Blanca Lake — a lake in Snohomish County, Washington at about 1,212 m (3,976 ft) above sea level — is a classic subject for landscape photographers. It is part of Henry M. Jackson Wilderness. The nearest town is Gold Bar, about 28 km (18 mi) away (Blanca Lake lies ENE of town).
Blanca Lake is located in the Henry M. Jackson Wilderness Area in the Cascade Mountains of the U.S. state of Washington. Blanca Lake sits in a basin surrounded by the peaks of Monte Cristo, Kyes, and Columbia. The lake is fed by the Columbia Glacier to the northwest and is drained by Troublesome Creek, a tributary of the North Fork Skykomish River. The glacier's cold, silt-filled melt water is what makes the lake a spectacular turquoise green color making this a prime example of a rock flour lake.From the Wikipedia article “Blanca Lake”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sunrise & sunset directions
At Blanca 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 308° (NW) in June to 235° (SW) in December, and the midday sun climbs to 65° in summer but only 19° in winter.
| Date | Sunrise | Azimuth | Sunset | Azimuth | Noon sun | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox (Mar 20) | 7:09 AM | 89° E | 7:18 PM | 271° W | 42° | 12h 09m |
| June solstice (Jun 21) | 5:07 AM | 53° NE | 9:09 PM | 308° NW | 65° | 16h 02m |
| September equinox (Sep 22) | 6:53 AM | 89° E | 7:05 PM | 271° W | 42° | 12h 12m |
| December solstice (Dec 21) | 7:53 AM | 125° SE | 4:16 PM | 235° SW | 19° | 8h 23m |
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 | 7:16 AM | 7:51 AM | 8:41 AM | 3:49 PM | 4:40 PM | 5:15 PM | 8h 49m |
| February | 6:41 AM | 7:13 AM | 7:57 AM | 4:44 PM | 5:28 PM | 6:00 PM | 10h 16m |
| March | 6:48 AM | 7:19 AM | 8:00 AM | 6:30 PM | 7:11 PM | 7:42 PM | 11h 52m |
| April | 5:44 AM | 6:17 AM | 6:58 AM | 7:14 PM | 7:55 PM | 8:28 PM | 13h 39m |
| May | 4:51 AM | 5:28 AM | 6:13 AM | 7:52 PM | 8:38 PM | 9:15 PM | 15h 10m |
| June | 4:25 AM | 5:06 AM | 5:55 AM | 8:18 PM | 9:07 PM | 9:48 PM | 16h 01m |
| July | 4:43 AM | 5:22 AM | 6:10 AM | 8:14 PM | 9:01 PM | 9:41 PM | 15h 39m |
| August | 5:27 AM | 6:01 AM | 6:44 AM | 7:37 PM | 8:20 PM | 8:54 PM | 14h 19m |
| September | 6:12 AM | 6:43 AM | 7:24 AM | 6:39 PM | 7:20 PM | 7:51 PM | 12h 36m |
| October | 6:54 AM | 7:25 AM | 8:08 AM | 5:36 PM | 6:18 PM | 6:50 PM | 10h 53m |
| November | 6:39 AM | 7:12 AM | 8:01 AM | 3:41 PM | 4:29 PM | 5:03 PM | 9h 17m |
| December | 7:13 AM | 7:49 AM | 8:43 AM | 3:20 PM | 4:14 PM | 4:50 PM | 8h 24m |
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 Blanca Lake, the Milky Way core is visible in a dark sky from April through July. June gives the longest window (about 1.3 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 | 3:41 AM – 4:11 AM | 0.5 | 12° | SSE → SSE |
| May | 1:43 AM – 2:53 AM | 1.2 | 13° | SSE → S |
| June | 12:22 AM – 1:42 AM | 1.3 | 13° | SSE → S |
| July | 11:48 PM – 12:48 AM | 1.0 | 13° | S → SSW |
| August | 10:26 PM – 10:46 PM | 0.3 | 11° | SSW → SSW |
| September | Below 10° in darkness | — | 9° | — |
| October | Below 10° in darkness | — | 4° | — |
| November | Below 10° in darkness | — | -5° | — |
| 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 ≈ 21.35 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.
- Shoot RAW to keep the most latitude for high-contrast sunrise and sunset scenes.
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.
Permits, drones & access
Drones: Drones may not take off from or land in federally designated wilderness, where mechanized equipment is prohibited under the Wilderness Act.
Nearby photo spots
Other locations within 25 km of Blanca Lake, closest first.
Lake
Glacier
Mountain Peak
Wilderness Area
Mountain Peak
Waterfall
Hot SpringWaterfall
WaterfallCampgrounds nearby (Recreation.gov)
- Troublesome Creek Campground6.6 km (4.1 mi) · reservable
- Evergreen Mountain Lookout12.9 km (8.0 mi) · reservable
- Bedal Campground17.8 km (11.0 mi) · reservable
- Heybrook Lookout21 km (13 mi) · reservable
- Coal Creek Group Camp23 km (14 mi) · reservable
FAQ
When is the best time to photograph Blanca Lake?
What time is golden hour at Blanca Lake?
Where does the sun rise and set at Blanca Lake?
Can you see the Milky Way from Blanca Lake?
Do you need a permit to photograph at Blanca Lake?
How far is Blanca Lake from Gold Bar?
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.