Looming Under a Lunar Sky at National Parks

Your national parks offer incredible opportunities for lunar photography. With unforgettable landscapes and some of America's clearest, darkest night skies, the moon is the perfect subject for your next photo project, and a national park near you is the perfect setting.

Antietam National Battlefield

Maryland

Patricia Lupoli, Share the Experience

The harvest moon—the full moon closest to the autumn equinox—rising over Piper Farm at Antietam National Battlefield.

Cedar Breaks National Monument

Utah

Richard Cozzens, Share the Experience

Moonlight illuminates Cedar Breaks National Monument during a super moon, when a full moon coincides with when the moon is closest to earth during its orbit.

Chiricahua National Monument

Arizona

Jack Suman, Share the Experience

A setting moon casts an otherworldly glow over Chiricahua National Monument, home to a spectacular array of hoodoos and balancing rocks.

Denali National Park & Preserve

Alaska

Marilyn Teeter, Share the Experience

The moon shines faintly next to the snow-capped peak of Mount Denali, America's highest point, in Denali National Park & Preserve.

Devils Postpile National Monument

California

Jennifer Lagace, Share the Experience

The moon looms over the rugged rock formations of Devils Postpile National Monument, where visitors are humbled by the unique symmetry of columnar basalt towering 60 feet high.

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area

Utah

Michel Hersen, Share the Experience

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area's 1.25 million acres of rugged lanscape of canyons, cliffs, buttes, and more, creates a beautiful backdrop for moon-watching.

Golden Gate National Recreation Area

California

Sean Peck, Share the Experience

Watching the evening fog rolling into San Francisco behind the beautifully illuminated Golden Gate Bridge during the full moon makes Golden Gate National Recreation Area the perfect date night out.

Mount Rainier National Park

Washington

John Lyrenmann, Share the Experience

The full moon can illuminate the trail for mountaineers on Mount Rainier, an icon in the Washington landscape boasting the most glaciated peak in the contiguous United States.

White Sands National Monument

New Mexico

Lana Gramlich, Share the Experience

Visitors can experience the serenity and peacefullness of the unique dunes of white gypsum at White Sands National Monument on a full-moon hike through the park.

National parks across the country offer opportunities for some amazing lunar photography. Arm yourself with a camera and a lunar calendar, and your next national park visit could result in the photo of a lifetime!