Located in Essex County, New York, Santanoni Peak is a mountain peak at about 1,401 m (4,596 ft) above sea level. The nearest town is North Elba, about 23 km (14 mi) away (Santanoni Peak lies SW of town).
Santanoni is also the name of the Santanoni Preserve, the 13,000-acre (53 km2) once-private preserve that contained Santanoni Peak. Santanoni Peak is a mountain located in the Santanoni Range of the Adirondacks in the U.S. state of New York. It is the fourteenth-highest peak in New York, with an elevation of 4,607 ft (1,404 m), and one of the 46 High Peaks in Adirondack Park. It is located in the town of Newcomb in Essex County. Santanoni Peak is flanked to the north by Panther Peak and to the northwest by Couchsachraga Peak, the other two mountains of the Santanoni Range. The mountain's name is believed to be an Abenaki derivative of "Saint Anthony"; the first French fur traders and missionaries having named the area for Saint Anthony of Padua. The name first appeared in print in 1838, but may have been used much earlier. The earliest recorded ascent of the mountain was made in 1866...From the Wikipedia article “Santanoni Peak”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sunrise & sunset directions
At Santanoni Peak 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 69° in summer but only 22° in winter.
| Date | Sunrise | Azimuth | Sunset | Azimuth | Noon sun | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox (Mar 20) | 7:01 AM | 90° E | 7:09 PM | 271° W | 46° | 12h 08m |
| June solstice (Jun 21) | 5:14 AM | 56° NE | 8:44 PM | 305° NW | 69° | 15h 30m |
| September equinox (Sep 22) | 6:44 AM | 89° E | 6:56 PM | 271° W | 46° | 12h 12m |
| December solstice (Dec 21) | 7:29 AM | 123° ESE | 4:22 PM | 238° WSW | 22° | 8h 52m |
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 | 6:57 AM | 7:29 AM | 8:14 AM | 3:59 PM | 4:44 PM | 5:16 PM | 9h 15m |
| February | 6:27 AM | 6:57 AM | 7:38 AM | 4:46 PM | 5:26 PM | 5:56 PM | 10h 29m |
| March | 6:41 AM | 7:10 AM | 7:48 AM | 6:25 PM | 7:03 PM | 7:32 PM | 11h 53m |
| April | 5:44 AM | 6:14 AM | 6:53 AM | 7:02 PM | 7:40 PM | 8:11 PM | 13h 26m |
| May | 4:58 AM | 5:31 AM | 6:13 AM | 7:35 PM | 8:16 PM | 8:50 PM | 14h 45m |
| June | 4:37 AM | 5:14 AM | 5:58 AM | 7:58 PM | 8:42 PM | 9:18 PM | 15h 28m |
| July | 4:53 AM | 5:28 AM | 6:11 AM | 7:55 PM | 8:38 PM | 9:13 PM | 15h 10m |
| August | 5:30 AM | 6:01 AM | 6:41 AM | 7:23 PM | 8:03 PM | 8:34 PM | 14h 02m |
| September | 6:07 AM | 6:36 AM | 7:14 AM | 6:31 PM | 7:09 PM | 7:38 PM | 12h 33m |
| October | 6:43 AM | 7:12 AM | 7:51 AM | 5:35 PM | 6:14 PM | 6:43 PM | 11h 03m |
| November | 6:21 AM | 6:52 AM | 7:36 AM | 3:48 PM | 4:32 PM | 5:03 PM | 9h 39m |
| December | 6:52 AM | 7:25 AM | 8:13 AM | 3:32 PM | 4:20 PM | 4:53 PM | 8h 54m |
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 Santanoni Peak, 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 2 (typical truly dark site), which is excellent for astrophotography.
| Month | Core visible (15th) | Hours | Max altitude | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | Below 10° in darkness | — | -5° | — |
| February | Below 10° in darkness | — | 8° | — |
| March | 4:50 AM – 5:30 AM | 0.7 | 14° | SSE → SSE |
| April | 2:46 AM – 4:26 AM | 1.7 | 16° | SSE → S |
| May | 12:51 AM – 3:21 AM | 2.5 | 17° | SSE → S |
| June | 11:07 PM – 2:47 AM | 3.7 | 17° | SSE → SSW |
| July | 10:53 PM – 1:23 AM | 2.5 | 17° | S → SSW |
| August | 9:55 PM – 11:25 PM | 1.5 | 16° | S → SSW |
| September | 8:48 PM – 9:18 PM | 0.5 | 13° | SSW → SSW |
| October | Below 10° in darkness | — | 8° | — |
| November | Below 10° in darkness | — | -2° | — |
| 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: 2 Bortle 2 — Typical truly dark site. The summer Milky Way shows rich structure; clouds look like black holes in the stars. Modeled zenith brightness ≈ 21.79 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 55% average cloud cover) and December as the cloudiest (83%). 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 | 57 | 62 | 74 | 79 | 85 | 85 | 88 | 86 | 88 | 78 | 69 | 62 |
| Low °F | -27 | -27 | -20 | 6 | 24 | 33 | 41 | 42 | 28 | 21 | -9 | -23 |
| Precip. (in) | 2.3 | 2.4 | 2.5 | 3.5 | 3.8 | 4.9 | 4.1 | 3.8 | 3.6 | 4.4 | 3.0 | 3.1 |
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.
- 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 Santanoni Peak, closest first.
Mountain Peak
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Ghost Town
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Mountain Peak
Mountain Peak
Mountain PeakWaterfallFAQ
When is the best time to photograph Santanoni Peak?
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How far is Santanoni Peak from North Elba?
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.