Coburn Mountain — a mountain peak in Somerset County, Maine at about 1,135 m (3,724 ft) above sea level — is a popular subject for landscape photographers. It sits roughly 42 km (26 mi) W of Greenville.
Coburn Mountain is a mountain located in Somerset County, Maine. Coburn Mtn. lies within the watershed of the Kennebec River. The northern end of the southeast side of Coburn drains into Mountain Brook, then into Cold Stream and the Kennebec River. The southern end drains into Salmon Stream, then into the Dead River, another tributary of the Kennebec River. The southwest end of Coburn drains into Enchanted Pond and Enchanted Stream, then into the Dead River. The northwest side of Coburn drains into Horse Brook and Fourmile Brook, then into the Moose River and the Kennebec. The north end of Coburn drains into Piel Brook, then into Parlin Stream and the Moose River.From the Wikipedia article “Coburn Mountain (Maine)”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sunrise & sunset directions
At Coburn Mountain the sunrise point swings a long way through the year: about 55° (NE) at the June solstice and 124° (ESE) in late December. Sunset moves from 306° (NW) in June to 237° (WSW) in December, and the midday sun climbs to 68° in summer but only 21° in winter.
| Date | Sunrise | Azimuth | Sunset | Azimuth | Noon sun | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox (Mar 20) | 6:45 AM | 90° E | 6:53 PM | 271° W | 44° | 12h 08m |
| June solstice (Jun 21) | 4:53 AM | 55° NE | 8:33 PM | 306° NW | 68° | 15h 41m |
| September equinox (Sep 22) | 6:28 AM | 89° E | 6:40 PM | 271° W | 45° | 12h 12m |
| December solstice (Dec 21) | 7:18 AM | 124° ESE | 4:01 PM | 237° WSW | 21° | 8h 42m |
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 | 6:44 AM | 7:17 AM | 8:05 AM | 3:36 PM | 4:24 PM | 4:57 PM | 9h 06m |
| February | 6:13 AM | 6:43 AM | 7:25 AM | 4:26 PM | 5:08 PM | 5:38 PM | 10h 24m |
| March | 6:25 AM | 6:54 AM | 7:33 AM | 6:07 PM | 6:46 PM | 7:16 PM | 11h 52m |
| April | 5:25 AM | 5:56 AM | 6:36 AM | 6:47 PM | 7:26 PM | 7:57 PM | 13h 31m |
| May | 4:36 AM | 5:11 AM | 5:54 AM | 7:22 PM | 8:04 PM | 8:39 PM | 14h 53m |
| June | 4:14 AM | 4:52 AM | 5:38 AM | 7:46 PM | 8:32 PM | 9:09 PM | 15h 39m |
| July | 4:31 AM | 5:07 AM | 5:51 AM | 7:43 PM | 8:27 PM | 9:04 PM | 15h 20m |
| August | 5:10 AM | 5:42 AM | 6:23 AM | 7:09 PM | 7:50 PM | 8:22 PM | 14h 08m |
| September | 5:50 AM | 6:20 AM | 6:59 AM | 6:15 PM | 6:54 PM | 7:23 PM | 12h 34m |
| October | 6:27 AM | 6:57 AM | 7:38 AM | 5:16 PM | 5:57 PM | 6:27 PM | 11h 00m |
| November | 6:08 AM | 6:40 AM | 7:25 AM | 3:27 PM | 4:12 PM | 4:44 PM | 9h 32m |
| December | 6:40 AM | 7:14 AM | 8:04 AM | 3:09 PM | 3:59 PM | 4:33 PM | 8h 44m |
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 Coburn Mountain, the Milky Way core is visible in a dark sky from April through August. June gives the longest window (about 3.0 hours on a moonless night), and the core peaks around 16° 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 | — | -4° | — |
| February | Below 10° in darkness | — | 7° | — |
| March | 4:46 AM – 5:06 AM | 0.3 | 12° | SSE → SSE |
| April | 2:46 AM – 3:56 AM | 1.2 | 15° | SSE → SSE |
| May | 12:46 AM – 2:56 AM | 2.2 | 16° | SSE → S |
| June | 11:09 PM – 2:09 AM | 3.0 | 16° | SSE → SSW |
| July | 10:52 PM – 12:52 AM | 2.0 | 16° | S → SSW |
| August | 9:47 PM – 10:57 PM | 1.2 | 14° | SSW → SSW |
| September | 8:36 PM – 8:56 PM | 0.3 | 12° | SSW → SSW |
| October | Below 10° in darkness | — | 7° | — |
| November | Below 10° in darkness | — | -3° | — |
| 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: 1 Bortle 1 — Excellent dark-sky site. The Milky Way casts faint shadows; zodiacal light and airglow are obvious. Modeled zenith brightness ≈ 21.92 mag/arcsec². Aurora needs roughly Kp 4.0+ 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 57% average cloud cover) and December as the cloudiest (77%). 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 | 49 | 54 | 68 | 74 | 83 | 86 | 85 | 83 | 82 | 74 | 65 | 55 |
| Low °F | -32 | -32 | -21 | 0 | 23 | 33 | 42 | 40 | 27 | 15 | -5 | -21 |
| Precip. (in) | 2.4 | 2.6 | 2.8 | 3.6 | 3.9 | 5.0 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 3.5 | 4.8 | 3.6 | 3.8 |
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
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 Coburn Mountain, closest first.
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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.