Bill Williams Lookout Tower — a fire lookout in Coconino County, Arizona — is a rewarding subject for landscape photographers. It is part of Kaibab National Forest. It sits roughly 5.6 km (3.5 mi) SSW of Williams. Its recorded tower height is about 45 m (148 ft). It dates from 1937.
Wikidata describes it as: “historic fire lookout”.
Sunrise & sunset directions
At Bill Williams Lookout Tower 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 242° (WSW) in December, and the midday sun climbs to 78° in summer but only 31° in winter.
| Date | Sunrise | Azimuth | Sunset | Azimuth | Noon sun | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox (Mar 20) | 6:33 AM | 90° E | 6:41 PM | 271° W | 55° | 12h 08m |
| June solstice (Jun 21) | 5:15 AM | 60° ENE | 7:47 PM | 300° WNW | 78° | 14h 32m |
| September equinox (Sep 22) | 6:18 AM | 89° E | 6:27 PM | 271° W | 55° | 12h 10m |
| December solstice (Dec 21) | 7:34 AM | 119° ESE | 5:21 PM | 242° WSW | 31° | 9h 47m |
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
Lookouts are built for 360° views, so sunrise and sunset are both options — use the azimuths to decide which view you want.
| Month (15th) | Blue hour starts | Sunrise | Golden hour ends | Golden hour starts | Sunset | Blue hour ends | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7:10 AM | 7:37 AM | 8:15 AM | 5:02 PM | 5:40 PM | 6:08 PM | 10h 03m |
| February | 6:50 AM | 7:16 AM | 7:51 AM | 5:37 PM | 6:12 PM | 6:38 PM | 10h 56m |
| March | 6:15 AM | 6:40 AM | 7:14 AM | 6:03 PM | 6:37 PM | 7:02 PM | 11h 56m |
| April | 5:31 AM | 5:57 AM | 6:31 AM | 6:28 PM | 7:02 PM | 7:28 PM | 13h 04m |
| May | 4:58 AM | 5:26 AM | 6:02 AM | 6:51 PM | 7:26 PM | 7:55 PM | 14h 01m |
| June | 4:45 AM | 5:15 AM | 5:52 AM | 7:08 PM | 7:46 PM | 8:15 PM | 14h 31m |
| July | 4:57 AM | 5:26 AM | 6:03 AM | 7:08 PM | 7:44 PM | 8:14 PM | 14h 18m |
| August | 5:23 AM | 5:49 AM | 6:24 AM | 6:44 PM | 7:19 PM | 7:46 PM | 13h 30m |
| September | 5:47 AM | 6:12 AM | 6:46 AM | 6:04 PM | 6:37 PM | 7:03 PM | 12h 25m |
| October | 6:10 AM | 6:36 AM | 7:10 AM | 5:21 PM | 5:55 PM | 6:21 PM | 11h 19m |
| November | 6:38 AM | 7:05 AM | 7:42 AM | 4:47 PM | 5:24 PM | 5:51 PM | 10h 19m |
| December | 7:03 AM | 7:31 AM | 8:10 AM | 4:40 PM | 5:19 PM | 5:47 PM | 9h 48m |
Local time (America/Phoenix), 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 Bill Williams Lookout Tower, the Milky Way core is visible in a dark sky from February through October. June gives the longest window (about 5.8 hours on a moonless night), and the core peaks around 26° 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 | — | -1° | — |
| February | 5:17 AM – 5:47 AM | 0.5 | 15° | SE → SE |
| March | 3:21 AM – 5:11 AM | 1.8 | 23° | SE → SSE |
| April | 1:21 AM – 4:21 AM | 3.0 | 26° | SE → S |
| May | 11:26 PM – 3:36 AM | 4.2 | 26° | SE → SSW |
| June | 9:33 PM – 3:23 AM | 5.8 | 26° | SE → SW |
| July | 9:29 PM – 1:59 AM | 4.5 | 26° | SSE → SW |
| August | 8:52 PM – 11:52 PM | 3.0 | 26° | S → SW |
| September | 8:03 PM – 9:53 PM | 1.8 | 23° | SSW → SW |
| October | 7:20 PM – 8:00 PM | 0.7 | 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 ≈ 21.43 mag/arcsec².
Weather & best season
Long-term NASA satellite data for this area show June as the clearest month (about 21% average cloud cover) and December as the cloudiest (48%). July is the warmest month and December 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 | 68 | 70 | 80 | 87 | 96 | 102 | 104 | 101 | 99 | 88 | 77 | 67 |
| Low °F | 0 | -1 | 10 | 16 | 27 | 39 | 50 | 47 | 33 | 19 | 14 | 0 |
| Precip. (in) | 1.4 | 1.6 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 2.3 | 2.3 | 1.3 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 1.3 |
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 fire lookout
- Some lookouts can be rented overnight through recreation.gov, which puts you on site for both sunset and sunrise.
- Shoot the tower itself against the Milky Way or star trails on clear, moonless nights.
- Haze from wildfire smoke can turn the sun deep red but reduce visibility; check air quality.
- Access roads may be rough or seasonal.
- Shoot RAW to keep the most latitude for high-contrast sunrise and sunset scenes.
Season: Summer and early autumn; many towers are staffed only during fire season.
Suggested gear: Wide and telephoto lenses, Tripod, Warm layers. Work out exposures with the depth of field, ND filter and NPF rule calculators.
Nearby photo spots
Other locations within 25 km of Bill Williams Lookout Tower, closest first.
Campgrounds nearby (Recreation.gov)
- Dogtown Lake Campground And Group7.5 km (4.7 mi) · reservable
- Kaibab Lake Sites And Group Areas10.0 km (6.2 mi) · reservable
- White Horse Lake Campground19.5 km (12.1 mi) · reservable
- Spring Valley Cabin & Bunkhouse28 km (18 mi) · reservable
FAQ
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Sources
Location data: Wikidata. 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.