Located in Carbon County, Wyoming, Elk Mountain is a mountain peak at about 3,390 m (11,122 ft) above sea level. It sits roughly 31 km (19 mi) NE of Saratoga.
Elk Mountain is a peak at the northern end of the Medicine Bow Mountains in Carbon County, Wyoming, United States.From the Wikipedia article “Elk Mountain (Carbon County, Wyoming)”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sunrise & sunset directions
At Elk 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) | 7:10 AM | 90° E | 7:18 PM | 271° W | 48° | 12h 08m |
| June solstice (Jun 21) | 5:33 AM | 57° ENE | 8:45 PM | 303° WNW | 72° | 15h 12m |
| September equinox (Sep 22) | 6:54 AM | 89° E | 7:05 PM | 271° W | 49° | 12h 11m |
| December solstice (Dec 21) | 7:30 AM | 121° ESE | 4:40 PM | 239° WSW | 25° | 9h 09m |
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 | 7:01 AM | 7:31 AM | 8:14 AM | 4:18 PM | 5:01 PM | 5:32 PM | 9h 30m |
| February | 6:34 AM | 7:02 AM | 7:41 AM | 5:01 PM | 5:40 PM | 6:08 PM | 10h 37m |
| March | 6:51 AM | 7:19 AM | 7:56 AM | 6:36 PM | 7:13 PM | 7:41 PM | 11h 54m |
| April | 5:58 AM | 6:27 AM | 7:04 AM | 7:09 PM | 7:47 PM | 8:16 PM | 13h 20m |
| May | 5:16 AM | 5:48 AM | 6:27 AM | 7:39 PM | 8:19 PM | 8:51 PM | 14h 32m |
| June | 4:58 AM | 5:32 AM | 6:14 AM | 8:01 PM | 8:43 PM | 9:17 PM | 15h 11m |
| July | 5:13 AM | 5:46 AM | 6:27 AM | 7:59 PM | 8:40 PM | 9:13 PM | 14h 54m |
| August | 5:46 AM | 6:16 AM | 6:54 AM | 7:29 PM | 8:07 PM | 8:37 PM | 13h 52m |
| September | 6:19 AM | 6:47 AM | 7:24 AM | 6:41 PM | 7:17 PM | 7:45 PM | 12h 30m |
| October | 6:51 AM | 7:19 AM | 7:56 AM | 5:49 PM | 6:26 PM | 6:54 PM | 11h 08m |
| November | 6:26 AM | 6:56 AM | 7:37 AM | 4:06 PM | 4:47 PM | 5:17 PM | 9h 51m |
| December | 6:55 AM | 7:27 AM | 8:11 AM | 3:53 PM | 4:37 PM | 5:09 PM | 9h 11m |
Local time (America/Denver), 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 Elk Mountain, 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 1 (excellent dark-sky site), which is excellent for astrophotography.
| Month | Core visible (15th) | Hours | Max altitude | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | Below 10° in darkness | — | -3° | — |
| February | Below 10° in darkness | — | 10° | — |
| March | 4:36 AM – 5:36 AM | 1.0 | 16° | SE → SSE |
| April | 2:37 AM – 4:37 AM | 2.0 | 19° | SE → S |
| May | 12:35 AM – 3:45 AM | 3.2 | 19° | SE → S |
| June | 10:54 PM – 3:14 AM | 4.3 | 19° | SSE → SSW |
| July | 10:44 PM – 1:54 AM | 3.2 | 19° | S → SW |
| August | 9:53 PM – 11:53 PM | 2.0 | 19° | S → SW |
| September | 8:52 PM – 9:52 PM | 1.0 | 16° | 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: 1 Bortle 1 — Excellent dark-sky site. The Milky Way casts faint shadows; zodiacal light and airglow are obvious. Modeled zenith brightness ≈ 21.9 mag/arcsec². Aurora needs roughly Kp 6.5+ 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 42% average cloud cover) and February as the cloudiest (68%). 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 | 43 | 46 | 65 | 72 | 85 | 90 | 91 | 88 | 87 | 74 | 61 | 49 |
| Low °F | -25 | -38 | -15 | -9 | 8 | 24 | 37 | 32 | 20 | -3 | -12 | -27 |
| Precip. (in) | 1.7 | 1.9 | 1.9 | 2.6 | 2.5 | 1.7 | 1.4 | 1.3 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 1.8 |
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
- 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.
Campgrounds nearby (Recreation.gov)
FAQ
When is the best time to photograph Elk Mountain?
What time is golden hour at Elk Mountain?
Where does the sun rise and set at Elk Mountain?
Can you see the Milky Way from Elk Mountain?
Do you need a permit to photograph at Elk Mountain?
How far is Elk Mountain from Saratoga?
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.