Blue Glacier — a glacier in Jefferson County, Washington at about 1,819 m (5,968 ft) above sea level — is a rewarding subject for landscape photographers. It lies in or next to Olympic National Park, so park hours, fees and rules apply. The nearest town is Port Angeles, about 40 km (25 mi) away (Blue Glacier lies SSW of town).
Blue Glacier is a large glacier located to the north of Mount Olympus in the Olympic Mountains of Washington. The glacier covers an area of 1.7 sq mi (4.4 km2) and contains 580,000,000 cu ft (16,000,000 m3) of ice and snow in spite of its low terminus elevation. The glacier length has decreased from about 3.4 mi (5.5 km) in 1800 to 2.7 mi (4.3 km) in the year 2000. Just in the period from 1995 and 2006, Blue Glacier retreated 325 ft (99 m). Blue Glacier is also thinning as it retreats and between 1987 and 2009 the glacier lost 178 ft (54 m) of its depth near its terminus and between 32 and 48 ft (9.8 and 14.6 m) in the uppermost sections of the glacier known as the accumulation zone.From the Wikipedia article “Blue Glacier”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sunrise & sunset directions
At Blue Glacier the sunrise point swings a long way through the year: about 53° (NE) at the June solstice and 125° (SE) in late December. Sunset moves from 308° (NW) in June to 235° (SW) in December, and the midday sun climbs to 66° in summer but only 19° in winter.
| Date | Sunrise | Azimuth | Sunset | Azimuth | Noon sun | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox (Mar 20) | 7:18 AM | 89° E | 7:28 PM | 271° W | 42° | 12h 09m |
| June solstice (Jun 21) | 5:17 AM | 53° NE | 9:18 PM | 308° NW | 66° | 16h 01m |
| September equinox (Sep 22) | 7:02 AM | 89° E | 7:14 PM | 271° W | 42° | 12h 12m |
| December solstice (Dec 21) | 8:02 AM | 125° SE | 4:26 PM | 235° SW | 19° | 8h 24m |
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 | 7:25 AM | 8:00 AM | 8:50 AM | 4:00 PM | 4:50 PM | 5:25 PM | 8h 50m |
| February | 6:50 AM | 7:22 AM | 8:06 AM | 4:54 PM | 5:38 PM | 6:10 PM | 10h 16m |
| March | 6:58 AM | 7:29 AM | 8:10 AM | 6:39 PM | 7:20 PM | 7:51 PM | 11h 52m |
| April | 5:54 AM | 6:26 AM | 7:08 AM | 7:23 PM | 8:05 PM | 8:37 PM | 13h 38m |
| May | 5:01 AM | 5:38 AM | 6:23 AM | 8:01 PM | 8:46 PM | 9:23 PM | 15h 09m |
| June | 4:36 AM | 5:16 AM | 6:05 AM | 8:27 PM | 9:16 PM | 9:57 PM | 15h 59m |
| July | 4:53 AM | 5:32 AM | 6:19 AM | 8:23 PM | 9:10 PM | 9:49 PM | 15h 38m |
| August | 5:37 AM | 6:11 AM | 6:54 AM | 7:46 PM | 8:29 PM | 9:03 PM | 14h 18m |
| September | 6:22 AM | 6:53 AM | 7:34 AM | 6:48 PM | 7:29 PM | 8:00 PM | 12h 36m |
| October | 7:03 AM | 7:34 AM | 8:17 AM | 5:46 PM | 6:28 PM | 6:59 PM | 10h 54m |
| November | 6:48 AM | 7:21 AM | 8:09 AM | 3:51 PM | 4:39 PM | 5:13 PM | 9h 18m |
| December | 7:22 AM | 7:58 AM | 8:51 AM | 3:31 PM | 4:24 PM | 5:00 PM | 8h 26m |
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 Blue Glacier, the Milky Way core is visible in a dark sky from April through August. June gives the longest window (about 1.7 hours on a moonless night), and the core peaks around 13° 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 | — | -6° | — |
| February | Below 10° in darkness | — | 5° | — |
| March | Below 10° in darkness | — | 9° | — |
| April | 3:50 AM – 4:20 AM | 0.5 | 12° | SSE → SSE |
| May | 1:51 AM – 3:11 AM | 1.3 | 13° | SSE → S |
| June | 12:25 AM – 2:05 AM | 1.7 | 13° | SSE → S |
| July | 11:54 PM – 1:04 AM | 1.2 | 13° | S → SSW |
| August | 10:34 PM – 11:04 PM | 0.5 | 12° | SSW → SSW |
| September | Below 10° in darkness | — | 9° | — |
| October | Below 10° in darkness | — | 5° | — |
| November | Below 10° in darkness | — | -4° | — |
| 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 ≈ 21.61 mag/arcsec². Aurora needs roughly Kp 4.5+ 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 46% average cloud cover) and January as the cloudiest (80%). August 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 | 58 | 62 | 67 | 76 | 89 | 98 | 99 | 97 | 99 | 84 | 65 | 54 |
| Low °F | -2 | 12 | 22 | 25 | 28 | 37 | 39 | 41 | 32 | 22 | 3 | 7 |
| Precip. (in) | 14.2 | 8.6 | 10.9 | 6.6 | 3.7 | 2.6 | 1.2 | 1.9 | 3.9 | 9.6 | 15.0 | 13.9 |
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
- Include a person or boat for scale — glaciers are much larger than they look.
- 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.
- Bring a spare battery — cold weather and long exposures drain them fast.
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.
Permits, drones & access
National Park Service rules. Under federal law (54 U.S.C. 100905), still photography in National Park Service areas needs a permit only when it (1) takes place where members of the public are not allowed, (2) uses models, sets or props that are not part of the location's natural or cultural resources or administrative facilities, or (3) would cause the park to incur additional administrative costs to monitor the activity. Ordinary visitor and most landscape photography needs no permit. Commercial filming rules are separate and have changed in recent years — confirm current requirements with the park before a paid shoot.
Drones: Launching, landing or operating unmanned aircraft (drones) is prohibited in National Park Service units under a 2014 Superintendent's closure (36 CFR 1.5), except where a park has issued specific written approval. Flying from outside the boundary over park land can also violate park rules and disturb wildlife.
Nearby photo spots
Other locations within 25 km of Blue Glacier, closest first.
Glacier
Mountain Peak
Glacier
Waterfall
Glacier
Glacier
Glacier
Mountain Peak
Wilderness AreaCampgrounds nearby (Recreation.gov)
- Hoh Rainforest Campground19.6 km (12.2 mi) · reservable
- Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort Campground22 km (14 mi) · reservable
FAQ
When is the best time to photograph Blue Glacier?
What time is golden hour at Blue Glacier?
Where does the sun rise and set at Blue Glacier?
Can you see the Milky Way from Blue Glacier?
Do you need a permit to photograph at Blue Glacier?
How far is Blue Glacier from Port Angeles?
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.