Golden hour in San Diego
Golden hour in San Diego starts at 19:23 on 15 June and runs 36 minutes; on 15 December it is 38 minutes from 16:07. The calculator above is preset to San Diego — pick a date and sunrise, sunset, golden and blue hour for that exact shoot day are right there, exportable as a calendar entry.
Golden hour calculator for San Diego
Or enter coordinates
- Sunrise
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- Sunset
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- Golden hour (am)
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- Golden hour (pm)
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- Blue hour (pm)
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- Daylight
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- Sunset azimuth
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Golden and blue hour in San Diego: all twelve months
Everything derives from the coordinates of San Diego (32.7157, -117.1611) and the America/Los_Angeles timezone — no estimates. The planning-relevant part: the evening window here swings between 33 minutes in March and 38 in December — schedule "an hour" and you are wrong in both.
| Month | Sunrise | Sunset | Golden am (until) | Golden pm (from) | Blue hour (from) | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 06:52 | 17:06 | 07:28 | 16:29 | 17:22 | 10h 14min |
| February | 06:33 | 17:35 | 07:07 | 17:01 | 17:50 | 11h 02min |
| March | 07:00 | 18:57 | 07:32 | 18:24 | 19:12 | 11h 57min |
| April | 06:20 | 19:19 | 06:53 | 18:46 | 19:34 | 12h 59min |
| May | 05:51 | 19:41 | 06:26 | 19:06 | 19:58 | 13h 50min |
| June | 05:41 | 19:59 | 06:17 | 19:23 | 20:16 | 14h 18min |
| July | 05:52 | 19:58 | 06:28 | 19:23 | 20:15 | 14h 06min |
| August | 06:13 | 19:35 | 06:47 | 19:01 | 19:51 | 13h 22min |
| September | 06:33 | 18:56 | 07:06 | 18:24 | 19:11 | 12h 23min |
| October | 06:53 | 18:17 | 07:26 | 17:44 | 18:32 | 11h 24min |
| November | 06:20 | 16:49 | 06:55 | 16:13 | 17:05 | 10h 29min |
| December | 06:44 | 16:45 | 07:22 | 16:07 | 17:02 | 10h 01min |
Fitting the window into the shoot day
The evening window is the reliable half: the crew is warmed up, the setup exists, and golden hour is the last slot before wrap. The morning window right after sunrise (until 06:17 in June) instead requires camera and lighting to be standing before sunrise — with a call well before 05:41.
After sunset, San Diego still offers the blue hour: from 20:16 to 20:27 in June (11 minutes). If you need both looks on one evening, everything from the start of golden hour to the end of blue hour is one continuous window — with no room for a re-rig inside it.
Frequently asked
When is golden hour in San Diego today?
Pick today's date in the calculator above — it computes the times for San Diego from the coordinates, DST included. As a bearing: in mid-June it starts at 19:23, in mid-December at 16:07.
How long does golden hour last in San Diego?
Between 33 minutes (March) and 38 minutes (December) in the evening. The name misleads — it never actually reaches a full hour here.
How accurate are the times?
To about one minute (standard NOAA-style solar computation). Not included: horizon shading from buildings or hills to the west — which can genuinely shorten the window at your location.