Located in Stonewall County, Texas, Double Mountain is a mountain peak at about 742 m (2,434 ft) above sea level. It sits roughly 23 km (15 mi) N of Rotan.
Double Mountains is the name of a pair of flat-topped buttes located 13 miles (21 km) southwest of Aspermont in Stonewall County, Texas. While the Handbook of Texas gives their elevation as either 2,000 ft (610 m) or 2,400 ft (732 m), United States Geological Survey maps give the elevation of the western mountain as 2,523 ft (769 m) and that of the eastern mountain as between 2,580 and 2,600 ft (786 and 792 m). Together, the mountains form part of the high ground dividing the watersheds of the Salt Fork and Double Mountain Fork Brazos River. Rising some 500–800 feet (150–250 m) above the surrounding plains, the higher eastern mountain is the highest point in Stonewall County and the most topographically prominent point for almost 160 miles (257 km), the nearest more prominent peak being Mount Scott in Oklahoma. As such an isolated geographical feature, the mountains are visible...From the Wikipedia article “Double Mountains (Texas)”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sunrise & sunset directions
At Double Mountain the sunrise point swings a long way through the year: about 61° (ENE) at the June solstice and 118° (ESE) in late December. Sunset moves from 299° (WNW) in June to 242° (WSW) in December, and the midday sun climbs to 80° in summer but only 34° in winter.
| Date | Sunrise | Azimuth | Sunset | Azimuth | Noon sun | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox (Mar 20) | 7:46 AM | 90° E | 7:54 PM | 271° W | 57° | 12h 07m |
| June solstice (Jun 21) | 6:34 AM | 61° ENE | 8:54 PM | 299° WNW | 80° | 14h 20m |
| September equinox (Sep 22) | 7:31 AM | 89° E | 7:40 PM | 271° W | 57° | 12h 09m |
| December solstice (Dec 21) | 7:42 AM | 118° ESE | 5:40 PM | 242° WSW | 34° | 9h 58m |
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 | 7:19 AM | 7:46 AM | 8:22 AM | 5:21 PM | 5:58 PM | 6:25 PM | 10h 12m |
| February | 7:01 AM | 7:26 AM | 8:00 AM | 5:53 PM | 6:27 PM | 6:53 PM | 11h 01m |
| March | 7:28 AM | 7:53 AM | 8:26 AM | 7:17 PM | 7:50 PM | 8:15 PM | 11h 57m |
| April | 6:47 AM | 7:12 AM | 7:46 AM | 7:39 PM | 8:12 PM | 8:38 PM | 13h 00m |
| May | 6:16 AM | 6:43 AM | 7:18 AM | 8:00 PM | 8:35 PM | 9:02 PM | 13h 52m |
| June | 6:05 AM | 6:33 AM | 7:10 AM | 8:16 PM | 8:53 PM | 9:22 PM | 14h 19m |
| July | 6:16 AM | 6:44 AM | 7:20 AM | 8:16 PM | 8:52 PM | 9:20 PM | 14h 08m |
| August | 6:40 AM | 7:06 AM | 7:39 AM | 7:55 PM | 8:29 PM | 8:55 PM | 13h 23m |
| September | 7:01 AM | 7:26 AM | 7:59 AM | 7:17 PM | 7:50 PM | 8:14 PM | 12h 24m |
| October | 7:22 AM | 7:47 AM | 8:20 AM | 6:36 PM | 7:10 PM | 7:35 PM | 11h 23m |
| November | 6:47 AM | 7:13 AM | 7:49 AM | 5:06 PM | 5:41 PM | 6:07 PM | 10h 28m |
| December | 7:11 AM | 7:38 AM | 8:16 AM | 5:00 PM | 5:37 PM | 6:05 PM | 9h 59m |
Local time (America/Chicago), 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 Double Mountain, the Milky Way core is visible in a dark sky from February through October. June gives the longest window (about 6.2 hours on a moonless night), and the core peaks around 28° above the southern horizon. Our light-pollution model puts the sky at about Bortle 1 (excellent dark-sky site), which is excellent for astrophotography.
| Month | Core visible (15th) | Hours | Max altitude | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | Below 10° in darkness | — | 1° | — |
| February | 5:11 AM – 6:01 AM | 0.8 | 17° | SE → SE |
| March | 4:23 AM – 6:23 AM | 2.0 | 24° | SE → SSE |
| April | 2:19 AM – 5:39 AM | 3.3 | 28° | SE → S |
| May | 12:20 AM – 5:00 AM | 4.7 | 28° | SE → SSW |
| June | 10:35 PM – 4:45 AM | 6.2 | 28° | SE → SW |
| July | 10:31 PM – 3:21 AM | 4.8 | 28° | SSE → SW |
| August | 9:59 PM – 1:19 AM | 3.3 | 28° | S → SW |
| September | 9:13 PM – 11:13 PM | 2.0 | 25° | SSW → SW |
| October | 8:32 PM – 9:22 PM | 0.8 | 17° | SW → SW |
| November | Below 10° in darkness | — | 3° | — |
| December | Below 10° in darkness | — | -18° | — |
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: 1 Bortle 1 — Excellent dark-sky site. The Milky Way casts faint shadows; zodiacal light and airglow are obvious. Modeled zenith brightness ≈ 21.89 mag/arcsec².
Weather & best season
Long-term NASA satellite data for this area show October as the clearest month (about 36% average cloud cover) and February as the cloudiest (48%). 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 | 84 | 91 | 95 | 108 | 110 | 116 | 114 | 112 | 107 | 101 | 90 | 82 |
| Low °F | 11 | 11 | 17 | 27 | 37 | 54 | 59 | 59 | 47 | 22 | 18 | 13 |
| Precip. (in) | 0.8 | 1.0 | 1.4 | 1.8 | 2.8 | 3.0 | 2.4 | 2.3 | 2.8 | 1.9 | 1.3 | 0.8 |
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
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
FAQ
When is the best time to photograph Double Mountain?
What time is golden hour at Double Mountain?
Where does the sun rise and set at Double Mountain?
Can you see the Milky Way from Double Mountain?
Do you need a permit to photograph at Double Mountain?
How far is Double Mountain from Rotan?
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.