Located in Franklin County, Florida, St. James Forestry Site is a fire lookout. It is part of Tate's Hell State Forest. It sits roughly 18.9 km (11.7 mi) NE of Carrabelle.
Wikidata describes it as: “Florida State Forest ranger station”.
Sunrise & sunset directions
At St. James Forestry Site the sunrise point swings a long way through the year: about 62° (ENE) at the June solstice and 117° (ESE) in late December. Sunset moves from 298° (WNW) in June to 243° (WSW) in December, and the midday sun climbs to 83° in summer but only 37° in winter.
| Date | Sunrise | Azimuth | Sunset | Azimuth | Noon sun | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox (Mar 20) | 7:43 AM | 90° E | 7:50 PM | 271° W | 60° | 12h 07m |
| June solstice (Jun 21) | 6:38 AM | 62° ENE | 8:43 PM | 298° WNW | 83° | 14h 04m |
| September equinox (Sep 22) | 7:27 AM | 89° E | 7:36 PM | 271° W | 60° | 12h 09m |
| December solstice (Dec 21) | 7:30 AM | 117° ESE | 5:43 PM | 243° WSW | 37° | 10h 13m |
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 | 7:09 AM | 7:35 AM | 8:10 AM | 5:26 PM | 6:01 PM | 6:27 PM | 10h 26m |
| February | 6:54 AM | 7:19 AM | 7:52 AM | 5:54 PM | 6:27 PM | 6:52 PM | 11h 09m |
| March | 7:25 AM | 7:49 AM | 8:20 AM | 7:15 PM | 7:47 PM | 8:11 PM | 11h 58m |
| April | 6:47 AM | 7:12 AM | 7:44 AM | 7:33 PM | 8:05 PM | 8:30 PM | 12h 54m |
| May | 6:19 AM | 6:46 AM | 7:19 AM | 7:51 PM | 8:25 PM | 8:51 PM | 13h 39m |
| June | 6:10 AM | 6:37 AM | 7:12 AM | 8:06 PM | 8:41 PM | 9:09 PM | 14h 04m |
| July | 6:21 AM | 6:48 AM | 7:22 AM | 8:07 PM | 8:41 PM | 9:08 PM | 13h 54m |
| August | 6:41 AM | 7:06 AM | 7:39 AM | 7:48 PM | 8:21 PM | 8:46 PM | 13h 14m |
| September | 6:59 AM | 7:23 AM | 7:55 AM | 7:13 PM | 7:45 PM | 8:09 PM | 12h 22m |
| October | 7:16 AM | 7:40 AM | 8:13 AM | 6:36 PM | 7:08 PM | 7:33 PM | 11h 28m |
| November | 6:39 AM | 7:04 AM | 7:38 AM | 5:09 PM | 5:43 PM | 6:08 PM | 10h 39m |
| December | 7:01 AM | 7:27 AM | 8:03 AM | 5:05 PM | 5:41 PM | 6:07 PM | 10h 14m |
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 St. James Forestry Site, the Milky Way core is visible in a dark sky from February through October. June gives the longest window (about 6.7 hours on a moonless night), and the core peaks around 31° above the southern horizon. Our light-pollution model puts the sky at about Bortle 2 (typical truly dark site), which is excellent for astrophotography.
| Month | Core visible (15th) | Hours | Max altitude | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | Below 10° in darkness | — | 2° | — |
| February | 4:58 AM – 5:48 AM | 0.8 | 18° | SE → SE |
| March | 4:06 AM – 6:26 AM | 2.3 | 28° | SE → SSE |
| April | 2:09 AM – 5:39 AM | 3.5 | 31° | SE → S |
| May | 12:06 AM – 5:06 AM | 5.0 | 31° | SE → SSW |
| June | 10:18 PM – 4:58 AM | 6.7 | 31° | SE → SW |
| July | 10:15 PM – 3:35 AM | 5.3 | 31° | SSE → SW |
| August | 9:47 PM – 1:27 AM | 3.7 | 31° | S → SW |
| September | 9:05 PM – 11:25 PM | 2.3 | 28° | SSW → SW |
| October | 8:28 PM – 9:28 PM | 1.0 | 20° | SW → SW |
| November | Below 10° in darkness | — | 4° | — |
| December | Below 10° in darkness | — | -18° | — |
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: 2 Bortle 2 — Typical truly dark site. The summer Milky Way shows rich structure; clouds look like black holes in the stars. Modeled zenith brightness ≈ 21.8 mag/arcsec².
Weather & best season
Long-term NASA satellite data for this area show May as the clearest month (about 37% average cloud cover) and July as the cloudiest (60%). August 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 | 72 | 71 | 75 | 78 | 84 | 89 | 90 | 90 | 89 | 86 | 79 | 73 |
| Low °F | 34 | 40 | 42 | 53 | 60 | 71 | 78 | 78 | 69 | 55 | 46 | 40 |
| Precip. (in) | 3.9 | 5.0 | 3.9 | 3.8 | 3.0 | 8.4 | 8.6 | 9.6 | 5.9 | 3.4 | 3.1 | 4.5 |
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
- Access roads may be rough or seasonal.
- 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.
- 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 St. James Forestry Site, closest first.
State Park
Beach
State Park
Scenic Viewpoint
Lighthouse
LighthouseFAQ
When is the best time to photograph St. James Forestry Site?
What time is golden hour at St. James Forestry Site?
Where does the sun rise and set at St. James Forestry Site?
Can you see the Milky Way from St. James Forestry Site?
Do you need a permit to photograph at St. James Forestry Site?
How far is St. James Forestry Site from Carrabelle?
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.