I love exploring and photographing Olympic National Park, which covers nearly 1,000,000 acres. The park is incredibly diverse, featuring everything from temperate rainforests and rugged coastlines to mountains that rise 8,000 feet above sea level. Glaciers on these mountains feed numerous beautiful rivers, waterfalls, and lakes.

When staying in Port Angeles, accessing the rivers, waterfalls, and beaches on the west side of the peninsula requires navigating along HWY 101 beside the undulating coastline of Lake Crescent. At nearly 12 miles long and 300 feet deep, Lake Crescent is one of the largest lakes on the Olympic Peninsula. There are frequent turnouts along the drive, providing several viewpoints and photographic opportunities.

While traveling along this stretch of road in the pre-dawn twilight en route to the Sol Duc River—which is known for its stunning Sol Duc Falls—I noticed the clear skies and a faint haze hanging in the valley holding Lake Crescent. As the early rays of the sun began to illuminate the pre-dawn sky, I saw the lake starting to glow with golden tones refracting and reflecting through the haze.

As I rounded a sweeping corner on the west end of the lake, I encountered a sudden gap in the trees that revealed a stunning view of the mirror-like expanse of the lake stretching miles to the east. I quickly stopped along the road, grabbed my gear from the trunk, and set up to capture a few shots. I must admit that I didn't fully realize the beautiful symmetry of the image I had quickly taken until I returned home from my trip and uploaded my files. I'm so glad I resisted the impulse to keep driving to my intended destination and made the effort to stop and capture this photograph!