Golden hour in Ottawa in January

Ottawa lies at 45.42° N, in the upper mid-latitudes, with long, slanted evening light in summer. Its longest measured day falls on Sat 20 June 2026 with 15h 41m of daylight, and its shortest on Fri 18 December 2026 with 8h 43m — a difference of 6h 58m between the two extremes.

Evening golden hour in Ottawa runs for roughly 46 minutes at the height of summer, 39 minutes around the March equinox and 49 minutes at midwinter. The warm window is actually widest in the colder months, which makes winter evenings unusually forgiving here.

The sun sets toward 306° NW in late June and toward 236° WSW in late December, a shift of about 69° in where the last light lands — worth checking before committing to a west-facing viewpoint. In Ottawa, the sky reaches full darkness between evening and morning twilight year-round.