Great Herring Pond — a lake in Plymouth County, Massachusetts — is a rewarding subject for landscape photographers. The nearest town is Sagamore, about 5.1 km (3.2 mi) away (Great Herring Pond lies NW of town).
Great Herring Pond is a 376-acre (1.5 km2) warm water pond mostly located in Plymouth, Massachusetts, with the southern portion extending into Bourne. The village of Pondville in the Cedarville section of Plymouth lies on the eastern shore of the pond. The pond has an average depth of 20 ft (6 m) and a maximum depth of 42 ft (13 m). The bottom is composed of sand, rubble and muck. A tire reef was installed in 1979 to provide additional fish shelter. The inflow comes from Little Herring Pond, and the outflow goes into the Herring River in Bourne. The Public Access Board gravel ramp in Bourne enters shallow water and is therefore best suited for canoes, inflatable and other shallow-draft, hand-carried craft. There have been multiple sightings of massive turtles on Great Herring Pond, 4–5 feet (1.2–1.5 m) long, floating downstream from Little Herring Pond under Carters Bridge.From the Wikipedia article “Great Herring Pond”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sunrise & sunset directions
At Great Herring Pond the sunrise point swings a long way through the year: about 57° (ENE) at the June solstice and 122° (ESE) in late December. Sunset moves from 303° (WNW) in June to 239° (WSW) in December, and the midday sun climbs to 72° in summer but only 25° in winter.
| Date | Sunrise | Azimuth | Sunset | Azimuth | Noon sun | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox (Mar 20) | 6:47 AM | 90° E | 6:54 PM | 271° W | 48° | 12h 08m |
| June solstice (Jun 21) | 5:08 AM | 57° ENE | 8:21 PM | 303° WNW | 72° | 15h 13m |
| September equinox (Sep 22) | 6:30 AM | 89° E | 6:41 PM | 271° W | 48° | 12h 11m |
| December solstice (Dec 21) | 7:07 AM | 122° ESE | 4:15 PM | 239° WSW | 25° | 9h 08m |
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 | 6:37 AM | 7:08 AM | 7:51 AM | 3:53 PM | 4:36 PM | 5:07 PM | 9h 29m |
| February | 6:10 AM | 6:39 AM | 7:18 AM | 4:37 PM | 5:16 PM | 5:44 PM | 10h 37m |
| March | 6:27 AM | 6:55 AM | 7:32 AM | 6:12 PM | 6:49 PM | 7:17 PM | 11h 54m |
| April | 5:34 AM | 6:03 AM | 6:40 AM | 6:46 PM | 7:23 PM | 7:52 PM | 13h 20m |
| May | 4:51 AM | 5:23 AM | 6:03 AM | 7:16 PM | 7:56 PM | 8:27 PM | 14h 32m |
| June | 4:33 AM | 5:08 AM | 5:50 AM | 7:37 PM | 8:20 PM | 8:54 PM | 15h 12m |
| July | 4:48 AM | 5:21 AM | 6:02 AM | 7:35 PM | 8:17 PM | 8:50 PM | 14h 56m |
| August | 5:21 AM | 5:51 AM | 6:30 AM | 7:06 PM | 7:44 PM | 8:14 PM | 13h 53m |
| September | 5:55 AM | 6:23 AM | 7:00 AM | 6:17 PM | 6:54 PM | 7:22 PM | 12h 31m |
| October | 6:27 AM | 6:55 AM | 7:33 AM | 5:25 PM | 6:02 PM | 6:30 PM | 11h 07m |
| November | 6:03 AM | 6:32 AM | 7:14 AM | 3:42 PM | 4:23 PM | 4:53 PM | 9h 51m |
| December | 6:32 AM | 7:03 AM | 7:48 AM | 3:28 PM | 4:13 PM | 4:45 PM | 9h 10m |
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 Great Herring Pond, the Milky Way core is visible in a dark sky from March through September. June gives the longest window (about 4.3 hours on a moonless night), and the core peaks around 19° above the southern horizon. Our light-pollution model puts the sky at about Bortle 5 (suburban sky), 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 | — | -3° | — |
| February | Below 10° in darkness | — | 10° | — |
| March | 4:11 AM – 5:11 AM | 1.0 | 16° | SE → SSE |
| April | 2:13 AM – 4:13 AM | 2.0 | 19° | SE → S |
| May | 12:21 AM – 3:21 AM | 3.0 | 19° | SSE → S |
| June | 10:30 PM – 2:50 AM | 4.3 | 19° | SSE → SSW |
| July | 10:20 PM – 1:30 AM | 3.2 | 19° | S → SW |
| August | 9:30 PM – 11:30 PM | 2.0 | 19° | S → SW |
| September | 8:28 PM – 9:28 PM | 1.0 | 16° | SSW → SW |
| October | Below 10° in darkness | — | 10° | — |
| November | Below 10° in darkness | — | -1° | — |
| 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: 5 Bortle 5 — Suburban sky. The Milky Way is weak near the horizon and washed out overhead; long exposures pick up a sky glow. Modeled zenith brightness ≈ 20.25 mag/arcsec². Aurora needs roughly Kp 6.0+ to show low on the northern horizon here.
Weather & best season
Long-term NASA satellite data for this area show September as the clearest month (about 50% average cloud cover) and January as the cloudiest (69%). 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 | 56 | 54 | 62 | 72 | 76 | 87 | 89 | 86 | 81 | 76 | 67 | 63 |
| Low °F | 2 | 1 | 13 | 29 | 39 | 49 | 58 | 60 | 51 | 38 | 22 | 12 |
| Precip. (in) | 3.5 | 3.6 | 4.2 | 4.1 | 3.4 | 3.6 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.8 | 4.5 | 4.2 | 4.4 |
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 Great Herring Pond, closest first.
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Scenic Viewpoint
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State Park
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LakeFAQ
When is the best time to photograph Great Herring Pond?
What time is golden hour at Great Herring Pond?
Where does the sun rise and set at Great Herring Pond?
Can you see the Milky Way from Great Herring Pond?
Do you need a permit to photograph at Great Herring Pond?
How far is Great Herring Pond from Sagamore?
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.