Located in Alachua County, Florida, Lake Alice is a lake. It sits roughly 3.3 km (2.1 mi) WSW of Gainesville.
Lake Alice is a small lake on the University of Florida campus in Gainesville, Florida, United States. The lake is a wildlife area and is one of the few areas in incorporated Gainesville where one may view live alligators. The lake also harbors a population of Florida softshell turtles. The university's bat house is near the lake. The Baughman Center sits on the southwest bank of the lake. On Lake Alice's northern side, there is a boardwalk that leads visitors through the woods and swamp to a viewing platform. The people of the Alachua culture who built a burial mound near the College of Law on University of Florida’s campus (the "Law School Mound") c 1000 AD are believed to have lived along the shore of Lake Alice. How Lake Alice obtained its name is uncertain. Prior to the 1890s, Lake Alice was known as "Jonah's Pond" but by 1894, US Geological Surveys noted it as Lake Alice. A...From the Wikipedia article “Lake Alice (Gainesville, Florida)”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sunrise & sunset directions
At Lake Alice 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 84° in summer but only 37° in winter.
| Date | Sunrise | Azimuth | Sunset | Azimuth | Noon sun | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox (Mar 20) | 7:34 AM | 90° E | 7:41 PM | 271° W | 60° | 12h 07m |
| June solstice (Jun 21) | 6:31 AM | 62° ENE | 8:33 PM | 298° WNW | 84° | 14h 03m |
| September equinox (Sep 22) | 7:19 AM | 89° E | 7:28 PM | 271° W | 61° | 12h 09m |
| December solstice (Dec 21) | 7:21 AM | 117° ESE | 5:35 PM | 243° WSW | 37° | 10h 14m |
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 | 7:00 AM | 7:26 AM | 8:01 AM | 5:18 PM | 5:53 PM | 6:19 PM | 10h 27m |
| February | 6:46 AM | 7:10 AM | 7:43 AM | 5:46 PM | 6:19 PM | 6:43 PM | 11h 09m |
| March | 7:16 AM | 7:40 AM | 8:12 AM | 7:07 PM | 7:38 PM | 8:02 PM | 11h 58m |
| April | 6:39 AM | 7:04 AM | 7:36 AM | 7:25 PM | 7:57 PM | 8:21 PM | 12h 53m |
| May | 6:12 AM | 6:38 AM | 7:11 AM | 7:42 PM | 8:16 PM | 8:42 PM | 13h 38m |
| June | 6:02 AM | 6:30 AM | 7:05 AM | 7:57 PM | 8:32 PM | 8:59 PM | 14h 02m |
| July | 6:13 AM | 6:40 AM | 7:14 AM | 7:58 PM | 8:32 PM | 8:59 PM | 13h 52m |
| August | 6:33 AM | 6:58 AM | 7:31 AM | 7:39 PM | 8:12 PM | 8:37 PM | 13h 13m |
| September | 6:51 AM | 7:15 AM | 7:46 AM | 7:05 PM | 7:36 PM | 8:00 PM | 12h 21m |
| October | 7:08 AM | 7:32 AM | 8:04 AM | 6:28 PM | 7:00 PM | 7:24 PM | 11h 29m |
| November | 6:30 AM | 6:55 AM | 7:29 AM | 5:01 PM | 5:35 PM | 6:00 PM | 10h 40m |
| December | 6:52 AM | 7:18 AM | 7:54 AM | 4:57 PM | 5:33 PM | 5:59 PM | 10h 15m |
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 Lake Alice, 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 7 (suburban / urban transition), so expect visible sky glow; drive away from towns for better results.
| Month | Core visible (15th) | Hours | Max altitude | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | Below 10° in darkness | — | 2° | — |
| February | 4:49 AM – 5:39 AM | 0.8 | 18° | SE → SE |
| March | 3:57 AM – 6:17 AM | 2.3 | 28° | SE → SSE |
| April | 1:59 AM – 5:29 AM | 3.5 | 31° | SE → S |
| May | 11:56 PM – 5:06 AM | 5.2 | 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 | 8:56 PM – 11:16 PM | 2.3 | 28° | SSW → SW |
| October | 8:19 PM – 9:19 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: 7 Bortle 7 — Suburban / urban transition. The whole sky has a grey-white glow; the Milky Way is invisible to the eye. Modeled zenith brightness ≈ 18.59 mag/arcsec².
Weather & best season
Long-term NASA satellite data for this area show May as the clearest month (about 41% average cloud cover) and July 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 | 83 | 88 | 95 | 97 | 102 | 103 | 100 | 99 | 96 | 94 | 88 | 84 |
| Low °F | 20 | 22 | 29 | 37 | 50 | 64 | 66 | 65 | 55 | 34 | 27 | 23 |
| Precip. (in) | 2.9 | 3.2 | 3.2 | 2.6 | 3.4 | 7.8 | 7.4 | 8.0 | 5.7 | 2.4 | 2.2 | 2.9 |
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
- Include shoreline rocks, reeds or a log as foreground to give the reflection depth.
- 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 Lake Alice, closest first.
Botanical Garden
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State ParkFAQ
When is the best time to photograph Lake Alice?
What time is golden hour at Lake Alice?
Where does the sun rise and set at Lake Alice?
Can you see the Milky Way from Lake Alice?
Do you need a permit to photograph at Lake Alice?
How far is Lake Alice from Gainesville?
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.