Planning estimate. Calculated in your browser from fixed city coordinates and solar-altitude thresholds. Weather, terrain, buildings, local access, and elevation are not included. Method & limits →
On this selected date, the sun reaches 38° at its highest point and the evening light approaches from 255° WSW.
Pick the month before the day
Light through 2026 in Denver
December is the generous sample in Denver — 1 hr 1 min of golden light — while March tightens the window to about 52 min. That 62° of seasonal travel — 240° WSW at the December extreme, 302° WNW at the June one — is why a bearing beats a compass direction when you scout. Day length spans 9 hr 22 min in December to 14 hr 58 min in June.
Monthlocal day · 00–24
Exact monthly readings
Month
Sunrise
Sunset
Day length
Golden window sample
Sunset bearing
January
7:20 AM
5:00 PM
9 hr 40 min
4:19 PM · 1 hr
243° WSW
February
6:53 AM
5:37 PM
10 hr 43 min
4:59 PM · 55 min
254° WSW
March
7:12 AM
7:07 PM
11 hr 55 min
6:31 PM · 52 min
268° W
April
6:23 AM
7:38 PM
13 hr 15 min
7:02 PM · 53 min
284° WNW
May
5:46 AM
8:08 PM
14 hr 22 min
7:30 PM · 57 min
296° WNW
June
5:32 AM
8:30 PM
14 hr 58 min
7:50 PM · 1 hr
302° WNW
July
5:45 AM
8:28 PM
14 hr 43 min
7:48 PM · 59 min
299° WNW
August
6:13 AM
7:58 PM
13 hr 45 min
7:21 PM · 55 min
289° WNW
September
6:42 AM
7:10 PM
12 hr 29 min
6:35 PM · 52 min
275° W
October
7:11 AM
6:22 PM
11 hr 11 min
5:45 PM · 53 min
260° W
November
6:45 AM
4:46 PM
10 hr
4:06 PM · 58 min
246° WSW
December
7:15 AM
4:37 PM
9 hr 22 min
3:55 PM · 1 hr 1 min
240° WSW
Find the months when sunset faces your spot
Pick the direction your subject faces the sky. Months whose sunset lands within ±10° light up in the table above. Disabled shortcuts have no matching row in this visible mid-month sample.
Each row samples the 15th of the month at these coordinates, so dates near a month boundary can differ from the printed row — around here day length moves up to ~3 min per day in the fastest season. Clock times follow America · Denver, including any daylight-saving change.
Full light and twilight schedule
Midnight to midnight
Phase
Time
Astronomical dawn
5:51 AM
Nautical dawn
6:22 AM
Blue hour (morning)
6:54 AM
Golden hour (morning)
7:04 AM
Sunrise
7:21 AM
Solar noon
12:45 PM
Sunset
6:08 PM
Golden hour (evening)
5:31 PM
Blue hour (evening)
6:25 PM
Nautical dusk
7:07 PM
Astronomical dusk
7:38 PM
Seven local days in Denver
The week ahead
Date
Morning golden
Sunrise
Sunset
Evening golden
Sun, Oct 25
7:04 AM – 7:59 AM
7:21 AM
6:08 PM
5:31 PM – 6:25 PM
Mon, Oct 26
7:06 AM – 8:00 AM
7:23 AM
6:07 PM
5:29 PM – 6:24 PM
Tue, Oct 27
7:07 AM – 8:01 AM
7:24 AM
6:05 PM
5:28 PM – 6:22 PM
Wed, Oct 28
7:08 AM – 8:02 AM
7:25 AM
6:04 PM
5:26 PM – 6:21 PM
Thu, Oct 29
7:09 AM – 8:04 AM
7:26 AM
6:03 PM
5:25 PM – 6:20 PM
Fri, Oct 30
7:10 AM – 8:05 AM
7:27 AM
6:02 PM
5:24 PM – 6:19 PM
Sat, Oct 31
7:11 AM – 8:06 AM
7:28 AM
6:00 PM
5:22 PM – 6:18 PM
Moon and candidate vantage points
Context to verify
Moon on the selected date
The moon over Denver is a Full Moon, 100% lit. Treat this as lighting context, not a visibility forecast.
Candidate vantage points
The list supplies map-search starting points, not ranked recommendations. Confirm access, closures, permits, safety, and horizon obstructions yourself before setting out. For the selected date, the mathematical sunset bearing is 255° WSW. If the composition faces differently, use the bearing planner in the month table above to identify sampled months; the result remains a planning aid and does not prove visibility.
In Denver, the evening golden hour window runs 54 min on the selected date and approaches from 255° WSW. Arrive 15 minutes before its start when that window occurs, then choose a position with an open view toward that bearing. Don't rely on the generic “one hour before sunset” rule here — the real window shifts with the season, so check the computed times for your date.
See the calculation method and limits before relying on the estimate in terrain-sensitive or safety-critical conditions.
Common questions
Golden hour FAQ for Denver
When is golden hour in Denver?
Start with the sun angle in Denver: +6° to −4°. The morning crossing carries sunrise and the later crossing carries sunset, while the representative monthly span is 52 minutes in March and 61 minutes in December. The selected-date light panel translates that geometry into local clock times.
Which direction does the sun set in Denver?
There is no single answer — over the year the sunset point travels 62° along Denver's horizon, between 240° WSW (December) and 302° WNW (June). The month table above lists the bearing for each month, and the sun-path panel computes it per date.
How much does day length change in Denver?
Denver's swing is 5 hr 36 min: December bottoms out around 9 hr 22 min of daylight while June peaks near 14 hr 58 min. Each month's numbers are in the table above.
Does Denver get blue hour right after golden hour?
Yes — they are adjacent bands of the same descent: golden hour spans +6° to −4° of solar altitude and blue hour continues from −4° to −6°. In Denver, the representative December golden window lasts 1 hr 1 min; on ordinary dates evening blue begins when its evening side ends, while polar dates can merge or wrap overnight. The light-windows panel above computes both for any date.