Located in Passaic County, New Jersey, Bearfort Mountain is a mountain peak at about 415 m (1,362 ft) above sea level. The nearest town is West Milford, about 2.0 km (1.2 mi) away (Bearfort Mountain lies NW of town).
Bearfort Mountain, historically known as Bear Ford Mountain, is a mountain ridge extending from Wawayanda State Park northward through Abram S. Hewitt State Forest in West Milford, Passaic County, New Jersey. It is a continuation of Bellvale Mountain in New York. The Appalachian Trail crosses along the ridge into New York. Puddingstone of the Skunnemunk Conglomerate is visible along the ridge. At an elevation of 1,331 feet (406 m) the ridge is the site of a 68 feet (21 m) high fire lookout tower built by the New Jersey Forest Fire Service. The mountain was depicted in an 1850 painting by Jasper Francis Cropsey, an American landscape artist of the Hudson River School.From the Wikipedia article “Bearfort Mountain”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sunrise & sunset directions
At Bearfort Mountain the sunrise point swings a long way through the year: about 57° (ENE) at the June solstice and 121° (ESE) in late December. Sunset moves from 303° (WNW) in June to 239° (WSW) in December, and the midday sun climbs to 72° in summer but only 25° in winter.
| Date | Sunrise | Azimuth | Sunset | Azimuth | Noon sun | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox (Mar 20) | 7:02 AM | 90° E | 7:10 PM | 271° W | 49° | 12h 08m |
| June solstice (Jun 21) | 5:26 AM | 57° ENE | 8:34 PM | 303° WNW | 72° | 15h 09m |
| September equinox (Sep 22) | 6:46 AM | 89° E | 6:57 PM | 271° W | 49° | 12h 11m |
| December solstice (Dec 21) | 7:20 AM | 121° ESE | 4:33 PM | 239° WSW | 25° | 9h 12m |
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 | 6:51 AM | 7:21 AM | 8:04 AM | 4:11 PM | 4:54 PM | 5:24 PM | 9h 32m |
| February | 6:25 AM | 6:53 AM | 7:32 AM | 4:54 PM | 5:32 PM | 6:00 PM | 10h 39m |
| March | 6:43 AM | 7:10 AM | 7:47 AM | 6:28 PM | 7:04 PM | 7:32 PM | 11h 54m |
| April | 5:50 AM | 6:19 AM | 6:56 AM | 7:00 PM | 7:37 PM | 8:06 PM | 13h 18m |
| May | 5:09 AM | 5:40 AM | 6:20 AM | 7:30 PM | 8:09 PM | 8:41 PM | 14h 29m |
| June | 4:52 AM | 5:25 AM | 6:07 AM | 7:51 PM | 8:33 PM | 9:06 PM | 15h 07m |
| July | 5:06 AM | 5:38 AM | 6:19 AM | 7:49 PM | 8:30 PM | 9:02 PM | 14h 51m |
| August | 5:38 AM | 6:08 AM | 6:46 AM | 7:20 PM | 7:58 PM | 8:28 PM | 13h 50m |
| September | 6:11 AM | 6:39 AM | 7:15 AM | 6:32 PM | 7:09 PM | 7:36 PM | 12h 30m |
| October | 6:42 AM | 7:10 AM | 7:47 AM | 5:41 PM | 6:18 PM | 6:46 PM | 11h 09m |
| November | 6:17 AM | 6:46 AM | 7:27 AM | 3:59 PM | 4:40 PM | 5:10 PM | 9h 54m |
| December | 6:45 AM | 7:17 AM | 8:01 AM | 3:46 PM | 4:30 PM | 5:02 PM | 9h 14m |
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 Bearfort Mountain, the Milky Way core is visible in a dark sky from March through September. June gives the longest window (about 4.5 hours on a moonless night), and the core peaks around 20° above the southern horizon. Our light-pollution model puts the sky at about Bortle 7 (suburban / urban transition), 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 | — | -2° | — |
| February | 5:15 AM – 5:15 AM | 0.0 | 10° | SE → SE |
| March | 4:27 AM – 5:37 AM | 1.2 | 17° | SE → SSE |
| April | 2:27 AM – 4:37 AM | 2.2 | 19° | SE → S |
| May | 12:24 AM – 3:44 AM | 3.3 | 20° | SE → S |
| June | 10:42 PM – 3:12 AM | 4.5 | 20° | SSE → SSW |
| July | 10:32 PM – 1:52 AM | 3.3 | 20° | S → SW |
| August | 9:43 PM – 11:43 PM | 2.0 | 19° | S → SW |
| September | 8:43 PM – 9:43 PM | 1.0 | 16° | SSW → SW |
| October | 7:50 PM – 7:50 PM | 0.0 | 10° | 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: 7 Bortle 7 — Suburban / urban transition. The whole sky has a grey-white glow; the Milky Way is invisible to the eye. Modeled zenith brightness ≈ 18.69 mag/arcsec². Aurora needs roughly Kp 6.0+ 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 52% average cloud cover) and December as the cloudiest (70%). 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 | 72 | 90 | 88 | 94 | 99 | 101 | 95 | 88 | 76 | 67 |
| Low °F | -14 | -19 | -8 | 18 | 28 | 37 | 47 | 48 | 37 | 21 | 5 | -5 |
| Precip. (in) | 2.9 | 3.2 | 3.6 | 3.8 | 3.9 | 5.0 | 4.4 | 4.8 | 4.5 | 4.8 | 3.5 | 4.1 |
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.
- 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 Bearfort Mountain, closest first.
Fire Lookout
State Park
Lake
State Park
Mountain Peak
Waterfall
State Park
Botanical Garden
State ParkFAQ
When is the best time to photograph Bearfort Mountain?
What time is golden hour at Bearfort Mountain?
Where does the sun rise and set at Bearfort Mountain?
Can you see the Milky Way from Bearfort Mountain?
Do you need a permit to photograph at Bearfort Mountain?
How far is Bearfort Mountain from West Milford?
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.