Sarina Pizzala is a photographer, writer and lover of all things outdoors. She is originally from the flatlands of Minnesota, now a transplant to Seattle. She loves to travel around the PNW to capture beautiful landscapes using her Sony Alpha 7 IV paired with lenses like the Sony 24-70mm f/2.8 G Master, Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 G Master II, Sony 24-105mm f/4 G and Sony 24mm f/2. Keep reading as she shares her favorite spots to photograph winter landscapes across the Pacific Northwest.
Top 3 Winter Landscape Locations
Paradise In Mount Rainier
First, she says that Paradise in Mount Rainier has the best views. “The road takes you up to 5,000 feet, which is pretty impressive in the winter because it’s really hard for them to keep the roads clear.”
She says that from there, you can snowshoe or ski, or Sarina’s favorite, snowcamp. “It’s a super accessible and beautiful location. From there you can see the Tatoosh mountain range. And if you hike a little higher you can see Mount Adams and Mount Saint Helens and even Mount Hood on a clear day. So that's super beautiful.”
Mount Baker Wilderness/Artist Point
Her next recommendation is the Mount Baker wilderness. It’s a few hours north of Seattle and is a popular skiing destination. Sarina highly suggests checking out Artist Point, which in the summer is a parking lot but in the winter you can snowshoe to it. “It kind of brings you to this flat vista at the top where you can see Mount Baker and Mount Jackson and a lot of the North Cascades," she says. "I love to snowshoe and snow camp up there as well.”
Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park
Her final suggestion is Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park. “This road also goes up to 5,000-some feet and it's hard for them to keep open in the winter, but when it is open it brings you up to beautiful views of Olympic National Park and all the mountains there and on a clear day. You can even see into the Puget Sound in Canada. A really beautiful location.”
“For me, I want to see the best views for I would say sometimes the minimal amount of effort. These places are not a lot of effort for amazing views.”
To find good locales, Sarina utilizes Washington Trails Association, a great nonprofit where people post trip reports and talk about the conditions of the trails as well as what gear is needed. She’ll look through the recent trip reports to see where people are headed and what conditions to prep for.
See more of Sarina Pizzala's work on Instagram @sarina_pizzala.
