Located in Santa Clara County, California, Mount Hamilton is a mountain peak at about 1,279 m (4,196 ft) above sea level. The nearest town is East Foothills, about 16.0 km (9.9 mi) away (Mount Hamilton lies ESE of town).
Mount Hamilton is a mountain in the Diablo Range in Santa Clara County, California. The mountain's peak, at 4,265 feet (1,300 m), overlooks the heavily urbanized Santa Clara Valley and is the site of Lick Observatory, the world's first permanently occupied mountain-top observatory. The asteroid 452 Hamiltonia, discovered in 1899, is named after the mountain. Golden eagle nesting sites are found on the slopes of Mount Hamilton. On clear days, Mount Tamalpais, the Santa Cruz Mountains, Monterey Bay, the Monterey Peninsula, and even Yosemite National Park are visible from the summit of the mountain.From the Wikipedia article “Mount Hamilton (California)”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sunrise & sunset directions
At Mount Hamilton the sunrise point swings a long way through the year: about 59° (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 29° in winter.
| Date | Sunrise | Azimuth | Sunset | Azimuth | Noon sun | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox (Mar 20) | 7:11 AM | 90° E | 7:19 PM | 271° W | 53° | 12h 08m |
| June solstice (Jun 21) | 5:47 AM | 59° ENE | 8:31 PM | 301° WNW | 76° | 14h 44m |
| September equinox (Sep 22) | 6:55 AM | 89° E | 7:05 PM | 271° W | 53° | 12h 10m |
| December solstice (Dec 21) | 7:18 AM | 119° ESE | 4:53 PM | 241° WSW | 29° | 9h 35m |
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 | 6:52 AM | 7:20 AM | 8:00 AM | 4:33 PM | 5:13 PM | 5:41 PM | 9h 53m |
| February | 6:30 AM | 6:57 AM | 7:33 AM | 5:10 PM | 5:47 PM | 6:13 PM | 10h 50m |
| March | 6:52 AM | 7:18 AM | 7:53 AM | 6:40 PM | 7:14 PM | 7:40 PM | 11h 56m |
| April | 6:06 AM | 6:32 AM | 7:07 AM | 7:07 PM | 7:42 PM | 8:09 PM | 13h 09m |
| May | 5:29 AM | 5:59 AM | 6:36 AM | 7:32 PM | 8:09 PM | 8:38 PM | 14h 10m |
| June | 5:15 AM | 5:46 AM | 6:25 AM | 7:51 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:01 PM | 14h 43m |
| July | 5:28 AM | 5:58 AM | 6:36 AM | 7:50 PM | 8:28 PM | 8:58 PM | 14h 29m |
| August | 5:56 AM | 6:24 AM | 6:59 AM | 7:24 PM | 8:00 PM | 8:28 PM | 13h 37m |
| September | 6:23 AM | 6:49 AM | 7:24 AM | 6:42 PM | 7:16 PM | 7:42 PM | 12h 26m |
| October | 6:49 AM | 7:15 AM | 7:50 AM | 5:56 PM | 6:31 PM | 6:57 PM | 11h 16m |
| November | 6:19 AM | 6:47 AM | 7:25 AM | 4:19 PM | 4:57 PM | 5:25 PM | 10h 11m |
| December | 6:45 AM | 7:14 AM | 7:55 AM | 4:10 PM | 4:51 PM | 5:20 PM | 9h 36m |
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 Mount Hamilton, the Milky Way core is visible in a dark sky from March through September. 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 5 (suburban 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 | — | -1° | — |
| February | 5:05 AM – 5:25 AM | 0.3 | 14° | SE → SE |
| March | 4:11 AM – 5:41 AM | 1.5 | 20° | SE → SSE |
| April | 2:04 AM – 4:54 AM | 2.8 | 24° | SE → S |
| May | 12:13 AM – 4:13 AM | 4.0 | 24° | SE → SSW |
| June | 10:23 PM – 3:53 AM | 5.5 | 24° | SE → SW |
| July | 10:17 PM – 2:27 AM | 4.2 | 24° | SSE → SW |
| August | 9:37 PM – 12:27 AM | 2.8 | 24° | S → SW |
| September | 8:44 PM – 10:24 PM | 1.7 | 20° | SSW → SW |
| October | 7:58 PM – 8:18 PM | 0.3 | 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: 5 Bortle 5 — Suburban sky. The Milky Way is weak near the horizon and washed out overhead; long exposures pick up a sky glow. Modeled zenith brightness ≈ 19.72 mag/arcsec².
Weather & best season
Long-term NASA satellite data for this area show July as the clearest month (about 12% average cloud cover) and January as the cloudiest (54%). 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 | 74 | 77 | 85 | 95 | 108 | 110 | 116 | 113 | 114 | 103 | 89 | 71 |
| Low °F | 22 | 27 | 29 | 32 | 39 | 43 | 49 | 50 | 46 | 38 | 27 | 24 |
| Precip. (in) | 2.9 | 3.1 | 2.4 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.8 | 1.7 | 3.6 |
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 mountain peak
- 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.
- Afternoon thunderstorms are common in summer at high elevations — plan summit hikes for early morning.
- Snow on the summit holds detail best when you expose for the highlights and lift shadows later.
- 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 Mount Hamilton, closest first.
Fire Lookout
State Park
Botanical Garden
Botanical Garden
CanyonFAQ
When is the best time to photograph Mount Hamilton?
What time is golden hour at Mount Hamilton?
Where does the sun rise and set at Mount Hamilton?
Can you see the Milky Way from Mount Hamilton?
Do you need a permit to photograph at Mount Hamilton?
How far is Mount Hamilton from East Foothills?
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.