When is golden hour in Portland?

Whenever the sun is between +6° above and −4° below the horizon — a band that wraps around both sunrise and sunset. For Portland, the representative monthly window is 57 minutes in March and 71 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 Portland?

In Portland it depends on the month: 237° WSW in December, moving to 306° NW by June — a 69° annual swing. Use the sun-path panel above to read the exact bearing for your shoot date.

How much does day length change in Portland?

Portland's swing is 6 hr 56 min: December bottoms out around 8 hr 44 min of daylight while June peaks near 15 hr 40 min. Each month's numbers are in the table above.

Does Portland 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 Portland, the representative December golden window lasts 1 hr 11 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.

Next usable light

Sun, Oct 25

Portland

Evening golden hour

5:28 PM – 6:28 PM

night12:00 AMblue hour7:20 AMgolden hour7:30 AMdaylight12:55 PMgolden hour5:30 PMblue hour6:30 PMnight12:00 AM000306091215182124

Solar noonDaytime32.3° · 180° S

Take this plan with you

GoldenHourly field brief

Portland, Oregon · Sun, Oct 25

Evening golden hour · 5:28 PM – 6:28 PM

sunrisesolar noonsunset

Arrive by: 5:13 PM
Duration: 1 hr
Direction: 246° WSW
Azimuth: 246°→257°
Sunrise: 7:41 AM
Sunset: 6:10 PM

Weather, terrain, buildings, local access, and elevation are not included.

https://goldenhourly.pages.dev/portland-or/?date=2026-10-25

Printed when prepared in your browser

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 →

View the detailed light plan →

Light windows

Sun, Oct 25 · America · Los Angeles

Morning

Golden hour: 7:22 AM – 8:23 AM1 hr of warm light
Blue hour: 7:11 AM – 7:22 AM12 min of deep blue twilight

Evening

Golden hour: 5:28 PM – 6:28 PM1 hr of warm light
Blue hour: 6:28 PM – 6:40 PM12 min of deep blue twilight

Sunrise: 7:41 AM
Sunset: 6:10 PM
Day length: 10 hr 29 min
Solar noon: 12:55 PM

Where to point the camera

Solar path and bearing

Sunrise direction107° ESE

Sunset direction253° WSW

Sun's highest point32°

Day length vs yesterday−3 min

On this selected date, the sun reaches 32° at its highest point and the evening light approaches from 253° WSW.

Pick the month before the day

Light through 2026 in Portland

Portland's sampled golden window runs from about 57 min in March to 1 hr 11 min in December. Check the bearing column before trusting a remembered spot: sunset lands at 237° WSW in December but 306° NW in June, a 69° shift. Day length spans 8 hr 44 min in December to 15 hr 40 min in June.

Monthlocal day · 00–24

Exact monthly readings

Month	Sunrise	Sunset	Day length	Golden window sample	Sunset bearing
January	7:48 AM	4:54 PM	9 hr 6 min	4:07 PM · 1 hr 8 min	240° WSW
February	7:13 AM	5:38 PM	10 hr 25 min	4:56 PM · 1 hr 1 min	253° WSW
March	7:24 AM	7:17 PM	11 hr 53 min	6:38 PM · 57 min	268° W
April	6:26 AM	7:57 PM	13 hr 31 min	7:17 PM · 59 min	285° WNW
May	5:41 AM	8:35 PM	14 hr 54 min	7:52 PM · 1 hr 4 min	299° WNW
June	5:22 AM	9:02 PM	15 hr 40 min	8:16 PM · 1 hr 9 min	306° NW
July	5:37 AM	8:57 PM	15 hr 20 min	8:13 PM · 1 hr 6 min	303° WNW
August	6:12 AM	8:20 PM	14 hr 8 min	7:39 PM · 1 hr 1 min	291° WNW
September	6:50 AM	7:24 PM	12 hr 34 min	6:45 PM · 57 min	275° W
October	7:28 AM	6:27 PM	10 hr 59 min	5:46 PM · 59 min	259° WSW
November	7:11 AM	4:42 PM	9 hr 31 min	3:57 PM · 1 hr 5 min	244° WSW
December	7:45 AM	4:29 PM	8 hr 44 min	3:39 PM · 1 hr 11 min	237° 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 · Los Angeles, including any daylight-saving change.

Full light and twilight schedule

Midnight to midnight

Phase	Time
Astronomical dawn	6:02 AM
Nautical dawn	6:36 AM
Blue hour (morning)	7:11 AM
Golden hour (morning)	7:22 AM
Sunrise	7:41 AM
Solar noon	12:55 PM
Sunset	6:10 PM
Golden hour (evening)	5:28 PM
Blue hour (evening)	6:28 PM
Nautical dusk	7:15 PM
Astronomical dusk	7:49 PM

Seven local days in Portland

The week ahead

Date	Morning golden	Sunrise	Sunset	Evening golden
Sun, Oct 25	7:22 AM – 8:23 AM	7:41 AM	6:10 PM	5:28 PM – 6:28 PM
Mon, Oct 26	7:24 AM – 8:24 AM	7:43 AM	6:08 PM	5:26 PM – 6:27 PM
Tue, Oct 27	7:25 AM – 8:26 AM	7:44 AM	6:07 PM	5:25 PM – 6:25 PM
Wed, Oct 28	7:26 AM – 8:27 AM	7:45 AM	6:05 PM	5:23 PM – 6:24 PM
Thu, Oct 29	7:28 AM – 8:29 AM	7:47 AM	6:04 PM	5:21 PM – 6:22 PM
Fri, Oct 30	7:29 AM – 8:31 AM	7:48 AM	6:02 PM	5:20 PM – 6:21 PM
Sat, Oct 31	7:31 AM – 8:32 AM	7:50 AM	6:01 PM	5:18 PM – 6:20 PM

Moon and candidate vantage points

Context to verify

Moon on the selected date

The moon over Portland 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 253° 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.

Plan and calculation notes

Assumptions and limits

Plan this specific light

In Portland, the evening golden hour window runs 1 hr on the selected date and approaches from 253° 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 Portland

When is golden hour in Portland?: Whenever the sun is between +6° above and −4° below the horizon — a band that wraps around both sunrise and sunset. For Portland, the representative monthly window is 57 minutes in March and 71 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 Portland?: In Portland it depends on the month: 237° WSW in December, moving to 306° NW by June — a 69° annual swing. Use the sun-path panel above to read the exact bearing for your shoot date.
How much does day length change in Portland?: Portland's swing is 6 hr 56 min: December bottoms out around 8 hr 44 min of daylight while June peaks near 15 hr 40 min. Each month's numbers are in the table above.
Does Portland 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 Portland, the representative December golden window lasts 1 hr 11 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.

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