Located in Hennepin County, Minnesota, Cedar Lake is a lake at about 260 m (853 ft) above sea level. It sits roughly 2.5 km (1.6 mi) ENE of Saint Louis Park.
Cedar Lake is a lake in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, and part of the city's Chain of Lakes. It is located on the west side of the city, north of Bde Maka Ska and west of Lake of the Isles. The lake is connected to Lake of the Isles via the Kenilworth Channel. The lake is surrounded by parkland, with some easements having been made to private homeowners on the southeast side; it is the only lake in the city with private shoreline. The south and west sides border the Cedar-Isles-Dean neighborhood, while the east shore flanks the Kenwood residential area. On the north is the Cedar Lake Trail and the BNSF Railway, and the south Bryn Mawr neighborhood. Cedar Lake has an area of 164 acres (0.66 km2) and a maximum depth of 51 feet (16 m). The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board manages the lake and parkland around the lake.From the Wikipedia article “Cedar Lake (Minneapolis)”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sunrise & sunset directions
At Cedar Lake the sunrise point swings a long way through the year: about 55° (NE) at the June solstice and 123° (ESE) in late December. Sunset moves from 305° (NW) in June to 237° (WSW) in December, and the midday sun climbs to 68° in summer but only 22° in winter.
| Date | Sunrise | Azimuth | Sunset | Azimuth | Noon sun | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox (Mar 20) | 7:17 AM | 90° E | 7:26 PM | 271° W | 45° | 12h 08m |
| June solstice (Jun 21) | 5:27 AM | 55° NE | 9:04 PM | 305° NW | 68° | 15h 37m |
| September equinox (Sep 22) | 7:01 AM | 89° E | 7:13 PM | 271° W | 45° | 12h 12m |
| December solstice (Dec 21) | 7:49 AM | 123° ESE | 4:35 PM | 237° WSW | 22° | 8h 46m |
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 | 7:16 AM | 7:49 AM | 8:35 AM | 4:12 PM | 4:58 PM | 5:31 PM | 9h 10m |
| February | 6:45 AM | 7:15 AM | 7:57 AM | 5:00 PM | 5:42 PM | 6:12 PM | 10h 26m |
| March | 6:58 AM | 7:27 AM | 8:06 AM | 6:41 PM | 7:19 PM | 7:49 PM | 11h 53m |
| April | 5:59 AM | 6:29 AM | 7:09 AM | 7:19 PM | 7:59 PM | 8:29 PM | 13h 29m |
| May | 5:11 AM | 5:45 AM | 6:28 AM | 7:53 PM | 8:36 PM | 9:10 PM | 14h 50m |
| June | 4:50 AM | 5:27 AM | 6:12 AM | 8:17 PM | 9:02 PM | 9:40 PM | 15h 35m |
| July | 5:06 AM | 5:42 AM | 6:26 AM | 8:14 PM | 8:58 PM | 9:34 PM | 15h 16m |
| August | 5:44 AM | 6:16 AM | 6:56 AM | 7:41 PM | 8:21 PM | 8:53 PM | 14h 06m |
| September | 6:23 AM | 6:53 AM | 7:31 AM | 6:47 PM | 7:26 PM | 7:56 PM | 12h 33m |
| October | 7:00 AM | 7:29 AM | 8:09 AM | 5:50 PM | 6:30 PM | 7:00 PM | 11h 01m |
| November | 6:40 AM | 7:12 AM | 7:56 AM | 4:01 PM | 4:46 PM | 5:18 PM | 9h 34m |
| December | 7:12 AM | 7:45 AM | 8:34 AM | 3:45 PM | 4:33 PM | 5:07 PM | 8h 48m |
Local time (America/Chicago), 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 Cedar Lake, the Milky Way core is visible in a dark sky from April through August. June gives the longest window (about 3.2 hours on a moonless night), and the core peaks around 16° above the southern horizon. Our light-pollution model puts the sky at about Bortle 8 (city 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 | — | -4° | — |
| February | Below 10° in darkness | — | 7° | — |
| March | 5:17 AM – 5:37 AM | 0.3 | 12° | SSE → SSE |
| April | 3:16 AM – 4:36 AM | 1.3 | 15° | SSE → S |
| May | 1:14 AM – 3:24 AM | 2.2 | 16° | SSE → S |
| June | 11:35 PM – 2:45 AM | 3.2 | 16° | SSE → SSW |
| July | 11:19 PM – 1:29 AM | 2.2 | 16° | S → SSW |
| August | 10:16 PM – 11:26 PM | 1.2 | 15° | SSW → SSW |
| September | 9:06 PM – 9:26 PM | 0.3 | 12° | SSW → SSW |
| October | Below 10° in darkness | — | 7° | — |
| November | Below 10° in darkness | — | -3° | — |
| December | Below 10° in darkness | — | -20° | — |
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: 8 Bortle 8 — City sky. Only bright constellations are visible; the sky glows orange or white. Modeled zenith brightness ≈ 18.16 mag/arcsec². Aurora needs roughly Kp 4.5+ to show low on the northern horizon here.
Weather & best season
Long-term NASA satellite data for this area show July as the clearest month (about 46% average cloud cover) and December as the cloudiest (69%). 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 | 50 | 61 | 80 | 89 | 96 | 96 | 107 | 100 | 96 | 87 | 78 | 61 |
| Low °F | -37 | -27 | -23 | 4 | 24 | 41 | 46 | 43 | 32 | 12 | -4 | -24 |
| Precip. (in) | 0.6 | 1.1 | 1.7 | 3.1 | 4.1 | 4.8 | 3.5 | 3.7 | 3.4 | 2.3 | 1.2 | 1.2 |
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
- 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.
- Mist often lifts off lakes on cold mornings after warm days, especially in autumn.
- Include shoreline rocks, reeds or a log as foreground to give the reflection depth.
- 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 Cedar Lake, closest first.
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LakeFAQ
When is the best time to photograph Cedar Lake?
What time is golden hour at Cedar Lake?
Where does the sun rise and set at Cedar Lake?
Can you see the Milky Way from Cedar Lake?
Do you need a permit to photograph at Cedar Lake?
How far is Cedar Lake from Saint Louis 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.