Muir Glacier is a glacier in Haines Borough, Alaska. It is part of Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve. The nearest town is Haines, about 57 km (35 mi) away (Muir Glacier lies W of town).
Muir Glacier is a glacier in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is currently about 0.7 km (0.43 mi) wide at the terminus. As recently as the mid-1980s the glacier was a tidewater glacier and calved icebergs from a wall of ice 90 m (200 feet) tall. The glacier is named after Scottish-born naturalist John Muir, who traveled around the area and wrote about it, generating interest in the local environment and in its preservation. His first two visits were in 1879 (at age 41) and 1880. During the visits, he sent an account of his visits in installments to the San Francisco Bulletin. Later, he collected and edited these installments in a book, Travels in Alaska, published in 1915, the year after he died.From the Wikipedia article “Muir Glacier”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sunrise & sunset directions
At Muir Glacier the sunrise point swings a long way through the year: about 37° (NE) at the June solstice and 139° (SE) in late December. Sunset moves from 323° (NW) in June to 221° (SW) in December, and the midday sun climbs to 54° in summer but only 7° in winter.
| Date | Sunrise | Azimuth | Sunset | Azimuth | Noon sun | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox (Mar 20) | 7:08 AM | 89° E | 7:20 PM | 272° W | 31° | 12h 12m |
| June solstice (Jun 21) | 3:51 AM | 37° NE | 10:26 PM | 323° NW | 54° | 18h 35m |
| September equinox (Sep 22) | 6:51 AM | 88° E | 7:07 PM | 272° W | 31° | 12h 16m |
| December solstice (Dec 21) | 9:01 AM | 139° SE | 3:08 PM | 221° SW | 7° | 6h 07m |
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
Ice shows its blue best under overcast skies or in shade; bright sun turns glaciers white and flat.
| Month (15th) | Blue hour starts | Sunrise | Golden hour ends | Golden hour starts | Sunset | Blue hour ends | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7:57 AM | 8:48 AM | 10:16 AM | 2:16 PM | 3:44 PM | 4:34 PM | 6h 56m |
| February | 6:59 AM | 7:42 AM | 8:44 AM | 3:58 PM | 5:00 PM | 5:43 PM | 9h 18m |
| March | 6:42 AM | 7:23 AM | 8:17 AM | 6:14 PM | 7:08 PM | 7:49 PM | 11h 46m |
| April | 5:07 AM | 5:52 AM | 6:47 AM | 7:26 PM | 8:21 PM | 9:06 PM | 14h 29m |
| May | 3:34 AM | 4:34 AM | 5:39 AM | 8:27 PM | 9:32 PM | 10:32 PM | 16h 58m |
| June | 2:23 AM | 3:51 AM | 5:07 AM | 9:07 PM | 10:23 PM | 11:51 PM | 18h 32m |
| July | 3:06 AM | 4:17 AM | 5:28 AM | 8:57 PM | 10:07 PM | 11:19 PM | 17h 50m |
| August | 4:35 AM | 5:25 AM | 6:23 AM | 7:59 PM | 8:57 PM | 9:47 PM | 15h 32m |
| September | 5:54 AM | 6:36 AM | 7:29 AM | 6:35 PM | 7:28 PM | 8:09 PM | 12h 53m |
| October | 7:03 AM | 7:44 AM | 8:42 AM | 5:03 PM | 6:00 PM | 6:41 PM | 10h 16m |
| November | 7:13 AM | 8:00 AM | 9:16 AM | 2:27 PM | 3:43 PM | 4:30 PM | 7h 42m |
| December | 8:02 AM | 8:57 AM | 10:45 AM | 1:19 PM | 3:07 PM | 4:02 PM | 6h 10m |
Local time (America/Juneau), 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
The Milky Way's bright core (in Sagittarius) barely clears the southern horizon at this latitude, so focus on winter Milky Way, aurora or star trails instead.
| Month | Core visible (15th) | Hours | Max altitude | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | Below 10° in darkness | — | -11° | — |
| February | Below 10° in darkness | — | -5° | — |
| March | Below 10° in darkness | — | -3° | — |
| April | Below 10° in darkness | — | -4° | — |
| May | No darkness | — | — | — |
| June | No darkness | — | — | — |
| July | No darkness | — | — | — |
| August | Below 10° in darkness | — | -1° | — |
| September | Below 10° in darkness | — | -5° | — |
| October | Below 10° in darkness | — | -6° | — |
| November | Below 10° in darkness | — | -11° | — |
| December | Below 10° in darkness | — | -21° | — |
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: 1 Bortle 1 — Excellent dark-sky site. The Milky Way casts faint shadows; zodiacal light and airglow are obvious. Modeled zenith brightness ≈ 21.95 mag/arcsec². Aurora needs roughly Kp 0.0+ to show low on the northern horizon here.
Weather & best season
Long-term NASA satellite data for this area show March as the clearest month (about 66% average cloud cover) and August as the cloudiest (79%). July is the warmest month and January 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 | 38 | 34 | 39 | 42 | 60 | 70 | 70 | 71 | 59 | 49 | 36 | 34 |
| Low °F | -42 | -40 | -32 | -15 | 6 | 24 | 31 | 29 | 16 | -11 | -37 | -41 |
| Precip. (in) | 5.6 | 4.2 | 4.1 | 3.7 | 3.0 | 3.2 | 3.6 | 5.0 | 6.7 | 6.6 | 6.2 | 6.1 |
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 glacier
- Boat tours to tidewater glaciers offer calving shots; use fast shutter speeds and a telephoto.
- Never walk on a glacier without training and gear; crevasses hide under snow bridges.
- Expose carefully: ice and snow fool meters into underexposure, so add +1 to +2 stops.
- A polarizer deepens the blue of glacial ice and the turquoise of meltwater lakes.
- Include a person or boat for scale — glaciers are much larger than they look.
- Shoot RAW to keep the most latitude for high-contrast sunrise and sunset scenes.
Season: Summer offers access; late summer exposes the most bare ice before new snow.
Suggested gear: Telephoto lens, Polarizer, Waterproof shell, Spare batteries (cold drains them). Work out exposures with the depth of field, ND filter and NPF rule calculators.
Nearby photo spots
Other locations within 25 km of Muir Glacier, closest first.
FAQ
When is the best time to photograph Muir Glacier?
What time is golden hour at Muir Glacier?
Where does the sun rise and set at Muir Glacier?
Can you see the Milky Way from Muir Glacier?
Do you need a permit to photograph at Muir Glacier?
How far is Muir Glacier from Haines?
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.