Devils Garden — a rock formation in Garfield County, Utah — is a lesser-known subject for landscape photographers. The nearest town is Page, about 74 km (46 mi) away (Devils Garden lies N of town).
The Devils Garden in Garfield County, Utah, United States, is a protected area featuring hoodoos, natural arches and other sandstone formations. The area is also known as the Devils Garden Outstanding Natural Area within the National Landscape Conservation System. The formations in the Devils Garden were created, and continue to be shaped, by various weathering and erosional processes. These natural processes have been shaping sandstone layers formed more than 166 million years ago during the Jurassic period's Middle epoch. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) administers the Devils Garden and the entire GSENM which is the first national monument assigned to the BLM.From the Wikipedia article “Devils Garden (Garfield County, Utah)”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sunrise & sunset directions
At Devils Garden the sunrise point swings a long way through the year: about 59° (ENE) at the June solstice and 120° (ESE) in late December. Sunset moves from 301° (WNW) in June to 241° (WSW) in December, and the midday sun climbs to 76° in summer but only 29° in winter.
| Date | Sunrise | Azimuth | Sunset | Azimuth | Noon sun | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox (Mar 20) | 7:30 AM | 90° E | 7:38 PM | 271° W | 52° | 12h 08m |
| June solstice (Jun 21) | 6:05 AM | 59° ENE | 8:51 PM | 301° WNW | 76° | 14h 46m |
| September equinox (Sep 22) | 7:14 AM | 89° E | 7:24 PM | 271° W | 53° | 12h 10m |
| December solstice (Dec 21) | 7:38 AM | 120° ESE | 5:11 PM | 241° WSW | 29° | 9h 34m |
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
Rock towers and buttes glow red and orange in the first and last half-hour of sun; midday light flattens their shape.
| Month (15th) | Blue hour starts | Sunrise | Golden hour ends | Golden hour starts | Sunset | Blue hour ends | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7:11 AM | 7:40 AM | 8:20 AM | 4:52 PM | 5:31 PM | 6:00 PM | 9h 51m |
| February | 6:49 AM | 7:16 AM | 7:52 AM | 5:29 PM | 6:05 PM | 6:32 PM | 10h 49m |
| March | 7:12 AM | 7:38 AM | 8:12 AM | 6:59 PM | 7:33 PM | 7:59 PM | 11h 56m |
| April | 6:24 AM | 6:51 AM | 7:26 AM | 7:26 PM | 8:01 PM | 8:28 PM | 13h 10m |
| May | 5:48 AM | 6:17 AM | 6:54 AM | 7:51 PM | 8:29 PM | 8:58 PM | 14h 11m |
| June | 5:34 AM | 6:05 AM | 6:44 AM | 8:10 PM | 8:49 PM | 9:21 PM | 14h 45m |
| July | 5:47 AM | 6:17 AM | 6:55 AM | 8:09 PM | 8:48 PM | 9:18 PM | 14h 31m |
| August | 6:15 AM | 6:42 AM | 7:18 AM | 7:44 PM | 8:20 PM | 8:48 PM | 13h 37m |
| September | 6:42 AM | 7:08 AM | 7:43 AM | 7:01 PM | 7:35 PM | 8:01 PM | 12h 27m |
| October | 7:08 AM | 7:34 AM | 8:10 AM | 6:14 PM | 6:50 PM | 7:16 PM | 11h 15m |
| November | 6:38 AM | 7:06 AM | 7:45 AM | 4:38 PM | 5:16 PM | 5:44 PM | 10h 10m |
| December | 7:05 AM | 7:34 AM | 8:15 AM | 4:28 PM | 5:09 PM | 5:39 PM | 9h 35m |
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 Devils Garden, the Milky Way core is visible in a dark sky from March through September. June gives the longest window (about 5.3 hours on a moonless night), and the core peaks around 24° 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 | 5:24 AM – 5:44 AM | 0.3 | 13° | SE → SE |
| March | 4:31 AM – 6:01 AM | 1.5 | 20° | SE → SSE |
| April | 2:34 AM – 5:14 AM | 2.7 | 23° | SE → S |
| May | 12:33 AM – 4:23 AM | 3.8 | 24° | SE → S |
| June | 10:43 PM – 4:03 AM | 5.3 | 24° | SE → SSW |
| July | 10:37 PM – 2:37 AM | 4.0 | 24° | SSE → SW |
| August | 9:57 PM – 12:37 AM | 2.7 | 23° | S → SW |
| September | 9:04 PM – 10:34 PM | 1.5 | 20° | SSW → SW |
| October | 8:17 PM – 8:37 PM | 0.3 | 13° | SW → SW |
| 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 ≈ 21.94 mag/arcsec².
Weather & best season
Long-term NASA satellite data for this area show June as the clearest month (about 31% average cloud cover) and February as the cloudiest (54%). July is the warmest month and December 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 | 65 | 69 | 80 | 87 | 98 | 103 | 107 | 103 | 100 | 90 | 74 | 63 |
| Low °F | 2 | 1 | 15 | 21 | 26 | 37 | 54 | 50 | 32 | 16 | 13 | 5 |
| Precip. (in) | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 0.6 |
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 rock formation
- Use the sunrise and sunset azimuths below to know which face will be lit.
- Stay on trails; desert soils and lichens take decades to recover from footprints.
- Find a spot where the formation sits against open sky to emphasize its silhouette.
- At night, a formation under the Milky Way or star trails makes a strong anchor.
- Shoot RAW to keep the most latitude for high-contrast sunrise and sunset scenes.
Season: Spring and autumn are best in desert regions; winter snow on red rock is rare but spectacular.
Suggested gear: Wide and telephoto lenses, Tripod, Headlamp. Work out exposures with the depth of field, ND filter and NPF rule calculators.
Nearby photo spots
Other locations within 25 km of Devils Garden, closest first.
Natural Arch
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CanyonFAQ
When is the best time to photograph Devils Garden?
What time is golden hour at Devils Garden?
Where does the sun rise and set at Devils Garden?
Can you see the Milky Way from Devils Garden?
Do you need a permit to photograph at Devils Garden?
How far is Devils Garden from Page?
Sources
Location data: Wikidata, 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.