West End Beach · painted for this minute from Dauphin Island’s own horizon and tonight’s cloud forecast
The sun is touching the horizon · clear at 4%
The sun goes down at
5:05 PM
T-00:05:00It drops behind land 1.1 km away to the west-south-west, 1 min before the official sunset time of 5:06 PM. Look west-south-west. Golden hour starts at 4:31 PM.
Sunset Score · Clear sky (7% cloud): a clean sunset, but the color fades fast. Nothing low on the horizon, so you should see the sun all the way down.
Prefer the real thing? Watch the live Live Beaches cam →
Know Before You Go
Beach
small fee
public east & west lots
Best spot
West End
wide, west-facing quiet sand
Shorebirds
year-round
herons, skimmers & terns
Live cam
Holiday Isle
beach, pier & the Gulf
see you at sunset
Tonight’s times, the week ahead and the year by month are below. Dauphin Island Sunset runs nightly, weather permitting, from about two hours before sunset.
Tonight, Monday, November 2, the sun sets at 5:06 PM at Dauphin Island. From the sand it drops behind land 3635 feet away 1 min earlier, at 5:05 PM. Golden hour starts at 4:31 PM, and the sky stays light until about 5:29 PM. Tonight's Sunset Score is 5 out of 10. Clear sky (7% cloud): a clean sunset, but the color fades fast.
Sunrise today was at 6:08 AM, which gives Dauphin Island 10 hr 57 min of daylight. It is fully dark by about 5:58 PM.
The next seven evenings at Dauphin Island: when the sun goes down, when golden hour starts and when the last light fades, plus the Sunset Score from each night's cloud forecast.
| Day | Sunset | Golden hour | Last light | Cloud | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tonight | 5:05 PM | from 4:31 PM | 5:29 PM | 7% | 5/10 |
| Tue Nov 3 | 5:04 PM | from 4:30 PM | 5:29 PM | 100% | 3/10 |
| Wed Nov 4 | 5:03 PM | from 4:30 PM | 5:28 PM | 99% | 3/10 |
| Thu Nov 5 | 5:02 PM | from 4:29 PM | 5:27 PM | 74% | 6/10 |
| Fri Nov 6 | 5:02 PM | from 4:28 PM | 5:27 PM | 100% | 3/10 |
| Sat Nov 7 | 5:01 PM | from 4:27 PM | 5:26 PM | 79% | 6/10 |
| Sun Nov 8 | 5:00 PM | from 4:26 PM | 5:25 PM | 23% | 7/10 |
On nights the sun drops behind land, the table shows the time it disappears from the beach, which is earlier than the official sunset.
Tonight the sun goes down in the west-south-west (253° on a compass). The favorite place to watch is West End Beach.
Tonight’s timeline for Dauphin Island Sunset is at the top of this page.
Can’t make it to the beach? Watch the live Live Beaches cam at sunset.
The spot where the sun sets moves along the horizon through the year. Around June 21 it goes down furthest north, in the west-north-west (297°); around December 21 it goes down furthest south, in the west-south-west (243°). In June it sets behind the beach. In December it sets over open water.
Golden hour tonight runs from 4:31 PM to sunset at 5:06 PM. The sun is low, the light is warm and soft, and shadows are long. It is the best time for photos of people on the beach.
Blue hour follows, from about 5:20 PM to 5:39 PM, when the sun is below the horizon and the sky turns deep blue. The first lights come on along the shore and the water holds the last of the color.
Sunrise, sunset and daylight on the 15th of each month. Over the next year the earliest sunset is 4:53 PM (Thu Dec 3) and the latest is 7:59 PM (Wed Jun 30). Times are local and include daylight saving time where it applies.
| Month | Sunrise | Sunset | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|
| November 2026 | 6:19 AM | 4:57 PM | 10 hr 38 min |
| December 2026 | 6:43 AM | 4:55 PM | 10 hr 12 min |
| January 2027 | 6:51 AM | 5:15 PM | 10 hr 24 min |
| February 2027 | 6:34 AM | 5:42 PM | 11 hr 7 min |
| March 2027 | 7:04 AM | 7:01 PM | 11 hr 57 min |
| April 2027 | 6:27 AM | 7:20 PM | 12 hr 54 min |
| May 2027 | 6:00 AM | 7:40 PM | 13 hr 40 min |
| June 2027 | 5:52 AM | 7:57 PM | 14 hr 5 min |
| July 2027 | 6:02 AM | 7:57 PM | 13 hr 55 min |
| August 2027 | 6:21 AM | 7:36 PM | 13 hr 15 min |
| September 2027 | 6:38 AM | 7:00 PM | 12 hr 22 min |
| October 2027 | 6:55 AM | 6:23 PM | 11 hr 28 min |
The official sunset time is when the top of the sun sinks below a flat sea horizon. We also check Dauphin Island’s real horizon: the hills, headlands and islands you can see from the sand. When land is in the way, the sun disappears before the official time, and we show you that earlier time. The Sunset Score rates how colorful the sky should be from the cloud forecast at sunset. Buildings are not included, so a tall hotel beside you can still hide the last minute.
The sun sets at 5:06 PM at Dauphin Island today (Monday, November 2). From the beach it drops behind land 1 min earlier, at 5:05 PM.
The sun rose at 6:08 AM at Dauphin Island today.
10 hr 57 min of daylight, from 6:08 AM to 5:06 PM.
Golden hour at Dauphin Island runs from 4:31 PM to sunset at 5:06 PM, when the sun is low and the light turns warm and soft. Blue hour follows, from 5:20 PM to 5:39 PM.
The sky stays light enough to see without a flashlight until about 5:29 PM, the end of civil twilight. It is fully dark by about 5:58 PM.
Tonight's Sunset Score is 5 out of 10, from the cloud forecast at sunset. Clear sky (7% cloud): a clean sunset, but the color fades fast.
Tonight the sun sets in the west-south-west, at 253° on a compass. Through the year it moves between the west-north-west in June and the west-south-west in December.
Not tonight. The sun drops behind land 3635 feet away, to the west-south-west.
Over the next year the earliest sunset at Dauphin Island is 4:53 PM on Thursday, December 3, and the latest is 7:59 PM on Wednesday, June 30.
West End Beach is the favorite spot at Dauphin Island. Get there 30 to 45 minutes before sunset for a good place, and stay 20 minutes after for the afterglow.
Yes. The Live Beaches live cam shows Dauphin Island in real time, linked from this page.
| Gulf Shores sunset | 23 mi | 5:04 PM |
|---|---|---|
| Orange Beach sunset | 30 mi | 5:04 PM |
| Perdido Key sunset | 39 mi | 5:03 PM |
| Biloxi sunset | 50 mi | 5:09 PM |
| Pensacola Beach sunset | 55 mi | 5:02 PM |
| Gulfport sunset | 61 mi | 5:10 PM |
See every beach on one map: sunset times tonight across the US →