Located in Keweenaw County, Michigan, Lac La Belle is a lake at about 183 m (600 ft) above sea level. It sits roughly 38 km (23 mi) ENE of Laurium.
Lac La Belle ( LACK lə-BELL; French: "Lake The Beautiful") is a 1,146-acre (464 ha) lake in Grant Township, Keweenaw County, Michigan. The lake is surrounded by dense forest cover of the Keweenaw Peninsula. The bottom is mainly mud and it has a maximum depth of 38 feet (12 m). The Little Gratiot River flows into the lake on the west shore and the lake empties through the Mendota Canal into Lake Superior. There is a state owned boat launch on the north side of the lake near the community of Lac La Belle. Haven Falls is a waterfall that is part of the Haven Creek. The falls are located approximately 500 feet (150 m) from the inflow to Lac La Belle.From the Wikipedia article “Lac La Belle (Michigan)”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sunrise & sunset directions
At Lac La Belle 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 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) | 7:56 AM | 89° E | 8:05 PM | 271° W | 43° | 12h 09m |
| June solstice (Jun 21) | 5:56 AM | 53° NE | 9:53 PM | 307° NW | 66° | 15h 57m |
| September equinox (Sep 22) | 7:39 AM | 89° E | 7:52 PM | 271° W | 43° | 12h 12m |
| December solstice (Dec 21) | 8:37 AM | 125° SE | 5:04 PM | 235° SW | 19° | 8h 27m |
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
Lakes reflect best in calm air — usually the first hour after sunrise, before breezes ripple the surface.
| Month (15th) | Blue hour starts | Sunrise | Golden hour ends | Golden hour starts | Sunset | Blue hour ends | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 8:01 AM | 8:35 AM | 9:25 AM | 4:39 PM | 5:29 PM | 6:03 PM | 8h 53m |
| February | 7:27 AM | 7:58 AM | 8:42 AM | 5:32 PM | 6:16 PM | 6:47 PM | 10h 18m |
| March | 7:35 AM | 8:06 AM | 8:47 AM | 7:17 PM | 7:58 PM | 8:28 PM | 11h 52m |
| April | 6:32 AM | 7:04 AM | 7:45 AM | 8:00 PM | 8:41 PM | 9:13 PM | 13h 37m |
| May | 5:40 AM | 6:16 AM | 7:01 AM | 8:37 PM | 9:22 PM | 9:59 PM | 15h 06m |
| June | 5:15 AM | 5:56 AM | 6:43 AM | 9:03 PM | 9:51 PM | 10:31 PM | 15h 56m |
| July | 5:33 AM | 6:11 AM | 6:58 AM | 8:59 PM | 9:46 PM | 10:24 PM | 15h 35m |
| August | 6:15 AM | 6:49 AM | 7:32 AM | 8:23 PM | 9:06 PM | 9:39 PM | 14h 17m |
| September | 6:59 AM | 7:30 AM | 8:11 AM | 7:26 PM | 8:06 PM | 8:37 PM | 12h 36m |
| October | 7:40 AM | 8:11 AM | 8:53 AM | 6:24 PM | 7:06 PM | 7:37 PM | 10h 55m |
| November | 7:24 AM | 7:57 AM | 8:44 AM | 4:30 PM | 5:18 PM | 5:51 PM | 9h 21m |
| December | 7:58 AM | 8:33 AM | 9:26 AM | 4:10 PM | 5:03 PM | 5:38 PM | 8h 29m |
Local time (America/Detroit), 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 Lac La Belle, the Milky Way core is visible in a dark sky from April through August. June gives the longest window (about 2.0 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 1 (excellent dark-sky site), which is excellent for astrophotography.
| Month | Core visible (15th) | Hours | Max altitude | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | Below 10° in darkness | — | -6° | — |
| February | Below 10° in darkness | — | 5° | — |
| March | 6:20 AM – 6:20 AM | 0.0 | 10° | SSE → SSE |
| April | 4:14 AM – 5:04 AM | 0.8 | 13° | SSE → SSE |
| May | 2:23 AM – 3:53 AM | 1.5 | 14° | SSE → S |
| June | 12:50 AM – 2:50 AM | 2.0 | 14° | SSE → S |
| July | 12:24 AM – 1:44 AM | 1.3 | 14° | S → SSW |
| August | 11:08 PM – 11:48 PM | 0.7 | 12° | 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: 1 Bortle 1 — Excellent dark-sky site. The Milky Way casts faint shadows; zodiacal light and airglow are obvious. Modeled zenith brightness ≈ 21.94 mag/arcsec². Aurora needs roughly Kp 3.0+ 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 77% average cloud cover) and December as the cloudiest (87%). August is the warmest month and February 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 | 40 | 41 | 53 | 52 | 58 | 64 | 80 | 73 | 73 | 65 | 55 | 49 |
| Low °F | -2 | -8 | -2 | 15 | 27 | 35 | 39 | 47 | 41 | 31 | 13 | 8 |
| Precip. (in) | 2.3 | 2.0 | 1.7 | 2.9 | 3.0 | 3.1 | 2.6 | 2.5 | 3.2 | 3.6 | 2.5 | 2.8 |
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 lake
- Include shoreline rocks, reeds or a log as foreground to give the reflection depth.
- Expose for the brighter sky; reflections are typically half a stop to a stop darker.
- After sunset, long exposures smooth wind ripples into glass.
- For mirror reflections, get low and close to the water; the reflection grows with a lower camera.
- A polarizer can remove reflections to show the lakebed — or keep them, depending on rotation.
- Scout in daylight if you plan to shoot at night or before sunrise.
Season: Autumn mornings bring mist and fall color; high-elevation lakes are usually ice-free only from early summer to mid-autumn.
Suggested gear: Tripod, Circular polarizer, Wide-angle lens, Waterproof boots. Work out exposures with the depth of field, ND filter and NPF rule calculators.
Nearby photo spots
Other locations within 25 km of Lac La Belle, closest first.
Sand Dunes
Lighthouse
Lighthouse
WaterfallSand Dunes
LakeSand DunesSand DunesWaterfallFAQ
When is the best time to photograph Lac La Belle?
What time is golden hour at Lac La Belle?
Where does the sun rise and set at Lac La Belle?
Can you see the Milky Way from Lac La Belle?
Do you need a permit to photograph at Lac La Belle?
How far is Lac La Belle from Laurium?
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.