Next usable light
Monterey
7:08 PM – 7:59 PM
Solar noonDaytime63.0° · 181° S
Light windows
Fri, Aug 28 · America · Los AngelesMorning
- Golden hour
- 6:20 AM – 7:11 AM51 min of warm light
- Blue hour
- 6:10 AM – 6:20 AM10 min of deep blue twilight
Evening
- Golden hour
- 7:08 PM – 7:59 PM51 min of warm light
- Blue hour
- 7:59 PM – 8:10 PM10 min of deep blue twilight
- Sunrise
- 6:37 AM
- Sunset
- 7:43 PM
- Day length
- 13 hr 7 min
- Solar noon
- 1:10 PM
Where to point the camera
Solar path and bearing
On this selected date, the sun reaches 63° at its highest point and the evening light approaches from 283° WNW.
Pick the month before the day
Light through 2026 in Monterey
Plan around the season: Monterey's sampled golden window stretches to 58 min in December and compresses to 50 min by March. Sunset moves 59° along the horizon between December (241° WSW) and June (300° WNW), so a spot framed for one season can face away from the light in another. June days run 14 hr 39 min; by December they shrink to 9 hr 40 min.
| Month | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length | Golden window sample | Sunset bearing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7:20 AM | 5:16 PM | 9 hr 56 min | 4:37 PM · 56 min | 244° WSW |
| February | 6:57 AM | 5:49 PM | 10 hr 52 min | 5:13 PM · 52 min | 255° WSW |
| March | 7:19 AM | 7:15 PM | 11 hr 56 min | 6:41 PM · 50 min | 268° W |
| April | 6:34 AM | 7:42 PM | 13 hr 8 min | 7:07 PM · 51 min | 283° WNW |
| May | 6:01 AM | 8:08 PM | 14 hr 7 min | 7:32 PM · 54 min | 295° WNW |
| June | 5:49 AM | 8:28 PM | 14 hr 39 min | 7:50 PM · 57 min | 300° WNW |
| July | 6:01 AM | 8:27 PM | 14 hr 25 min | 7:49 PM · 56 min | 298° WNW |
| August | 6:26 AM | 8:00 PM | 13 hr 34 min | 7:25 PM · 52 min | 288° WNW |
| September | 6:51 AM | 7:17 PM | 12 hr 26 min | 6:43 PM · 50 min | 274° W |
| October | 7:15 AM | 6:32 PM | 11 hr 17 min | 5:58 PM · 51 min | 260° W |
| November | 6:46 AM | 5:00 PM | 10 hr 14 min | 4:22 PM · 55 min | 247° WSW |
| December | 7:13 AM | 4:54 PM | 9 hr 40 min | 4:14 PM · 58 min | 241° 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 ~2 min per day in the fastest season. Clock times follow America · Los Angeles, including any daylight-saving change.
Full light and twilight schedule
Midnight to midnight
| Phase | Time |
|---|---|
| Astronomical dawn | 5:05 AM |
| Nautical dawn | 5:38 AM |
| Blue hour (morning) | 6:10 AM |
| Golden hour (morning) | 6:20 AM |
| Sunrise | 6:37 AM |
| Solar noon | 1:10 PM |
| Sunset | 7:43 PM |
| Golden hour (evening) | 7:08 PM |
| Blue hour (evening) | 7:59 PM |
| Nautical dusk | 8:41 PM |
| Astronomical dusk | 9:14 PM |
Seven local days in Monterey
The week ahead
| Date | Morning golden | Sunrise | Sunset | Evening golden |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri, Aug 28 | 6:20 AM – 7:11 AM | 6:37 AM | 7:43 PM | 7:08 PM – 7:59 PM |
| Sat, Aug 29 | 6:21 AM – 7:12 AM | 6:37 AM | 7:42 PM | 7:07 PM – 7:58 PM |
| Sun, Aug 30 | 6:22 AM – 7:13 AM | 6:38 AM | 7:40 PM | 7:06 PM – 7:56 PM |
| Mon, Aug 31 | 6:23 AM – 7:13 AM | 6:39 AM | 7:39 PM | 7:04 PM – 7:55 PM |
| Tue, Sep 1 | 6:24 AM – 7:14 AM | 6:40 AM | 7:37 PM | 7:03 PM – 7:54 PM |
| Wed, Sep 2 | 6:24 AM – 7:15 AM | 6:41 AM | 7:36 PM | 7:02 PM – 7:52 PM |
| Thu, Sep 3 | 6:25 AM – 7:16 AM | 6:41 AM | 7:35 PM | 7:00 PM – 7:51 PM |
Moon and candidate vantage points
Context to verify
Moon on the selected date
The moon over Monterey is a Full Moon, 100% lit. Treat this as lighting context, not a visibility forecast.
Candidate vantage points
Use them only as map-search leads; they are not ranked recommendations. We have not verified current access, closures, permits, safety, or an unobstructed view. 283° WNW is the selected-date mathematical sunset bearing; if another composition faces elsewhere, use the bearing planner in the month table above to locate better-matched sampled months. The number is a planning aid and does not prove visibility.
Plan and calculation notes
Assumptions and limits
Plan this specific light
In Monterey, the evening golden hour window runs 51 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 Monterey
- When is golden hour in Monterey?
- Whenever the sun is between +6° above and −4° below the horizon — a band that wraps around both sunrise and sunset. For Monterey, the representative monthly window is 50 minutes in March and 58 minutes in December; separate morning and evening crossings merge or wrap overnight near the poles. Pick a date above for the minute-exact times.
- Which direction does the sun set in Monterey?
- In Monterey it depends on the month: 241° WSW in December, moving to 300° WNW by June — a 59° annual swing. Use the sun-path panel above to read the exact bearing for your shoot date.
- How much does day length change in Monterey?
- Monterey's swing is 4 hr 59 min: December bottoms out around 9 hr 40 min of daylight while June peaks near 14 hr 39 min. Each month's numbers are in the table above.
- Does Monterey get blue hour right after golden hour?
- Yes, with no gap: blue hour is simply the next slice of the same sunset, defined by the sun dropping from −4° to −6° after the golden band (+6° to −4°) closes. Planning a December shoot in Monterey? Budget 58 min of gold, then the blue window follows immediately — both computed per date in the light-windows panel.