Golden Hour Hikes

Ten destinations for taking photographs at sunrise and sunset.

Ten destinations for taking photographs at sunrise and sunset

Photography is fundamentally about light.

: Sunset Reflection of Mt Stuart, Headlight Basin Photo(c) David Hagen

And not just any kind of light. For great images, you need great light. At midday, the sun is beaming straight overhead, casting harsh shadows on your subject. This is possibly the worst time to take photos. To improve your chances of capturing great images, you need to shoot right before and right after sunrise and sunset, when good light is most abundant. Photographers often call this time “the golden hour.”

To shoot during the golden hour, you could hike in the dark in order to reach your destination by sunrise or you could hike back to the trailhead in the dark after shooting at sunset. These are tough times for the average weekend warrior to be out on the trail, but almost always worth it! Or, you could spend the night on the trail. The advantage to this approach is that you can shoot at sunset and the following sunrise.

We asked the photographers who regularly contribute images to our membership magazine to share a few of their favorite golden hour destinations. If you subscribe to Washington Trails, you've seen the beautiful photographs that these people take, so you know these are bound to be some stunning destinations.

Take their advice, hike these trails, capture your own unique image of the scene, then submit your best photos in Northwest Exposure.

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North Cascades

Park Butte

Recommended by Paul Raymaker

: This small tarn just off the Park Butte trail offers a perfect reflection, while a set of unique trees and rock formations make a perfect frame. Photo by Paul Raymaker.

Distance: 7.5 miles round trip
Elevation Gain: 2,200 feet
Highest Point: 5,450 feet
Map: Green Trails Hamilton 45
Best Shooting: during the last of the wildflowers and the first fall foliage

While most hike this trail in the Mount Baker National Recreation Area in a day, I have taken some of my favorite images while spending the night at the numerous small tarns just below the lookout.

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Artist Point

Recommended by Paul Raymaker

: The view of Mount Shuksan from Artist Point. A fresh blanket of snow creates interesting abstract shapes and lines. Photo by Paul Raymaker.

Distance: 5.5 miles round trip
Elevation Gain: 1,200 feet
Highest Point: 5,200 feet
Map: Green Trails Mount Shuksan 14
Best Shooting: after a fresh snowfall

Washington grants great photo opportunities at any time of the year, even in winter. Artist Point, located just off the Mount Baker Ski Area, provides relatively safe and accessible snow camping opportunities, along with unmatched views of Mount Baker and Mount Shuksan. If you’re lucky, you’ll wake up to a light blanket of fresh snow and some soft morning light. And as the road to Artist Point was never plowed this year, snowshoeing really is the only way to go.

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Sahale Arm

Recommended by John D'Onofrio

: Sunrise on the Sahale Arm. Photo by John D'Onofrio.

Distance: 12 miles round-trip
Elevation Gain: 3,600 feet
Highest Point: 7,200 feet
Map: Green Trails Cascade Pass 80
Best Shooting: late summer or autumn (you can’t easily get there any other time!)

I’ve spent the better part of thirty years seeking that magical golden hour light and the very best place that I’ve found (so far) is the Sahale Glacier Camp at the end of the Sahale Arm trail. Images captured of the “sea of peaks” from this sublime high point (it’s the highest trail-accessible camp in North Cascades National Park) are absolutely stunning at sunset but the real show is at sunrise when row after row of jagged ridges recede into the distance. It’s no walk in the park to get there, so a bivouac at one of the climber’s sites is de rigueur. Besides, that way you’ll get to enjoy the panoply of glittering stars that dazzle the sky in between sunset and sunrise.

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Central Cascades

Mount Dickerman

Recommended by Carl Clark

: Mount Dickerman at Sunset. Photo by Carl Clark.

Distance: 8.6 miles round trip
Elevation Gain: 3,875 feet
Highest Point: 5,723 feet
Map: Green Trails Sloan Peak 111
Best Shooting: haze-free days with wispy clouds

When you have a 360° panorama view, you have a lot of scenic choices. Both sunrise and sunset offer excellent shooting with lots of alpenglow on the snowy peaks from Mount Baker to Glacier Peak to Mount Rainier. A full moon adds even more drama.

Sure, this is a long way to lug a lot of camera gear and overnight gear, but it's well worth the effort for the superior view the summit affords. The accompanying photo was taken on a trip in November after some of the early snows had melted at lower elevations.

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Barclay Lake

Recommended by Paul Raymaker

: Barclay Lake. Photo by Paul Raymaker.

Distance: 4.4 miles round trip
Elevation Gain: 225 feet
Highest point: 2,425 feet
Map: Green Trails Monte Cristo 143
Best Shooting: fall for foliage, or spring for a snow-defined peak

Found in the Wild Sky Wilderness area off U.S.Highway 2, this is an excellent early-season choice, and, with a relatively short hike back to the trailhead, it’s also good bet if you can’t spend the night. At sunset, the light shines down the canyon, lighting up Baring Mountain. On windless evenings, glassy Barclay Lake will produce a fantastic reflection!

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Olympics

Shi-Shi Beach

Recommended by John D'Onofrio

: Sunset on Shi-Shi Beach. Photo by John D'Onofrio.

Distance: 8 miles round-trip
Elevation Gain: 200 feet
High Point: 200 feet
Map: Custom Correct North Olympic Coast
Best Shooting: All year – Shi-Shi is easily accessible even in the dead of winter.

When conditions are right, sunset on Shi-Shi Beach is a mystical experience. As the sun drops to meet the Pacific, the remarkable sea stacks of Point of Arches provide a mysterious and dramatic foreground for the hues of sunset which paint both the sky and the sea in transcendent colors. And if you camp nearby, you’ll have little trouble stumbling back to your tent in the darkness.

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Mount Rainier

Spray Park

Recommended by Paul Raymaker

: The vast wildflower meadows of Spray Park offer countless variations of foreground, all with the stunning backdrop of Mount Rainier. Photo by Paul Raymaker.

Distance: 7.5 miles round trip
Elevation Gain: 1,600 feet
Highest Point: 6,400 feet
Map: Green Trails Mount Rainier West 269
Best Shooting: peak bloom, usually mid-August

This great hike is accessed from the Mowich Lake entrance of Mount Rainier National Park. Visit at the right time and you’ll see the most spectacular wildflower show around. The trail is relatively short and doesn’t involve too much scrambling, which you will greatly appreciate when trying to find your way in the dark.

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Eastern Washington

Spokane River/Little Spokane Natural Area

Recommended by Rich Leon

: Sunset at the Little Spokane Natural Area. Photo by Rich Leon.

Distance: 0.5 miles round trip
Elevation Gain: 0 feet
Map: USGS Nine Mile Falls
Best Shooting: sunset

From Spokane, take Hwy 291 North past Nine Mile Falls Dam. Take the first left turn past the Spokane House entrance into a large parking area.From here you can hike near the Spokane River until it meets up with the Little Spokane River. As writer and photographer Rich Leon says, "This area is by far the best spot in Eastern Washington that I have found for great sunset photos." Remember your Discover Pass, as this is state park land.