Mount Baker — a mountain peak in Whatcom County, Washington at about 3,176 m (10,420 ft) above sea level — is a popular subject for landscape photographers. It is part of Mount Baker Wilderness. The nearest town is Peaceful Valley, about 30 km (19 mi) away (Mount Baker lies SE of town).
Mount Baker, also known as Koma Kulshan or simply Kulshan, is a 10,781-foot (3,286 m) active glacier-covered andesitic stratovolcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc and the North Cascades of Washington State in the United States. Mount Baker has the second-most thermally active crater in the Cascade Range after Mount St. Helens. About 30 miles (48 km) due east of the city of Bellingham, Whatcom County, Mount Baker is the youngest volcano in the Mount Baker volcanic field. While volcanism has persisted here for some 1.5 million years, the current volcanic cone is likely no more than 140,000 years old, and possibly no older than 80–90,000 years. Older volcanic edifices have mostly eroded away due to glaciation.From the Wikipedia article “Mount Baker”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sunrise & sunset directions
At Mount Baker the sunrise point swings a long way through the year: about 52° (NE) at the June solstice and 126° (SE) in late December. Sunset moves from 309° (NW) in June to 234° (SW) in December, and the midday sun climbs to 65° in summer but only 18° in winter.
| Date | Sunrise | Azimuth | Sunset | Azimuth | Noon sun | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox (Mar 20) | 7:11 AM | 89° E | 7:20 PM | 271° W | 41° | 12h 09m |
| June solstice (Jun 21) | 5:05 AM | 52° NE | 9:15 PM | 309° NW | 65° | 16h 10m |
| September equinox (Sep 22) | 6:55 AM | 89° E | 7:07 PM | 271° W | 41° | 12h 12m |
| December solstice (Dec 21) | 7:59 AM | 126° SE | 4:14 PM | 234° SW | 18° | 8h 15m |
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 | 7:56 AM | 8:48 AM | 3:47 PM | 4:39 PM | 5:15 PM | 8h 43m |
| February | 6:44 AM | 7:16 AM | 8:01 AM | 4:43 PM | 5:28 PM | 6:01 PM | 10h 12m |
| March | 6:50 AM | 7:21 AM | 8:03 AM | 6:31 PM | 7:13 PM | 7:44 PM | 11h 51m |
| April | 5:44 AM | 6:17 AM | 6:59 AM | 7:16 PM | 7:59 PM | 8:32 PM | 13h 42m |
| May | 4:49 AM | 5:27 AM | 6:13 AM | 7:56 PM | 8:42 PM | 9:20 PM | 15h 16m |
| June | 4:22 AM | 5:04 AM | 5:54 AM | 8:23 PM | 9:13 PM | 9:55 PM | 16h 09m |
| July | 4:41 AM | 5:21 AM | 6:09 AM | 8:19 PM | 9:07 PM | 9:47 PM | 15h 46m |
| August | 5:26 AM | 6:01 AM | 6:45 AM | 7:40 PM | 8:24 PM | 8:59 PM | 14h 23m |
| September | 6:13 AM | 6:45 AM | 7:26 AM | 6:40 PM | 7:22 PM | 7:54 PM | 12h 37m |
| October | 6:56 AM | 7:28 AM | 8:11 AM | 5:36 PM | 6:19 PM | 6:51 PM | 10h 51m |
| November | 6:42 AM | 7:17 AM | 8:06 AM | 3:39 PM | 4:29 PM | 5:03 PM | 9h 12m |
| December | 7:18 AM | 7:55 AM | 8:50 AM | 3:17 PM | 4:12 PM | 4:49 PM | 8h 17m |
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 Baker, the Milky Way core is visible in a dark sky from May through July. June gives the longest window (about 2.7 hours on a moonless night), and the core peaks around 12° 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 | — | -5° | — |
| February | Below 10° in darkness | — | 4° | — |
| March | Below 10° in darkness | — | 9° | — |
| April | 3:57 AM – 4:07 AM | 0.2 | 11° | SSE → SSE |
| May | 1:54 AM – 2:44 AM | 0.8 | 12° | SSE → S |
| June | 11:55 PM – 2:35 AM | 2.7 | 12° | SSE → SSW |
| July | 12:03 AM – 12:43 AM | 0.7 | 12° | S → SSW |
| August | 10:33 PM – 10:33 PM | 0.0 | 10° | SSW → SSW |
| September | Below 10° in darkness | — | 8° | — |
| 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 ≈ 21.64 mag/arcsec². Aurora needs roughly Kp 4.0+ 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 42% average cloud cover) and November 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 | 47 | 50 | 56 | 68 | 77 | 87 | 90 | 90 | 86 | 76 | 55 | 41 |
| Low °F | -20 | -17 | -12 | 1 | 16 | 28 | 34 | 35 | 24 | -2 | -17 | -20 |
| Precip. (in) | 9.5 | 6.5 | 7.5 | 4.8 | 3.6 | 3.0 | 1.3 | 1.7 | 3.4 | 7.2 | 10.7 | 9.1 |
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
- 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.
- 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.
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 Mount Baker, closest first.
VolcanoVolcano
Glacier
Glacier
Glacier
Glacier
Glacier
Wilderness Area
Fire LookoutCampgrounds nearby (Recreation.gov)
- Boulder Creek Campground11.1 km (6.9 mi) · reservable
- Park Creek Campground11.6 km (7.2 mi) · reservable
- Panorama Point Campground11.9 km (7.4 mi) · reservable
- Swift Creek Campground12.5 km (7.8 mi) · reservable
- Excelsior Group Camp14.6 km (9.1 mi) · reservable
FAQ
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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.