Located in Clay County, Florida, Kingsley Lake is a lake at about 53 m (174 ft) above sea level. It sits roughly 11.0 km (6.8 mi) ENE of Starke.
Kingsley Lake is an almost perfectly circular lake of about 2,000 acres (810 ha) in North East Florida, located inside Clay County about six miles (9.7 km) east of Starke, Florida. According to some sources, it is the oldest and highest lake in Florida, located on the edge of the Trail Ridge formation. The lake is a very stable lake with a sandy bottom. Its deepest point is about 100 feet (30 m) inside of a steep sinkhole within the lake. Kingsley Lake is so nearly circular that pilots call it the "silver dollar lake". There are around 180 docks around the lake, mostly around the western half of the lake encompassing the small community of the same name. Camp Blanding is on the eastern side of the lake as part of the Florida National Guard, as well as a small airstrip just to the southeast of the lake as part of Camp Blanding. The lake is about 30 miles northeast of Gainesville, 30...From the Wikipedia article “Kingsley Lake”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sunrise & sunset directions
At Kingsley Lake 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) | 7:33 AM | 90° E | 7:40 PM | 271° W | 60° | 12h 07m |
| June solstice (Jun 21) | 6:28 AM | 62° ENE | 8:33 PM | 298° WNW | 83° | 14h 04m |
| September equinox (Sep 22) | 7:17 AM | 89° E | 7:26 PM | 271° W | 60° | 12h 09m |
| December solstice (Dec 21) | 7:20 AM | 117° ESE | 5:33 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
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 | 7:25 AM | 8:00 AM | 5:16 PM | 5:51 PM | 6:17 PM | 10h 26m |
| February | 6:44 AM | 7:09 AM | 7:42 AM | 5:44 PM | 6:17 PM | 6:42 PM | 11h 08m |
| March | 7:15 AM | 7:39 AM | 8:10 AM | 7:05 PM | 7:37 PM | 8:01 PM | 11h 58m |
| April | 6:37 AM | 7:02 AM | 7:34 AM | 7:23 PM | 7:55 PM | 8:20 PM | 12h 54m |
| May | 6:09 AM | 6:36 AM | 7:09 AM | 7:41 PM | 8:15 PM | 8:41 PM | 13h 39m |
| June | 6:00 AM | 6:27 AM | 7:02 AM | 7:56 PM | 8:31 PM | 8:59 PM | 14h 04m |
| July | 6:11 AM | 6:38 AM | 7:12 AM | 7:57 PM | 8:31 PM | 8:58 PM | 13h 54m |
| August | 6:31 AM | 6:56 AM | 7:29 AM | 7:38 PM | 8:11 PM | 8:36 PM | 13h 14m |
| September | 6:49 AM | 7:13 AM | 7:45 AM | 7:03 PM | 7:35 PM | 7:59 PM | 12h 22m |
| October | 7:06 AM | 7:30 AM | 8:03 AM | 6:26 PM | 6:58 PM | 7:23 PM | 11h 28m |
| November | 6:29 AM | 6:54 AM | 7:28 AM | 4:59 PM | 5:33 PM | 5:58 PM | 10h 39m |
| December | 6:51 AM | 7:17 AM | 7:53 AM | 4:55 PM | 5:31 PM | 5:57 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 Kingsley Lake, 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 4 (rural / suburban transition), good enough for detailed Milky Way images.
| Month | Core visible (15th) | Hours | Max altitude | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | Below 10° in darkness | — | 2° | — |
| February | 4:48 AM – 5:38 AM | 0.8 | 18° | SE → SE |
| March | 3:56 AM – 6:16 AM | 2.3 | 28° | SE → SSE |
| April | 1:59 AM – 5:29 AM | 3.5 | 31° | SE → S |
| May | 11:56 PM – 4:56 AM | 5.0 | 31° | SE → SSW |
| June | 10:08 PM – 4:48 AM | 6.7 | 31° | SE → SW |
| July | 10:05 PM – 3:25 AM | 5.3 | 31° | SSE → SW |
| August | 9:37 PM – 1:17 AM | 3.7 | 31° | S → SW |
| September | 8:55 PM – 11:15 PM | 2.3 | 28° | SSW → SW |
| October | 8:18 PM – 9:18 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: 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 ≈ 21.02 mag/arcsec².
Weather & best season
Long-term NASA satellite data for this area show May as the clearest month (about 44% average cloud cover) and December as the cloudiest (60%). 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 | 81 | 84 | 92 | 93 | 99 | 99 | 99 | 97 | 96 | 91 | 87 | 82 |
| Low °F | 29 | 32 | 36 | 46 | 53 | 66 | 71 | 71 | 63 | 43 | 39 | 29 |
| Precip. (in) | 3.0 | 3.4 | 3.1 | 2.6 | 4.2 | 7.8 | 7.4 | 7.8 | 7.1 | 3.6 | 2.5 | 3.1 |
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.
- Bring a spare battery — cold weather and long exposures drain them fast.
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 Kingsley Lake, closest first.
FAQ
When is the best time to photograph Kingsley Lake?
What time is golden hour at Kingsley Lake?
Where does the sun rise and set at Kingsley Lake?
Can you see the Milky Way from Kingsley Lake?
Do you need a permit to photograph at Kingsley Lake?
How far is Kingsley Lake from Starke?
Sources
Location data: Wikidata, USGS GNIS / GeoNames, 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.