Ney Landrum State Park is a state park in Jefferson County, Florida. The nearest town is Woodville, about 17.9 km (11.1 mi) away (Ney Landrum State Park lies ENE of town).
Ney Landrum State Park, known until 2025 as St. Marks River Preserve State Park, is a 2,590-acre (1,050 ha) Florida state park on the upper St. Marks River, about 10 miles (16 km) east of Tallahassee in Leon and Jefferson counties. The park occupies a band of floodplain, flatwoods and sandhill between U.S. Highway 27 on the north and Tram Road on the south, and is managed by the Division of Recreation and Parks of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). The Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund bought the land in 2006 from the St. Joe Timberland Company of Delaware for $10,617,647 through the Florida Forever program, as the first phase of the Upper St. Marks River Corridor project. The purchase was intended to buffer the river from development, protect the water quality of the river and of Apalachee Bay, and help link conservation lands in a...From the Wikipedia article “Ney Landrum State Park”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sunrise & sunset directions
At Ney Landrum State Park the sunrise point swings a long way through the year: about 62° (ENE) at the June solstice and 117° (ESE) in late December. Sunset moves from 298° (WNW) in June to 243° (WSW) in December, and the midday sun climbs to 83° in summer but only 36° in winter.
| Date | Sunrise | Azimuth | Sunset | Azimuth | Noon sun | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox (Mar 20) | 7:41 AM | 90° E | 7:48 PM | 271° W | 59° | 12h 07m |
| June solstice (Jun 21) | 6:36 AM | 62° ENE | 8:42 PM | 298° WNW | 83° | 14h 07m |
| September equinox (Sep 22) | 7:25 AM | 89° E | 7:34 PM | 271° W | 60° | 12h 09m |
| December solstice (Dec 21) | 7:30 AM | 117° ESE | 5:41 PM | 243° WSW | 36° | 10h 11m |
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
State parks often protect a signature feature — a gorge, lake or overlook — that is best in early morning before visitors and harsh light arrive.
| Month (15th) | Blue hour starts | Sunrise | Golden hour ends | Golden hour starts | Sunset | Blue hour ends | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7:08 AM | 7:34 AM | 8:10 AM | 5:23 PM | 5:58 PM | 6:24 PM | 10h 24m |
| February | 6:53 AM | 7:18 AM | 7:51 AM | 5:52 PM | 6:25 PM | 6:50 PM | 11h 07m |
| March | 7:23 AM | 7:47 AM | 8:19 AM | 7:13 PM | 7:45 PM | 8:09 PM | 11h 58m |
| April | 6:45 AM | 7:10 AM | 7:42 AM | 7:32 PM | 8:04 PM | 8:29 PM | 12h 54m |
| May | 6:17 AM | 6:43 AM | 7:17 AM | 7:50 PM | 8:24 PM | 8:50 PM | 13h 41m |
| June | 6:07 AM | 6:35 AM | 7:10 AM | 8:05 PM | 8:41 PM | 9:08 PM | 14h 06m |
| July | 6:18 AM | 6:45 AM | 7:20 AM | 8:06 PM | 8:41 PM | 9:08 PM | 13h 55m |
| August | 6:39 AM | 7:04 AM | 7:37 AM | 7:47 PM | 8:19 PM | 8:45 PM | 13h 15m |
| September | 6:57 AM | 7:22 AM | 7:53 AM | 7:12 PM | 7:43 PM | 8:07 PM | 12h 22m |
| October | 7:15 AM | 7:39 AM | 8:11 AM | 6:34 PM | 7:06 PM | 7:31 PM | 11h 27m |
| November | 6:38 AM | 7:03 AM | 7:37 AM | 5:06 PM | 5:41 PM | 6:06 PM | 10h 38m |
| December | 7:00 AM | 7:26 AM | 8:03 AM | 5:02 PM | 5:38 PM | 6:05 PM | 10h 12m |
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 Ney Landrum State Park, the Milky Way core is visible in a dark sky from February through October. June gives the longest window (about 6.5 hours on a moonless night), and the core peaks around 31° 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 | 4:56 AM – 5:56 AM | 1.0 | 19° | SE → SE |
| March | 4:05 AM – 6:25 AM | 2.3 | 27° | SE → SSE |
| April | 2:08 AM – 5:38 AM | 3.5 | 31° | SE → S |
| May | 12:05 AM – 5:05 AM | 5.0 | 31° | SE → SSW |
| June | 10:18 PM – 4:48 AM | 6.5 | 31° | SE → SW |
| July | 10:15 PM – 3:25 AM | 5.2 | 31° | SSE → SW |
| August | 9:46 PM – 1:26 AM | 3.7 | 31° | S → SW |
| September | 9:04 PM – 11:24 PM | 2.3 | 28° | SSW → SW |
| October | 8:26 PM – 9:26 PM | 1.0 | 19° | SW → SW |
| November | Below 10° in darkness | — | 4° | — |
| 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: 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 ≈ 21.06 mag/arcsec².
Weather & best season
Long-term NASA satellite data for this area show October as the clearest month (about 40% average cloud cover) and July as the cloudiest (56%). 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 | 81 | 86 | 89 | 96 | 103 | 109 | 110 | 107 | 104 | 100 | 89 | 85 |
| Low °F | 18 | 21 | 22 | 35 | 44 | 60 | 61 | 61 | 49 | 32 | 21 | 21 |
| Precip. (in) | 3.4 | 4.9 | 4.3 | 4.1 | 2.9 | 6.5 | 6.0 | 6.6 | 4.3 | 2.6 | 3.1 | 4.5 |
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 state park
- Day-use fees or passes are common; buy them online before arriving.
- Check park hours: many state parks close at dusk, which affects sunset and night shooting.
- Ask rangers about photography permits for commercial work, models or drones.
- Weekday mornings are the least crowded at popular viewpoints.
- Trail maps often mark overlooks — combine them with the sun azimuth to plan.
- Shoot RAW to keep the most latitude for high-contrast sunrise and sunset scenes.
Season: Spring wildflowers and autumn color are peak seasons in most parks.
Suggested gear: Versatile zoom lens, Tripod, Park pass. Work out exposures with the depth of field, ND filter and NPF rule calculators.
Permits, drones & access
Drones: Drone rules in state parks vary by state and even by park — many require a permit or ban recreational drone flights. Check the park's rules and the FAA B4UFLY app before flying.
Nearby photo spots
Other locations within 40 km of Ney Landrum State Park, closest first.
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LakeFAQ
When is the best time to photograph Ney Landrum State Park?
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Do you need a permit to photograph at Ney Landrum State Park?
How far is Ney Landrum State Park from Woodville?
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.