Golden hour in San Diego in January

San Diego lies at 32.72° N, in the subtropics, with short, decisive twilights. Its longest measured day falls on Thu 18 June 2026 with 14h 18m of daylight, and its shortest on Fri 18 December 2026 with 10h 00m — a difference of 4h 18m between the two extremes.

Evening golden hour in San Diego runs for roughly 36 minutes at the height of summer, 33 minutes around the March equinox and 38 minutes at midwinter. The warm window is actually widest in the colder months, which makes winter evenings unusually forgiving here.

The sun sets toward 299° WNW in late June and toward 242° WSW in late December, a shift of about 56° in where the last light lands — worth checking before committing to a west-facing viewpoint. In San Diego, the sky reaches full darkness between evening and morning twilight year-round.