Lake Buel — a lake in Berkshire County, Massachusetts at about 277 m (909 ft) above sea level — is a classic subject for landscape photographers. It sits roughly 6.4 km (4.0 mi) NW of New Marlborough.
Lake Buel is a 196-acre (0.79 km2) great pond in Berkshire County, Massachusetts just south of Route 57 and east of Great Barrington. It is surrounded by over one-hundred summer homes and a few dozen year-round homes in about a dozen separate, tight-knit neighborhoods, each with its own private or semi-private road. The roads do not interlink. The lake is named after Samuel C. Buel of Tyringham, Massachusetts who saved people from drowning on the lake (called at the time Six Mile Pond) on July 23, 1812. The northern shore of the lake is in the town of Monterey and the southern shore is in New Marlborough. There is a paved boat ramp on the northwest shore owned by the Public Access Board and managed by Forests and Parks and Fisheries and Game. A portion of the Appalachian Trail crosses over a breached mill dam along the northern inlet.From the Wikipedia article “Lake Buel”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sunrise & sunset directions
At Lake Buel 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 304° (WNW) in June to 239° (WSW) in December, and the midday sun climbs to 71° in summer but only 24° in winter.
| Date | Sunrise | Azimuth | Sunset | Azimuth | Noon sun | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox (Mar 20) | 6:57 AM | 90° E | 7:05 PM | 271° W | 48° | 12h 08m |
| June solstice (Jun 21) | 5:18 AM | 57° ENE | 8:34 PM | 304° WNW | 71° | 15h 16m |
| September equinox (Sep 22) | 6:41 AM | 89° E | 6:52 PM | 271° W | 48° | 12h 11m |
| December solstice (Dec 21) | 7:19 AM | 122° ESE | 4:25 PM | 239° WSW | 24° | 9h 06m |
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 | 6:49 AM | 7:20 AM | 8:03 AM | 4:03 PM | 4:46 PM | 5:17 PM | 9h 26m |
| February | 6:22 AM | 6:50 AM | 7:30 AM | 4:47 PM | 5:26 PM | 5:55 PM | 10h 35m |
| March | 6:38 AM | 7:06 AM | 7:43 AM | 6:23 PM | 7:00 PM | 7:28 PM | 11h 54m |
| April | 5:44 AM | 6:13 AM | 6:51 AM | 6:57 PM | 7:34 PM | 8:03 PM | 13h 21m |
| May | 5:01 AM | 5:33 AM | 6:13 AM | 7:27 PM | 8:08 PM | 8:40 PM | 14h 34m |
| June | 4:43 AM | 5:17 AM | 6:00 AM | 7:49 PM | 8:32 PM | 9:06 PM | 15h 14m |
| July | 4:57 AM | 5:31 AM | 6:12 AM | 7:47 PM | 8:29 PM | 9:02 PM | 14h 58m |
| August | 5:31 AM | 6:01 AM | 6:40 AM | 7:17 PM | 7:56 PM | 8:26 PM | 13h 54m |
| September | 6:06 AM | 6:34 AM | 7:11 AM | 6:28 PM | 7:05 PM | 7:33 PM | 12h 31m |
| October | 6:38 AM | 7:06 AM | 7:44 AM | 5:35 PM | 6:13 PM | 6:41 PM | 11h 07m |
| November | 6:14 AM | 6:44 AM | 7:26 AM | 3:51 PM | 4:33 PM | 5:03 PM | 9h 49m |
| December | 6:44 AM | 7:16 AM | 8:01 AM | 3:38 PM | 4:23 PM | 4:55 PM | 9h 07m |
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 Buel, the Milky Way core is visible in a dark sky from March through September. June gives the longest window (about 4.2 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 | — | 9° | — |
| March | 4:33 AM – 5:23 AM | 0.8 | 15° | SSE → SSE |
| April | 2:26 AM – 4:26 AM | 2.0 | 18° | SE → S |
| May | 12:35 AM – 3:25 AM | 2.8 | 19° | SSE → S |
| June | 10:45 PM – 2:55 AM | 4.2 | 19° | SSE → SSW |
| July | 10:35 PM – 1:35 AM | 3.0 | 19° | S → SSW |
| August | 9:43 PM – 11:33 PM | 1.8 | 18° | S → SSW |
| September | 8:40 PM – 9:30 PM | 0.8 | 15° | SSW → SSW |
| October | Below 10° in darkness | — | 9° | — |
| 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 ≈ 20.48 mag/arcsec². Aurora needs roughly Kp 5.5+ 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 51% average cloud cover) and December as the cloudiest (74%). 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 | 64 | 70 | 73 | 87 | 91 | 93 | 100 | 98 | 93 | 86 | 74 | 68 |
| Low °F | -24 | -18 | -15 | 12 | 27 | 34 | 46 | 46 | 34 | 18 | 3 | -7 |
| Precip. (in) | 2.9 | 3.1 | 3.4 | 3.6 | 3.8 | 4.9 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 4.3 | 4.8 | 3.4 | 3.9 |
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.
- Tell someone where you're going in remote areas and carry the ten essentials.
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 Buel, closest first.
Ghost Town
Covered Bridge
Waterfall
Mountain PeakWaterfall
Fire Lookout
Mountain PeakWaterfallState ParkFAQ
When is the best time to photograph Lake Buel?
What time is golden hour at Lake Buel?
Where does the sun rise and set at Lake Buel?
Can you see the Milky Way from Lake Buel?
Do you need a permit to photograph at Lake Buel?
How far is Lake Buel from New Marlborough?
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.