Located in Santa Fe County, New Mexico, Glorieta Baldy Lookout Tower is a fire lookout. It is part of Santa Fe National Forest. The nearest town is Santa Fe, about 13.1 km (8.1 mi) away (Glorieta Baldy Lookout Tower lies ESE of town). It dates from 1940. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Glorieta Baldy Lookout Tower, in Santa Fe National Forest near La Cueva, Santa Fe County, New Mexico, was built in 1940. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. As of Sep 2017, the tower is in disrepair, but there are plans to fund restoration work and place it the Santa Fe National Forest cabin rental program.” The restoration is to be funded by non-profit Friends of the Santa Fe National Forest.From the Wikipedia article “Glorieta Baldy Lookout Tower”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sunrise & sunset directions
At Glorieta Baldy 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) | 7:08 AM | 90° E | 7:15 PM | 271° W | 54° | 12h 08m |
| June solstice (Jun 21) | 5:49 AM | 60° ENE | 8:23 PM | 300° WNW | 78° | 14h 34m |
| September equinox (Sep 22) | 6:52 AM | 89° E | 7:02 PM | 271° W | 55° | 12h 10m |
| December solstice (Dec 21) | 7:10 AM | 119° ESE | 4:54 PM | 242° WSW | 31° | 9h 44m |
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 | 6:45 AM | 7:13 AM | 7:51 AM | 4:35 PM | 5:14 PM | 5:41 PM | 10h 01m |
| February | 6:25 AM | 6:51 AM | 7:26 AM | 5:10 PM | 5:46 PM | 6:12 PM | 10h 55m |
| March | 6:49 AM | 7:15 AM | 7:49 AM | 6:37 PM | 7:11 PM | 7:37 PM | 11h 56m |
| April | 6:05 AM | 6:31 AM | 7:05 AM | 7:02 PM | 7:37 PM | 8:03 PM | 13h 05m |
| May | 5:31 AM | 5:59 AM | 6:35 AM | 7:26 PM | 8:02 PM | 8:30 PM | 14h 03m |
| June | 5:18 AM | 5:48 AM | 6:26 AM | 7:43 PM | 8:21 PM | 8:51 PM | 14h 33m |
| July | 5:30 AM | 5:59 AM | 6:37 AM | 7:43 PM | 8:20 PM | 8:49 PM | 14h 21m |
| August | 5:56 AM | 6:23 AM | 6:58 AM | 7:19 PM | 7:54 PM | 8:21 PM | 13h 31m |
| September | 6:21 AM | 6:47 AM | 7:20 AM | 6:38 PM | 7:12 PM | 7:38 PM | 12h 25m |
| October | 6:45 AM | 7:10 AM | 7:45 AM | 5:55 PM | 6:29 PM | 6:55 PM | 11h 19m |
| November | 6:13 AM | 6:40 AM | 7:17 AM | 4:20 PM | 4:58 PM | 5:25 PM | 10h 18m |
| December | 6:38 AM | 7:06 AM | 7:46 AM | 4:13 PM | 4:52 PM | 5:20 PM | 9h 46m |
Local time (America/Denver), 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 Glorieta Baldy Lookout Tower, 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 4 (rural / suburban transition), good enough for detailed Milky Way images.
| Month | Core visible (15th) | Hours | Max altitude | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | Below 10° in darkness | — | -1° | — |
| February | 4:51 AM – 5:21 AM | 0.5 | 15° | SE → SE |
| March | 3:56 AM – 5:46 AM | 1.8 | 22° | SE → SSE |
| April | 1:57 AM – 4:57 AM | 3.0 | 25° | SE → S |
| May | 12:02 AM – 4:12 AM | 4.2 | 25° | SE → SSW |
| June | 10:10 PM – 3:50 AM | 5.7 | 25° | SE → SW |
| July | 10:05 PM – 2:25 AM | 4.3 | 25° | SSE → SW |
| August | 9:28 PM – 12:28 AM | 3.0 | 25° | S → SW |
| September | 8:38 PM – 10:28 PM | 1.8 | 22° | SSW → SW |
| October | 7:54 PM – 8:24 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: 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 ≈ 20.94 mag/arcsec².
Weather & best season
Long-term NASA satellite data for this area show October as the clearest month (about 33% average cloud cover) and July as the cloudiest (54%). 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 | 64 | 66 | 77 | 83 | 95 | 100 | 100 | 95 | 94 | 84 | 72 | 66 |
| Low °F | 1 | -7 | 6 | 20 | 23 | 36 | 49 | 47 | 30 | 17 | 11 | 2 |
| Precip. (in) | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 2.9 | 2.3 | 1.9 | 1.2 | 0.7 | 0.7 |
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
- 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.
- Some lookouts can be rented overnight through recreation.gov, which puts you on site for both sunset and sunrise.
- 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 Glorieta Baldy Lookout Tower, closest first.
Campgrounds nearby (Recreation.gov)
- Field Tract Campground10.5 km (6.5 mi) · reservable
- Holy Ghost Group Area16.6 km (10.3 mi) · reservable
- Links Tract Campground17.3 km (10.7 mi)
- Black Canyon Campground (Santa Fe National Forest, Nm)22 km (13 mi) · reservable
- Panchuela 23 km (15 mi) · reservable
FAQ
When is the best time to photograph Glorieta Baldy Lookout Tower?
What time is golden hour at Glorieta Baldy Lookout Tower?
Where does the sun rise and set at Glorieta Baldy Lookout Tower?
Can you see the Milky Way from Glorieta Baldy Lookout Tower?
Do you need a permit to photograph at Glorieta Baldy Lookout Tower?
How far is Glorieta Baldy Lookout Tower from Santa Fe?
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.