Monument Mountain is a mountain peak in Berkshire County, Massachusetts at about 322 m (1,056 ft) above sea level. It sits roughly 1.4 km (0.9 mi) ENE of Housatonic.
Monument Mountain is a 2.5-mile (4.0 km) long quartzite ridgeline located in Great Barrington and Stockbridge, Massachusetts in the Berkshires geology. Beside the high point, 1,739 feet (530 m), the mountain has several distinct features, most notably the open, knife-edge Peeskawso Peak, 1,642 feet (500 m) located on the southeast side of the mountain within the 503-acre (204 ha) Monument Mountain reservation managed by The Trustees of Reservations. The mountain receives over 20,000 visitors per year. Devil's Pulpit, part of Peeskawso Peak, is a free-standing pillar of stone. Flag Rock, located on the southwest side of the mountain, is an open ledge overlooking the village of Housatonic. The only official trails on the mountain ascend Peeskawso Peak from a parking lot on Massachusetts Route 7 north of Great Barrington center. There is no fee for members of The Trustees and a parking...From the Wikipedia article “Monument Mountain (Berkshire County, Massachusetts)”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sunrise & sunset directions
At Monument Mountain the sunrise point swings a long way through the year: about 57° (ENE) at the June solstice and 122° (ESE) in late December. Sunset moves from 304° (WNW) in June to 239° (WSW) in December, and the midday sun climbs to 71° in summer but only 24° in winter.
| Date | Sunrise | Azimuth | Sunset | Azimuth | Noon sun | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox (Mar 20) | 6:58 AM | 90° E | 7:06 PM | 271° W | 48° | 12h 08m |
| June solstice (Jun 21) | 5:18 AM | 57° ENE | 8:34 PM | 304° WNW | 71° | 15h 16m |
| September equinox (Sep 22) | 6:41 AM | 89° E | 6:53 PM | 271° W | 48° | 12h 11m |
| December solstice (Dec 21) | 7:20 AM | 122° ESE | 4:25 PM | 239° WSW | 24° | 9h 05m |
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 | 6:49 AM | 7:20 AM | 8:04 AM | 4:03 PM | 4:46 PM | 5:17 PM | 9h 26m |
| February | 6:22 AM | 6:51 AM | 7:30 AM | 4:47 PM | 5:26 PM | 5:55 PM | 10h 35m |
| March | 6:38 AM | 7:06 AM | 7:43 AM | 6:23 PM | 7:00 PM | 7:28 PM | 11h 54m |
| April | 5:44 AM | 6:13 AM | 6:51 AM | 6:57 PM | 7:35 PM | 8:04 PM | 13h 21m |
| May | 5:01 AM | 5:33 AM | 6:13 AM | 7:28 PM | 8:08 PM | 8:40 PM | 14h 35m |
| June | 4:43 AM | 5:17 AM | 6:00 AM | 7:50 PM | 8:32 PM | 9:07 PM | 15h 15m |
| July | 4:57 AM | 5:31 AM | 6:12 AM | 7:48 PM | 8:29 PM | 9:03 PM | 14h 58m |
| August | 5:31 AM | 6:02 AM | 6:40 AM | 7:18 PM | 7:56 PM | 8:26 PM | 13h 55m |
| September | 6:06 AM | 6:34 AM | 7:11 AM | 6:28 PM | 7:05 PM | 7:33 PM | 12h 31m |
| October | 6:38 AM | 7:07 AM | 7:45 AM | 5:35 PM | 6:13 PM | 6:41 PM | 11h 07m |
| November | 6:15 AM | 6:45 AM | 7:27 AM | 3:51 PM | 4:33 PM | 5:03 PM | 9h 48m |
| December | 6:44 AM | 7:16 AM | 8:01 AM | 3:37 PM | 4:23 PM | 4:55 PM | 9h 07m |
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 Monument Mountain, the Milky Way core is visible in a dark sky from March through September. June gives the longest window (about 4.2 hours on a moonless night), and the core peaks around 19° 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 | — | -3° | — |
| February | Below 10° in darkness | — | 9° | — |
| March | 4:33 AM – 5:23 AM | 0.8 | 15° | SSE → SSE |
| April | 2:26 AM – 4:26 AM | 2.0 | 18° | SE → S |
| May | 12:35 AM – 3:25 AM | 2.8 | 19° | SSE → S |
| June | 10:45 PM – 2:55 AM | 4.2 | 19° | SSE → SSW |
| July | 10:35 PM – 1:35 AM | 3.0 | 19° | S → SSW |
| August | 9:43 PM – 11:33 PM | 1.8 | 18° | S → SSW |
| September | 8:40 PM – 9:30 PM | 0.8 | 15° | SSW → SSW |
| October | Below 10° in darkness | — | 9° | — |
| 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: 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 ≈ 20.52 mag/arcsec². Aurora needs roughly Kp 5.5+ 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 51% average cloud cover) and December as the cloudiest (74%). 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 | 64 | 70 | 73 | 87 | 91 | 93 | 100 | 98 | 93 | 86 | 74 | 68 |
| Low °F | -24 | -18 | -15 | 12 | 27 | 34 | 46 | 46 | 34 | 18 | 3 | -7 |
| Precip. (in) | 2.9 | 3.1 | 3.4 | 3.6 | 3.8 | 4.9 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 4.3 | 4.8 | 3.4 | 3.9 |
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 mountain peak
- 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 Monument Mountain, closest first.
Botanical Garden
Lake
Covered Bridge
State Park
Ghost Town
Fire Lookout
Mountain PeakState Park
WaterfallFAQ
When is the best time to photograph Monument Mountain?
What time is golden hour at Monument Mountain?
Where does the sun rise and set at Monument Mountain?
Can you see the Milky Way from Monument Mountain?
Do you need a permit to photograph at Monument Mountain?
How far is Monument Mountain from Housatonic?
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.