Milky Way Over Grand Canyon's South Rim
Milky Way Over Grand Canyon's South Rim, Plateau Point, Grand Canyon, April, 2023
This photograph of the Milky Way over the South Rim of the Grand Canyon was a dream come true. I started photographing the Milky Way in the spring of 2021, with my first attempts mostly along the coast of southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island—some of the few places in eastern New England where you can find dark skies to the south. But the true joy of Milky Way photography for me comes with trips to the Southwest, to northern Arizona, and the Grand Canyon.
I had envisioned this shot for quite some time, planning it all out in my head. I calculated the angle to ensure I could get far enough away from the South Rim so the Milky Way would be visible above it, and Plateau Point seemed like the perfect choice.
I initially planned to take this shot during a backpacking trip in September 2022, but the sky wasn’t clear enough on either of the two nights I had available at my campsite. Disappointment is a frequent companion in Milky Way photography—so much depends on getting the right weather conditions during the few days of the month and months of the year when these shots are possible.
Then, on a whim during a trip to Arizona in April 2023, I decided to go for it. I planned to attempt it as a night hike to Plateau Point, taking the Bright Angel Trail and then following the Plateau Point Trail. Throughout the day, I checked the weather forecast repeatedly, and everything pointed to perfect conditions.
I had been staying in Flagstaff and drove up to the Grand Canyon in the late afternoon, arriving just after sunset. I needed to be at Plateau Point between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. for the shot and estimated it would take me about four hours to cover the six miles of trail and descent of just over 3,000 feet. At 10:30 p.m., I left the South Rim and started down the Bright Angel Trail. With only a couple of short breaks, the hike took just under four hours, and I arrived at Plateau Point a little after 2 a.m. There was some moonlight in the early part of the hike, but by 1 a.m., the moon had set, leaving the sky perfectly dark for photography.
I spent a little more than an hour at Plateau Point capturing the shots for this image before packing up around 3:30 a.m. Instead of heading straight back to the South Rim, I took a detour to Havasupai Gardens, a campground just 1.5 miles from Plateau Point, where I rested for a couple of hours. I had packed some muffins for breakfast and even brought a backpacking stove to boil water for coffee. Around 5:30 a.m., I started the final hike back to the South Rim, reaching the Bright Angel Trailhead a little after 9 a.m.
This image is available for the following products: Canvas Prints, Framed Prints, Standout Prints, Prints & Posters
Milky Way Over Grand Canyon's South Rim, Plateau Point, Grand Canyon, April, 2023
This photograph of the Milky Way over the South Rim of the Grand Canyon was a dream come true. I started photographing the Milky Way in the spring of 2021, with my first attempts mostly along the coast of southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island—some of the few places in eastern New England where you can find dark skies to the south. But the true joy of Milky Way photography for me comes with trips to the Southwest, to northern Arizona, and the Grand Canyon.
I had envisioned this shot for quite some time, planning it all out in my head. I calculated the angle to ensure I could get far enough away from the South Rim so the Milky Way would be visible above it, and Plateau Point seemed like the perfect choice.
I initially planned to take this shot during a backpacking trip in September 2022, but the sky wasn’t clear enough on either of the two nights I had available at my campsite. Disappointment is a frequent companion in Milky Way photography—so much depends on getting the right weather conditions during the few days of the month and months of the year when these shots are possible.
Then, on a whim during a trip to Arizona in April 2023, I decided to go for it. I planned to attempt it as a night hike to Plateau Point, taking the Bright Angel Trail and then following the Plateau Point Trail. Throughout the day, I checked the weather forecast repeatedly, and everything pointed to perfect conditions.
I had been staying in Flagstaff and drove up to the Grand Canyon in the late afternoon, arriving just after sunset. I needed to be at Plateau Point between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. for the shot and estimated it would take me about four hours to cover the six miles of trail and descent of just over 3,000 feet. At 10:30 p.m., I left the South Rim and started down the Bright Angel Trail. With only a couple of short breaks, the hike took just under four hours, and I arrived at Plateau Point a little after 2 a.m. There was some moonlight in the early part of the hike, but by 1 a.m., the moon had set, leaving the sky perfectly dark for photography.
I spent a little more than an hour at Plateau Point capturing the shots for this image before packing up around 3:30 a.m. Instead of heading straight back to the South Rim, I took a detour to Havasupai Gardens, a campground just 1.5 miles from Plateau Point, where I rested for a couple of hours. I had packed some muffins for breakfast and even brought a backpacking stove to boil water for coffee. Around 5:30 a.m., I started the final hike back to the South Rim, reaching the Bright Angel Trailhead a little after 9 a.m.
This image is available for the following products: Canvas Prints, Framed Prints, Standout Prints, Prints & Posters
Milky Way Over Grand Canyon's South Rim, Plateau Point, Grand Canyon, April, 2023
This photograph of the Milky Way over the South Rim of the Grand Canyon was a dream come true. I started photographing the Milky Way in the spring of 2021, with my first attempts mostly along the coast of southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island—some of the few places in eastern New England where you can find dark skies to the south. But the true joy of Milky Way photography for me comes with trips to the Southwest, to northern Arizona, and the Grand Canyon.
I had envisioned this shot for quite some time, planning it all out in my head. I calculated the angle to ensure I could get far enough away from the South Rim so the Milky Way would be visible above it, and Plateau Point seemed like the perfect choice.
I initially planned to take this shot during a backpacking trip in September 2022, but the sky wasn’t clear enough on either of the two nights I had available at my campsite. Disappointment is a frequent companion in Milky Way photography—so much depends on getting the right weather conditions during the few days of the month and months of the year when these shots are possible.
Then, on a whim during a trip to Arizona in April 2023, I decided to go for it. I planned to attempt it as a night hike to Plateau Point, taking the Bright Angel Trail and then following the Plateau Point Trail. Throughout the day, I checked the weather forecast repeatedly, and everything pointed to perfect conditions.
I had been staying in Flagstaff and drove up to the Grand Canyon in the late afternoon, arriving just after sunset. I needed to be at Plateau Point between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. for the shot and estimated it would take me about four hours to cover the six miles of trail and descent of just over 3,000 feet. At 10:30 p.m., I left the South Rim and started down the Bright Angel Trail. With only a couple of short breaks, the hike took just under four hours, and I arrived at Plateau Point a little after 2 a.m. There was some moonlight in the early part of the hike, but by 1 a.m., the moon had set, leaving the sky perfectly dark for photography.
I spent a little more than an hour at Plateau Point capturing the shots for this image before packing up around 3:30 a.m. Instead of heading straight back to the South Rim, I took a detour to Havasupai Gardens, a campground just 1.5 miles from Plateau Point, where I rested for a couple of hours. I had packed some muffins for breakfast and even brought a backpacking stove to boil water for coffee. Around 5:30 a.m., I started the final hike back to the South Rim, reaching the Bright Angel Trailhead a little after 9 a.m.
This image is available for the following products: Canvas Prints, Framed Prints, Standout Prints, Prints & Posters