Honeoye Lake — a lake in Ontario County, New York at about 245 m (804 ft) above sea level — is a popular subject for landscape photographers. The nearest town is Livonia, about 15.1 km (9.4 mi) away (Honeoye Lake lies ESE of town).
Honeoye Lake ( HUN-ee-oy) is a Finger Lake in Ontario County in western New York state. It is the third largest of the four Finger Lakes in the county, and second smallest in all. Most of the lake is within the town of Richmond but a smaller southwestern part is in the town of Canadice. The hamlet of Honeoye is just north of the lake. The name Honeoye comes from the Seneca word ha-ne-a-yah, which means lying finger, or where the finger lies. The name comes from the local story of a Native American whose finger was bitten by a rattlesnake and who therefore cut off his finger with a tomahawk.From the Wikipedia article “Honeoye Lake”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sunrise & sunset directions
At Honeoye Lake the sunrise point swings a long way through the year: about 56° (ENE) at the June solstice and 122° (ESE) in late December. Sunset moves from 304° (NW) in June to 238° (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) | 7:14 AM | 90° E | 7:22 PM | 271° W | 47° | 12h 08m |
| June solstice (Jun 21) | 5:33 AM | 56° ENE | 8:53 PM | 304° NW | 71° | 15h 20m |
| September equinox (Sep 22) | 6:58 AM | 89° E | 7:09 PM | 271° W | 48° | 12h 11m |
| December solstice (Dec 21) | 7:38 AM | 122° ESE | 4:40 PM | 238° WSW | 24° | 9h 02m |
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 | 7:07 AM | 7:38 AM | 8:23 AM | 4:18 PM | 5:02 PM | 5:33 PM | 9h 23m |
| February | 6:39 AM | 7:08 AM | 7:48 AM | 5:02 PM | 5:42 PM | 6:11 PM | 10h 34m |
| March | 6:55 AM | 7:23 AM | 8:01 AM | 6:39 PM | 7:17 PM | 7:45 PM | 11h 53m |
| April | 6:00 AM | 6:29 AM | 7:07 AM | 7:14 PM | 7:52 PM | 8:21 PM | 13h 23m |
| May | 5:16 AM | 5:48 AM | 6:29 AM | 7:45 PM | 8:26 PM | 8:59 PM | 14h 38m |
| June | 4:57 AM | 5:32 AM | 6:15 AM | 8:08 PM | 8:51 PM | 9:26 PM | 15h 19m |
| July | 5:12 AM | 5:46 AM | 6:28 AM | 8:05 PM | 8:47 PM | 9:21 PM | 15h 01m |
| August | 5:47 AM | 6:17 AM | 6:56 AM | 7:35 PM | 8:14 PM | 8:44 PM | 13h 57m |
| September | 6:22 AM | 6:51 AM | 7:28 AM | 6:45 PM | 7:22 PM | 7:50 PM | 12h 31m |
| October | 6:55 AM | 7:24 AM | 8:02 AM | 5:51 PM | 6:29 PM | 6:58 PM | 11h 05m |
| November | 6:32 AM | 7:03 AM | 7:45 AM | 4:06 PM | 4:49 PM | 5:19 PM | 9h 46m |
| December | 7:02 AM | 7:34 AM | 8:20 AM | 3:52 PM | 4:38 PM | 5:10 PM | 9h 03m |
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 Honeoye Lake, the Milky Way core is visible in a dark sky from March through September. June gives the longest window (about 4.0 hours on a moonless night), and the core peaks around 18° above the southern horizon. Our light-pollution model puts the sky at about Bortle 3 (rural sky), good enough for detailed Milky Way images.
| Month | Core visible (15th) | Hours | Max altitude | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | Below 10° in darkness | — | -4° | — |
| February | Below 10° in darkness | — | 9° | — |
| March | 4:51 AM – 5:41 AM | 0.8 | 15° | SSE → SSE |
| April | 2:54 AM – 4:44 AM | 1.8 | 18° | SSE → S |
| May | 12:55 AM – 3:45 AM | 2.8 | 18° | SSE → S |
| June | 11:07 PM – 3:07 AM | 4.0 | 18° | SSE → SSW |
| July | 10:56 PM – 1:46 AM | 2.8 | 18° | S → SSW |
| August | 10:02 PM – 11:52 PM | 1.8 | 18° | S → SSW |
| September | 8:58 PM – 9:48 PM | 0.8 | 15° | SSW → SSW |
| October | Below 10° in darkness | — | 9° | — |
| November | Below 10° in darkness | — | -2° | — |
| 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: 3 Bortle 3 — Rural sky. Some light domes sit on the horizon, but the Milky Way still looks complex overhead. Modeled zenith brightness ≈ 21.42 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 55% average cloud cover) and December as the cloudiest (83%). 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 | 60 | 64 | 75 | 82 | 88 | 93 | 97 | 97 | 94 | 86 | 74 | 66 |
| Low °F | -10 | -13 | -7 | 12 | 24 | 35 | 45 | 45 | 35 | 23 | -1 | -4 |
| Precip. (in) | 1.9 | 2.0 | 2.4 | 3.0 | 3.4 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.7 | 2.4 | 2.6 |
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.
- 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 Honeoye Lake, closest first.
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State ParkFAQ
When is the best time to photograph Honeoye Lake?
What time is golden hour at Honeoye Lake?
Where does the sun rise and set at Honeoye Lake?
Can you see the Milky Way from Honeoye Lake?
Do you need a permit to photograph at Honeoye Lake?
How far is Honeoye Lake from Livonia?
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.