Pick a viewpoint and a day. The viewpoint light planner draws the view to scale, moves the sun through the day and tells you whether what you look at is lit from the front, from the side or from behind.
Turn on JavaScript to use the planner.
Opens in Google Maps, facing the main view. Nothing loads from Google until you click.
Open the live viewImagery © GoogleFor the 15th of each month, starting this month. “In line” means within 3° of straight ahead (sunrise) or straight behind you (sunset).
The overlook looks east-northeast up Yosemite Valley: El Capitan on the left, Bridalveil Fall on the right, Half Dome in the middle. In the afternoon the sun moves behind you and lights the valley walls; at sunrise it comes up in front of you.
On Wawona Road (Highway 41), by the Wawona Tunnel. You can see the view from the parking area or a short paved walk, and it is reachable by car all year (NPS).
From the crater’s west rim you look east across Haleakalā Crater, so the sun rises in front of you, over the far rim. At sunset it is behind you and lights the crater.
Sunrise needs a reservation: book on Recreation.gov up to 60 days ahead (released at 7:00 am HST), with some released 2 days ahead. One reservation per three days; entry between 3:00 and 7:00 am.
The arch frames the view east, across the canyons to the La Sal Mountains, so the sun comes up behind it. Around the equinoxes it rises close to Mount Peale.
With the sun behind you, the faces you look at are lit and colors are rich. Facing the sun, they turn to silhouettes; from the side, shadows bring out texture.
The planner finds the days the sun sets straight behind you or rises straight ahead, from the bearing to the main subject. Hills can shift what you see by a few minutes.
Live view opens Google Street View at the viewpoint, facing the main subject, so you can see where to stand. It loads from Google only when you ask. For any other place, use the golden hour calculator; for the season, the Nature Calendar.