Best Landscape Photography Locations in California

California packs an unusually wide range of landscape photography into one state: Pacific coastline and redwood forest, the granite peaks and valleys of the Sierra Nevada, and the Mojave Desert further inland. Yosemite and Big Sur are the best-known draws, but the eastern Sierra and its high-altitude sites offer some of the darkest, clearest skies in the state for night photography.

By Robert Bridgewater · Last updated July 29, 2026

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Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe

Lake

Bortle 2 — excellent to rural dark sky
Valley or low-lying terrain · 2,020 m elevation

Wine Country

Landscape

Bortle 2 — excellent to rural dark sky
Flat or gently rolling terrain · 162 m elevation

Big Pine Campground, CA

Lake

Bortle 2 — excellent to rural dark sky
Valley or low-lying terrain · 3,084 m elevation

Napa Valley, California

Valley

Bortle 2 — excellent to rural dark sky · ≈ Bortle 4 with nearby skyglow
Flat or gently rolling terrain · 95 m elevation

Cinder Cone

Landscape

Bortle 2 — excellent to rural dark sky
Elevated terrain · 2,040 m elevation

Yosemite Gateway

Mountain

Bortle 2 — excellent to rural dark sky
Valley or low-lying terrain · 2,613 m elevation

June Lake loop

Lake

Bortle 2 — excellent to rural dark sky
Flat or gently rolling terrain · 2,363 m elevation

Trona Pinnacles Wildflowers

Desert

Bortle 2 — excellent to rural dark sky
Flat or gently rolling terrain · 545 m elevation

Skeleton Church

Lake

Bortle 2 — excellent to rural dark sky
Flat or gently rolling terrain · 1,947 m elevation

Dumont dunes!

Beach

Bortle 2 — excellent to rural dark sky
Flat or gently rolling terrain · 283 m elevation

Lassen volcanic park

Landscape

Bortle 2 — excellent to rural dark sky
Elevated terrain · 2,312 m elevation

Point Cabrillo Light Station

Beach

Bortle 2 — excellent to rural dark sky
Flat or gently rolling terrain · 15 m elevation
On the coast

Mono Lake

Lake

Bortle 2 — excellent to rural dark sky
Flat or gently rolling terrain · 1,945 m elevation

Little Nellie Falls

Waterfall

Bortle 2 — excellent to rural dark sky
Valley or low-lying terrain · 1,405 m elevation

Roy's Motel & Café

Desert

Bortle 2 — excellent to rural dark sky
Flat or gently rolling terrain · 194 m elevation

Firefalls horse tail falls, Yosemite

Waterfall

Bortle 2 — excellent to rural dark sky
Elevated, dramatic terrain — ridge or summit position · 1,782 m elevation

View of Half Dome

River

Bortle 2 — excellent to rural dark sky
Valley or low-lying terrain · 1,219 m elevation

FIRST GLANCE OF HALF DOME

Mountain

Bortle 2 — excellent to rural dark sky
Elevated, dramatic terrain — ridge or summit position · 2,230 m elevation

Dante's View Peak Lookout

Mountain

Bortle 2 — excellent to rural dark sky
Elevated, dramatic terrain — ridge or summit position · 1,729 m elevation

Death valley national park

Hill

Bortle 2 — excellent to rural dark sky
Flat or gently rolling terrain · -76 m elevation

Merced River, Yosemite National Park

River

Bortle 2 — excellent to rural dark sky
Valley or low-lying terrain · 1,213 m elevation

Lady Bird Johnson grove

Forest

Bortle 2 — excellent to rural dark sky
Varied terrain nearby, significant relief · 325 m elevation
6 km from the coast

Kings River Canyon

River

Bortle 2 — excellent to rural dark sky
Elevated, dramatic terrain — ridge or summit position · 1,355 m elevation

Martin's Beach

Beach

Bortle 2 — excellent to rural dark sky · ≈ Bortle 4 with nearby skyglow
Flat or gently rolling terrain · 0 m elevation
On the coast

Mesquite Dunes east side

Beach

Bortle 2 — excellent to rural dark sky
Flat or gently rolling terrain · -16 m elevation

Planning a night out at one of these locations? Use the free Milky Way Calendar to check moon phase and dark-sky windows, or read the Blue Hour & Star Trail Photography Guide for how to plan the shoot itself.

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