Located in White County, Tennessee, Blue Spring Cave is a cave. The nearest town is Sparta, about 8.3 km (5.2 mi) away (Blue Spring Cave lies ENE of town).
Blue Spring Cave is a cave located in White County, Tennessee, on the north side of Blue Spring Cove. Blue Spring Cave is Tennessee's 2nd longest cave and the 10th longest cave in the United States. Blue Spring Cave had an explored length of only 500 feet as recently as 1989. In that year a group of cavers enlarged a hole with air movement at the rear of the cave that dropped into a large passage which they named Johnson Avenue, in honor of the owner of the property on which the cave's entrance is located. A second, artificial entrance to the cave was excavated in 2001. This new entrance is named the Carr Entrance, in honor of the family that owns the land on which it is located. This new entrance makes it possible to enter directly into Johnson Avenue and bypass the tight crawlway that connects the historical front 500 feet of the cave to the new discoveries. This entrance is...From the Wikipedia article “Blue Spring Cave”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sunrise & sunset directions
At Blue Spring Cave the sunrise point swings a long way through the year: about 60° (ENE) at the June solstice and 119° (ESE) in late December. Sunset moves from 300° (WNW) in June to 241° (WSW) in December, and the midday sun climbs to 77° in summer but only 31° in winter.
| Date | Sunrise | Azimuth | Sunset | Azimuth | Noon sun | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox (Mar 20) | 6:46 AM | 90° E | 6:54 PM | 271° W | 54° | 12h 07m |
| June solstice (Jun 21) | 5:26 AM | 60° ENE | 8:02 PM | 300° WNW | 77° | 14h 36m |
| September equinox (Sep 22) | 6:30 AM | 89° E | 6:40 PM | 271° W | 54° | 12h 10m |
| December solstice (Dec 21) | 6:49 AM | 119° ESE | 4:32 PM | 241° WSW | 31° | 9h 43m |
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 | 6:24 AM | 6:52 AM | 7:31 AM | 4:13 PM | 4:51 PM | 5:19 PM | 9h 59m |
| February | 6:04 AM | 6:30 AM | 7:05 AM | 4:48 PM | 5:23 PM | 5:50 PM | 10h 54m |
| March | 6:28 AM | 6:53 AM | 7:27 AM | 6:15 PM | 6:49 PM | 7:15 PM | 11h 56m |
| April | 5:43 AM | 6:09 AM | 6:43 AM | 6:41 PM | 7:15 PM | 7:42 PM | 13h 06m |
| May | 5:08 AM | 5:37 AM | 6:13 AM | 7:04 PM | 7:41 PM | 8:09 PM | 14h 04m |
| June | 4:55 AM | 5:25 AM | 6:03 AM | 7:23 PM | 8:01 PM | 8:31 PM | 14h 35m |
| July | 5:08 AM | 5:37 AM | 6:14 AM | 7:22 PM | 7:59 PM | 8:29 PM | 14h 22m |
| August | 5:34 AM | 6:01 AM | 6:36 AM | 6:58 PM | 7:33 PM | 8:00 PM | 13h 32m |
| September | 5:59 AM | 6:25 AM | 6:59 AM | 6:17 PM | 6:51 PM | 7:16 PM | 12h 26m |
| October | 6:23 AM | 6:49 AM | 7:23 AM | 5:33 PM | 6:07 PM | 6:33 PM | 11h 18m |
| November | 5:52 AM | 6:19 AM | 6:56 AM | 3:58 PM | 4:35 PM | 5:03 PM | 10h 16m |
| December | 6:17 AM | 6:46 AM | 7:25 AM | 3:50 PM | 4:30 PM | 4:58 PM | 9h 44m |
Local time (America/Chicago), 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 Blue Spring Cave, the Milky Way core is visible in a dark sky from February through October. June gives the longest window (about 5.7 hours on a moonless night), and the core peaks around 25° above the southern horizon. Our light-pollution model puts the sky at about Bortle 3 (rural sky), good enough for detailed Milky Way images.
| Month | Core visible (15th) | Hours | Max altitude | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | Below 10° in darkness | — | 0° | — |
| February | 4:30 AM – 5:00 AM | 0.5 | 15° | SE → SE |
| March | 3:35 AM – 5:25 AM | 1.8 | 22° | SE → SSE |
| April | 1:36 AM – 4:36 AM | 3.0 | 25° | SE → S |
| May | 11:42 PM – 3:52 AM | 4.2 | 25° | SE → SSW |
| June | 9:51 PM – 3:31 AM | 5.7 | 25° | SE → SW |
| July | 9:45 PM – 2:05 AM | 4.3 | 25° | SSE → SW |
| August | 9:08 PM – 12:08 AM | 3.0 | 25° | S → SW |
| September | 8:18 PM – 10:08 PM | 1.8 | 22° | SSW → SW |
| October | 7:33 PM – 8:03 PM | 0.5 | 15° | SW → SW |
| 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: 3 Bortle 3 — Rural sky. Some light domes sit on the horizon, but the Milky Way still looks complex overhead. Modeled zenith brightness ≈ 21.38 mag/arcsec².
Weather & best season
Long-term NASA satellite data for this area show October as the clearest month (about 47% average cloud cover) and February as the cloudiest (68%). 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 | 69 | 73 | 81 | 83 | 92 | 107 | 104 | 104 | 99 | 98 | 84 | 72 |
| Low °F | 2 | -5 | 13 | 22 | 33 | 47 | 53 | 51 | 39 | 26 | 12 | 8 |
| Precip. (in) | 4.3 | 5.6 | 4.5 | 5.0 | 4.7 | 4.3 | 5.1 | 3.7 | 3.9 | 3.6 | 4.4 | 5.4 |
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
- 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.
- Never touch formations — skin oils stop their growth.
- 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 Blue Spring Cave, closest first.
Waterfall
WaterfallWaterfall
Waterfall
State ParkFAQ
When is the best time to photograph Blue Spring Cave?
What time is golden hour at Blue Spring Cave?
Where does the sun rise and set at Blue Spring Cave?
Can you see the Milky Way from Blue Spring Cave?
Do you need a permit to photograph at Blue Spring Cave?
How far is Blue Spring Cave from Sparta?
Sources
Location data: Wikidata, 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.