Located in King County, Washington, Beaver Lake is a lake at about 126 m (413 ft) above sea level. The nearest town is Klahanie, about 2.4 km (1.5 mi) away (Beaver Lake lies NNE of town).
Beaver Lake is a 79-acre (0.3 km2) lake completely within the city limits of Sammamish, Washington. The Beaver Lake watershed is 1,043 acres (4.2 km2); the mean depth is 21 feet (6.4 m), and the maximum depth is 50 feet (15 m). Beaver Lake is actually a chain of one main and two smaller lakes, with the main lake getting the bulk of the recreation focus. Beaver Lake is part of a chain of three lakes: Long Lake, Beaver Lake, and a third unnamed lake, 4 miles (6.4 km) East of Lake Sammamish. It is drained by Laughing Jacobs Creek, a tributary of Lake Sammamish. There is public access via Beaver Lake Park, located at the southwest corner of the lake. Boaters are not allowed to use gasoline motors, but fishing is still a popular recreational activity on the lake. The boat launch site is not located within the Park, but rather via a WDFD water access site. The lake is also used for the...From the Wikipedia article “Beaver Lake (King County, Washington)”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sunrise & sunset directions
At Beaver Lake 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) | 7:12 AM | 89° E | 7:21 PM | 271° W | 42° | 12h 09m |
| June solstice (Jun 21) | 5:11 AM | 53° NE | 9:10 PM | 307° NW | 66° | 15h 59m |
| September equinox (Sep 22) | 6:56 AM | 89° E | 7:08 PM | 271° W | 43° | 12h 12m |
| December solstice (Dec 21) | 7:54 AM | 125° SE | 4:20 PM | 235° SW | 19° | 8h 25m |
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 | 7:17 AM | 7:52 AM | 8:42 AM | 3:54 PM | 4:44 PM | 5:19 PM | 8h 52m |
| February | 6:43 AM | 7:15 AM | 7:58 AM | 4:48 PM | 5:32 PM | 6:03 PM | 10h 17m |
| March | 6:51 AM | 7:22 AM | 8:03 AM | 6:33 PM | 7:14 PM | 7:44 PM | 11h 52m |
| April | 5:47 AM | 6:20 AM | 7:01 AM | 7:16 PM | 7:57 PM | 8:30 PM | 13h 38m |
| May | 4:55 AM | 5:31 AM | 6:16 AM | 7:54 PM | 8:39 PM | 9:16 PM | 15h 08m |
| June | 4:30 AM | 5:11 AM | 5:59 AM | 8:20 PM | 9:08 PM | 9:49 PM | 15h 58m |
| July | 4:48 AM | 5:26 AM | 6:13 AM | 8:16 PM | 9:03 PM | 9:41 PM | 15h 36m |
| August | 5:31 AM | 6:05 AM | 6:47 AM | 7:39 PM | 8:22 PM | 8:56 PM | 14h 17m |
| September | 6:15 AM | 6:46 AM | 7:27 AM | 6:41 PM | 7:22 PM | 7:53 PM | 12h 36m |
| October | 6:56 AM | 7:27 AM | 8:10 AM | 5:39 PM | 6:21 PM | 6:52 PM | 10h 54m |
| November | 6:40 AM | 7:14 AM | 8:02 AM | 3:45 PM | 4:33 PM | 5:07 PM | 9h 19m |
| December | 7:14 AM | 7:50 AM | 8:43 AM | 3:25 PM | 4:18 PM | 4:54 PM | 8h 27m |
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 Beaver Lake, the Milky Way core is visible in a dark sky from April through August. June gives the longest window (about 1.8 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 7 (suburban / urban transition), so expect visible sky glow; drive away from towns for better results.
| 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 | — | 10° | — |
| April | 3:42 AM – 4:22 AM | 0.7 | 13° | SSE → SSE |
| May | 1:41 AM – 3:01 AM | 1.3 | 13° | SSE → S |
| June | 12:12 AM – 2:02 AM | 1.8 | 14° | SSE → S |
| July | 11:43 PM – 1:03 AM | 1.3 | 13° | S → SSW |
| August | 10:25 PM – 10:55 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: 7 Bortle 7 — Suburban / urban transition. The whole sky has a grey-white glow; the Milky Way is invisible to the eye. Modeled zenith brightness ≈ 18.51 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 36% average cloud cover) and January as the cloudiest (76%). 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 | 53 | 49 | 59 | 71 | 78 | 92 | 92 | 91 | 89 | 72 | 57 | 46 |
| Low °F | -16 | -11 | -4 | 6 | 20 | 28 | 36 | 35 | 27 | 5 | -10 | -15 |
| Precip. (in) | 9.9 | 7.1 | 7.5 | 5.1 | 3.9 | 3.1 | 1.1 | 1.4 | 3.0 | 7.1 | 10.3 | 9.6 |
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 Beaver Lake, closest first.
Lake
Lake
State Park
Lake
Lake
Lake
Mountain Peak
Mountain Peak
Scenic ViewpointFAQ
When is the best time to photograph Beaver Lake?
What time is golden hour at Beaver Lake?
Where does the sun rise and set at Beaver Lake?
Can you see the Milky Way from Beaver Lake?
Do you need a permit to photograph at Beaver Lake?
How far is Beaver Lake from Klahanie?
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.