Sunrise at the Watchman Overlook, Crater Lake National Park / Rebecca Latson

Back in 2019 and 2020, I wrote several articles for the Traveler about my favorite photography spots from places I’ve visited within the National Park System. Since then, I’ve traveled to several more park units with more favorite photo spots I’d like to share with you. These favorite photographic spots of mine might even already be your favorite spots.

Crater Lake National Park (Oregon)

During the three days I spent in this national park, my favorite places were those providing stunning views of sunrises, sunsets, comet NEOWISE and the entirety of the lake. One of those favorites for sunrise was the Watchman Overlook. This view area is a great place to use a wide-angle lens for incorporating all (or almost all) of the lake into your composition.

Sunrise from the Sinnott Memorial Overlook, Crater Lake National Park / Rebecca Latson

Another favorite sunrise spot was the Sinnott Memorial Overlook, not far from Crater Lake Lodge and Rim Village. You’d need an ultra-wide-angle lens with an 11mm, 12mm, or 14mm focal length to get the entire lake at this spot. I used a 16-35mm zoom lens, and while unable to get the entire lake circumference, I did manage to include a tiny bit of land at both bottom corners of the composition alluding to the circular nature of the lake. Anything wider, in my opinion, would have made that sunrise sunstar you see here much smaller and perhaps not as impactful to the composition. Of course, that could just be me rationalizing since I did not have any wider lens on me during that sunrise moment.

Depending upon the season you visit Crater Lake, access to these two overlooks might be closed due to weather (aka snow). Whatever time of year you visit, bear in mind the sun’s position relative to the lake. From experience photographing sunset at the Window in Big Bend National Park during winter and spring, I know sunrise and sunset occur at slightly different angles due to the season.

The view from the Watchman Peak summit, Crater Lake National Park / Rebecca Latson

Rim Drive and Crater Lake from the Watchman Peak summit, Crater Lake National Park / Rebecca Latson

For a nice stretch of the legs and a great overall view of Crater Lake and surrounding scenery, hike the 1.6-mile roundtrip trail to the summit of Watchman Peak. You’ll get great photos of the entire lake as well as interesting images of the curvy Rim Drive. I’ll wager you can get some fantastic sunrise shots from that vantage point, too, if you are willing to make the upward trek at oh-dark-thirty to snag a photo spot for your camera and tripod.

A sunset view from Palisade Point, Crater Lake National Park / Rebecca Latson

Like sunrise, the location of the setting sun is dependent upon the time of year. During my July visit, one of the best spots for sunset was Palisade Point, a view area a little further southeast of the Cleetwood Cove Trail stop.

A telephoto view of sunset's afterglow at Palisade Point, Crater Lake National Park / Rebecca Latson

First appearance of comet NEOWISE, Crater Lake National Park / Rebecca Latson

Comet NEOWISE, Crater Lake National Park / Rebecca Latson

I remained at Palisade Point past sunset to photograph the last bit of afterglow and then the night sky and comet NEOWISE.

Redwood National and State Parks (California)

Looking up at some very tall redwoods at Stout Grove, Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, Redwood National and State Parks / Rebecca Latson

I’d read about Stout Grove in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park and decided I wanted this to be my first real view of coastal redwoods. It takes careful driving on a winding gravel road to get to the small parking lot and trail head (I got lost at one point), but it’s worth it. While it doesn’t take long to walk the entire one-half-mile Stout Grove loop, it behooves the hiker to spend time wandering and wondering at the fern-carpeted forest floor beneath towering, ramrod-straight coastal redwoods.

The view into the forest, Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, Redwood National and State Parks / Rebecca Latson

I used my ultra-wide-angle 11-24mm lens almost exclusively when photographing these tall trees. Granted, wide-angle lenses, especially ultra-wides, create very interesting perspectives to a subject, but it’s a great way to photograph the entirety of a redwood tree while creating a little more photographic interest. Horizontal shots are lovely too, even if you don’t get the complete height of the trees. Just think about how best to frame your composition to give your viewers an idea of the trees’ environment.

Redwoods in the mist at Elk Meadow, Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, Redwood National and State Parks / Rebecca Latson

At Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, there’s a place aptly named Elk Prairie, with tall golden grass occasionally populated by grazing elk, and a misty, mystical atmosphere in the mornings. With my usual wildlife luck, I saw only one (camera-shy) elk during my visit, so I instead focused on the expanse of golden grass and the mist-veiled redwoods in the background.

A road through the redwoods, Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, Redwood National and State Parks / Rebecca Latson

The Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway runs through this state park and makes a great leading line through the redwoods (I’ve got a thing for leading lines). There are also numerous trailheads all along this stretch of road inviting the rambler into the quiet forest interior.

A coastal view at Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park, Redwood National and State Parks / Rebecca Latson

For coastline scenery, there are pullouts and parking areas at Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park. Wilson Creek Beach was a favorite location for photo ops, even on a smoky day. Speaking of smoke, timing is everything. My October visit coincided with that year’s wildfire season in California, and smoke from various parts of the state wafted in to create atmospherically misty forest interiors while coastlines, on the other hand, were generally socked in not only with drifting wildfire smoke but morning fog so I often could not see more than a few feet away from my tripod setup. I’ll wager a winter or early spring visit would probably provide clearer views.

Yosemite National Park (California)

A hazy summer sunrise at Tunnel View, Yosemite National Park / Rebecca Latson

Tunnel View is an absolute favorite. Yes, the Yosemite Valley from this spot is one of the most oft-photographed vistas in the park and gazillions of people have captured shots from there. Didn’t matter to me. A favorite spot is a favorite spot and the photo I took was my very own and nobody else’s. I wanted my first real view of the valley to be at sunrise from there, even though I knew from looking at others’ Tunnel View sunrise images that it probably wouldn’t be anything dramatic (although weather and clouds might spice things up a bit). My own visit coincided – again - with a heavy wildfire season. That said, the morning’s smoky atmosphere diffused and saturated the pinkish sunlight which lasted for maybe a couple of minutes before giving way completely to white haze. I re-visited Tunnel View several times during my week’s stay in Yosemite, but nothing matched that first sunrise I captured on my first day there. I’d love to return to Tunnel View during the spring or winter, when there’s snow, mist, and gushing waterfalls to add to the composition.

A Yosemite summer sunset, Yosemite National Park / Rebecca Latson

My favorite spot for sunset was actually looking from inside the park to the outside, beyond park boundaries. There’s a long-ish paved pullout along the Glacier Peak Road, between Badger Pass Ski Area and Wawona Road. It looks out toward the Merced River and El Portal and the landscape afar. I almost didn’t stop there but realized I’d regret not capturing the amazing summer sunset. If you are ever driving the Glacier Point Road on a summer evening, don’t you miss that stop for a fantastic sunset. You can’t miss it because there will probably be other sunset watchers at that spot.

The view beyond the rocky riverbank of the Merced River, Yosemite National Park / Rebecca Latson

Anywhere along the Merced River, with El Capitan in the background, is a great photo spot. There’s one very small turnout right next to the river providing a perfect combination of rocky riverbank, flowing river, tall trees, and El Cap. As mentioned earlier, timing is something to think about when planning your photo trip. My late August visit saw little to no flowing river water in spots. I could have walked in places from one side to the other without getting anything more than my toes wet. But I sure loved that particular view.

The boardwalk over the meadow, Yosemite National Park / Rebecca Latson

I’m a sucker for the leading line technique: trails, roads, boardwalks – anything picturesque that leads the viewer’s eye from one part of a composition to another. The boardwalks across the Yosemite Valley meadows offer plenty of leading line photo ops. Mornings deliver great light for the views higher up, but the valley itself is shaded. Rather than expose for the shaded areas and risk blowing out (overexposing) the brighter portions of my composition (the sky and El Capitan), I exposed for those bright areas then lightened the shadows in the valley once I downloaded this image onto my laptop.

Glacial erratics and joints in the granite at Olmsted Point, Yosemite National Park / Rebecca Latson

Lake Tenaya nestled within the rounded granite of the High Sierras, Yosemite National Park / Rebecca Latson

Tree roots in the granite joints, Yosemite National Park / Rebecca Latson

My most favorite place for photography was around the Olmsted Point view area along Tioga Road, up in the northeastern portion of the park. That’s High Sierra country, with rounded granite domes, hills, and mountains littered with boulder-sized glacial erratics and patches of hardy trees with exposed roots lining deep joints through eroded rock.

Great Basin National Park (Nevada)

Waiting for sunrise along the Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive, Great Basin National Park / Rebecca Latson

Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive is your route for accessing sunrise, sunset, and night sky imagery. A good idea is to drive the entirety of the road, first, for photo reconnaissance. You’ll note there are few parking areas or pullouts on this narrow, winding road with an eight percent grade and a 4,000-foot elevation gain. That said, a large pullout near a curve in the road about midway up provides great sunrise and sunset vistas of the Nevada and Utah landscape beyond the park.

A summer morning at a bristlecone grove, Great Basin National Park / Rebecca Latson

While visiting Great Basin, one of my bucket list items was to hike the 2.8-mile (4.5 km) roundtrip Bristlecone Grove Trail and photograph the ancient bristlecone pine trees and their “almost human-like forms … shaped by the wind, snow, and rain [having] survived over thousands of years, overseeing the rise and fall of great empires, growing through ice-ages and catastrophic volcanic eruptions.” This grove was a favorite spot and I truly felt humbled standing amidst these senior citizens of the tree world.

Cave shield "parachute" speleothems, Lehman Caves, Great Basin National Park / Rebecca Latson

I wasn’t expecting Lehman Caves to be a favorite spot for photography. Originally, I felt sort of “meh” about the prospect of trailing along underground with a small group behind a ranger guide along a slippery narrow packed dirt trail. However, I knew I needed to experience a cave tour to flesh out my visit to Great Basin for Traveler articles. I loved the experience and captured some really cool shots! I’d definitely take a Lehman Caves tour again to reach this favorite photography area. This is one of those places where tripods are not allowed, so getting shots of the amazing cave formations requires handholding your camera, which is not the easiest thing in the world in low light. If you want to know how I captured cave shots, then check out my Great Basin photography column.  

Lewis And Clark National Historic Trail (Washington state portion)

Sunrise and crashing king tide waves at Cape Disappointment, Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail / Rebecca Latson

King tide waves with a life of their own, Cape Disappointment State Park, Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail / Rebecca Latson

Of all the places I explored along the Washington state portion of this national historic trail, my favorite photo op spot was along the jetty at Waikiki Beach looking out toward the lighthouse in Cape Disappointment State Park, at the junction of the Pacific Ocean and the mouth of the Columbia River. This location offered an exceptional opportunity to photograph the annual king tide: “the highest predicted high tide of the year at a coastal location. It is above the highest water level reached at high tide on an average day,” according to epa.gov. If you are interested in learning how to photograph king tides for yourself, then read through my April photo column.

Looking up the Columbia River, Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail / Rebecca Latson

Autumn color in the Columbia Hills, Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail / Rebecca Latson

Another favorite photo op along the Washington portion of this national historic trail was not necessarily a single stop so much as any stop along the route paralleling the flow of the Columbia River (WA SR 14) east of the Cascade Mountains. While the western side of the Cascades is wetter and greener, the eastern side is drier, rockier, windier, and more solitary-feeling. Perhaps it’s that solitary aspect in addition to the dry, open vistas which attracted my attention more.

Finding favorite spots for photography in the National Park System never ends, no matter whether it’s a new park unit or one you’ve visited more than once. For me, favorite spots are usually view areas, pullouts, and some short trails thrown in for good measure. For you, a favorite spot might be similar, or instead might be way out in national park backcountry, at a place only you know. Maybe that favorite spot is even a place outside looking into the park. The key to it being a favorite spot is that It’s a place you’d visit again and again with your SLR, point-and-shoot, or smartphone.

A misty morning at Elk Grove in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, Redwood National and State Parks / Rebecca Latson