San Carlos Lake is a lake in Gila County, Arizona. It sits roughly 12.7 km (7.9 mi) SSE of Peridot.
San Carlos Lake was formed by the construction of the Coolidge Dam and is rimmed by 158 miles (254 km) of shoreline. The lake is located within the 3,000-square-mile (7,800 km2) San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation, and is thus subject to tribal regulations. After it was built, the reservoir filled gradually. Because of irrigation needs, the water level at the lake sometimes is low enough to kill its self-sustaining fish, but during wet years, the water can overtop Coolidge Dam. Since construction of the dam, the lake has been nearly empty at least 20 times, and has been full only three times. When President Calvin Coolidge dedicated the new dam in 1930, Cherokee humorist Will Rogers looked at the grass in the lake bed, and said, "If this were my lake, I’d mow it."From the Wikipedia article “San Carlos Lake”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sunrise & sunset directions
At San Carlos Lake the sunrise point swings a long way through the year: about 61° (ENE) at the June solstice and 118° (ESE) in late December. Sunset moves from 299° (WNW) in June to 242° (WSW) in December, and the midday sun climbs to 80° in summer but only 33° in winter.
| Date | Sunrise | Azimuth | Sunset | Azimuth | Noon sun | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox (Mar 20) | 6:26 AM | 90° E | 6:34 PM | 271° W | 57° | 12h 07m |
| June solstice (Jun 21) | 5:14 AM | 61° ENE | 7:35 PM | 299° WNW | 80° | 14h 21m |
| September equinox (Sep 22) | 6:11 AM | 89° E | 6:20 PM | 271° W | 57° | 12h 09m |
| December solstice (Dec 21) | 7:22 AM | 118° ESE | 5:19 PM | 242° WSW | 33° | 9h 57m |
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
Lakes reflect best in calm air — usually the first hour after sunrise, before breezes ripple the surface.
| Month (15th) | Blue hour starts | Sunrise | Golden hour ends | Golden hour starts | Sunset | Blue hour ends | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6:59 AM | 7:26 AM | 8:03 AM | 5:01 PM | 5:38 PM | 6:04 PM | 10h 12m |
| February | 6:41 AM | 7:06 AM | 7:40 AM | 5:33 PM | 6:07 PM | 6:33 PM | 11h 01m |
| March | 6:08 AM | 6:33 AM | 7:06 AM | 5:57 PM | 6:30 PM | 6:55 PM | 11h 57m |
| April | 5:27 AM | 5:52 AM | 6:25 AM | 6:19 PM | 6:52 PM | 7:18 PM | 13h 00m |
| May | 4:55 AM | 5:23 AM | 5:58 AM | 6:40 PM | 7:15 PM | 7:42 PM | 13h 52m |
| June | 4:44 AM | 5:13 AM | 5:49 AM | 6:57 PM | 7:33 PM | 8:02 PM | 14h 20m |
| July | 4:56 AM | 5:24 AM | 6:00 AM | 6:57 PM | 7:32 PM | 8:01 PM | 14h 08m |
| August | 5:19 AM | 5:45 AM | 6:19 AM | 6:35 PM | 7:09 PM | 7:35 PM | 13h 23m |
| September | 5:41 AM | 6:06 AM | 6:39 AM | 5:57 PM | 6:30 PM | 6:54 PM | 12h 24m |
| October | 6:02 AM | 6:27 AM | 7:00 AM | 5:16 PM | 5:49 PM | 6:14 PM | 11h 23m |
| November | 6:27 AM | 6:54 AM | 7:29 AM | 4:45 PM | 5:21 PM | 5:47 PM | 10h 27m |
| December | 6:51 AM | 7:19 AM | 7:56 AM | 4:39 PM | 5:17 PM | 5:44 PM | 9h 58m |
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 San Carlos Lake, the Milky Way core is visible in a dark sky from February through October. June gives the longest window (about 6.2 hours on a moonless night), and the core peaks around 28° 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 | 4:51 AM – 5:41 AM | 0.8 | 17° | SE → SE |
| March | 3:03 AM – 5:03 AM | 2.0 | 24° | SE → SSE |
| April | 1:00 AM – 4:20 AM | 3.3 | 28° | SE → S |
| May | 11:01 PM – 3:41 AM | 4.7 | 28° | SE → SSW |
| June | 9:16 PM – 3:26 AM | 6.2 | 28° | SE → SW |
| July | 9:12 PM – 2:02 AM | 4.8 | 28° | SSE → SW |
| August | 8:39 PM – 11:59 PM | 3.3 | 28° | S → SW |
| September | 7:53 PM – 9:53 PM | 2.0 | 25° | SSW → SW |
| October | 7:12 PM – 8:02 PM | 0.8 | 17° | SW → SW |
| November | Below 10° in darkness | — | 3° | — |
| 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: 3 Bortle 3 — Rural sky. Some light domes sit on the horizon, but the Milky Way still looks complex overhead. Modeled zenith brightness ≈ 21.64 mag/arcsec².
Weather & best season
Long-term NASA satellite data for this area show June as the clearest month (about 20% 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 | 77 | 78 | 87 | 94 | 104 | 110 | 109 | 107 | 104 | 97 | 87 | 75 |
| Low °F | 9 | 15 | 20 | 26 | 33 | 50 | 62 | 60 | 44 | 29 | 20 | 11 |
| Precip. (in) | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 2.3 | 2.0 | 1.3 | 0.7 | 1.0 | 1.7 |
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 lake
- Expose for the brighter sky; reflections are typically half a stop to a stop darker.
- After sunset, long exposures smooth wind ripples into glass.
- For mirror reflections, get low and close to the water; the reflection grows with a lower camera.
- A polarizer can remove reflections to show the lakebed — or keep them, depending on rotation.
- Check road and trail conditions with the managing agency before you go.
Season: Autumn mornings bring mist and fall color; high-elevation lakes are usually ice-free only from early summer to mid-autumn.
Suggested gear: Tripod, Circular polarizer, Wide-angle lens, Waterproof boots. Work out exposures with the depth of field, ND filter and NPF rule calculators.
Nearby photo spots
Other locations within 25 km of San Carlos Lake, closest first.
FAQ
When is the best time to photograph San Carlos Lake?
What time is golden hour at San Carlos Lake?
Where does the sun rise and set at San Carlos Lake?
Can you see the Milky Way from San Carlos Lake?
Do you need a permit to photograph at San Carlos Lake?
How far is San Carlos Lake from Peridot?
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.