Located in Grafton County, New Hampshire, Smarts Mountain is a mountain peak at about 982 m (3,222 ft) above sea level. It sits roughly 9.6 km (6.0 mi) E of Lyme.
Smarts Mountain is a 3,238-foot-high (987 m) mountain in the town of Lyme in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. Smarts is flanked to the north by Mount Cube, at 2,909 feet (887 m), and to the southwest by Holts Ledge, at 2,110 feet (640 m). Although of only moderate elevation, Smarts is separated from the southwestern White Mountains by Oliverian Notch, a fairly low pass traversed by New Hampshire Route 25 southwest of Mount Moosilauke. That gives Smarts a relative height of 2,190 ft (670 m), which makes it one of twelve mountains in New Hampshire with a prominence over 2,000 ft (610 m). The northwest and south sides of the mountain drain by several brooks into the Connecticut River and thence south into Long Island Sound in Connecticut. The northeast side drains east into the South Branch of the Baker River, and thence via the Pemigewasset and Merrimack rivers into the...From the Wikipedia article “Smarts Mountain”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sunrise & sunset directions
At Smarts Mountain the sunrise point swings a long way through the year: about 56° (NE) at the June solstice and 123° (ESE) in late December. Sunset moves from 305° (NW) in June to 238° (WSW) in December, and the midday sun climbs to 70° in summer but only 23° in winter.
| Date | Sunrise | Azimuth | Sunset | Azimuth | Noon sun | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox (Mar 20) | 6:52 AM | 90° E | 7:01 PM | 271° W | 46° | 12h 08m |
| June solstice (Jun 21) | 5:07 AM | 56° NE | 8:35 PM | 305° NW | 70° | 15h 28m |
| September equinox (Sep 22) | 6:36 AM | 89° E | 6:48 PM | 271° W | 46° | 12h 12m |
| December solstice (Dec 21) | 7:20 AM | 123° ESE | 4:14 PM | 238° WSW | 23° | 8h 54m |
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 | 6:48 AM | 7:20 AM | 8:05 AM | 3:51 PM | 4:36 PM | 5:08 PM | 9h 17m |
| February | 6:19 AM | 6:48 AM | 7:29 AM | 4:38 PM | 5:18 PM | 5:48 PM | 10h 30m |
| March | 6:33 AM | 7:01 AM | 7:40 AM | 6:16 PM | 6:54 PM | 7:23 PM | 11h 53m |
| April | 5:36 AM | 6:06 AM | 6:45 AM | 6:53 PM | 7:32 PM | 8:02 PM | 13h 26m |
| May | 4:50 AM | 5:24 AM | 6:05 AM | 7:26 PM | 8:07 PM | 8:40 PM | 14h 44m |
| June | 4:30 AM | 5:06 AM | 5:50 AM | 7:49 PM | 8:33 PM | 9:09 PM | 15h 27m |
| July | 4:46 AM | 5:20 AM | 6:03 AM | 7:46 PM | 8:29 PM | 9:04 PM | 15h 09m |
| August | 5:22 AM | 5:53 AM | 6:33 AM | 7:14 PM | 7:54 PM | 8:25 PM | 14h 01m |
| September | 5:59 AM | 6:28 AM | 7:06 AM | 6:23 PM | 7:01 PM | 7:29 PM | 12h 32m |
| October | 6:34 AM | 7:03 AM | 7:42 AM | 5:27 PM | 6:06 PM | 6:35 PM | 11h 03m |
| November | 6:12 AM | 6:43 AM | 7:27 AM | 3:41 PM | 4:24 PM | 4:55 PM | 9h 40m |
| December | 6:43 AM | 7:16 AM | 8:03 AM | 3:25 PM | 4:12 PM | 4:45 PM | 8h 56m |
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 Smarts Mountain, the Milky Way core is visible in a dark sky from March through September. June gives the longest window (about 3.7 hours on a moonless night), and the core peaks around 17° 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 | — | -4° | — |
| February | Below 10° in darkness | — | 8° | — |
| March | 4:40 AM – 5:20 AM | 0.7 | 14° | SSE → SSE |
| April | 2:36 AM – 4:16 AM | 1.7 | 17° | SSE → S |
| May | 12:40 AM – 3:10 AM | 2.5 | 17° | SSE → S |
| June | 10:55 PM – 2:35 AM | 3.7 | 17° | SSE → SSW |
| July | 10:42 PM – 1:22 AM | 2.7 | 17° | S → SSW |
| August | 9:45 PM – 11:15 PM | 1.5 | 17° | S → SSW |
| September | 8:39 PM – 9:19 PM | 0.7 | 14° | SSW → SSW |
| October | Below 10° in darkness | — | 8° | — |
| November | Below 10° in darkness | — | -2° | — |
| 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: 3 Bortle 3 — Rural sky. Some light domes sit on the horizon, but the Milky Way still looks complex overhead. Modeled zenith brightness ≈ 21.51 mag/arcsec². Aurora needs roughly Kp 4.5+ 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 54% 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 | 59 | 68 | 72 | 82 | 84 | 96 | 96 | 92 | 89 | 78 | 69 | 65 |
| Low °F | -30 | -23 | -21 | 8 | 24 | 34 | 44 | 42 | 30 | 18 | 1 | -15 |
| Precip. (in) | 2.4 | 2.9 | 3.0 | 3.5 | 3.7 | 4.7 | 4.3 | 3.8 | 3.6 | 4.5 | 3.2 | 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 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.
- Tell someone where you're going in remote areas and carry the ten essentials.
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 Smarts Mountain, closest first.
Covered Bridge
Lake
State Park
Waterfall
Covered Bridge
Covered Bridge
State Park
State Park
Mountain PeakCampgrounds nearby (Recreation.gov)
FAQ
When is the best time to photograph Smarts Mountain?
What time is golden hour at Smarts Mountain?
Where does the sun rise and set at Smarts Mountain?
Can you see the Milky Way from Smarts Mountain?
Do you need a permit to photograph at Smarts Mountain?
How far is Smarts Mountain from Lyme?
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.