Located in Wallowa County, Oregon, Mount Howard is a mountain peak at about 2,512 m (8,241 ft) above sea level. The nearest town is Joseph, about 11.1 km (6.9 mi) away (Mount Howard lies SSE of town).
Mount Howard is located in the Wallowa region of northeast Oregon. The mountain is home to Wallowa Lake Tramway, the steepest tram in North America. At the top of the mountain, there is a restaurant called the Summit Grill and Alpine Patio. Mount Howard was named for Civil War general Oliver O. Howard. The 1,084-acre (4.39 km2) Mount Howard-East Peak area was designated as a National Natural Landmark in June 2016, in recognition of its botanically diverse montane grassland habitats and populations of endemic and rare plant species.From the Wikipedia article “Mount Howard (Oregon)”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sunrise & sunset directions
At Mount Howard the sunrise point swings a long way through the year: about 55° (NE) at the June solstice and 124° (ESE) in late December. Sunset moves from 306° (NW) in June to 237° (WSW) in December, and the midday sun climbs to 68° in summer but only 21° in winter.
| Date | Sunrise | Azimuth | Sunset | Azimuth | Noon sun | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox (Mar 20) | 6:53 AM | 90° E | 7:01 PM | 271° W | 45° | 12h 09m |
| June solstice (Jun 21) | 5:02 AM | 55° NE | 8:41 PM | 306° NW | 68° | 15h 39m |
| September equinox (Sep 22) | 6:37 AM | 89° E | 6:48 PM | 271° W | 45° | 12h 12m |
| December solstice (Dec 21) | 7:26 AM | 124° ESE | 4:10 PM | 237° WSW | 21° | 8h 44m |
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
Summits catch first and last light — alpenglow can turn rock pink or orange minutes before sunrise and after sunset while valleys stay in shadow.
| Month (15th) | Blue hour starts | Sunrise | Golden hour ends | Golden hour starts | Sunset | Blue hour ends | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6:52 AM | 7:25 AM | 8:12 AM | 3:46 PM | 4:33 PM | 5:06 PM | 9h 08m |
| February | 6:21 AM | 6:51 AM | 7:33 AM | 4:35 PM | 5:17 PM | 5:47 PM | 10h 26m |
| March | 6:33 AM | 7:02 AM | 7:41 AM | 6:16 PM | 6:55 PM | 7:24 PM | 11h 53m |
| April | 5:33 AM | 6:04 AM | 6:44 AM | 6:55 PM | 7:34 PM | 8:05 PM | 13h 30m |
| May | 4:45 AM | 5:20 AM | 6:02 AM | 7:29 PM | 8:12 PM | 8:47 PM | 14h 52m |
| June | 4:24 AM | 5:01 AM | 5:47 AM | 7:53 PM | 8:39 PM | 9:17 PM | 15h 38m |
| July | 4:40 AM | 5:16 AM | 6:00 AM | 7:50 PM | 8:35 PM | 9:11 PM | 15h 18m |
| August | 5:19 AM | 5:51 AM | 6:32 AM | 7:17 PM | 7:57 PM | 8:30 PM | 14h 07m |
| September | 5:58 AM | 6:28 AM | 7:07 AM | 6:23 PM | 7:02 PM | 7:31 PM | 12h 33m |
| October | 6:36 AM | 7:05 AM | 7:46 AM | 5:25 PM | 6:05 PM | 6:35 PM | 11h 00m |
| November | 6:16 AM | 6:48 AM | 7:33 AM | 3:36 PM | 4:20 PM | 4:52 PM | 9h 32m |
| December | 6:48 AM | 7:22 AM | 8:11 AM | 3:19 PM | 4:08 PM | 4:42 PM | 8h 46m |
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 Mount Howard, the Milky Way core is visible in a dark sky from April through August. June gives the longest window (about 3.2 hours on a moonless night), and the core peaks around 16° 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 | — | -4° | — |
| February | Below 10° in darkness | — | 7° | — |
| March | 4:54 AM – 5:14 AM | 0.3 | 12° | SSE → SSE |
| April | 2:53 AM – 4:13 AM | 1.3 | 15° | SSE → S |
| May | 12:52 AM – 3:02 AM | 2.2 | 16° | SSE → S |
| June | 11:14 PM – 2:24 AM | 3.2 | 16° | SSE → SSW |
| July | 10:57 PM – 1:07 AM | 2.2 | 16° | S → SSW |
| August | 9:53 PM – 11:03 PM | 1.2 | 15° | SSW → SSW |
| September | 8:43 PM – 9:03 PM | 0.3 | 12° | SSW → SSW |
| October | Below 10° in darkness | — | 7° | — |
| November | Below 10° in darkness | — | -3° | — |
| 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 ≈ 21.91 mag/arcsec². Aurora needs roughly Kp 5.5+ 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 29% average cloud cover) and March as the cloudiest (75%). July 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 | 48 | 53 | 67 | 78 | 88 | 97 | 102 | 100 | 97 | 87 | 64 | 52 |
| Low °F | -14 | -9 | 5 | 16 | 23 | 29 | 36 | 36 | 26 | 11 | -3 | -11 |
| Precip. (in) | 2.9 | 2.8 | 3.0 | 2.5 | 2.6 | 2.2 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 1.0 | 1.9 | 2.6 | 3.5 |
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 mountain peak
- Clouds around the summit add drama — a clear blue sky is often the least interesting condition.
- Photograph the peak from a lake, meadow or ridge at sunrise when the face that looks east lights up first.
- Long lenses compress ridgelines; shoot the peak from several miles away to make it look massive.
- Afternoon thunderstorms are common in summer at high elevations — plan summit hikes for early morning.
- Snow on the summit holds detail best when you expose for the highlights and lift shadows later.
- Shoot RAW to keep the most latitude for high-contrast sunrise and sunset scenes.
Season: Early summer keeps snow on the peaks with green valleys below; autumn adds aspen or larch color in many ranges.
Suggested gear: Telephoto lens, Lightweight tripod, Warm layers, Microspikes in shoulder seasons. Work out exposures with the depth of field, ND filter and NPF rule calculators.
Nearby photo spots
Other locations within 25 km of Mount Howard, closest first.
State Park
Waterfall
Canyon
Lake
Lake
Lake
Lake
Lake
Mountain PeakCampgrounds nearby (Recreation.gov)
FAQ
When is the best time to photograph Mount Howard?
What time is golden hour at Mount Howard?
Where does the sun rise and set at Mount Howard?
Can you see the Milky Way from Mount Howard?
Do you need a permit to photograph at Mount Howard?
How far is Mount Howard from Joseph?
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.