Located in Highlands County, Florida, Lake Olivia is a lake. The nearest town is Avon Park, about 5.8 km (3.6 mi) away (Lake Olivia lies NW of town).
Lake Olivia is an 89-acre (360,000 m2) freshwater lake located within the Avon Park Lakes subdivision in northwest Highlands County, Florida. It is located northwest of the incorporated city of Avon Park. Maximum depth is about 45 feet (14 m), with a fairly steep contour to the depth. The lake's shape is round. There were many years of drought, depleting the lake's water volume. The last two years saw more rain and a swampy area now surrounds almost all of Lake Olivia.From the Wikipedia article “Lake Olivia”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sunrise & sunset directions
At Lake Olivia the sunrise point swings a long way through the year: about 63° (ENE) at the June solstice and 116° (ESE) in late December. Sunset moves from 297° (WNW) in June to 244° (WSW) in December, and the midday sun climbs to 86° in summer but only 39° in winter.
| Date | Sunrise | Azimuth | Sunset | Azimuth | Noon sun | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox (Mar 20) | 7:31 AM | 90° E | 7:38 PM | 270° W | 62° | 12h 07m |
| June solstice (Jun 21) | 6:32 AM | 63° ENE | 8:25 PM | 297° WNW | 86° | 13h 53m |
| September equinox (Sep 22) | 7:15 AM | 89° E | 7:24 PM | 271° W | 63° | 12h 09m |
| December solstice (Dec 21) | 7:13 AM | 116° ESE | 5:37 PM | 244° WSW | 39° | 10h 23m |
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 | 6:54 AM | 7:19 AM | 7:53 AM | 5:19 PM | 5:54 PM | 6:19 PM | 10h 35m |
| February | 6:40 AM | 7:04 AM | 7:36 AM | 5:46 PM | 6:18 PM | 6:42 PM | 11h 14m |
| March | 7:13 AM | 7:37 AM | 8:08 AM | 7:04 PM | 7:35 PM | 7:59 PM | 11h 59m |
| April | 6:38 AM | 7:02 AM | 7:34 AM | 7:20 PM | 7:51 PM | 8:15 PM | 12h 49m |
| May | 6:13 AM | 6:38 AM | 7:11 AM | 7:36 PM | 8:09 PM | 8:34 PM | 13h 31m |
| June | 6:05 AM | 6:31 AM | 7:05 AM | 7:50 PM | 8:24 PM | 8:50 PM | 13h 53m |
| July | 6:15 AM | 6:41 AM | 7:15 AM | 7:51 PM | 8:25 PM | 8:51 PM | 13h 44m |
| August | 6:33 AM | 6:58 AM | 7:30 AM | 7:34 PM | 8:06 PM | 8:30 PM | 13h 08m |
| September | 6:49 AM | 7:12 AM | 7:43 AM | 7:02 PM | 7:32 PM | 7:56 PM | 12h 20m |
| October | 7:03 AM | 7:27 AM | 7:58 AM | 6:27 PM | 6:58 PM | 7:22 PM | 11h 32m |
| November | 6:23 AM | 6:48 AM | 7:21 AM | 5:02 PM | 5:35 PM | 6:00 PM | 10h 47m |
| December | 6:44 AM | 7:10 AM | 7:45 AM | 4:59 PM | 5:34 PM | 6:00 PM | 10h 24m |
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 Olivia, the Milky Way core is visible in a dark sky from February through October. June gives the longest window (about 7.0 hours on a moonless night), and the core peaks around 33° 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 | — | 3° | — |
| February | 4:37 AM – 5:37 AM | 1.0 | 20° | SE → SE |
| March | 3:43 AM – 6:13 AM | 2.5 | 30° | SE → SSE |
| April | 1:42 AM – 5:32 AM | 3.8 | 33° | SE → S |
| May | 11:46 PM – 5:06 AM | 5.3 | 33° | SE → SSW |
| June | 9:57 PM – 4:57 AM | 7.0 | 33° | SE → SW |
| July | 9:55 PM – 3:25 AM | 5.5 | 33° | SSE → SW |
| August | 9:29 PM – 1:29 AM | 4.0 | 33° | S → SW |
| September | 8:51 PM – 11:21 PM | 2.5 | 30° | SSW → SW |
| October | 8:16 PM – 9:26 PM | 1.2 | 21° | SW → SW |
| November | Below 10° in darkness | — | 5° | — |
| 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 ≈ 20.69 mag/arcsec².
Weather & best season
Long-term NASA satellite data for this area show November as the clearest month (about 39% average cloud cover) and July as the cloudiest (59%). 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 | 87 | 90 | 97 | 99 | 103 | 102 | 98 | 96 | 94 | 94 | 90 | 88 |
| Low °F | 24 | 28 | 34 | 41 | 54 | 66 | 70 | 68 | 62 | 38 | 37 | 26 |
| Precip. (in) | 1.9 | 2.0 | 2.3 | 2.3 | 4.1 | 8.5 | 7.3 | 7.7 | 6.7 | 3.4 | 1.7 | 2.2 |
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.
- Shoot RAW to keep the most latitude for high-contrast sunrise and sunset scenes.
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 Olivia, closest first.
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State Park
LakeFAQ
When is the best time to photograph Lake Olivia?
What time is golden hour at Lake Olivia?
Where does the sun rise and set at Lake Olivia?
Can you see the Milky Way from Lake Olivia?
Do you need a permit to photograph at Lake Olivia?
How far is Lake Olivia from Avon Park?
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.