Located in Lane County, Oregon, Cleawox Lake is a lake. It is part of Jessie M. Honeyman Memorial State Park. The nearest town is Dunes City, about 5.3 km (3.3 mi) away (Cleawox Lake lies N of town).
Cleawox Lake (klē' ə woks), is a body of water dammed by sand dunes along the Pacific Ocean coast of the U.S. state of Oregon. The lake is about 3 miles (5 km) south of Florence along U.S. Route 101. Sharing the lakeshore are private properties as well as Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area and Jessie M. Honeyman Memorial State Park, which also partly fronts on Woahink Lake. Cleawox is derived from the Siuslaw name for the lake.From the Wikipedia article “Cleawox Lake”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sunrise & sunset directions
At Cleawox Lake the sunrise point swings a long way through the year: about 56° (NE) at the June solstice and 123° (ESE) in late December. Sunset moves from 305° (NW) in June to 238° (WSW) in December, and the midday sun climbs to 70° in summer but only 23° in winter.
| Date | Sunrise | Azimuth | Sunset | Azimuth | Noon sun | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox (Mar 20) | 7:20 AM | 90° E | 7:29 PM | 271° W | 46° | 12h 09m |
| June solstice (Jun 21) | 5:35 AM | 56° NE | 9:03 PM | 305° NW | 70° | 15h 29m |
| September equinox (Sep 22) | 7:04 AM | 89° E | 7:16 PM | 271° W | 46° | 12h 11m |
| December solstice (Dec 21) | 7:49 AM | 123° ESE | 4:42 PM | 238° WSW | 23° | 8h 54m |
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 | 7:48 AM | 8:34 AM | 4:19 PM | 5:05 PM | 5:37 PM | 9h 16m |
| February | 6:47 AM | 7:16 AM | 7:57 AM | 5:06 PM | 5:47 PM | 6:16 PM | 10h 30m |
| March | 7:01 AM | 7:30 AM | 8:08 AM | 6:45 PM | 7:23 PM | 7:52 PM | 11h 53m |
| April | 6:04 AM | 6:34 AM | 7:13 AM | 7:22 PM | 8:00 PM | 8:30 PM | 13h 26m |
| May | 5:18 AM | 5:51 AM | 6:33 AM | 7:54 PM | 8:36 PM | 9:09 PM | 14h 45m |
| June | 4:58 AM | 5:34 AM | 6:18 AM | 8:17 PM | 9:01 PM | 9:38 PM | 15h 27m |
| July | 5:14 AM | 5:48 AM | 6:31 AM | 8:15 PM | 8:58 PM | 9:32 PM | 15h 09m |
| August | 5:50 AM | 6:21 AM | 7:01 AM | 7:43 PM | 8:22 PM | 8:54 PM | 14h 01m |
| September | 6:28 AM | 6:57 AM | 7:34 AM | 6:51 PM | 7:29 PM | 7:58 PM | 12h 32m |
| October | 7:03 AM | 7:32 AM | 8:11 AM | 5:55 PM | 6:34 PM | 7:03 PM | 11h 03m |
| November | 6:41 AM | 7:12 AM | 7:56 AM | 4:08 PM | 4:52 PM | 5:23 PM | 9h 40m |
| December | 7:12 AM | 7:45 AM | 8:32 AM | 3:53 PM | 4:40 PM | 5:13 PM | 8h 55m |
Local time (America/Los Angeles), 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 Cleawox Lake, the Milky Way core is visible in a dark sky from March through September. June gives the longest window (about 3.7 hours on a moonless night), and the core peaks around 17° 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 | — | -4° | — |
| February | Below 10° in darkness | — | 8° | — |
| March | 5:09 AM – 5:49 AM | 0.7 | 14° | SSE → SSE |
| April | 3:05 AM – 4:45 AM | 1.7 | 17° | SSE → S |
| May | 1:10 AM – 3:40 AM | 2.5 | 17° | SSE → S |
| June | 11:26 PM – 3:06 AM | 3.7 | 17° | SSE → SSW |
| July | 11:12 PM – 1:42 AM | 2.5 | 17° | S → SSW |
| August | 10:14 PM – 11:44 PM | 1.5 | 16° | S → SSW |
| September | 9:07 PM – 9:37 PM | 0.5 | 13° | SSW → SSW |
| October | Below 10° in darkness | — | 8° | — |
| November | Below 10° in darkness | — | -2° | — |
| 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: 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 ≈ 21.12 mag/arcsec². Aurora needs roughly Kp 6.5+ 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 64% average cloud cover) and March as the cloudiest (83%). August is the warmest month and February 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 | 61 | 65 | 67 | 75 | 75 | 79 | 79 | 82 | 85 | 78 | 65 | 62 |
| Low °F | 31 | 30 | 35 | 37 | 41 | 47 | 49 | 50 | 46 | 38 | 33 | 28 |
| Precip. (in) | 7.5 | 6.1 | 6.3 | 4.2 | 2.3 | 1.3 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 1.7 | 3.7 | 7.7 | 9.9 |
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
- 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.
Permits, drones & access
Drones: Drone rules in state parks vary by state and even by park — many require a permit or ban recreational drone flights. Check the park's rules and the FAA B4UFLY app before flying.
Nearby photo spots
Other locations within 25 km of Cleawox Lake, closest first.
State Park
Lake
Scenic Viewpoint
State Park
Lake
Waterfall
Waterfall
Ghost Town
LighthouseCampgrounds nearby (Recreation.gov)
- South Jetty Sand Camping3.0 km (1.9 mi) · reservable
- Tyee Campground - Oregon Dunes5.2 km (3.2 mi) · reservable
- Driftwood5.7 km (3.6 mi) · reservable
- Lagoon Campground6.2 km (3.8 mi) · reservable
- Siltcoos Sand Camping6.2 km (3.9 mi) · reservable
FAQ
When is the best time to photograph Cleawox Lake?
What time is golden hour at Cleawox Lake?
Where does the sun rise and set at Cleawox Lake?
Can you see the Milky Way from Cleawox Lake?
Do you need a permit to photograph at Cleawox Lake?
How far is Cleawox Lake from Dunes City?
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.