The beginning of a wildfire sunset over Lake McDonald (ISO 100, f-22, shutter speed 1/20), Glacier National Park / Rebecca Latson

There are certain spots in every national park where you can capture awesome shots of specific scenes, like sunrises, for instance. That’s what you will have learned if you read my October 2024 column detailing where to go at Glacier National Park in Montana to capture sunrise imagery, how to get there, and how to set up for the composition.

In this month’s column, I’m continuing the photo thread for this national park, with locations, directions, and techniques for getting fabulous golden hour sunset shots as well as morning/evening blue hour compositions.

Glacier is one of several national parks I have visited more than once, during different seasons. That’s helpful and something you should remember. Find a national park you enjoy and return to it multiple times, during different seasons. The more you visit that one park, the more you learn about it, and the more locations you’ll discover for great photo ops. You begin understanding that park’s character and your collection of photos flesh out both the park’s story as well as your story of your park visits.

As noted in the October article, this particular series I’m penning is aimed at those of you just starting out in photography, those who want to get a little more serious about their photography, and/or those who are simply curious as to what I think are great spots for fantastic shots. Bear in mind, this is all totally subjective, since photography is a subjective art, and what one person thinks is a lovely location suggestion, another may roll their eyes at the thought.

I will also try to take most of the planning/scouting headache out of how to get to a spot and how to set up, so even if you don’t think my composition locations are what you would choose, you might still try them out since you’ll know how to get to them. Right?

Full Disclosure: I am a morning person. I can hop out of bed at 1 a.m. and be ready to hit the road. However, I find it difficult to stay up past a certain hour in the evening. During my national park travels, by the time 5 p.m. rolls around, I am usually ensconced in whatever lodging I might have reserved for the evening, working on the day’s photo catch. As such, I generally don’t have as many sunset images in my photo galleries. My loss, I know.

There are certainly more locations for sunset/blue hour that what I list here. I don’t want this article to become any lengthier than it already is, plus I readily admit I haven’t photographed everywhere I’d like to at Glacier – even after multiple visits. I’m not going to mention any other locations if I don’t have photographic results for backup.

For those of you who might not be familiar with the terms “blue hour” and “golden hour,” allow me to explain. As the day turns from morning to noon to afternoon to night, the sun’s angle changes as does the direction of sunlight. The mornings (sunrises) and evenings (sunsets) are considered “golden hours” because the sun is at an angle to not only bathe the landscape in soft, warm, saturated shades of orange, gold, yellow, and red, but to create shadows bestowing depth to the scene which is otherwise removed beneath the harsh light of high noon. Photographers avow these are the most beautiful times of day to produce stunning imagery, and I do not disagree.

Blue hour occurs during the times just prior to sunrise or just after sunset, when the sky and landscape are immersed in hues of blue, purple, pink, and mauve. This is also the opportune time to photograph an atmospheric phenomenon you might spy known as the “belt of Venus.”

FYI, golden hour, and blue hour do not last an hour. Usually, it’s anywhere from 30 seconds to 10-15 minutes before it’s either totally dark or so brightly sunlit that you risk overexposing your composition.

Note: The distances, when listed, are based upon Google Maps mileages.

Lake McDonald – Located near Glacier’s west entrance, this 10-mile-long (16.1 km) waterbody is a lovely place for a sunset. Depending upon which part of the lake you face, you might see the setting sun, or, you might instead photograph that reddish radiance called “alpenglow” seen on mountain tops. Btw, this occurs during sunrise, as well.

While any season is a great time for photographing sunset, alpenglow, and blue hour images at this lake, winter is especially eye catching. The white snow contrasts with the sunset and blue hour (morning or evening) colors.

A winter sunset over Lake McDonald (ISO 100, f-9, shutter speed 1/15), Glacier National Park / Rebecca Latson

Believe it or not, a hazy atmosphere from wildfire smoke produces stunning sunsets (and sunrises, too). Some of my most colorful sunset shots are from my September 2017 visit during the Sprague Fire, which occurred on the western side of Glacier. Yes, it was this color saturated, and so hazy I could view the sun without sunglasses. No, I was in no danger from the fire. It was hazy but relatively clear around me. In the distance, however, it was smokier and this telephoto image captured that smoky scene, bringing it in much closer than it was.

A telephoto wildfire sunset at Lake McDonald (ISO 160, f-16, shutter speed 1/25), Glacier National Park / Rebecca Latson

Park map showing Lake McDonald in Glacier National Park / NPS graphic

Getting To Lake McDonald: From the West Glacier entrance drive to the junction of Camas Road and Going-to-the-Sun Road (aka Glacier Rte. 1). Turn left onto Camas Road for maybe 0.25 mile (0.4 km), then turn right at the sign toward Apgar Village for a total drive distance, start to finish, of approximately 2 miles (3.2 km). Park your car at an available parking space and walk to the lake’s southern shore.

Alternative Location: The directions above will get you to the general spot everybody takes to arrive at the lake. However, for all the sunset/blue hour compositions you see in this article, I was not at the very tip of the south end. Instead, I continued up Going-to-the-Sun Road toward Lake McDonald Lodge. Along the way, I watched for a spot to park and hike down to the lakeshore for a southwestern view of the actual setting sun, or a northeastern views of the sunlight on the mountains.

The lakeshore is a little trickier to reach in the winter, as you must first find a wide enough edge along the snowy road to park your vehicle, then plow your way through a thick blanket of snow down to the shoreline. Word of advice: wear boots for maneuvering through that snow, and boot traction devices for walking on the frozen, pebbly lakeshore.

Techniques: I used a tripod for these sunset, alpenglow, and blue hour shots looking toward the mountains at the northeast end of the lake. I also used a tripod for the northwesterly sunset where you see the sun, itself.

I handheld my camera and 100-400mm lens to capture the close view above of the glorious orange ball of setting sun around 8:45 p.m. Mountain Time. The haze was so thick I could see that orange orb with my naked eyes.

FYI, telephoto lenses have the unique ability to “compress” a scene because of the lens’ narrower field of view. While the lens focuses on your subject, it “pulls in” the area surrounding said subject, making it look closer and larger than it is. You’ll recognize this when viewing photos of people looking at tall Icelandic waterfalls. Even when a telephoto lens is focused on the people, they still look dwarfed by that “pulled in” waterfall.

Wild Goose Island Overlook – This spot along St. Mary Lake is a great place for sunset, no matter what the weather. Sure, you may not always see much sunlight on a cloudy day, but that setting sun produces some nice backlight.

The end of sunset and beginning of blue hour at the Wild Goose Island Overlook along St. Mary Lake (ISO 125, f-4.5, shutter speed 1/100), Glacier National Park / Rebecca Latson

The view from the overlook facing Wild Goose Island is toward the southwest. It was mid-summer when this image was captured. I and my fellow photo workshop attendees never saw the actual sun. Had the day been clear and cloudless, the sun’s angle was such that we still would have missed it by the time we arrived at the overlook. So, we opted for blue hour shots.

Here’s a suggestion, though: even if you don’t see the sun sinking behind the mountains at this spot, turn your camera and tripod away and look up toward the mountainous landscape behind you. The clouds just might reflect the brilliant gold-yellow of sunlight in that direction, all while it’s turning blue and purple the opposite way.

A sunset cloud over Glacier National Park (ISO 125, f -4.5, shutter speed 1/250)/ Rebecca Latson

Were there other possible spots I could have set up my camera/tripod combo at this overlook? You bet! Did I think of doing that at the time? Uh, no. But, you should! And, the next time I visit this national park (hopefully sooner rather than later), I will look for those other photo op spots for sunset and blue hour.

Location of Wild Goose Island Overlook (red square), Glacier National Park / Google Maps screenshot

Getting There: On the east side of the park, drive 6.7 miles (10.8 km) west along Going-to-the-Sun Road from the St. Mary Visitor Center.

From the Logan Pass Visitor Center, drive 11 miles (12.87 km) east. You will see a sign pointing to the Wild Goose Island Overlook in either direction. There is a long, paved parking area along the lake side of the road, as well a couple of wide shoulder spots across the road.

Technique: Sunset and blue hour means the light is waning. You have a choice, depending upon what you want to portray to your viewing audience.

1. You can keep things on the dark side, creating silhouettes of the trees, forest, and mountainsides. For that, your ISO will be low (125 – 160), your shutter speed will be fast (1/80 – 1/100 of a second), and your aperture (f-stop) will be relatively small (anywhere from f-4.5 to f-8). You see, the amount of light your camera sensor detects is a result of ISO, shutter speed, and aperture/f-stop. Take your camera’s setting off Auto Mode and play around with these three settings. Ok, you might want to practice these manual settings before you get to your sunset/blue hour spot, so you aren’t trying to figure everything out while losing valuable lighting conditions.
   
   
2. You can brighten the scene by bumping up your ISO to maybe 250 – 320, slowing down the shutter speed, then playing around with your aperture. For some sunsets, I used a slow shutter speed and a higher ISO, but a very small aperture (f-16) to create a slight sunburst while brightening up the scene. The rays of that sunburst correspond with the number of lens shutter curtains. The wider-angle the lens, the more rays your resulting photo will display.

A hazy setting sun over Lake McDonald (ISO 125, f-22, shutter speed 1/4), Glacier National Park / Rebecca Latson

I advise using a tripod to steady the camera. You might even want to use your camera’s 2-second timer or a wireless/corded remote to remove that bit of camera blur from the vibration caused when your finger pushes down on the shutter button. While you might think this suggestion is subjective, a tripod really does help.

If you choose to handhold your camera while capturing sunset/blue hour scenes, then you will want to adjust your settings to allow for a faster shutter speed, and apply the “burst method” of holding down on that shutter button for several clicks. At least one image from that series of shots should be sharp. The caveat is the amount of memory space taken up by the burst method. Carry along plenty of extra memory cards and a couple of extra camera batteries with you.

Swiftcurrent Lake – To be honest, just about anywhere you place your tripod around Swiftcurrent Lake will make for great sunset/blue hour shots. You may not see the sun itself, but you will see the setting sun grace the tips of these rugged mountains just as it does with sunrise. In my case, I was usually out for sunrise and not sunset, so I chose to photograph the landscape bathed in that blue hour just prior to sunrise instead of just after sunset, as well as capture the morning instead of evening alpenglow.

Morning blue hour over Swiftcurrent Lake (ISO 100, f-4, shutter speed 1/13), Many Glacier Area, Glacier National Park / Rebecca Latson

One of my favorite spots for morning blue hour is on the shore of the lake near the southwestern end of the Many Glacier Hotel’s back deck. Standing upon the pebbly shore, you can gaze across a part of the lake toward Mounts Gould and Grinnell. Very often, Swiftcurrent Lake will be mirror smooth for great reflections. It usually doesn’t last very long, though, before the breeze picks up.

Morning alpenglow just prior to sunrise over Swiftcurrent Lake, Many Glacier Area (ISO 125, f-4, shutter speed 1/10), Glacier National Park / Rebecca Latson

This spot was also a favorite for morning alpenglow.

Map view of getting to Swiftcurrent Lake from St. Mary, Glacier National Park / Google Maps screenshot

Getting There: From the community of St. Mary, drive 8.8 miles (12.87 km) north on U.S. Route 89 toward Babb. Turn left onto Rte. 3 for another 11.6 miles (18.67 km). Park in the Many Glacier Hotel parking lot. Total drive mileage is a little over 20 miles (32.8 km).

Here’s a copy/paste from my previous article. You’ll probably see this in just about all the articles I post in this series, because I mean it.

As you might have noticed, my sunset/blue hour compositions – just like my previous sunrise images - were captured at easy-to-reach spots. Yes, there are all sorts of great photos to be captured along Glacier’s lengthier trails and backcountry, but not everybody can (or wants) to hike many miles out into the hinterlands. Yes, these pullouts, parking areas, and overlooks are oft photographed, and you may ask yourself why on earth you would wish to get a photo at a location that’s perhaps been photographed to death. Fair question. The answer is this: the image you capture of that specific place is your image, taken with your camera. There’s a reason that location is so oft-photographed – because it’s beautiful. Don’t deny yourself the opportunity to capture your own beautiful image.

Also, nothing is truly ever exactly the same. There will always be differences in where you place your tripod versus where others place theirs, the angle of your shot, the time of day, the weather, the season, and the atmospheric conditions (i.e. a hazy day due to area wildfire smoke). All these differences add up to an original shot made by you.

Here’s something else to remember: for all your sunset and blue hour imagery, patience is a virtue. Whether it’s sunrise or sunset, remain in your spot to capture all the coloration changes as the sun ascends or descends the sky. Stick around long enough to witness a sunset morph into alpenglow and then blue hour. Arrive early enough to see the opposite occur just before sunrise.

Sunset alpenglow over Lake McDonald (ISO 100, f-9, shutter speed 1/5), Glacier National Park / Rebecca Latson

The blue hour change in atmosphere and color at Lake McDonald (ISO 100, f-9, shutter speed 1/5), Glacier National Park / Rebecca Latson

So, tell me, where are some of your favorite spots in Glacier for sunsets and morning/evening blue hour?

Traveler’s Note: If you are planning to visit Glacier National Park between now and May 2026, you will encounter extremely limited parking in the Many Glacier Valley due to a construction closure in the Swiftcurrent area. The construction zone is closed to ALL traffic until mid-May 2026; the only available parking is at Many Glacier Hotel.

Many Glacier closure map, Glacier National Park / NPS graphic