The mountain, located within Mount Rainier National Park, is notable for alpine tundra, with plants typically seen at much higher latitudes.

Access is limited by snow closing the Sunrise Road much of the year, and even more by ice blocking the trail above Frozen Lake.

Burroughs Mountain, situated at the northeast foot of Mount Rainier, WA, exposes a large-volume (3.4 km3) andesitic lava flow, up to 350 m thick and extending 11 km in length.

[4] Burroughs Mountain is renowned for its accessible variety of alpine tundra plants including sedges (Cyperaceae), Saxifraga, Dwarf lupine (Lupinus lepidus), Luetkea, Antennaria, Koenigia davisiae, Alpine yellow fleabane (Erigeron aureus), Tundra Aster (Oreostemma alpigenum), Empetrum nigrum, Arenaria lateriflora, and more.

Burroughs Mountain is located in the marine west coast climate zone of western North America.

As a result, the west side of the North Cascades experiences high precipitation, especially during the winter months in the form of snowfall.

[5] Due to its temperate climate and proximity to the Pacific Ocean, areas west of the Cascade Crest very rarely experience temperatures below 0 °F (−18 °C) or above 80 °F (27 °C).