Located in Whatcom County, Washington, Nooksack Tower is a mountain peak at about 2,530 m (8,301 ft) above sea level. It sits roughly 42 km (26 mi) ESE of Peaceful Valley.
Nooksack Tower (8,285 feet (2,525 m)) is in North Cascades National Park in the U.S. state of Washington. Nooksack Tower is part of the Mount Shuksan Massif and is .75 mi (1.21 km) northeast of the main summit of Shuksan. Nooksack Tower looms to the west over Nooksack Cirque. The East Nooksack Glacier lies to the southeast, West Nooksack Glacier to the east and Price Glacier is on the north flanks of the tower. Nooksack Tower is one of the most difficult mountains to climb in the Cascade Range, with loose rock, 50-degree or greater slopes and ice ridges as well as accessibility issues and exposure, all weighing into the climbing equation. The descent may require ten or more rappels.From the Wikipedia article “Nooksack Tower”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sunrise & sunset directions
At Nooksack Tower 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) | 7:10 AM | 89° E | 7:19 PM | 271° W | 41° | 12h 09m |
| June solstice (Jun 21) | 5:04 AM | 52° NE | 9:14 PM | 309° NW | 65° | 16h 11m |
| September equinox (Sep 22) | 6:54 AM | 89° E | 7:06 PM | 271° W | 41° | 12h 12m |
| December solstice (Dec 21) | 7:58 AM | 126° SE | 4:13 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 | 7:19 AM | 7:55 AM | 8:47 AM | 3:46 PM | 4:38 PM | 5:14 PM | 8h 43m |
| February | 6:43 AM | 7:15 AM | 8:00 AM | 4:42 PM | 5:27 PM | 6:00 PM | 10h 12m |
| March | 6:49 AM | 7:21 AM | 8:02 AM | 6:30 PM | 7:12 PM | 7:43 PM | 11h 51m |
| April | 5:43 AM | 6:16 AM | 6:58 AM | 7:15 PM | 7:58 PM | 8:31 PM | 13h 42m |
| May | 4:47 AM | 5:25 AM | 6:12 AM | 7:55 PM | 8:42 PM | 9:20 PM | 15h 16m |
| June | 4:21 AM | 5:03 AM | 5:53 AM | 8:22 PM | 9:12 PM | 9:55 PM | 16h 09m |
| July | 4:39 AM | 5:20 AM | 6:08 AM | 8:18 PM | 9:06 PM | 9:47 PM | 15h 46m |
| August | 5:25 AM | 6:00 AM | 6:44 AM | 7:40 PM | 8:23 PM | 8:58 PM | 14h 23m |
| September | 6:12 AM | 6:44 AM | 7:25 AM | 6:40 PM | 7:21 PM | 7:53 PM | 12h 37m |
| October | 6:55 AM | 7:27 AM | 8:11 AM | 5:35 PM | 6:18 PM | 6:50 PM | 10h 51m |
| November | 6:42 AM | 7:16 AM | 8:06 AM | 3:38 PM | 4:27 PM | 5:02 PM | 9h 11m |
| December | 7:17 AM | 7:54 AM | 8:49 AM | 3:16 PM | 4:11 PM | 4:48 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 Nooksack Tower, 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 2 (typical truly dark site), which is excellent for astrophotography.
| 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 | 3:56 AM – 4:06 AM | 0.2 | 11° | SSE → SSE |
| May | 1:53 AM – 2:43 AM | 0.8 | 12° | SSE → S |
| June | 11:54 PM – 2:34 AM | 2.7 | 12° | SSE → SSW |
| July | 12:02 AM – 12:42 AM | 0.7 | 12° | S → SSW |
| August | 10:32 PM – 10:32 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: 2 Bortle 2 — Typical truly dark site. The summer Milky Way shows rich structure; clouds look like black holes in the stars. Modeled zenith brightness ≈ 21.73 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
- 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 Nooksack Tower, closest first.
Glacier
Glacier
GlacierMountain Peak
Glacier
GlacierGlacier
Waterfall
Mountain PeakCampgrounds nearby (Recreation.gov)
- Shannon Creek Campground10.7 km (6.7 mi) · reservable
- Silver Fir Campground10.9 km (6.8 mi) · reservable
- Park Creek Campground12.7 km (7.9 mi) · reservable
- Swift Creek Campground13.0 km (8.1 mi) · reservable
- Panorama Point Campground14.0 km (8.7 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.