Watching the sky transition from night to day is always a stunning experience, whether it's the soft pastels of lilac and apricot or the bold hues of orange, gold and red. We've picked the best spots to catch a breathtaking sunrise in each US state, from serene beaches to glowing mountain peaks.
Click through the gallery to discover your state's most magical place to witness the breaking dawn...
Alabama’s stretch of coastline is characterized by some of the most brilliantly white beaches in the US – and the days start and end in a blaze of glory. Gulf Shores has some incredible sunsets, but it’s the sunrises that really steal the show, casting a warm orange glow over the sugary sand and turning the Gulf of Mexico into liquid gold.
The gigantic Hubbard Glacier in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park is more than seven miles (11km) wide, 76 miles (122km) long and reaches a height of 600 feet (183m), so it’s breathtaking at any time of day. At the break of dawn, however, a backdrop of sizzling tangerine makes it even more majestic. The thunderous roar of ice chunks calving from the glacier and plunging into the frigid waters below adds to the drama.
The rust-red sandstone pinnacles of the Navajo Nation’s Monument Valley Park seem to toast in the light of the dawning day. The structures tower at up to 1,000 feet (305m) and catch the light beautifully. With a backdrop of mesas and buttes rising from the desert floor, the valley resembles a giant sculpture garden.
Curving for 20 miles (32km), Lake Chicot is the state’s largest natural lake and the USA’s largest oxbow lake, where a horseshoe bend in a river becomes cut off from the main flow. This U-shaped lake is an offshoot of the Mississippi River and formed as a separate body of water more than 300 years ago. Its banks are lined with cypress trees and jetties, and it’s all even prettier when the first rays turn the water buttercup yellow.
There’s really no ugly view in Yosemite. But one of the park’s most incredible natural spectacles is Yosemite Valley – a 7.5-mile (12km) long glacial valley in the Sierra Nevada mountains – at the break of dawn. The sunrise bathes the granite domes and forested valley floor in a soft, honeyed light and catches the rocks with a glorious glint.
The twin peaks of Maroon Bells are among the most photographed in Colorado, partly because they look so dramatic reflected in the alpine lake they overlook, and partly because the sunrise here is so magical. The sun turns the sky pink and lilac, bouncing its beams off the peaks to further illuminate their beauty.
This state park in Milford could more accurately be called Golden Sands when the first rays of sunlight bounce off the beach and turn the water of the Long Island Sound a shimmering yellow. The changing light hits the area’s long boardwalk, rolling sand dunes and salt marshes, with views stretching across the bird sanctuary of Charles Island.
Delaware’s coastline is an underrated gem, and Rehoboth Beach is particularly lovely. The stretch of sand is backed by a broad boardwalk and gazes out onto the Atlantic, so early morning views couldn’t really get much better. When the sky begins to brighten, the ocean and sand are washed in soft, dreamy hues of pink and amber.
The Florida Keys archipelago actually has fewer sandy stretches than you might think, so Smathers Beach is all the more special. It’s right at the tip of the string of islands, in Key West, and its southerly position means it is lit by incredible sunsets and sunrises. The latter are the most beautiful though, with the sun seeming to pop out of the Atlantic Ocean to give the palm-dotted sand a soft golden glow.
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Georgia’s Golden Isles feel appropriately named at the break of day, when the glowing orange light proves that sunrises can be just as fiery as sunsets – if not even fierier. The skies cinematically silhouette the trees and tangles of branches strewn on Driftwood Beach in Jekyll Island, the southernmost of the string of barrier islands. Pods of dolphins occasionally leap close to the shore, adding to the charm.
Haleakala, also known as East Maui Volcano, takes up more than three quarters of the island of Maui’s landmass, creating a craggily gorgeous landscape. The sunrises over the crater are legendary – literally so. Haleakala is Hawaiian for ‘House of the Sun’, and Polynesian legend says that the demigod Maui snatched the god of the sun, La, and kept him lassoed to a tree until he promised more light each day.
Fall Creek Falls, close to Jackson Hole, is one of those rare spots that’s blessed with dazzling spectacles at either end of the day, being a hotspot for sunrises and sunsets. There’s something especially magical about the morning light though, when the sun glints against the 60-foot (18m) cascade as it flows over ledges and empties into Snake River.
One of Chicago’s biggest harbors, Belmont is part of Lincoln Park, with acres of tree-dotted green space around the shores of Lake Michigan, providing a gorgeous forefront to the city’s famous jagged skyline. It all looks even prettier as the sun turns the sky orange, pink and peach behind the yachts bobbing in the water.
With rugged hills, sharp ridges and plunging gullies, Brown County State Park, south of Indianapolis, is always magical – but especially so at the break of day. The sun seems to bounce like a burning tennis ball on the hills, gilding every leaf and flower. In fall, when the trees are clothed in the fall colors of gold, maroon and auburn, the first rays of light create an intense blaze.
Located in the state’s Driftless region, characterized by vertiginous valleys and steep hills, Pikes Peak State Park is located on a bluff high above where the Wisconsin River meets the Mississippi. At sunrise, the great ball of fire hovers above the water and peeps between the trees, imbuing the valley with a warm glow.
As its name suggests, this national preserve in the Kansas Flint Hills protects a huge area of tallgrass prairie. And with its wide-open spaces and big skies, it also offers spectacular sunrises. Miles of trails wind through the preserve, which is scattered with wildflowers and home to skittering deer and eastern cottontails too.
The towering sandstone arches, forested ridges and deep valleys of vast Red River Gorge are intensified by the morning light. The geological area is part of the ruggedly handsome Daniel Boone National Forest, and sunrise is spectacular, sending a pale haze of honey light across the mist-shrouded cliffs and valleys.
Pretty much anywhere on the banks of the mighty Mississippi River is a good spot for horizon-gazing. And Woldenberg Park, next to New Orleans’ French Quarter, has 16 acres of green space hugging a curve in the river, lined with paths and dotted with plants, statues and water features. The sun glides up beyond the twin Crescent City Connection cantilever bridges that span the broad river, leading to the Algiers neighborhood on the opposite bank.
Maine doesn’t exactly skimp on lighthouses, with specimens from stripy to red brick – but even among these beauties, Portland Head Light is perhaps the most famous and most photographed. It’s also the oldest in the state, completed in 1791. Perched serenely in Cape Elizabeth at the entrance to Portland Harbor, it’s at its loveliest first thing in the morning, when the sky swirls from tangerine to red, pink and lilac.
This waterfowl sanctuary, close to Cambridge, encompasses a third of Maryland’s tidal wetlands. It’s part of the Atlantic Flyway, a migration corridor for birds, and bald eagles, snow geese and blue-winged teals can often be spotted soaring above the forest and marshlands – an even more stunning sight when the sky is streaked with gold.
Cape Cod’s flexed-arm shape means the peninsula has views in every direction, with incredible sunsets over Cape Cod Bay and arguably even better sunrises on its Atlantic coastline. The sky ignites in juicy shades of blood orange and satsuma, with spots like Nauset Beach, Nobska Point Lighthouse and Chatham Lighthouse feeling like the very edges of the world.
It can be hard to make out which end’s up from serene Harrisville Harbor when the sun rises over Lake Huron. It isn’t just that the navy, peach and honey colors are jaw-dropping – the intensity of the sunrise colors that fill the sky appear almost solid, while the water glimmers like a mirror. It’s part of the state’s 200-mile (322km) Sunrise Coast, which is as dreamily golden as it sounds.
This huge, sheer-faced rock formation perches at the edge of Lake Superior’s north shores and sees glorious sunrises day after day. Dawn breaks its way through the skies and sends beams skimming across the lake’s silvery surface, creating a bold contrast with the inky waters. Palisade Head is part of Tettegouche State Park, an endlessly inspiring landscape of forests, waterfalls and lakeside cliffs where peregrine falcons nest.
This 33,000-acre lake near Jackson provides the majority of Mississippi’s drinking water – but its beauty marks it out as something special beyond its practical role. The western shore is part of the Natchez Trace Parkway – a historic forest trail that cuts through several states – and this is the stretch that gazes across the water towards the waking morning sun, which makes the water glimmer with golden light.
This freshwater reservoir, close to Kansas City, is the scene of spectacularly scorching dawn skies. The water covers 930 acres and has a shoreline laced with beaches, forests, meadows, nature trails and fishing docks. Sunrise often streaks the sky in shades of red from cherry to scarlet, creating a striking contrast with the silvery surface of the lake.
Carved thousands of years ago by glaciers, Lake McDonald is the largest lake in Glacier National Park at 10 miles (16km) long and nearly 500 feet (152m) deep. The sun begins its ascent from behind the jagged peaks that loom over the water, revealing them in a silhouette before painting the sky with rainbow streaks mirrored by the lake’s glassy surface.
Platte River is the longest braided river in the US, which means it’s made up of interconnecting channels that split off before rejoining each other. Because of this the 310-mile (500km) waterway is laced with marshy islands that are havens for birdlife, particularly the section within the city of Grand Island. Thousands of sandhill cranes migrate this way in spring, and they can often be seen winging through the skies just as the sun begins to turn it from navy to apricot.
The vivid colors of Valley of Fire State Park really do justify its name, and it’s never more staggering than at sunrise. The early light seeps into the rust-red rocks so they look like they really are aflame. The Aztec sandstone is infused with rich history too, having formed from shifting sand dunes around 150 million years ago.
New Hampshire’s coastline may be short at just 18 miles (29km) long, but it packs a pretty punch. The town of Rye, home to two sandy beaches, hogs the lion’s share and boasts some of the loveliest sunrise views on the East Coast. Wetlands and marshes lace the coastline, and it’s all washed with a lovely golden-pink glow each morning.
Fort Lee Historic Park perches on a bluff above the Hudson River, with clear views across to Manhattan. The clifftop park, home to a reconstructed Revolutionary War encampment, is densely forested and woven through with hiking trails and scenic overlooks. Morning skies over the George Washington Bridge, which links the park to New York City, are vividly painted with streaks of gold, peach and purple.
It’s hard to believe a landscape like this exists anywhere on Earth, let alone in New Mexico. At first glance, White Sands National Monument looks like a snowscape, with bright white waves rolling for miles. The dunes look even starker at dawn, when ocher and pink-streaked skies pop against the icing-sugar sand.
Only a handful of bridges hold such iconic status as the Brooklyn Bridge, which has connected Manhattan and Brooklyn since 1883. Its sunrises may not be as famous as its structure of crisscrossing steel cables, Gothic towers and stone arches, but they are a local legend. The first rays cast a soft, shimmering amber glow over the city’s skyline.
The towering peaks and fog-shrouded valleys of the Blue Ridge Mountains make for magical early morning views. Overlooks dotted along the Blue Ridge Parkway – including Walnut Cove and Rough Ridge – gaze over forested slopes, meadows and gray-blue mountains cast into shadow by the early light.
The Buck Hill area of Theodore Roosevelt National Park is one of the highest points in the preserve’s southern unit, overlooking swaths of North Dakota’s badlands and prairie. This prized perch gives it 360-degree views, with sunrise bathing everything in gold and peach light. Bison and horses roam the land and can often be seen grazing at first dawn.
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Sunrises at Marblehead Lighthouse are serene and stunning, with misty morning skies streaked with tangerine, cornflower blue and lilac. The white, red-capped lighthouse, which overlooks Lake Erie, has been in operation since 1821, guiding sailors along the rocky (and sometimes treacherous) shores of Marblehead Peninsula.
Broken Bow Lake, a reservoir on Mountain Fork River, is surrounded by 180 miles (290km) of shoreline, but it’s the western side that has a front-row seat for the sunrise. The first light shines over forest-clad mountains and illuminates the lake, whose gin-clear water is due to the bed being covered in rocks. The surface is dotted with small, tree-covered islands too.
Crater Lake has a way of making an entrance, whether that’s appearing when the winter fog falls away or brightening under the morning sun. The USA’s deepest lake, at 1,943 feet (592m), is famed for its inky, navy hue, which looks especially intense under a sky that’s blazing into life with streaks of fiery yellow and orange. The caldera lake formed around 7,700 years ago when a volcano collapsed and is fed by snow and rainfall.
This state park sprawls on the slopes of Locust Mountain, with the 52-acre, tree-surrounded Locust Lake the shimmering gem at its heart. The high vantage point of the park means it enjoys unbeatable morning light. The sun peeps over the forested skyline before bursting beams of juicy light into the sky, infusing the water with a warm orange glow.
The sky bursts in spicy shades of saffron and paprika as morning comes on the shores of Narragansett. The little town not far from Providence has soft sweeps of powdery sand and the area is famous for its incredible sunsets and sunrises, with the latter especially lovely over Point Judith Lighthouse in the far south. Cloudy skies amp up the drama, billowing with vivid color.
This city and beach resort is part of South Carolina’s Grand Strand, a 60-mile (97km) stretch of sandy beaches on the Atlantic coast. Piers jut into the ocean and a Ferris wheel marks out the retro Family Kingdom amusement park, transformed into moody black shapes by the first glow of light. Sunrises tend to be of the pretty-pink kind, turning the sky the color of candy floss.
The jagged rock formations of South Dakota’s Badlands are always a mesmerizing sight, but there’s something magical about the way they look bathed in morning light. The skies dance with swirls of color that bounce off the granite pinnacles and buttes, revealing shades from whispery gray to intense red, via purple, yellow, orange and tan. Big Badlands Overlook and Norbeck Pass gaze over the whole show.
The forested mountains of this national park resemble an abstract painting at sunrise, when the soft yellow light silhouettes the peaks and ridges, so they form misty layers of black and gray. Clingman’s Dome, the highest point in Tennessee at 6,643 feet (2,025m), overlooks the valley with views stretching more than 100 miles (161km) on clear days.
This tiny barrier island stretches into the Gulf of Mexico at the southern tip of Texas and is known for its beguiling sunrises and sunsets. The east side has clear views of the sun peeping its head over the horizon each morning, bursting blood-orange color into the sky and sending warm light shimmering over the water and talcum-powder white sand.
Arches National Park, north of Moab, has more than 2,000 natural sandstone arches, which seem to catch the light just-so as it begins its daily ascent. Yellow beams glint off the rock and seem to be absorbed by it, giving the formations an otherworldly orange-red glow and bathing the landscape of pinnacles and mesas in warm light.
Vermont’s highest mountain overlooks the small town of Stowe, and the morning views from its slopes or summit are reliably gorgeous at any time of year. In fall, the light catches red and gold leaves for an intense burst of color, while snow-covered winter slopes glisten at sunrise and create a glorious contrast to the golden yellow skies.
The oceanfront boardwalk of Virginia Beach, located in the southeast of the state where Chesapeake Bay meets the Atlantic, has clear, wide-open views of the sunrise. Anglers gather on the long fishing pier, whose darkened wooden stilts contrast against the soft orange light. Dolphins often leap close to the beach, whose sand looks golden under the rising sun.
This tiny lake in Washington is one of the most photographed in the USA, and it really is as pretty as a picture. It gets its name thanks to the perfect reflection of Mount Shuksan in the glassy waters. The image is intensified by the soft morning light, which infuses the peaks with a lilac-pink glow and projects a kaleidoscope of pastel colors through the sky.
This West Virginia landmark, on the windswept Dolly Sods Wilderness plateau, has incredible views over the Allegheny Front. The sun rises over mile upon mile of undulating mountains, boulders, hemlock forest and flowering shrubs in a warm golden glow. On clear days, the view stretches across the 477-acre preserve and reaches as far as the Shenandoah Mountains.
The city of Manitowoc sprawls from the coast of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Manitowoc River, and it's the watery surroundings that make sunrise here so special. The skies ignite in shades of gold, ocher and grapefruit, reflected in the shimmering water below. The view over the harbor, with Manitowoc North Breakwater Lighthouse silhouetted against the flaming skies, is hypnotic.
Among the vast landscapes of Grand Teton National Park, with its perfect peaks, wildflower meadows and mountain lakes, Oxbow Bend somehow manages to stand out. The overlook is famed for views of Mount Moran, which reflects beautifully in Snake River below, and the picture is all the prettier at dawn. The sunrise baths everything in warm pink light, with the occasional pelican or great blue heron swooping over the water.
Now check out some of the earliest photos taken in every US state...