Located in Coconino County, Arizona, Coyote Buttes is a mountain peak at about 1,918 m (6,293 ft) above sea level. The nearest town is Fredonia, about 46 km (28 mi) away (Coyote Buttes lies E of town).
Coyote Buttes is a section of the Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). It spans extreme south-central Utah and north-central Arizona, south of US 89 halfway between Kanab, Utah and Page, Arizona. It is divided into two areas: Coyote Buttes North and Coyote Buttes South. A hiking permit is required to visit either of the Coyote Buttes areas. The Coyote Buttes area is an exposure of cross-bedded aeolian Jurassic Navajo Sandstone. The variable coloration of the sandstones is a result of various iron oxide pigments within the layers. A dinosaur trackway or trample surface is found in the area and provides evidence of a variety of dinosaurs. The area includes dramatic swirling erosional rock formations such as The Wave. The Wave and Buckskin Gulch share the Wire Pass Trailhead on House Rock Valley Road.From the Wikipedia article “Coyote Buttes”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sunrise & sunset directions
At Coyote Buttes the sunrise point swings a long way through the year: about 60° (ENE) at the June solstice and 119° (ESE) in late December. Sunset moves from 301° (WNW) in June to 241° (WSW) in December, and the midday sun climbs to 76° in summer but only 30° in winter.
| Date | Sunrise | Azimuth | Sunset | Azimuth | Noon sun | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox (Mar 20) | 6:32 AM | 90° E | 6:40 PM | 271° W | 53° | 12h 08m |
| June solstice (Jun 21) | 5:10 AM | 60° ENE | 7:52 PM | 301° WNW | 76° | 14h 42m |
| September equinox (Sep 22) | 6:17 AM | 89° E | 6:27 PM | 271° W | 53° | 12h 10m |
| December solstice (Dec 21) | 7:38 AM | 119° ESE | 5:16 PM | 241° WSW | 30° | 9h 37m |
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
Summits catch first and last light — alpenglow can turn rock pink or orange minutes before sunrise and after sunset while valleys stay in shadow.
| Month (15th) | Blue hour starts | Sunrise | Golden hour ends | Golden hour starts | Sunset | Blue hour ends | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7:13 AM | 7:41 AM | 8:20 AM | 4:56 PM | 5:35 PM | 6:04 PM | 9h 54m |
| February | 6:51 AM | 7:18 AM | 7:54 AM | 5:33 PM | 6:09 PM | 6:35 PM | 10h 51m |
| March | 6:14 AM | 6:40 AM | 7:14 AM | 6:01 PM | 6:36 PM | 7:02 PM | 11h 56m |
| April | 5:28 AM | 5:54 AM | 6:29 AM | 6:28 PM | 7:03 PM | 7:30 PM | 13h 08m |
| May | 4:52 AM | 5:21 AM | 5:58 AM | 6:53 PM | 7:30 PM | 7:59 PM | 14h 09m |
| June | 4:38 AM | 5:09 AM | 5:47 AM | 7:11 PM | 7:50 PM | 8:21 PM | 14h 41m |
| July | 4:51 AM | 5:21 AM | 5:59 AM | 7:10 PM | 7:48 PM | 8:18 PM | 14h 27m |
| August | 5:18 AM | 5:46 AM | 6:21 AM | 6:46 PM | 7:21 PM | 7:49 PM | 13h 35m |
| September | 5:45 AM | 6:11 AM | 6:45 AM | 6:03 PM | 6:37 PM | 7:03 PM | 12h 26m |
| October | 6:10 AM | 6:36 AM | 7:11 AM | 5:18 PM | 5:53 PM | 6:19 PM | 11h 16m |
| November | 6:40 AM | 7:07 AM | 7:45 AM | 4:42 PM | 5:20 PM | 5:47 PM | 10h 12m |
| December | 7:06 AM | 7:35 AM | 8:15 AM | 4:33 PM | 5:13 PM | 5:42 PM | 9h 38m |
Local time (America/Phoenix), 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 Coyote Buttes, the Milky Way core is visible in a dark sky from March through October. June gives the longest window (about 5.5 hours on a moonless night), and the core peaks around 24° above the southern horizon. Our light-pollution model puts the sky at about Bortle 1 (excellent dark-sky site), which is excellent for astrophotography.
| Month | Core visible (15th) | Hours | Max altitude | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | Below 10° in darkness | — | -1° | — |
| February | 5:26 AM – 5:46 AM | 0.3 | 14° | SE → SE |
| March | 3:32 AM – 5:02 AM | 1.5 | 20° | SE → SSE |
| April | 1:25 AM – 4:15 AM | 2.8 | 24° | SE → S |
| May | 11:33 PM – 3:33 AM | 4.0 | 24° | SE → SSW |
| June | 9:42 PM – 3:12 AM | 5.5 | 24° | SE → SW |
| July | 9:36 PM – 1:46 AM | 4.2 | 24° | SSE → SW |
| August | 8:57 PM – 11:47 PM | 2.8 | 24° | S → SW |
| September | 8:05 PM – 9:45 PM | 1.7 | 21° | SSW → SW |
| October | 7:19 PM – 7:49 PM | 0.5 | 14° | SW → SW |
| 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: 1 Bortle 1 — Excellent dark-sky site. The Milky Way casts faint shadows; zodiacal light and airglow are obvious. Modeled zenith brightness ≈ 21.93 mag/arcsec².
Weather & best season
Long-term NASA satellite data for this area show June as the clearest month (about 26% average cloud cover) and December as the cloudiest (52%). July is the warmest month and December 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 | 65 | 69 | 81 | 87 | 97 | 103 | 103 | 101 | 100 | 87 | 75 | 64 |
| Low °F | 4 | -2 | 17 | 20 | 25 | 38 | 50 | 47 | 32 | 17 | 14 | 5 |
| Precip. (in) | 1.1 | 1.3 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 0.7 | 1.0 |
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 mountain peak
- Snow on the summit holds detail best when you expose for the highlights and lift shadows later.
- Alpenglow lasts only a few minutes; set up and focus beforehand.
- Clouds around the summit add drama — a clear blue sky is often the least interesting condition.
- Photograph the peak from a lake, meadow or ridge at sunrise when the face that looks east lights up first.
- Long lenses compress ridgelines; shoot the peak from several miles away to make it look massive.
- Shoot RAW to keep the most latitude for high-contrast sunrise and sunset scenes.
Season: Early summer keeps snow on the peaks with green valleys below; autumn adds aspen or larch color in many ranges.
Suggested gear: Telephoto lens, Lightweight tripod, Warm layers, Microspikes in shoulder seasons. Work out exposures with the depth of field, ND filter and NPF rule calculators.
Nearby photo spots
Other locations within 25 km of Coyote Buttes, closest first.
Natural ArchNatural Arch
Rock FormationNatural ArchNatural ArchNatural Arch
Wilderness AreaNatural Arch
Natural ArchCampgrounds nearby (Recreation.gov)
FAQ
When is the best time to photograph Coyote Buttes?
What time is golden hour at Coyote Buttes?
Where does the sun rise and set at Coyote Buttes?
Can you see the Milky Way from Coyote Buttes?
Do you need a permit to photograph at Coyote Buttes?
How far is Coyote Buttes from Fredonia?
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.