Lake Marion is a lake in Orangeburg County, South Carolina. The nearest town is Holly Hill, about 22 km (13 mi) away (Lake Marion lies NE of town).
Lake Marion is a large man-made lake in central South Carolina. It has a 315-mile (507 km) shoreline and covers nearly 110,000 acres (450 square kilometers or 173.7 square miles) of rolling farmlands, former marshes, and river valley landscape. With territory spanning five counties, the lake is referred to as South Carolina's inland sea. The Santee River was dammed in the 1940s to supply hydroelectric power, as part of the rural electrification efforts initiated under President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal during the Great Depression. This created Lake Marion, one of the fifty largest lakes in the United States, whether natural or man-made reservoirs. At current capacity it is only about a third of the area of what, if filled to capacity, would be the fifteenth largest lake in the U.S.From the Wikipedia article “Lake Marion (South Carolina)”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sunrise & sunset directions
At Lake Marion the sunrise point swings a long way through the year: about 61° (ENE) at the June solstice and 118° (ESE) in late December. Sunset moves from 299° (WNW) in June to 242° (WSW) in December, and the midday sun climbs to 80° in summer but only 33° in winter.
| Date | Sunrise | Azimuth | Sunset | Azimuth | Noon sun | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox (Mar 20) | 7:26 AM | 90° E | 7:33 PM | 271° W | 56° | 12h 07m |
| June solstice (Jun 21) | 6:12 AM | 61° ENE | 8:35 PM | 299° WNW | 80° | 14h 22m |
| September equinox (Sep 22) | 7:10 AM | 89° E | 7:19 PM | 271° W | 57° | 12h 10m |
| December solstice (Dec 21) | 7:22 AM | 118° ESE | 5:18 PM | 242° WSW | 33° | 9h 56m |
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 | 6:59 AM | 7:26 AM | 8:03 AM | 4:59 PM | 5:36 PM | 6:03 PM | 10h 11m |
| February | 6:41 AM | 7:06 AM | 7:40 AM | 5:32 PM | 6:06 PM | 6:32 PM | 11h 00m |
| March | 7:08 AM | 7:32 AM | 8:05 AM | 6:56 PM | 7:29 PM | 7:54 PM | 11h 57m |
| April | 6:26 AM | 6:51 AM | 7:25 AM | 7:19 PM | 7:52 PM | 8:17 PM | 13h 01m |
| May | 5:54 AM | 6:22 AM | 6:57 AM | 7:40 PM | 8:15 PM | 8:42 PM | 13h 53m |
| June | 5:43 AM | 6:12 AM | 6:48 AM | 7:56 PM | 8:33 PM | 9:02 PM | 14h 21m |
| July | 5:54 AM | 6:23 AM | 6:59 AM | 7:56 PM | 8:32 PM | 9:01 PM | 14h 10m |
| August | 6:18 AM | 6:44 AM | 7:18 AM | 7:35 PM | 8:09 PM | 8:35 PM | 13h 24m |
| September | 6:40 AM | 7:05 AM | 7:38 AM | 6:56 PM | 7:29 PM | 7:54 PM | 12h 24m |
| October | 7:01 AM | 7:26 AM | 8:00 AM | 6:15 PM | 6:49 PM | 7:14 PM | 11h 23m |
| November | 6:27 AM | 6:53 AM | 7:29 AM | 4:44 PM | 5:20 PM | 5:46 PM | 10h 26m |
| December | 6:51 AM | 7:19 AM | 7:56 AM | 4:38 PM | 5:15 PM | 5:43 PM | 9h 57m |
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 Marion, the Milky Way core is visible in a dark sky from February through October. June gives the longest window (about 6.2 hours on a moonless night), and the core peaks around 28° 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 | — | 1° | — |
| February | 5:00 AM – 5:40 AM | 0.7 | 17° | SE → SE |
| March | 4:02 AM – 6:02 AM | 2.0 | 24° | SE → SSE |
| April | 2:09 AM – 5:19 AM | 3.2 | 28° | SE → S |
| May | 12:11 AM – 4:41 AM | 4.5 | 28° | SE → SSW |
| June | 10:16 PM – 4:26 AM | 6.2 | 28° | SE → SW |
| July | 10:13 PM – 3:03 AM | 4.8 | 28° | SSE → SW |
| August | 9:39 PM – 12:59 AM | 3.3 | 28° | S → SW |
| September | 8:53 PM – 10:53 PM | 2.0 | 24° | SSW → SW |
| October | 8:11 PM – 9:01 PM | 0.8 | 17° | SW → SW |
| November | Below 10° in darkness | — | 3° | — |
| December | Below 10° in darkness | — | -18° | — |
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 ≈ 21.65 mag/arcsec².
Weather & best season
Long-term NASA satellite data for this area show November as the clearest month (about 43% average cloud cover) and February as the cloudiest (56%). 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 | 81 | 81 | 85 | 95 | 103 | 106 | 106 | 107 | 101 | 101 | 86 | 81 |
| Low °F | 13 | 20 | 22 | 29 | 44 | 55 | 61 | 58 | 49 | 31 | 21 | 12 |
| Precip. (in) | 2.6 | 3.7 | 3.4 | 3.1 | 3.7 | 5.1 | 5.3 | 5.1 | 4.1 | 3.4 | 2.9 | 3.7 |
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
- 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.
- Expose for the brighter sky; reflections are typically half a stop to a stop darker.
- After sunset, long exposures smooth wind ripples into glass.
- 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 Marion, closest first.
FAQ
When is the best time to photograph Lake Marion?
What time is golden hour at Lake Marion?
Where does the sun rise and set at Lake Marion?
Can you see the Milky Way from Lake Marion?
Do you need a permit to photograph at Lake Marion?
How far is Lake Marion from Holly Hill?
Sources
Location data: Wikidata, 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.