Next usable light
Denver
7:03 PM – 7:56 PM
Solar noonDaytime59.9° · 181° S
Light windows
Fri, Aug 28 · America · DenverMorning
- Golden hour
- 6:08 AM – 7:01 AM53 min of warm light
- Blue hour
- 5:57 AM – 6:08 AM11 min of deep blue twilight
Evening
- Golden hour
- 7:03 PM – 7:56 PM53 min of warm light
- Blue hour
- 7:56 PM – 8:07 PM11 min of deep blue twilight
- Sunrise
- 6:25 AM
- Sunset
- 7:39 PM
- Day length
- 13 hr 14 min
- Solar noon
- 1:02 PM
Where to point the camera
Solar path and bearing
On this selected date, the sun reaches 60° at its highest point and the evening light approaches from 283° WNW.
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.
| 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 | 4:49 AM |
| Nautical dawn | 5:24 AM |
| Blue hour (morning) | 5:57 AM |
| Golden hour (morning) | 6:08 AM |
| Sunrise | 6:25 AM |
| Solar noon | 1:02 PM |
| Sunset | 7:39 PM |
| Golden hour (evening) | 7:03 PM |
| Blue hour (evening) | 7:56 PM |
| Nautical dusk | 8:41 PM |
| Astronomical dusk | 9:15 PM |
Seven local days in Denver
The week ahead
| Date | Morning golden | Sunrise | Sunset | Evening golden |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri, Aug 28 | 6:08 AM – 7:01 AM | 6:25 AM | 7:39 PM | 7:03 PM – 7:56 PM |
| Sat, Aug 29 | 6:09 AM – 7:02 AM | 6:26 AM | 7:38 PM | 7:02 PM – 7:55 PM |
| Sun, Aug 30 | 6:10 AM – 7:03 AM | 6:27 AM | 7:36 PM | 7:00 PM – 7:53 PM |
| Mon, Aug 31 | 6:11 AM – 7:04 AM | 6:28 AM | 7:35 PM | 6:59 PM – 7:52 PM |
| Tue, Sep 1 | 6:12 AM – 7:05 AM | 6:29 AM | 7:33 PM | 6:57 PM – 7:50 PM |
| Wed, Sep 2 | 6:13 AM – 7:06 AM | 6:30 AM | 7:31 PM | 6:56 PM – 7:48 PM |
| Thu, Sep 3 | 6:14 AM – 7:07 AM | 6:31 AM | 7:30 PM | 6:54 PM – 7:47 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 283° WNW. 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.
Plan and calculation notes
Assumptions and limits
Plan this specific light
In Denver, the evening golden hour window runs 53 min on the selected date and approaches from 283° WNW. 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.