Coaling Tower is a rock formation in Fayette County, West Virginia. It lies in or next to New River Gorge National Park & Preserve, so park hours, fees and rules apply. The nearest town is Oak Hill, about 6.1 km (3.8 mi) away (Coaling Tower lies ESE of town).
From the National Park Service
Thurmond Walking Tour Stop 8 The C&O Railway built this large cement coaling tower in 1922. It held as much as five hundred tons of coal. A series of elevators lifted coal into the tower from a large pit underneath. Tracks on either side of the tower allowed locomotives to move close to the chutes. The coal fell down the chutes into the waiting tenders of the locomotives.
The cement building next to the coaling tower is the sanding house. Locomotives used sand to grip slippery rails. In the wet and sometimes steep New River Gorge, sand was useful to help locomotives up the grades. At the coaling tower, as locomotives filled up with coal, they also resupplied their sand.
After the switch to diesel electric locomotives, the coaling tower was not needed. The C&O Railway abandoned the coaling tower in 1960. It is still owned by modern day CSX Transportation.
This structure is dangerous and should be viewed at a distance.
Text: National Park Service (public domain) — nps.gov.
Sunrise & sunset directions
At Coaling Tower 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 75° in summer but only 29° in winter.
| Date | Sunrise | Azimuth | Sunset | Azimuth | Noon sun | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox (Mar 20) | 7:29 AM | 90° E | 7:36 PM | 271° W | 52° | 12h 08m |
| June solstice (Jun 21) | 6:03 AM | 59° ENE | 8:51 PM | 301° WNW | 75° | 14h 48m |
| September equinox (Sep 22) | 7:13 AM | 89° E | 7:23 PM | 271° W | 52° | 12h 10m |
| December solstice (Dec 21) | 7:37 AM | 120° ESE | 5:09 PM | 241° WSW | 29° | 9h 32m |
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 | 4:49 PM | 5:29 PM | 5:58 PM | 9h 49m |
| February | 6:48 AM | 7:15 AM | 7:52 AM | 5:27 PM | 6:03 PM | 6:30 PM | 10h 48m |
| March | 7:10 AM | 7:36 AM | 8:11 AM | 6:57 PM | 7:32 PM | 7:58 PM | 11h 55m |
| April | 6:22 AM | 6:50 AM | 7:25 AM | 7:25 PM | 8:00 PM | 8:27 PM | 13h 11m |
| May | 5:45 AM | 6:15 AM | 6:52 AM | 7:51 PM | 8:28 PM | 8:58 PM | 14h 13m |
| June | 5:31 AM | 6:02 AM | 6:41 AM | 8:10 PM | 8:49 PM | 9:21 PM | 14h 47m |
| July | 5:44 AM | 6:14 AM | 6:53 AM | 8:09 PM | 8:47 PM | 9:18 PM | 14h 33m |
| August | 6:12 AM | 6:40 AM | 7:16 AM | 7:43 PM | 8:19 PM | 8:47 PM | 13h 39m |
| September | 6:40 AM | 7:07 AM | 7:42 AM | 6:59 PM | 7:34 PM | 8:00 PM | 12h 27m |
| October | 7:07 AM | 7:33 AM | 8:09 AM | 6:13 PM | 6:48 PM | 7:15 PM | 11h 15m |
| November | 6:38 AM | 7:06 AM | 7:44 AM | 4:35 PM | 5:14 PM | 5:42 PM | 10h 08m |
| December | 7:04 AM | 7:34 AM | 8:15 AM | 4:26 PM | 5:07 PM | 5:36 PM | 9h 33m |
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 Coaling Tower, 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 23° above the southern horizon. Our light-pollution model puts the sky at about Bortle 4 (rural / suburban transition), good enough for detailed Milky Way images.
| Month | Core visible (15th) | Hours | Max altitude | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | Below 10° in darkness | — | -1° | — |
| February | 5:21 AM – 5:41 AM | 0.3 | 13° | SE → SE |
| March | 4:29 AM – 5:59 AM | 1.5 | 19° | SE → SSE |
| April | 2:33 AM – 5:13 AM | 2.7 | 23° | SE → S |
| May | 12:33 AM – 4:23 AM | 3.8 | 23° | SE → S |
| June | 10:44 PM – 4:04 AM | 5.3 | 23° | SE → SW |
| July | 10:38 PM – 2:38 AM | 4.0 | 23° | SSE → SW |
| August | 9:57 PM – 12:37 AM | 2.7 | 23° | S → SW |
| September | 9:03 PM – 10:33 PM | 1.5 | 20° | SSW → SW |
| October | 8:15 PM – 8:35 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: 4 Bortle 4 — Rural / suburban transition. Light domes are visible in several directions; the Milky Way is clear but lacks detail near the horizon. Modeled zenith brightness ≈ 21.12 mag/arcsec². Aurora needs roughly Kp 7.5+ 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 53% average cloud cover) and February as the cloudiest (73%). 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 | 69 | 71 | 76 | 81 | 90 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 95 | 91 | 77 | 75 |
| Low °F | -7 | -4 | -1 | 19 | 28 | 38 | 47 | 43 | 33 | 22 | 10 | -1 |
| Precip. (in) | 2.9 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 4.2 | 4.5 | 4.2 | 4.8 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.4 | 3.0 | 3.4 |
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
- At night, a formation under the Milky Way or star trails makes a strong anchor.
- 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.
- 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.
Permits, drones & access
National Park Service rules. Under federal law (54 U.S.C. 100905), still photography in National Park Service areas needs a permit only when it (1) takes place where members of the public are not allowed, (2) uses models, sets or props that are not part of the location's natural or cultural resources or administrative facilities, or (3) would cause the park to incur additional administrative costs to monitor the activity. Ordinary visitor and most landscape photography needs no permit. Commercial filming rules are separate and have changed in recent years — confirm current requirements with the park before a paid shoot.
Drones: Launching, landing or operating unmanned aircraft (drones) is prohibited in National Park Service units under a 2014 Superintendent's closure (36 CFR 1.5), except where a park has issued specific written approval. Flying from outside the boundary over park land can also violate park rules and disturb wildlife.
Nearby photo spots
Other locations within 25 km of Coaling Tower, closest first.
Ghost Town
Ghost Town
Waterfall
State Park
Ghost Town
Ghost Town
Canyon
Rock FormationGhost TownCampgrounds nearby (Recreation.gov)
- Brooklyn Campground5.4 km (3.3 mi)
- Grandview Shelter 114.5 km (9.0 mi) · reservable
- Grandview Shelter 414.5 km (9.0 mi) · reservable
- Grandview Shelter 314.5 km (9.0 mi) · reservable
- Grandview Shelter 214.5 km (9.0 mi) · reservable
FAQ
When is the best time to photograph Coaling Tower?
What time is golden hour at Coaling Tower?
Where does the sun rise and set at Coaling Tower?
Can you see the Milky Way from Coaling Tower?
Do you need a permit to photograph at Coaling Tower?
How far is Coaling Tower from Oak Hill?
Sources
Location data: National Park Service. 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.