Located in Thurston County, Washington, Capitol Peak is a mountain peak at about 789 m (2,589 ft) above sea level. It sits roughly 13.1 km (8.1 mi) SE of McCleary.
Capitol Peak is a 2,658-foot (810 m) peak in the Black Hills of the Capitol State Forest in the U.S. state of Washington. It is one of the two highest peaks in the Black Hills, along with Larch Mountain and the third highest point in Thurston County. There is a partially paved road to the summit called the Sherman Valley Road. The summit hosts a communications facility that includes an array of cell phone and radio towers. On a clear day, looking to the west is a view of Elma and the Satsop Nuclear Power Plant. Looking to the east is a view of Mount Rainier, Mount St. Helens, and Mount Adams; more to the north are Puget Sound, and the Olympia area.From the Wikipedia article “Capitol Peak (Thurston County)”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sunrise & sunset directions
At Capitol Peak 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 236° (SW) in December, and the midday sun climbs to 66° in summer but only 20° in winter.
| Date | Sunrise | Azimuth | Sunset | Azimuth | Noon sun | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox (Mar 20) | 7:16 AM | 89° E | 7:25 PM | 271° W | 43° | 12h 09m |
| June solstice (Jun 21) | 5:18 AM | 53° NE | 9:12 PM | 307° NW | 66° | 15h 54m |
| September equinox (Sep 22) | 7:00 AM | 89° E | 7:12 PM | 271° W | 43° | 12h 12m |
| December solstice (Dec 21) | 7:56 AM | 125° SE | 4:27 PM | 236° SW | 20° | 8h 31m |
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 | 7:20 AM | 7:54 AM | 8:44 AM | 4:02 PM | 4:51 PM | 5:25 PM | 8h 56m |
| February | 6:47 AM | 7:18 AM | 8:01 AM | 4:54 PM | 5:37 PM | 6:09 PM | 10h 19m |
| March | 6:56 AM | 7:26 AM | 8:07 AM | 6:38 PM | 7:18 PM | 7:49 PM | 11h 52m |
| April | 5:53 AM | 6:25 AM | 7:06 AM | 7:20 PM | 8:01 PM | 8:33 PM | 13h 36m |
| May | 5:02 AM | 5:38 AM | 6:22 AM | 7:57 PM | 8:41 PM | 9:18 PM | 15h 03m |
| June | 4:38 AM | 5:18 AM | 6:05 AM | 8:23 PM | 9:10 PM | 9:50 PM | 15h 52m |
| July | 4:55 AM | 5:33 AM | 6:19 AM | 8:19 PM | 9:05 PM | 9:43 PM | 15h 31m |
| August | 5:37 AM | 6:11 AM | 6:53 AM | 7:43 PM | 8:25 PM | 8:59 PM | 14h 14m |
| September | 6:20 AM | 6:51 AM | 7:31 AM | 6:46 PM | 7:26 PM | 7:57 PM | 12h 35m |
| October | 7:00 AM | 7:31 AM | 8:13 AM | 5:45 PM | 6:27 PM | 6:57 PM | 10h 56m |
| November | 6:44 AM | 7:17 AM | 8:04 AM | 3:53 PM | 4:39 PM | 5:13 PM | 9h 23m |
| December | 7:17 AM | 7:52 AM | 8:44 AM | 3:33 PM | 4:25 PM | 5:00 PM | 8h 32m |
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 Capitol Peak, the Milky Way core is visible in a dark sky from April through August. June gives the longest window (about 2.2 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 | 5:41 AM – 5:41 AM | 0.0 | 11° | SSE → SSE |
| April | 3:34 AM – 4:24 AM | 0.8 | 13° | SSE → SSE |
| May | 1:42 AM – 3:12 AM | 1.5 | 14° | SSE → S |
| June | 12:06 AM – 2:16 AM | 2.2 | 14° | SSE → SSW |
| July | 11:41 PM – 1:11 AM | 1.5 | 14° | S → SSW |
| August | 10:27 PM – 11:07 PM | 0.7 | 13° | 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: 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 ≈ 20.99 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 | 57 | 60 | 67 | 79 | 81 | 87 | 87 | 88 | 94 | 80 | 63 | 57 |
| Low °F | 19 | 21 | 26 | 28 | 33 | 41 | 45 | 45 | 36 | 26 | 21 | 15 |
| Precip. (in) | 10.8 | 6.9 | 8.4 | 5.5 | 3.2 | 2.2 | 0.8 | 1.3 | 3.0 | 7.1 | 11.5 | 10.9 |
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
- Snow on the summit holds detail best when you expose for the highlights and lift shadows later.
- Alpenglow lasts only a few minutes; set up and focus beforehand.
- 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.
- Tell someone where you're going in remote areas and carry the ten essentials.
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 Capitol Peak, closest first.
Waterfall
National Wildlife RefugeWaterfall
Lake
Lake
Lake
Lake
Waterfall
State ParkFAQ
When is the best time to photograph Capitol Peak?
What time is golden hour at Capitol Peak?
Where does the sun rise and set at Capitol Peak?
Can you see the Milky Way from Capitol Peak?
Do you need a permit to photograph at Capitol Peak?
How far is Capitol Peak from McCleary?
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.