Lake Lawrence is a lake in Thurston County, Washington at about 131 m (430 ft) above sea level. The nearest town is Rainier, about 9.8 km (6.1 mi) away (Lake Lawrence lies ESE of town).
Lake Lawrence is a 326.5-acre (1.321 km2) lake located near Yelm in Thurston County, Washington, United States. The lake is impounded by Lake Lawrence Dam. Lake Lawrence was named after Lindley and Sam Lawrence, businesspeople in the local logging industry. A notable glacial erratic, the Lake Lawrence erratic, abuts a county road near the lake.From the Wikipedia article “Lake Lawrence”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sunrise & sunset directions
At Lake Lawrence the sunrise point swings a long way through the year: about 54° (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 67° in summer but only 20° in winter.
| Date | Sunrise | Azimuth | Sunset | Azimuth | Noon sun | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox (Mar 20) | 7:14 AM | 89° E | 7:23 PM | 271° W | 43° | 12h 09m |
| June solstice (Jun 21) | 5:17 AM | 54° NE | 9:09 PM | 307° NW | 67° | 15h 52m |
| September equinox (Sep 22) | 6:58 AM | 89° E | 7:10 PM | 271° W | 43° | 12h 12m |
| December solstice (Dec 21) | 7:53 AM | 125° SE | 4:25 PM | 236° SW | 20° | 8h 32m |
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 | 7:18 AM | 7:52 AM | 8:41 AM | 4:00 PM | 4:49 PM | 5:23 PM | 8h 57m |
| February | 6:44 AM | 7:15 AM | 7:58 AM | 4:52 PM | 5:35 PM | 6:07 PM | 10h 20m |
| March | 6:54 AM | 7:24 AM | 8:04 AM | 6:36 PM | 7:16 PM | 7:46 PM | 11h 52m |
| April | 5:51 AM | 6:23 AM | 7:04 AM | 7:18 PM | 7:59 PM | 8:30 PM | 13h 35m |
| May | 5:00 AM | 5:36 AM | 6:20 AM | 7:55 PM | 8:39 PM | 9:15 PM | 15h 03m |
| June | 4:37 AM | 5:16 AM | 6:03 AM | 8:20 PM | 9:07 PM | 9:47 PM | 15h 51m |
| July | 4:54 AM | 5:32 AM | 6:18 AM | 8:16 PM | 9:02 PM | 9:40 PM | 15h 30m |
| August | 5:35 AM | 6:09 AM | 6:51 AM | 7:41 PM | 8:23 PM | 8:56 PM | 14h 14m |
| September | 6:18 AM | 6:49 AM | 7:29 AM | 6:44 PM | 7:24 PM | 7:54 PM | 12h 35m |
| October | 6:58 AM | 7:29 AM | 8:10 AM | 5:43 PM | 6:25 PM | 6:55 PM | 10h 56m |
| November | 6:41 AM | 7:14 AM | 8:01 AM | 3:51 PM | 4:38 PM | 5:11 PM | 9h 23m |
| December | 7:14 AM | 7:50 AM | 8:41 AM | 3:32 PM | 4:23 PM | 4:58 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 Lake Lawrence, the Milky Way core is visible in a dark sky from April through August. June gives the longest window (about 2.3 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 | 5:27 AM – 5:37 AM | 0.2 | 11° | SSE → SSE |
| April | 3:30 AM – 4:20 AM | 0.8 | 13° | SSE → SSE |
| May | 1:36 AM – 3:06 AM | 1.5 | 14° | SSE → S |
| June | 11:58 PM – 2:18 AM | 2.3 | 14° | SSE → SSW |
| July | 11:35 PM – 1:15 AM | 1.7 | 14° | S → SSW |
| August | 10:23 PM – 11:13 PM | 0.8 | 13° | SSW → SSW |
| September | 9:08 PM – 9:08 PM | 0.0 | 10° | SSW → SSW |
| 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 ≈ 20.79 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 48% average cloud cover) and January as the cloudiest (81%). 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 | 60 | 59 | 70 | 84 | 90 | 95 | 101 | 98 | 95 | 83 | 65 | 57 |
| Low °F | 4 | 5 | 16 | 22 | 29 | 37 | 41 | 42 | 30 | 22 | 6 | 3 |
| Precip. (in) | 9.6 | 6.8 | 7.5 | 5.4 | 3.7 | 2.6 | 0.7 | 1.2 | 3.0 | 6.6 | 10.1 | 9.8 |
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
- A polarizer can remove reflections to show the lakebed — or keep them, depending on rotation.
- Mist often lifts off lakes on cold mornings after warm days, especially in autumn.
- 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.
- Bring a spare battery — cold weather and long exposures drain them fast.
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 Lake Lawrence, closest first.
Waterfall
Ghost Town
LakeWaterfallWaterfall
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LakeFAQ
When is the best time to photograph Lake Lawrence?
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How far is Lake Lawrence from Rainier?
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.