Where Are the Best Sunrises in the National Park System?
Is the top of Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park the best spot in the National Park System to view sunrise? Photo by Atutu via flickr.
Where do you find the best view of sunrise in the National Park System? Would it be on Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park, or, perhaps more logically, at Sunrise in Mount Rainier National Park?
Cadillac Mountain certainly has a lot going for it. After all, at certain times of the year it's the first place on the Eastern Seaboard to bask in the waking day's sunshine, and with all that blue water, gray granite, and green forest as a backdrop, well, can it get much better?
Mount Rainier's Sunrise certainly has the name going for it, and, truthfully, the view is pretty spectacular.
People who collect sunrises know that weather really matters. For instance, there's that incredible viewshed you can drink in while shivering at the summit of 10,023-foot Mount Haleakala in Haleakala National Park on Maui. But depending on the trade winds, you get to see either one of the world’s most spectacular sunrise vistas or just a whole bunch of clouds.
Where else in the park system is the morning sun a glory to behold? And what parameters matter most to you? Does it subtract from the experience if you're sharing the sunrise with two or three dozen other folks? Does the "no pain, no gain" axiom apply? Should it be a struggle to reach your chosen vantage point? Is sunrise more potent in winter than summer or in fall when it ignites the surrounding forests' changing leaves?
Among the places I've admired it are from the top of the Grand Teton in Grand Teton National Park, from Point Imperial on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, and deep in the backcountry along Yellowstone Lake. Of course, that raises another question. Is the view deemed spectacular simply because of the view, or because of where you are at the moment? Obviously, from the top of Cadillac Mountain or the Grand Teton or Point Imperial you have a much grander, horizon-stretching view than you would from a backcountry campsite in Great Smoky, the Everglades, or Zion, where I was able to enjoy the soft, early morning light paint Kolob Arch, transforming it from a pale, cold slumbering ribbon of rock to a fiery masterpiece of erosion.
But if you truly believe enjoying life to the fullest means reveling in the moment, aren't the rays you feel in places that are gorgeous without sheer drops or expansive horizons just as rich?
So tell us: Where in the parks do you go to catch your favorite sunrises?
Comments
Marylander (not verified)
Two years ago I tried for 13 straight days to see sunrise at the top of Cadillac Mountain... only to make the drive and be buried in fog each and every time. So, my vote goes to North Rim of the Grand Canyon. [If we could include areas managed by the U.S. Forest Service, not just national parks] my vote for 2nd place finisher would be a remote campsite in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area where the calm lakes became an intense pinkish orange just like the sky... pretty awesome. P.S.: My trip to the top of Haleakala: buried in clouds!!
Bob Janiskee
Marylander, I can sure sympathize. My own dawn visit to the peak of Haleakala -- probably the only one I'll ever get to make -- wasn't rewarded with a glorious sunrise either. It's a good thing that there's so much more to Haleakala National Park than a (sometimes) glorious sunrise witnessed from the mountaintop. What a fantastic place Haleakala is! One word of warning about sunrise-chasing on the 10,023-foot Haleakala peak. It's C-O-L-D up there in the predawn darkness, so bring a blanket.
Francis (not verified)
My pick is Death Valley National Park. There are so many great locales within the park to sit back and enjoy a spectacular sunrise or sunset. My favorite is Dante's View... 5000+ feet above the valley floor and an awesome view of the Panamint Mountains.
Eric (not verified)
Bryce Canyon anyone? I have seen both sunrise and sunset on many occasions and I do believe they are spectacular.
MRC (not verified)
Joshua Tree: the dry air of the desert makes the moments before the sun gets to the horizon memorable. I've never seen such a serene light before or after. Then, when the sun comes up, the bizarre shapes of the Joshua trees make great silhouettes or look like chiseled out if they are in direct light, while the ground around them still is in the shadows.
Bryce Canyon: You may know, that there are a Sunrise Point and a Sunset Point on the rim, just half a mile from each other. Contrary to the names, I believe sunrise is more spectacular from Sunset Point, as you can see the rays creeping into the nooks and crannies of the hoodoos in the Queens Garden area much better from there.
Grand Canyon: It depends on the season, which location is the best to see the actual sunrise. You need a direction to the sun, where you can see it first in the canyon, meaning the first line of sight is below the actual rim. It is possible in early May (so get there now!) from viewpoints near the village, I think it was either Yaki point or Yavapai. Then you see Vishnu Temple as a silhouette against the first direct rays. From that moment you have about one hour with the most spectacular light, coming from a low angle, illuminating certain exposed rocks against the still dark canyon walls and floor.
Stephen L Martin
I didn't realize that Haleakala was a National Park when I had a chance to visit in 1989. It was cloudy for me too, but the bike coasting down the mountain afterward made it all worthwhile. We stopped frequently to remove a layer of clothing. I couldn't believe that anywhere on Hawaii would it get that cold.
Mike W. (not verified)
I've seen spectacular sunrises at all the parks I've visited, but will agree that probably the best were at (and in!) the Grand Canyon. We did a rafting trip in May '03 from Lee's Ferry to Phantom Ranch, and hiked out. The hike started before sunrise at 5:30am, and it was amazing watching the sun come up and illuminate the canyon.
Anonymous (not verified)
Best Sunrise: from the top of Mt. Dana, Yosemite National Park overlooking Mono Lake. Most glorious in color among the mountain dew.
Owen Hoffman
I would vote for sunrise (and pre-sunrise) at Canyon Overlook above the Great Arch of Zion in Zion National Park, looking west at Bridge Mountain and across Zion Canyon into Oak Creek Canyon. There is a dramatic change of color on the Great West Temple, the Temples of the Virgin and Alter of Sacrafice before the sun rises in the east. The light of sunrise on the Great West Temple from above the Rockville Bench south of the Virgin River and the mouth of Zion Canyon is also a rare and wonderful sight experienced by few visitors to Zion National Park because it requires an uphill drive on dirt roads outside the south park boundary.
Then, of course, there is sunrise on Mt. Scott, overlooking Crater Lake from an elevation of 8929 feet. For the few of us who had official access to the Mt. Scott fire lookout, making breakfast in the lookout before sunrise afforded a 360 degree view that includes the lake, inner caldera and slopes of ancient Mt. Mazama, the volcanic crest of the southern Cascade Mountain Range, extending from Mt. Shasta, California in the south to the South Sister near Bend, Oregon in the north, and the upper and lower Klamath Basin in the southeast.
Owen Hoffman
Oak Ridge, TN 37830
Linda Hanney (not verified)
The Kansas Flint Hills Tallgrass Prairie Preserve is beautiful at sunrise.
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