Carbon Glacier is a glacier in Pierce County, Washington at about 1,603 m (5,259 ft) above sea level. It lies in or next to Mount Rainier National Park, so park hours, fees and rules apply. The nearest town is Crocker, about 29 km (18 mi) away (Carbon Glacier lies ESE of town).
Carbon Glacier is located on the north slope of Mount Rainier in the U.S. state of Washington and is the source of the Carbon River. The snout at the glacier terminal moraine is at about 3,500 feet (1,100 m) above sea level, making it the lowest-elevation glacier in the contiguous United States. The glacier also has the greatest length (5.7 miles (9.2 km)), thickness (700 ft (210 m)) and volume (0.2 cubic miles (0.83 km3)) of any U.S. glacier outside of Alaska. At over a mile wide, the Carbon Glacier cirque is the largest in the Cascade Mountains. The headwall of the cirque is the prominent Willis Wall landform. Carbon Glacier is currently only accessible by hiking the Wonderland Trail from Nisqually, Longmire, or Paradise, as the Mowich Lake entrance to the northwest is closed due to the Carbon-Fairfax bridge closure. There is currently no estimated date of replacement for the bridge.From the Wikipedia article “Carbon Glacier”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sunrise & sunset directions
At Carbon 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 307° (NW) in June to 236° (SW) in December, and the midday sun climbs to 66° in summer but only 20° in winter.
| Date | Sunrise | Azimuth | Sunset | Azimuth | Noon sun | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox (Mar 20) | 7:11 AM | 89° E | 7:20 PM | 271° W | 43° | 12h 09m |
| June solstice (Jun 21) | 5:13 AM | 53° NE | 9:06 PM | 307° NW | 66° | 15h 53m |
| September equinox (Sep 22) | 6:55 AM | 89° E | 7:07 PM | 271° W | 43° | 12h 12m |
| December solstice (Dec 21) | 7:51 AM | 125° SE | 4:21 PM | 236° SW | 20° | 8h 31m |
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 | 7:15 AM | 7:49 AM | 8:38 AM | 3:56 PM | 4:45 PM | 5:20 PM | 8h 56m |
| February | 6:41 AM | 7:12 AM | 7:56 AM | 4:49 PM | 5:32 PM | 6:03 PM | 10h 19m |
| March | 6:51 AM | 7:21 AM | 8:01 AM | 6:33 PM | 7:13 PM | 7:43 PM | 11h 52m |
| April | 5:48 AM | 6:20 AM | 7:01 AM | 7:15 PM | 7:56 PM | 8:27 PM | 13h 36m |
| May | 4:57 AM | 5:33 AM | 6:17 AM | 7:52 PM | 8:36 PM | 9:12 PM | 15h 03m |
| June | 4:33 AM | 5:13 AM | 6:00 AM | 8:17 PM | 9:04 PM | 9:44 PM | 15h 52m |
| July | 4:50 AM | 5:28 AM | 6:14 AM | 8:13 PM | 8:59 PM | 9:37 PM | 15h 31m |
| August | 5:32 AM | 6:05 AM | 6:48 AM | 7:38 PM | 8:20 PM | 8:53 PM | 14h 14m |
| September | 6:15 AM | 6:46 AM | 7:26 AM | 6:41 PM | 7:21 PM | 7:51 PM | 12h 35m |
| October | 6:55 AM | 7:26 AM | 8:07 AM | 5:40 PM | 6:21 PM | 6:52 PM | 10h 56m |
| November | 6:38 AM | 7:11 AM | 7:58 AM | 3:47 PM | 4:34 PM | 5:07 PM | 9h 23m |
| December | 7:11 AM | 7:47 AM | 8:38 AM | 3:28 PM | 4:19 PM | 4:55 PM | 8h 33m |
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 Carbon Glacier, the Milky Way core is visible in a dark sky from April through August. June gives the longest window (about 2.2 hours on a moonless night), and the core peaks around 14° above the southern horizon. Our light-pollution model puts the sky at about Bortle 4 (rural / suburban transition), good enough for detailed Milky Way images.
| Month | Core visible (15th) | Hours | Max altitude | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | Below 10° in darkness | — | -5° | — |
| February | Below 10° in darkness | — | 6° | — |
| March | 5:35 AM – 5:35 AM | 0.0 | 11° | SSE → SSE |
| April | 3:28 AM – 4:18 AM | 0.8 | 13° | SSE → SSE |
| May | 1:35 AM – 3:05 AM | 1.5 | 14° | SSE → S |
| June | 12:00 AM – 2:10 AM | 2.2 | 14° | SSE → SSW |
| July | 11:35 PM – 1:05 AM | 1.5 | 14° | S → SSW |
| August | 10:21 PM – 11:01 PM | 0.7 | 13° | SSW → SSW |
| September | Below 10° in darkness | — | 10° | — |
| 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: 4 Bortle 4 — Rural / suburban transition. Light domes are visible in several directions; the Milky Way is clear but lacks detail near the horizon. Modeled zenith brightness ≈ 21.17 mag/arcsec². Aurora needs roughly Kp 5.0+ 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 29% average cloud cover) and January as the cloudiest (75%). 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 | 55 | 54 | 64 | 73 | 82 | 92 | 93 | 94 | 92 | 81 | 59 | 47 |
| Low °F | -12 | -9 | 0 | 14 | 24 | 30 | 34 | 37 | 27 | 14 | -11 | -5 |
| Precip. (in) | 6.2 | 4.4 | 4.7 | 3.1 | 2.5 | 1.7 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 1.6 | 3.9 | 6.1 | 6.7 |
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.
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 Carbon Glacier, closest first.
WaterfallWaterfall
Natural ArchWaterfallWaterfall
GlacierWaterfallWaterfall
WaterfallCampgrounds nearby (Recreation.gov)
- White River Campground11.0 km (6.8 mi) · reservable
- Silver Springs Campground19.4 km (12.0 mi) · reservable
- Cougar Rock Campground19.5 km (12.1 mi) · reservable
- Cougar Rock Group Campground19.5 km (12.1 mi) · reservable
- The Dalles Campground21 km (13 mi) · reservable
FAQ
When is the best time to photograph Carbon Glacier?
What time is golden hour at Carbon Glacier?
Where does the sun rise and set at Carbon Glacier?
Can you see the Milky Way from Carbon Glacier?
Do you need a permit to photograph at Carbon Glacier?
How far is Carbon Glacier from Crocker?
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.