“Sunrise Surprise” Fishercap Lake Sunrise At Glacier National Park In Montana.
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What Is Fishercap Lake And Where Is It?
Fishercap Lake is a small lake at Glacier National Park. The lake is on the east side of Glacier in The Many Glacier section of the park. The nearest thing that resembles a town is Babb, Montana. There is a restaurant there along with a small hotel and and some gas pumps that only take credit cards. The next nearest town that is a little bigger is the town of St. Mary right outside the east entrance of the Going To The Sun Road through the heart of Glacier National Park.
What Is It Like To Travel To Fishercap Lake At Glacier National Park?
Glacier National Park in Montana is quite a haul for most people. The nearest big towns include Kalispell and Whitefish Montana. The nearest airport is the Glacier Park International Airport. The whole area used to a quiet little section of the country just ten years ago. It is a mob scene now. Flight to Kalispell are expensive, lodging is expensive and rental cars can be hard to come by. Assuming you can get all that taken care of, the rest of the trip to Fishercap Lake feels a bit more remote.
In order to get to Fishercap Lake, you’ll need to head up to the town of Babb from St. Mary, East Glacier or areas farther south and head into the Many Glacier section of the park. The best area to park is at the far end of the parking lot by the Swiftcurrent Motor Lodge in Many Glacier. From there, get out of your car, look for some signs that point to Fishercap Lake or Red Rock Lake and start hiking. The hike from the trailhead is a pretty flat half mile or so. If you’re not sure where to go then head into the Swiftcurrent Motor Inn and ask for directions.
Glacier National Park and the Many Glacier section of the park where Fishercap Lake is located is in the heart of grizzly country. Be sure to keep an eye out for bears and carry a can of bear spray with you when you hike to Fishercap Lake!
What Does It Take To Get A Wall Art Quality Photo Of Fishercap Lake Sunrise Photo?
Generally speaking Fishercap Lake is not a popular sunrise spot at Glacier National Park. Hardly anyone goes there for sunrise, especially with Grinnell Point and Swiftcurrent Lake and Swiftcurrent Falls very close by in the Many Glacier section of the park. If you’ve already gotten your fill of those two spots and are looking for something different then maybe you go to Fishercap Lake for sunrise.
If you do plan to go to Fishercap Lake for sunrise, you’ll need to get to the parking lot by Swiftcurrent Motor Lodge and then plan on a 15-20 minute hike to Fishercap Lake in the dark. Bring a headlamp and bear spray. It’s an easy flat hike. If you are running late, it is the type of trail you can run or jog on without too much effort.
Once you get the lake, you’ll probably want to walk around to the left along the lake-shore. To get a good spot looking back at the mountains that will light up at sunrise, you’ll probably be walking in a bit of water along the sandy/muddy shore. Your feet will probably get wet. Keep an eye out for moose in the brush there. Bring a tripod for sunrise since you’ll be shooting in low light initially.
What Is The Best Gear For Photographing Sunrise At Fishercap Lake In Many Glacier?
The sunrise hike to Fishercap Lake is pretty short. You won’t have to worry much about the weight of the gear you decide to carry up there. For Fishercap sunrise photos, a standard DSLR or mirrorless setup will work just fine. If you are going to take one lens, a 24-105mm lens will probably work just fine. You may want to take a 17-40mm lens as well. It just depends on how much flexibility you want to have to zoom in or out.
Since the light will be low at sunrise, you’ll want to take a solid tripod. It should be on that you don’t mind getting dirty and wet. It will likely be standing in mud/sand/water along the edge of the lake. It might sink in a couple inches at most. A cable release could come in handy to minimize any shaking or vibrations while the shutter is open. If you’re actually pressing the button on the camera, putting in on a two or ten second timer would be a good idea.
This isn’t really a panoramic view but you might be able to frame up some scenes that would lend themselves to panoramic shots. It is a short hike up there so the extra weight for the gear won’t be a big burden.
Though landscape views may be the primary goal of heading up to Fishercap Lake for sunrise, this is a popular spot for moose to hangout. If you have a big lens like a Tamron 150-600mm or some long Nikon or Canon prime lens you may want to haul that up there in case there are moose wandering around or in the lake at sunrise.
What Is The Story Behind Many Glacier Fishercap Sunrise Wall Art Photo?
This was the first sunrise photo I ever took at Fishercap Lake. It was the first time I’d ever been to Glacier National Park and the first time to Many Glacier. It was taken back in 2012.
I’d been on an extended road trip through lots of National Parks across the US. On September 30th I got to the town of East Glacier. The weather was absolutely beautiful. It was nice and warm and sunny. I was able to get a place to stay in East Glacier for ONE night because everything was closing down the next day. While there I talked to a few people. They all suggested going up to St. Mary and Many Glacier. I ended up going to Many Glacier and spending two weeks there. By the time I left, the water had been shut off in the campground. There were grizzly and black bears EVERYWHERE there. That was the reason I stayed so long. There was a decent sized group of people from all over the world there to watch and photograph the bears. Moose and bighorn sheep were plentiful in the area too.
Once morning after sleeping in the car in the Many Glacier Campground I decided to get up early to photograph moose at Fishercap. I think there were some moose there off to the side of the lake. While standing there photographing moose, I kept looking and the scene unfolding in front of me. Should I keep photographing the moose or completely switch setups and go for the amazing landscape scene unfolding in front of me? I finally gave in, setup the tripod, mounted the landscape camera and started shooting.
It was quite a scramble to get setup. My feet got soaked in the icy cold waters. The tripod sunk in the mud along the lake shore. I set my backpack down in the wet frosty brush. Once the camera settings were dialed in, the shots started coming. As you can see in the photo, this was taken a bit after sunrise. Prior to sunrise, the valley there was pretty socked in. The light wasn’t even good for photographing moose.
As the sun came up, the fog started to lift and burn off, the drama of the scene faded quickly. I’ve been back to Glacier National Park and the Many Glacier numerous times over the years. When I get burned out on other sunrise shots, sometimes I’ll go back to Fishercap for sunrise. Over the next 8 years of trips to Glacier there has never been a scene like this at Fishercap Lake. While Fishercap can be a great sunrise spot, the chances of capturing a magical scene elsewhere in the park are much greater.
In What Formats Is This Many Glacier Fishercap Sunrise Wall Art Print Available?
This Fishercap sunrise print is available in a variety of sizes up to 40×60 inches. It comes on paper, wood, canvas, acrylic and metal. If you want to hand this print in an area with a lot of bright artificial or natural light then you’ll probably want a matte finish. Matte paper or canvas would be the best choices.
If you’ll be hanging it in an area with more diffused lighting, something with a metallic or shiny finish like metal, glossy canvas, or a paper with a metallic or glossy finish may be more desirable. The colors on a print that is metal or with a metallic or glossy finish are incredible.
If you’re thinking of something more along the lines of home decor, shower curtains and Sherpa Fleece blankets are pretty awesome! Since these are larger than 40×60 prints, the image will not be as sharp as a print. Since the texture of a blanket or shower curtain is a bit more rough than a print, the image on either product will still look awesome.
If you’d prefer to show off this print, it comes on a variety of apparel, canvas tote bags that are very sturdy and fantastic for grocery shopping and can be customized on your favorite phone case.
Numerous other products are available and you can adjust the image placement however you’d like on any of the items available.
This photo won an honorable mention in the 2012 Aperture Academy “Extraordinary Exposures” photo contest.
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