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Golden Hour in Santa Cruz, CA

Calculated sunrise, sunset, golden hour and blue hour times for Santa Cruz, CA. Select a date to view the calculated light times.

The month-by-month table below is in this city's own local time. The live times above follow your device's timezone. Mountains, ridgelines and buildings can shorten the usable window — scout your horizon.

Photography planning

Terrain, buildings and weather can affect visible light. Check the horizon and conditions at the selected location.

In Santa Cruz, sunset ranges from 4:51 PM in November to 8:31 PM in June. Evening golden hour lasts about 39 minutes at the summer solstice and 40 minutes at the winter solstice. Times below are local to Santa Cruz (America/Los_Angeles).

Sunrise, sunset and golden hour in Santa Cruz by month

MonthSunriseSunsetGolden hour (evening)LengthDaylight
January7:20 AM5:15 PM4:36 PM – 5:15 PM39 min9h 55m
February6:56 AM5:48 PM5:12 PM – 5:48 PM36 min10h 52m
March7:18 AM7:15 PM6:41 PM – 7:15 PM34 min11h 57m
April6:33 AM7:43 PM7:08 PM – 7:43 PM35 min13h 09m
May6:00 AM8:09 PM7:32 PM – 8:09 PM37 min14h 09m
June5:48 AM8:29 PM7:50 PM – 8:29 PM39 min14h 41m
July6:00 AM8:27 PM7:49 PM – 8:27 PM38 min14h 27m
August6:25 AM7:59 PM7:23 PM – 7:59 PM36 min13h 34m
September6:50 AM7:15 PM6:41 PM – 7:15 PM34 min12h 25m
October7:15 AM6:31 PM5:56 PM – 6:31 PM35 min11h 15m
November6:46 AM4:58 PM4:20 PM – 4:58 PM38 min10h 11m
December7:14 AM4:52 PM4:12 PM – 4:52 PM40 min9h 38m

The year at a glance

  • Earliest sunset: 4:51 PM on November 29
  • Latest sunset: 8:31 PM on June 21
  • Longest day: 14h 42m on June 21
  • Shortest day: 9h 37m on December 21
  • Golden hour length: about 39 minutes in June, 40 minutes in December
  • Time zone: America/Los_Angeles

What is golden hour?

Golden hour is the period near sunrise and sunset when the sun is low. Blue hour occurs before sunrise and after sunset. Calculated times vary with location and date; weather, terrain and buildings can affect visible light.

Photography services

Kanyon Studio provides photography and video in San Diego. Location, lighting and scheduling are agreed for each shoot.