Located in Schoharie County, New York, Howe Caverns is a cave at about 319 m (1,047 ft) above sea level. The nearest town is Cobleskill, about 7.4 km (4.6 mi) away (Howe Caverns lies ENE of town).
Howe Caverns is a limestone solutional cave, operated as a show cave, in the hamlet of Howes Cave, Schoharie County, New York. Howe Caverns is a popular tourist attraction, providing visitors with a sense of caving or spelunking, without needing the advanced equipment and training usually associated with such adventures.From the Wikipedia article “Howe Caverns”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sunrise & sunset directions
At Howe Caverns the sunrise point swings a long way through the year: about 56° (ENE) at the June solstice and 122° (ESE) in late December. Sunset moves from 304° (NW) in June to 238° (WSW) in December, and the midday sun climbs to 71° in summer but only 24° in winter.
| Date | Sunrise | Azimuth | Sunset | Azimuth | Noon sun | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox (Mar 20) | 7:02 AM | 90° E | 7:10 PM | 271° W | 47° | 12h 08m |
| June solstice (Jun 21) | 5:20 AM | 56° ENE | 8:40 PM | 304° NW | 71° | 15h 20m |
| September equinox (Sep 22) | 6:46 AM | 89° E | 6:57 PM | 271° W | 48° | 12h 11m |
| December solstice (Dec 21) | 7:25 AM | 122° ESE | 4:27 PM | 238° WSW | 24° | 9h 02m |
Azimuth is measured clockwise from true north (90° = east, 270° = west). Computed for 2026; values change by less than a degree from year to year.
Golden hour & blue hour by month
Caves are lit artificially — show caves have fixed lighting, so a fast lens and high ISO beat flash, which flattens formations.
| Month (15th) | Blue hour starts | Sunrise | Golden hour ends | Golden hour starts | Sunset | Blue hour ends | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6:55 AM | 7:26 AM | 8:10 AM | 4:05 PM | 4:49 PM | 5:21 PM | 9h 23m |
| February | 6:27 AM | 6:56 AM | 7:35 AM | 4:50 PM | 5:30 PM | 5:59 PM | 10h 34m |
| March | 6:43 AM | 7:11 AM | 7:48 AM | 6:27 PM | 7:04 PM | 7:32 PM | 11h 53m |
| April | 5:48 AM | 6:17 AM | 6:55 AM | 7:02 PM | 7:40 PM | 8:09 PM | 13h 23m |
| May | 5:04 AM | 5:36 AM | 6:17 AM | 7:33 PM | 8:13 PM | 8:46 PM | 14h 37m |
| June | 4:45 AM | 5:20 AM | 6:03 AM | 7:55 PM | 8:38 PM | 9:13 PM | 15h 18m |
| July | 5:00 AM | 5:34 AM | 6:15 AM | 7:53 PM | 8:35 PM | 9:09 PM | 15h 01m |
| August | 5:34 AM | 6:05 AM | 6:44 AM | 7:22 PM | 8:01 PM | 8:32 PM | 13h 56m |
| September | 6:10 AM | 6:38 AM | 7:15 AM | 6:32 PM | 7:09 PM | 7:38 PM | 12h 31m |
| October | 6:43 AM | 7:11 AM | 7:50 AM | 5:38 PM | 6:17 PM | 6:45 PM | 11h 06m |
| November | 6:20 AM | 6:50 AM | 7:32 AM | 3:54 PM | 4:36 PM | 5:07 PM | 9h 46m |
| December | 6:50 AM | 7:22 AM | 8:08 AM | 3:40 PM | 4:25 PM | 4:58 PM | 9h 04m |
Local time (America/New York), including daylight saving time. Golden hour runs from about −4° to +6° solar altitude, so the morning golden hour begins during blue hour, before sunrise.
Milky Way & night sky
From Howe Caverns, the Milky Way core is visible in a dark sky from March through September. June gives the longest window (about 4.0 hours on a moonless night), and the core peaks around 18° above the southern horizon. Our light-pollution model puts the sky at about Bortle 4 (rural / suburban transition), good enough for detailed Milky Way images.
| Month | Core visible (15th) | Hours | Max altitude | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | Below 10° in darkness | — | -4° | — |
| February | Below 10° in darkness | — | 9° | — |
| March | 4:39 AM – 5:29 AM | 0.8 | 15° | SSE → SSE |
| April | 2:42 AM – 4:32 AM | 1.8 | 18° | SSE → S |
| May | 12:43 AM – 3:33 AM | 2.8 | 18° | SSE → S |
| June | 10:55 PM – 2:55 AM | 4.0 | 18° | SSE → SSW |
| July | 10:44 PM – 1:34 AM | 2.8 | 18° | S → SSW |
| August | 9:50 PM – 11:40 PM | 1.8 | 18° | S → SSW |
| September | 8:46 PM – 9:36 PM | 0.8 | 15° | SSW → SSW |
| October | Below 10° in darkness | — | 9° | — |
| November | Below 10° in darkness | — | -2° | — |
| December | Below 10° in darkness | — | -19° | — |
Window when the galactic core is at least 10° high during astronomical darkness on the 15th of each month. Pick nights within a few days of the new moon. Plan exact nights with the Milky Way planner.
Estimated sky darkness: 4 Bortle 4 — Rural / suburban transition. Light domes are visible in several directions; the Milky Way is clear but lacks detail near the horizon. Modeled zenith brightness ≈ 21.0 mag/arcsec². Aurora needs roughly Kp 5.5+ to show low on the northern horizon here.
Weather & best season
Long-term NASA satellite data for this area show September as the clearest month (about 53% average cloud cover) and December as the cloudiest (78%). July is the warmest month and January the coldest, which matters for gear, snow access and how long batteries last at night.
Average cloud cover (%)
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High °F | 61 | 70 | 72 | 83 | 86 | 88 | 92 | 95 | 91 | 83 | 71 | 66 |
| Low °F | -21 | -17 | -16 | 9 | 26 | 34 | 44 | 44 | 32 | 17 | -3 | -5 |
| Precip. (in) | 2.8 | 3.0 | 3.2 | 3.7 | 3.9 | 4.9 | 4.5 | 4.7 | 4.3 | 4.7 | 3.2 | 3.8 |
Monthly climatology for the surrounding 1° grid cell from NASA POWER (MERRA-2). Mountain sites can be colder and cloudier than the cell average.
Photography tips for this cave
- Never touch formations — skin oils stop their growth.
- Follow White-nose Syndrome decontamination rules where posted to protect bats.
- Many show caves restrict tripods on tours; ask in advance or bring a small beanbag.
- Use manual focus with focus peaking in low light.
- Shoot RAW to keep the most latitude for high-contrast sunrise and sunset scenes.
Season: Cave interiors stay at a constant temperature year-round; summer tours fill up, so book ahead.
Suggested gear: Fast lens (f/1.8–f/2.8), High-ISO camera, Small beanbag. Work out exposures with the depth of field, ND filter and NPF rule calculators.
Nearby photo spots
Other locations within 25 km of Howe Caverns, closest first.
Cave
Covered Bridge
State Park
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How far is Howe Caverns from Cobleskill?
Sources
Location data: Wikidata, USGS GNIS / GeoNames, Wikipedia. Sun, moon and Milky Way times are computed by LWPhoto Atlas for 2026. Climate: NASA POWER. Sky darkness is a population-based estimate (Walker's law), not a measurement. See data sources & licenses.