Friend — a ghost town in Wasco County, Oregon — is a rewarding subject for landscape photographers. It sits roughly 28 km (18 mi) SSW of The Dalles.
Friend is an unincorporated community in Wasco County in the U.S. state of Oregon. Considered a ghost town, little remains of the community except the Friend Store, a one-room schoolhouse, and a cemetery. Friend was named after George J. Friend. The first post office in the community, established in 1903, was on his homestead. Friend was the end of the line on the Great Southern Railroad. The line was built in 1908 from Dufur, which connected to The Dalles. The depot was closed and service ended on January 5, 1928; the line was abandoned in 1935. Few signs of the track still exist.From the Wikipedia article “Friend, Oregon”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sunrise & sunset directions
At Friend the sunrise point swings a long way through the year: about 55° (NE) at the June solstice and 124° (ESE) in late December. Sunset moves from 306° (NW) in June to 237° (WSW) in December, and the midday sun climbs to 68° in summer but only 21° in winter.
| Date | Sunrise | Azimuth | Sunset | Azimuth | Noon sun | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox (Mar 20) | 7:09 AM | 89° E | 7:18 PM | 271° W | 45° | 12h 09m |
| June solstice (Jun 21) | 5:18 AM | 55° NE | 8:58 PM | 306° NW | 68° | 15h 40m |
| September equinox (Sep 22) | 6:53 AM | 89° E | 7:04 PM | 271° W | 45° | 12h 11m |
| December solstice (Dec 21) | 7:42 AM | 124° ESE | 4:26 PM | 237° WSW | 21° | 8h 43m |
Azimuth is measured clockwise from true north (90° = east, 270° = west). Computed for 2026; values change by less than a degree from year to year.
Golden hour & blue hour by month
Weathered wood and rusted metal show texture best in low-angle light; overcast skies suit interiors and moody black-and-white work.
| Month (15th) | Blue hour starts | Sunrise | Golden hour ends | Golden hour starts | Sunset | Blue hour ends | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7:09 AM | 7:42 AM | 8:29 AM | 4:02 PM | 4:49 PM | 5:22 PM | 9h 07m |
| February | 6:37 AM | 7:08 AM | 7:49 AM | 4:51 PM | 5:33 PM | 6:03 PM | 10h 25m |
| March | 6:49 AM | 7:18 AM | 7:58 AM | 6:32 PM | 7:11 PM | 7:41 PM | 11h 53m |
| April | 5:49 AM | 6:20 AM | 7:00 AM | 7:11 PM | 7:51 PM | 8:22 PM | 13h 31m |
| May | 5:01 AM | 5:36 AM | 6:19 AM | 7:46 PM | 8:29 PM | 9:03 PM | 14h 53m |
| June | 4:39 AM | 5:17 AM | 6:03 AM | 8:10 PM | 8:56 PM | 9:33 PM | 15h 38m |
| July | 4:56 AM | 5:32 AM | 6:16 AM | 8:07 PM | 8:51 PM | 9:27 PM | 15h 19m |
| August | 5:35 AM | 6:07 AM | 6:48 AM | 7:33 PM | 8:14 PM | 8:46 PM | 14h 07m |
| September | 6:15 AM | 6:44 AM | 7:23 AM | 6:39 PM | 7:18 PM | 7:48 PM | 12h 34m |
| October | 6:52 AM | 7:22 AM | 8:02 AM | 5:41 PM | 6:21 PM | 6:51 PM | 10h 59m |
| November | 6:33 AM | 7:05 AM | 7:50 AM | 3:52 PM | 4:37 PM | 5:09 PM | 9h 32m |
| December | 7:05 AM | 7:39 AM | 8:28 AM | 3:34 PM | 4:24 PM | 4:58 PM | 8h 45m |
Local time (America/Los Angeles), including daylight saving time. Golden hour runs from about −4° to +6° solar altitude, so the morning golden hour begins during blue hour, before sunrise.
Milky Way & night sky
From Friend, the Milky Way core is visible in a dark sky from April through August. June gives the longest window (about 3.2 hours on a moonless night), and the core peaks around 16° above the southern horizon. Our light-pollution model puts the sky at about Bortle 3 (rural sky), good enough for detailed Milky Way images.
| Month | Core visible (15th) | Hours | Max altitude | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | Below 10° in darkness | — | -4° | — |
| February | Below 10° in darkness | — | 7° | — |
| March | 5:10 AM – 5:30 AM | 0.3 | 12° | SSE → SSE |
| April | 3:09 AM – 4:29 AM | 1.3 | 15° | SSE → S |
| May | 1:08 AM – 3:18 AM | 2.2 | 16° | SSE → S |
| June | 11:30 PM – 2:40 AM | 3.2 | 16° | SSE → SSW |
| July | 11:13 PM – 1:23 AM | 2.2 | 16° | S → SSW |
| August | 10:09 PM – 11:19 PM | 1.2 | 15° | SSW → SSW |
| September | 8:59 PM – 9:19 PM | 0.3 | 12° | SSW → SSW |
| October | Below 10° in darkness | — | 7° | — |
| November | Below 10° in darkness | — | -3° | — |
| December | Below 10° in darkness | — | -20° | — |
Window when the galactic core is at least 10° high during astronomical darkness on the 15th of each month. Pick nights within a few days of the new moon. Plan exact nights with the Milky Way planner.
Estimated sky darkness: 3 Bortle 3 — Rural sky. Some light domes sit on the horizon, but the Milky Way still looks complex overhead. Modeled zenith brightness ≈ 21.69 mag/arcsec². Aurora needs roughly Kp 6.0+ to show low on the northern horizon here.
Weather & best season
Long-term NASA satellite data for this area show July as the clearest month (about 25% average cloud cover) and January as the cloudiest (77%). July is the warmest month and December the coldest, which matters for gear, snow access and how long batteries last at night.
Average cloud cover (%)
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High °F | 61 | 60 | 74 | 80 | 90 | 93 | 99 | 96 | 96 | 83 | 64 | 57 |
| Low °F | -2 | 7 | 10 | 24 | 29 | 37 | 42 | 42 | 32 | 18 | 1 | 0 |
| Precip. (in) | 5.3 | 3.9 | 4.3 | 3.0 | 2.3 | 1.6 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 1.3 | 3.2 | 5.3 | 6.3 |
Monthly climatology for the surrounding 1° grid cell from NASA POWER (MERRA-2). Mountain sites can be colder and cloudier than the cell average.
Photography tips for this ghost town
- Look for details: door hinges, faded signs, square nails and window frames tell the story.
- Leave everything as you found it; removing artifacts from public land is illegal.
- Respect private property and closures: many ghost towns are on private land or protected historic sites — never enter unstable buildings.
- For interiors with windows, blend two exposures (one for inside, one for the view) instead of relying on HDR alone.
- Old buildings under the Milky Way make strong night images in dark rural skies.
- Bring a spare battery — cold weather and long exposures drain them fast.
Season: High-elevation mining towns are reachable mostly from June to October; desert ghost towns are best in spring and autumn.
Suggested gear: Wide-angle lens, Tripod, Headlamp, Sturdy boots. Work out exposures with the depth of field, ND filter and NPF rule calculators.
Permits, drones & access
Private property: Many ghost towns sit on private land or protected historic sites. Respect signs, never enter unstable buildings and leave artifacts in place.
Nearby photo spots
Other locations within 25 km of Friend, closest first.
Mountain Pass
Wilderness Area
Waterfall
Waterfall
State Park
Waterfall
Waterfall
Ghost TownCampgrounds nearby (Recreation.gov)
- Flag Point Lookout 15.9 km (9.9 mi) · reservable
- Rock Creek Campground (Mt. Hood National Forest, Or)17.2 km (10.7 mi) · reservable
- Fivemile Butte Lookout17.3 km (10.8 mi) · reservable
- Nottingham Campground24 km (15 mi) · reservable
- Sherwood Campground24 km (15 mi) · reservable
FAQ
When is the best time to photograph Friend?
What time is golden hour at Friend?
Where does the sun rise and set at Friend?
Can you see the Milky Way from Friend?
Do you need a permit to photograph at Friend?
How far is Friend from The Dalles?
Sources
Location data: Wikidata, Wikipedia. Sun, moon and Milky Way times are computed by LWPhoto Atlas for 2026. Climate: NASA POWER. Sky darkness is a population-based estimate (Walker's law), not a measurement. See data sources & licenses.