Luna Lake
Alpine, AZ
Luna Lake is a 75-acre lake at 7,890 feet elevation located 4 miles east of Alpine along US-180. The lake is a designated Important Bird Area and attracts migrating shorebirds, waterfowl, and nesting ospreys. The surrounding grasslands and wetlands provide foreground interest against the Escudilla Mountain backdrop.
Photography Guide
- Best Time
- golden hour
- Crowds
- Quiet
- Shot Types
- widelandscapereflectiondetail
- Best Seasons
- springsummerfall
Author's Comments
Luna Lake does not announce itself. You drive east out of Alpine on 180 and the lake appears on your right almost casually, a flat plate of water set into grassland with Escudilla rising behind it. At nearly eight thousand feet the air does something to the light that I have never quite gotten used to. It is thinner, cleaner, and in the hour before sunset it goes long and gold across the wetlands in a way that makes the whole basin look lit from inside. I come here for two photographs and they are different photographs. The first is the wide one, made from the eastern viewing platform at golden hour in late September, when the grasses have turned and the mountain still holds a little summer green near the top. The reflection is the whole game. Wait for the wind to drop, which it usually does about thirty minutes before sunset, and the lake will give you Escudilla twice. The second photograph is tighter and harder. The ospreys nest here through the summer, and if you have brought enough lens, you can sit on the platform and wait for one to come in low over the water. Most evenings you will not get the shot. Some evenings you will. Crowds are not really a factor. I have been out on that platform at sunset in July with no one else for a mile. The lake is generous if you give it time, and stingy if you do not. Bring a tripod. Bring patience. Bring something warm for after the sun goes, because the temperature drops fast at this elevation and you will want to stay longer than you planned.
Gallery
You might also like
Nearby Places
Alpine, AZ
Escudilla Mountain and Lookout Tower
Escudilla Mountain rises to 10,912 feet and is the third-highest peak in Arizona. The 6.4-mile round-trip Escudilla National Recreation Trail passes through dense spruce-fir forest and leads to a historic fire lookout tower at the summit. The mountain is referenced in Aldo Leopold's writings as part of the early American conservation movement.
Alpine, AZ
Hannagan Meadow
Hannagan Meadow is a high mountain meadow at 9,100 feet elevation along the Coronado Trail (US-191) south of Alpine. The meadow is a stopping point along one of America's most scenic drives and serves as a trailhead for the Blue Range Primitive Area. Elk herds are commonly sighted in the meadow at dawn and dusk.
Springerville, AZ
Springerville Volcanic Field
The Springerville Volcanic Field covers approximately 1,200 square miles and contains around 400 basaltic cinder cones, making it the third-largest volcanic field in the continental United States. The field ranges in age from about 2 million to 300,000 years old. Many of the cinder cones are visible from US-60 and US-180 as distinctive dark hills dotting the grassland plateau.