Big Jay — a mountain peak in Franklin County, Vermont at about 1,115 m (3,658 ft) above sea level — is a rewarding subject for landscape photographers. It sits roughly 7.8 km (4.8 mi) E of Montgomery.
Big Jay is a 3,786-foot (1,154 m) mountain in the northern Green Mountains of Vermont, located on the border of Franklin and Orleans counties. The summit of Big Jay is the highest point of Franklin County. Big Jay is flanked to the south by Little Jay (3,182 ft or 970 m), and to the northeast by Jay Peak (3,865 ft or 1,178 m), the highest summit of the Jay Peak complex. Jay Peak is named for John Jay (1745–1829) of New York, one of the founding fathers of the United States. Big Jay stands within the watershed of the Trout River, a tributary of the Missisquoi River, which drains into Lake Champlain, thence into Canada's Richelieu River, the Saint Lawrence River, and into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. The east and southeast sides of Big Jay drain into Jay Brook, which joins the South Branch Trout River in Montgomery to form the Trout River. The southwest and western sides of Big Jay...From the Wikipedia article “Big Jay”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sunrise & sunset directions
At Big Jay the sunrise point swings a long way through the year: about 55° (NE) at the June solstice and 123° (ESE) in late December. Sunset moves from 305° (NW) in June to 237° (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) | 6:54 AM | 90° E | 7:03 PM | 271° W | 45° | 12h 08m |
| June solstice (Jun 21) | 5:05 AM | 55° NE | 8:41 PM | 305° NW | 69° | 15h 36m |
| September equinox (Sep 22) | 6:38 AM | 89° E | 6:50 PM | 271° W | 45° | 12h 12m |
| December solstice (Dec 21) | 7:26 AM | 123° ESE | 4:12 PM | 237° WSW | 22° | 8h 46m |
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 | 6:53 AM | 7:25 AM | 8:12 AM | 3:49 PM | 4:35 PM | 5:08 PM | 9h 10m |
| February | 6:22 AM | 6:52 AM | 7:33 AM | 4:37 PM | 5:18 PM | 5:49 PM | 10h 26m |
| March | 6:35 AM | 7:04 AM | 7:43 AM | 6:17 PM | 6:56 PM | 7:25 PM | 11h 53m |
| April | 5:36 AM | 6:06 AM | 6:46 AM | 6:56 PM | 7:35 PM | 8:06 PM | 13h 29m |
| May | 4:48 AM | 5:22 AM | 6:05 AM | 7:30 PM | 8:12 PM | 8:47 PM | 14h 50m |
| June | 4:27 AM | 5:04 AM | 5:49 AM | 7:54 PM | 8:39 PM | 9:16 PM | 15h 35m |
| July | 4:43 AM | 5:19 AM | 6:02 AM | 7:51 PM | 8:35 PM | 9:11 PM | 15h 16m |
| August | 5:21 AM | 5:53 AM | 6:33 AM | 7:18 PM | 7:58 PM | 8:30 PM | 14h 06m |
| September | 6:00 AM | 6:30 AM | 7:08 AM | 6:24 PM | 7:03 PM | 7:33 PM | 12h 34m |
| October | 6:37 AM | 7:06 AM | 7:46 AM | 5:27 PM | 6:07 PM | 6:37 PM | 11h 01m |
| November | 6:17 AM | 6:48 AM | 7:33 AM | 3:39 PM | 4:23 PM | 4:55 PM | 9h 35m |
| December | 6:48 AM | 7:22 AM | 8:11 AM | 3:22 PM | 4:10 PM | 4:44 PM | 8h 48m |
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 Big Jay, the Milky Way core is visible in a dark sky from April through August. June gives the longest window (about 3.2 hours on a moonless night), and the core peaks around 16° 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 | — | -4° | — |
| February | Below 10° in darkness | — | 7° | — |
| March | 4:54 AM – 5:14 AM | 0.3 | 12° | SSE → SSE |
| April | 2:53 AM – 4:13 AM | 1.3 | 15° | SSE → S |
| May | 12:51 AM – 3:11 AM | 2.3 | 16° | SSE → S |
| June | 11:12 PM – 2:22 AM | 3.2 | 16° | SSE → SSW |
| July | 10:56 PM – 1:06 AM | 2.2 | 16° | S → SSW |
| August | 9:53 PM – 11:03 PM | 1.2 | 15° | SSW → SSW |
| September | 8:44 PM – 9:04 PM | 0.3 | 12° | SSW → SSW |
| October | Below 10° in darkness | — | 7° | — |
| November | Below 10° in darkness | — | -3° | — |
| 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 ≈ 21.85 mag/arcsec². Aurora needs roughly Kp 4.0+ 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 57% average cloud cover) and December as the cloudiest (81%). 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 | 55 | 65 | 72 | 79 | 84 | 88 | 102 | 87 | 89 | 76 | 66 | 62 |
| Low °F | -31 | -31 | -23 | 9 | 24 | 33 | 43 | 41 | 28 | 20 | -1 | -24 |
| Precip. (in) | 2.4 | 2.8 | 2.9 | 3.6 | 4.2 | 5.3 | 4.5 | 4.2 | 3.6 | 4.7 | 3.4 | 3.6 |
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.
- Bring a spare battery — cold weather and long exposures drain them fast.
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 Big Jay, closest first.
Mountain Peak
Covered Bridge
Covered Bridge
Mountain Pass
Covered Bridge
Covered Bridge
Covered Bridge
Covered Bridge
Covered BridgeFAQ
When is the best time to photograph Big Jay?
What time is golden hour at Big Jay?
Where does the sun rise and set at Big Jay?
Can you see the Milky Way from Big Jay?
Do you need a permit to photograph at Big Jay?
How far is Big Jay from Montgomery?
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.