Cascades, the Columbia Basin garden races ahead under hot sun and long days — irrigate consistently, mulch against the heat, and the warm-season crops planted in May surge into rapid growth.
Zone 5b (Cascade foothills & high valleys): the short mountain season is finally open. Plant the full warm-season garden now that frost has passed, choose quick-maturing varieties, and use row cover to bank heat for tomatoes and squash.
Zone 7b (Puget lowland & coastal valleys): the garden is in full growth. Keep planting beans, summer squash, and succession lettuce, water the new transplants as the dry season sets in, and start fall brassicas and overwintering crops from seed now.
Zone 8a (Puget Sound shore & San Juan Islands): harvest the first peas, lettuce, and strawberries while keeping tomatoes and squash well-watered. Begin succession sowing for fall and mulch heavily against the coming summer drought.
What's at the Farmers Market
June markets explode with early summer. The headline is Yakima and Wenatchee valley cherries — Bings, then the blush-yellow Rainiers, Washington's signature June–July fruit. Berry country kicks off too: the first strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries from Whatcom and Skagit county fields. The first Walla Walla sweet onions arrive, alongside peas, fava beans, salad turnips, lettuce, garlic scapes, and new potatoes.
From the water come spot prawns, fresh halibut, and the first sockeye and king salmon. Choose cherries that are firm and glossy with green stems still attached, and refrigerate them unwashed; pick dry, fully colored berries and refrigerate in a single layer, freezing flat for winter. Walla Walla sweets are juicy and won't keep like storage onions — refrigerate and use within a week or two. Markets statewide are now in full swing.
Night Sky This Month
June has Washington's shortest, brightest nights — true darkness lasts only a few hours around the solstice, especially in the state's northern latitude. For the best of it, head to the dry east: Goldendale Observatory State Park above the Columbia Gorge, Sun Lakes–Dry Falls, and the wide Methow Valley sky, where summer star parties run and the air is clear and warm. Westside skies finally clear reliably as the dry season settles in.
The summer sky is rising: the Summer Triangle of Vega, Deneb, and Altair climbs the east, Hercules rides high with its bright globular cluster, and Scorpius with red Antares scrapes the southern horizon. The Milky Way begins to arch through Cygnus on the late, dark nights. No major meteor shower falls in June. For this year's exact planet positions and the aurora outlook for northern Washington, see the printable Washington night-sky guide.
Butterflies & Pollinators
June is a strong butterfly month statewide. Westside gardens, meadows, and stream corridors host Western Tiger and Pale Tiger Swallowtails, Lorquin's Admirals defending sunlit perches along the willows, Western Spring Azures, Pine and Cabbage Whites, Mylitta Crescents, and the first Woodland Skippers and fritillaries.
The shrub-steppe and ponderosa country east of the Cascades stay diverse with swallowtails, coppers, blues, checkerspots, and hairstreaks on the buckwheat and rabbitbrush. The exciting frontier now is the mountains: as the lowest subalpine slopes of Mount Rainier and the Olympics clear, the first high-elevation butterflies appear — early parnassians and meadow fritillaries tracking the receding snowline, a preview of the spectacular high-meadow flight that peaks in July and August.
What to plant for them is in the Washington native plants guide
Trees This Month
June sees Washington's forests in full leaf and the conifers finishing their new growth. Pacific dogwood closes its bloom, oceanspray and black hawthorn flower along the edges, and the native berry shrubs — salmonberry, thimbleberry, red huckleberry, and trailing blackberry — flower and begin to fruit beneath the canopy. Bigleaf maple hangs heavy with developing samaras, and cascara and Pacific crabapple set fruit.
The conifers — Douglas-fir, western redcedar, western hemlock, grand fir, and coastal Sitka spruce — carry bright pale tips of fresh needles, and the temperate rainforests of the Hoh and Quinault are at their greenest. East of the Cascades, the ponderosa pine and western larch stand over drying grass, the riverside black cottonwood shimmers, and the quaking aspen groves of the Okanogan highlands are in full summer leaf.
The Washington native plants guide covers what grows with them
Weather & Daylight
Across Washington, a typical June day averages a high near 70°F and a low near 47°F, with about 1.9 inches of precipitation — statewide averages from the 1991–2020 U.S. climate normals.
Summer warmth arrives with highs around 70F and comfortable low-40s mornings, rain now scarce and skies mostly clear.
| Average high | 70°F |
|---|---|
| Average low | 47°F |
| Precipitation | 1.9 in |
| Sunrise (mid-month) | 5:07 PT |
| Sunset (mid-month) | 21:02 PT |
Figures are statewide averages over the 1991–2020 U.S. climate normals; local conditions vary with elevation and distance from the coast. Sunrise and sunset are computed for a midstate point on the 15th (PT).
Next month's version of this page, by email
One short note when Washington's next month turns — what's arriving, blooming, and worth a night outside.
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The complete Washington birding, native-plant, and night-sky references — or the whole year, week by week, in one book.
Same month elsewhere: June in West Virginia · June in Wisconsin · June in Wyoming