Located in San Juan County, Washington, Alaska Packers' Rock is a rock formation. It lies in or next to San Juan Island National Historical Park, so park hours, fees and rules apply. It sits roughly 8.7 km (5.4 mi) S of Friday Harbor.
From the National Park Service
The Alaska Packers Association formed in 1891 as a salmon industry cartel, comprised of independent cannery owners who controlled the supply of salmon in order to control competition and prevent an oversupply of canned salmon from hurting prices for producers. It soon expanded and became a formal corporation with operations across Alaska and the Pacific Northwest. Though its operations were concentrated in Alaska, it also played a major role in San Juan Island, where numerous fishermen had fish traps near this spot.
The Alaska Packers Association was not the only major company operating in these waters. As the industry expanded, “Big companies, especially Alaska Packers Association, and Pacific American Fisheries had monopolized the salmon fishing industry. The cost of the trap installation every year and the exclusive rights of canning the salmon dissuaded independents.” (Jacilee Wray, The Salmon Bank: An Ethnohistory , P.9) While corporations managed to monopolize the fish harvest, local entrepreneurs made good money supplying the fish camps. Former American Camp Sutler Edward Warbass and local homesteader Eliza Jakle made good money selling water to the corporate fish camps in 1901 and 1902, local women found work at the cookhouses, and farmers sold their produce to feed the fishery workers.
This rock marks the spot where the Alaska Packers Association's fish trap was located. Bill Jakle who grew up near this spot explains that, "they had their trap right close here....probably fifty or sixty feet away from the rock where the pilings started." Fisherman Bill Mason further explained the unique nature of the fish trap at this location: “Believe it or not you could walk on the beach and [The Alaska Packers Association] had piling about every fifteen feet. And they had a wire up about three and a half feet high that you could hold onto and then a log that was cabled onto the piling that was driven into the ground. You could walk clear to the trap and then walk out there and see the fish living in the trap.”
Today, no infrastructure is visible from this once-bustling industrial location. To untrained eyes, it appears that it was always a natural, marine environment, no different than any other pristine location in the San Juan Islands. This history reminds us of the the possibility of rehabilitating and transforming industrial spaces through carefu
Text: National Park Service (public domain) — nps.gov.
Sunrise & sunset directions
At Alaska Packers' Rock 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 308° (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) | 7:16 AM | 89° E | 7:25 PM | 271° W | 41° | 12h 09m |
| June solstice (Jun 21) | 5:11 AM | 52° NE | 9:18 PM | 308° NW | 65° | 16h 07m |
| September equinox (Sep 22) | 6:59 AM | 89° E | 7:12 PM | 271° W | 42° | 12h 12m |
| December solstice (Dec 21) | 8:02 AM | 126° SE | 4:20 PM | 234° SW | 18° | 8h 18m |
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
Rock towers and buttes glow red and orange in the first and last half-hour of sun; midday light flattens their shape.
| Month (15th) | Blue hour starts | Sunrise | Golden hour ends | Golden hour starts | Sunset | Blue hour ends | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7:24 AM | 7:59 AM | 8:51 AM | 3:53 PM | 4:45 PM | 5:20 PM | 8h 45m |
| February | 6:48 AM | 7:20 AM | 8:05 AM | 4:49 PM | 5:34 PM | 6:06 PM | 10h 14m |
| March | 6:55 AM | 7:26 AM | 8:08 AM | 6:36 PM | 7:18 PM | 7:49 PM | 11h 51m |
| April | 5:49 AM | 6:22 AM | 7:04 AM | 7:21 PM | 8:03 PM | 8:36 PM | 13h 41m |
| May | 4:55 AM | 5:32 AM | 6:18 AM | 8:00 PM | 8:46 PM | 9:24 PM | 15h 14m |
| June | 4:29 AM | 5:11 AM | 6:00 AM | 8:27 PM | 9:16 PM | 9:58 PM | 16h 06m |
| July | 4:47 AM | 5:27 AM | 6:15 AM | 8:22 PM | 9:10 PM | 9:50 PM | 15h 43m |
| August | 5:32 AM | 6:07 AM | 6:50 AM | 7:45 PM | 8:28 PM | 9:03 PM | 14h 22m |
| September | 6:18 AM | 6:50 AM | 7:31 AM | 6:45 PM | 7:27 PM | 7:58 PM | 12h 37m |
| October | 7:01 AM | 7:33 AM | 8:15 AM | 5:41 PM | 6:24 PM | 6:56 PM | 10h 52m |
| November | 6:47 AM | 7:21 AM | 8:10 AM | 3:46 PM | 4:34 PM | 5:09 PM | 9h 14m |
| December | 7:21 AM | 7:58 AM | 8:52 AM | 3:24 PM | 4:18 PM | 4:55 PM | 8h 20m |
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 Alaska Packers' Rock, the Milky Way core is visible in a dark sky from May through July. May gives the longest window (about 1.0 hours on a moonless night), and the core peaks around 13° 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 | 4:01 AM – 4:21 AM | 0.3 | 11° | SSE → SSE |
| May | 1:56 AM – 2:56 AM | 1.0 | 12° | SSE → S |
| June | 12:50 AM – 1:30 AM | 0.7 | 13° | S → S |
| July | 12:03 AM – 12:43 AM | 0.7 | 12° | S → SSW |
| August | 10:36 PM – 10:46 PM | 0.2 | 11° | 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 ≈ 21.49 mag/arcsec². Aurora needs roughly Kp 4.5+ 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 44% average cloud cover) and January as the cloudiest (83%). 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 | 53 | 55 | 65 | 76 | 81 | 85 | 93 | 87 | 82 | 70 | 60 | 56 |
| Low °F | 14 | 19 | 24 | 32 | 36 | 43 | 47 | 47 | 42 | 32 | 15 | 14 |
| Precip. (in) | 7.3 | 4.4 | 5.4 | 3.5 | 2.3 | 1.8 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 2.5 | 5.1 | 7.7 | 6.8 |
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 rock formation
- At night, a formation under the Milky Way or star trails makes a strong anchor.
- Use the sunrise and sunset azimuths below to know which face will be lit.
- Stay on trails; desert soils and lichens take decades to recover from footprints.
- Find a spot where the formation sits against open sky to emphasize its silhouette.
- Bring a spare battery — cold weather and long exposures drain them fast.
Season: Spring and autumn are best in desert regions; winter snow on red rock is rare but spectacular.
Suggested gear: Wide and telephoto lenses, Tripod, Headlamp. Work out exposures with the depth of field, ND filter and NPF rule calculators.
Permits, drones & access
National Park Service rules. Under federal law (54 U.S.C. 100905), still photography in National Park Service areas needs a permit only when it (1) takes place where members of the public are not allowed, (2) uses models, sets or props that are not part of the location's natural or cultural resources or administrative facilities, or (3) would cause the park to incur additional administrative costs to monitor the activity. Ordinary visitor and most landscape photography needs no permit. Commercial filming rules are separate and have changed in recent years — confirm current requirements with the park before a paid shoot.
Drones: Launching, landing or operating unmanned aircraft (drones) is prohibited in National Park Service units under a 2014 Superintendent's closure (36 CFR 1.5), except where a park has issued specific written approval. Flying from outside the boundary over park land can also violate park rules and disturb wildlife.
Nearby photo spots
Other locations within 25 km of Alaska Packers' Rock, closest first.
Sand Dunes
Beach
LighthouseBeach
State ParkLighthouse
State Park
Lighthouse
State ParkFAQ
When is the best time to photograph Alaska Packers' Rock?
What time is golden hour at Alaska Packers' Rock?
Where does the sun rise and set at Alaska Packers' Rock?
Can you see the Milky Way from Alaska Packers' Rock?
Do you need a permit to photograph at Alaska Packers' Rock?
How far is Alaska Packers' Rock from Friday Harbor?
Sources
Location data: National Park Service. 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.