Taku Glacier — a glacier in Juneau City and Borough, Alaska at about 946 m (3,104 ft) above sea level — is a rewarding subject for landscape photographers. It sits roughly 35 km (22 mi) NNE of Juneau.
Taku Glacier (Lingít: T'aaḵú Ḵwáan Sít'i) is a tidewater glacier located in Taku Inlet in the U.S. state of Alaska, just southeast of the city of Juneau. Recognized as the deepest and thickest alpine temperate glacier known in the world, the Taku Glacier is measured at 4,845 feet (1,477 m) thick. It is about 58 kilometres (36 mi) long, and is largely within the Tongass National Forest. The glacier has been named Schultze Glacier in 1883 and the Foster Glacier in 1890, but Taku, the name the local Tlingit natives had for the glacier, eventually stuck. It is nestled in the Coast Mountains and originates in the Juneau Icefield. It is the largest glacier in the icefield and one of the southernmost tidewater glaciers of the northern hemisphere.From the Wikipedia article “Taku Glacier”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sunrise & sunset directions
At Taku Glacier the sunrise point swings a long way through the year: about 38° (NE) at the June solstice and 138° (SE) in late December. Sunset moves from 322° (NW) in June to 223° (SW) in December, and the midday sun climbs to 55° in summer but only 8° in winter.
| Date | Sunrise | Azimuth | Sunset | Azimuth | Noon sun | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox (Mar 20) | 6:59 AM | 89° E | 7:11 PM | 271° W | 31° | 12h 12m |
| June solstice (Jun 21) | 3:48 AM | 38° NE | 10:10 PM | 322° NW | 55° | 18h 22m |
| September equinox (Sep 22) | 6:42 AM | 88° E | 6:58 PM | 272° W | 32° | 12h 16m |
| December solstice (Dec 21) | 8:47 AM | 138° SE | 3:04 PM | 223° SW | 8° | 6h 18m |
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 | 7:45 AM | 8:35 AM | 9:58 AM | 2:16 PM | 3:39 PM | 4:28 PM | 7h 04m |
| February | 6:49 AM | 7:31 AM | 8:31 AM | 3:52 PM | 4:53 PM | 5:35 PM | 9h 22m |
| March | 6:34 AM | 7:14 AM | 8:07 AM | 6:06 PM | 6:59 PM | 7:39 PM | 11h 46m |
| April | 5:01 AM | 5:44 AM | 6:39 AM | 7:16 PM | 8:10 PM | 8:54 PM | 14h 26m |
| May | 3:31 AM | 4:29 AM | 5:32 AM | 8:16 PM | 9:19 PM | 10:17 PM | 16h 50m |
| June | 2:28 AM | 3:48 AM | 5:01 AM | 8:55 PM | 10:08 PM | 11:28 PM | 18h 19m |
| July | 3:06 AM | 4:14 AM | 5:22 AM | 8:45 PM | 9:53 PM | 11:01 PM | 17h 39m |
| August | 4:30 AM | 5:19 AM | 6:16 AM | 7:49 PM | 8:46 PM | 9:34 PM | 15h 27m |
| September | 5:47 AM | 6:27 AM | 7:20 AM | 6:26 PM | 7:19 PM | 7:59 PM | 12h 52m |
| October | 6:53 AM | 7:34 AM | 8:30 AM | 4:56 PM | 5:52 PM | 6:33 PM | 10h 19m |
| November | 7:01 AM | 7:47 AM | 9:00 AM | 2:24 PM | 3:37 PM | 4:23 PM | 7h 50m |
| December | 7:49 AM | 8:42 AM | 10:22 AM | 1:23 PM | 3:03 PM | 3:56 PM | 6h 21m |
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 | — | -4° | — |
| March | Below 10° in darkness | — | -2° | — |
| April | Below 10° in darkness | — | -3° | — |
| May | Below 10° in darkness | — | 0° | — |
| June | No darkness | — | — | — |
| July | No darkness | — | — | — |
| August | Below 10° in darkness | — | 0° | — |
| September | Below 10° in darkness | — | -4° | — |
| October | Below 10° in darkness | — | -5° | — |
| November | Below 10° in darkness | — | -10° | — |
| 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 ≈ 21.9 mag/arcsec². Aurora needs roughly Kp 0.5+ to show low on the northern horizon here.
Weather & best season
Long-term NASA satellite data for this area show May as the clearest month (about 74% average cloud cover) and July as the cloudiest (81%). 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 | 41 | 36 | 45 | 48 | 60 | 71 | 73 | 73 | 67 | 55 | 44 | 38 |
| Low °F | -27 | -22 | -19 | -3 | 10 | 32 | 35 | 36 | 27 | 1 | -19 | -23 |
| Precip. (in) | 13.0 | 9.3 | 8.1 | 6.9 | 6.0 | 5.9 | 7.9 | 10.8 | 14.7 | 14.8 | 13.0 | 13.3 |
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 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.
- 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 Taku Glacier, closest first.
Campgrounds nearby (Recreation.gov)
FAQ
When is the best time to photograph Taku Glacier?
What time is golden hour at Taku Glacier?
Where does the sun rise and set at Taku Glacier?
Can you see the Milky Way from Taku Glacier?
Do you need a permit to photograph at Taku Glacier?
How far is Taku Glacier from Juneau?
Sources
Location data: Wikidata, USGS GNIS / GeoNames, 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.