Ashokan High Point — a mountain peak in Ulster County, New York at about 939 m (3,081 ft) above sea level — is a lesser-known subject for landscape photographers. It sits roughly 8.3 km (5.2 mi) SW of Shokan.
Ashokan High Point or High Point is a 3,081 feet (939 m) summit in the Catskill Mountains of New York. High Point is the loftiest part of a massif that includes the adjacent Mombaccus Mountain, Little Rocky and South Mountain. It is also the highest peak in Sundown Wild Forest. The summit can be accessed via the Kanape Brook Trail, which ascends from Ulster County Road 42 to the saddle between High Point and Mombaccus. This trail, named for 19th-century farmer John Canape, was formerly a wagon track connected to the present-day Freeman Avery Road on the south side of the mountain, providing a route between Watson Hollow and Samsonville in the days of the Catskills tanneries. The Gazetteer and Business Directory of Ulster County, N.Y. For 1871-2 referred to the peak as "Shokan Point". It was also known as "Samson," after the Catskill tannery owner for whom Samsonville was named, and...From the Wikipedia article “Ashokan High Point”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sunrise & sunset directions
At Ashokan High Point 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 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) | 7:01 AM | 90° E | 7:09 PM | 271° W | 48° | 12h 08m |
| June solstice (Jun 21) | 5:23 AM | 57° ENE | 8:37 PM | 303° WNW | 72° | 15h 14m |
| September equinox (Sep 22) | 6:45 AM | 89° E | 6:56 PM | 271° W | 48° | 12h 11m |
| December solstice (Dec 21) | 7:22 AM | 122° ESE | 4:30 PM | 239° WSW | 25° | 9h 07m |
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 | 7:23 AM | 8:06 AM | 4:08 PM | 4:51 PM | 5:22 PM | 9h 28m |
| February | 6:25 AM | 6:54 AM | 7:33 AM | 4:51 PM | 5:30 PM | 5:59 PM | 10h 36m |
| March | 6:42 AM | 7:10 AM | 7:47 AM | 6:27 PM | 7:04 PM | 7:32 PM | 11h 54m |
| April | 5:49 AM | 6:18 AM | 6:55 AM | 7:01 PM | 7:38 PM | 8:07 PM | 13h 20m |
| May | 5:06 AM | 5:38 AM | 6:18 AM | 7:31 PM | 8:11 PM | 8:43 PM | 14h 33m |
| June | 4:48 AM | 5:22 AM | 6:04 AM | 7:53 PM | 8:35 PM | 9:09 PM | 15h 13m |
| July | 5:02 AM | 5:36 AM | 6:17 AM | 7:51 PM | 8:32 PM | 9:05 PM | 14h 56m |
| August | 5:36 AM | 6:06 AM | 6:44 AM | 7:21 PM | 7:59 PM | 8:29 PM | 13h 53m |
| September | 6:10 AM | 6:38 AM | 7:15 AM | 6:32 PM | 7:09 PM | 7:37 PM | 12h 31m |
| October | 6:42 AM | 7:10 AM | 7:48 AM | 5:39 PM | 6:17 PM | 6:45 PM | 11h 07m |
| November | 6:18 AM | 6:48 AM | 7:29 AM | 3:56 PM | 4:38 PM | 5:08 PM | 9h 50m |
| December | 6:47 AM | 7:19 AM | 8:04 AM | 3:43 PM | 4:28 PM | 4:59 PM | 9h 09m |
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 Ashokan High Point, the Milky Way core is visible in a dark sky from March through September. June gives the longest window (about 4.3 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 | — | 10° | — |
| March | 4:37 AM – 5:27 AM | 0.8 | 15° | SSE → SSE |
| April | 2:29 AM – 4:29 AM | 2.0 | 19° | SE → S |
| May | 12:38 AM – 3:38 AM | 3.0 | 19° | SSE → S |
| June | 10:47 PM – 3:07 AM | 4.3 | 19° | SSE → SSW |
| July | 10:37 PM – 1:47 AM | 3.2 | 19° | S → SW |
| August | 9:46 PM – 11:46 PM | 2.0 | 18° | S → SW |
| September | 8:44 PM – 9:44 PM | 1.0 | 15° | SSW → SW |
| October | Below 10° in darkness | — | 10° | — |
| 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 ≈ 20.63 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 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
- 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.
- Check road and trail conditions with the managing agency before you go.
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 Ashokan High Point, closest first.
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LakeFAQ
When is the best time to photograph Ashokan High Point?
What time is golden hour at Ashokan High Point?
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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.