Many people would prefer to sleep through sunrise and well past it. However, those who do get up for it find it’s one of the most beautiful times of the day. It’s often quiet and peaceful, but the lighting makes it special.
The sun’s low angle produces intense colors, especially when the light strikes rocks. Just watching the sun outside your window can be amazing, but there are some places that are set up for a perfect sunrise.
Sunrise is beautiful just about anywhere, but following are some places where it can be purely magical.
Cadillac Mountain, Maine
This is the highest point in Acadia National Park. Because of its height and its location so far east, it has the distinction of being the first place on the U.S. mainland to receive the sun’s light each day.
Cape Hatteras National Seashore, North Carolina
The long seashore here has many access points to pristine beaches where you can watch the sun rising over the Atlantic Ocean as the sand glows. Two particularly exceptional spots are Pea Island and wild, windswept Cape Hatteras itself.
The Florida Keys
Image Credit: Phillip Sunkel IV/Shutterstock.
The Keys offer seemingly countless places where you can view the sun rising over the ocean. Huge sea clouds often present over these semi-tropical waters can lend a dazzling effect.
Clingmans Dome, Tennessee
The highest point in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, this summit has 360-degree views. Early morning in these mountains often features fog blanketing the valleys below, creating an ethereal effect.
The Grand Canyon, Arizona
From the right vantage point, you can watch the sun rising over the canyon on the horizon. More spectacular, though, is seeing how intensely red the sandstone cliffs and peaks become during the first hour of sunlight.
Yosemite Valley, California
There are a couple of great choices for enjoying sunrises here. One is that you can drive out to the famous Valley Overlook and watch the sun itself rising over the valley. The other is to stay in the valley itself, turn your back to the sun, and watch how it paints the granite cliffs a beautiful pink.
Zabriskie Point, California
This is a roadside stop in Death Valley National Park with a short walk up to a vantage point overlooking wildly shaped and colored badlands. Manly Beacon, an unmistakable triangular formation that soars above the rest of the features, is particularly spectacular.
Badwater Basin, California
Also, in Death Valley, N.P., and only about a 30-minute drive from Zabriskie Point, Badwater Basin is the lowest point in the Northern Hemisphere. On still mornings, the saltwater pool there perfectly reflects Telescope Peak, more than 11,000 vertical feet above Badwater.
Red Rock Canyon, Nevada
Just outside the glitter and glamor of Las Vegas is one of the most beautiful sandstone wilderness areas in the world. From the Scenic Loop, you can gape at the way the tall red sandstone peaks on the west side glow with the day’s first light. You can also enjoy similar wonders from Calico Basin to the east; the Calico Hills are just as colorful, though not nearly as tall.
Zion National Park, Utah
The heart of Zion Canyon itself is not the place to be for sunrises because the walls are so high and the canyon is so narrow. Instead, drive up the switchbacks to the Zion-Mt. Carmel Tunnel, where pullouts let you admire the amazing dawn colors of features like the Streaked Wall, the West Temple, and the Sentinel. If you want to see the rising sun itself, drive through the tunnel and out onto the East Entrance Road.
St. Mary Lake, Montana
The peaks of Glacier National Park are some of the most colorful you’ll ever see at any time of day, but they’re at their best at sunrise and sunset. Pullouts along this huge mountain lake give you views of these peaks. It’s usually windy on this side of the park, but the occasional still mornings serve up delightful reflections of the mountains.
Logan Pass, Montana
Logan Pass is in Glacier National Park as well. It sits above the timberline on the Continental Divide, so there are 360-degree views of mountains in all directions. This makes it a great sunset spot as well.
Santa Elena Canyon, Texas
This west-facing canyon in Big Bend National Park receives direct light at sunrise. The entrance to the canyon and the walls just inside it take on a deep red glow while the interior remains in shade, creating a dramatic contrast.
Badlands National Park, South Dakota
Like most badland areas, the features here consist of clays and rocks that take on dramatic hues in low light. Because there are so many pinnacles here and so many places to view them from, it’s also pretty easy to watch the sun rising between the two of them.
Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
The eastern face of the spectacular Teton Range is one of the most impressive sights in the world because of the vertical relief. Long before you see the sun, you can watch its light slowly trickling down the clouds above, onto the peaks, and finally down to the valley below.
15 Must-Dos on Your Next Trip to Lake Tahoe
Lake Tahoe on the California-Nevada border makes a lot of lists of the most beautiful places in America. There’s also a lot to do there, with a wide range of outdoor recreation, great dining, resorts, nightlife, and more. If it’s your first time going or if you’re going back, consider adding some of the following places to your itinerary.
15 Must-Dos on Your Next Trip to Lake Tahoe
The World’s 5 Friendliest and 5 Unfriendliest Cities
Some cities welcome visitors and want them to be there. Other cities are rude to visitors and would just as soon see you leave. It can be jarring to be in an unfriendly city, though some of the world’s most enticing cities rank high on the rudeness scale.
When you visit a friendly city, it’s much easier to soak in the culture and meet the locals. Rough Guides readers voted on the cities for their level of friendliness. According to Rough Guides, these are the world’s friendliest and unfriendliest cities.
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