Moonlight Beach · painted for this minute from Encinitas’s own horizon and tonight’s cloud forecast
The sun is touching the horizon · overcast at 100%
The sun goes down at
4:58 PM
T-00:05:00It sets straight into the water, so the official sunset time is when you will see it go. Look west-south-west, to the left of Moonlight Beach. Golden hour starts at 4:23 PM.
Sunset Score · Overcast (100% cover): you may not see the sun go down. Try another night. Thin high clouds (100%) that turn pink after the sun goes down; nothing low on the horizon, so you should see the sun all the way down.
Know Before You Go
Fire pits
free
Moonlight Beach fire rings - first come
Best spot
bluff trail
clifftop path south toward Swami's
Wildlife
pelicans
squadrons glide past at golden hour
Vibe
surf town
drummers and guitar players at the fire pits
see you at sunset
Tonight’s times, the week ahead and the year by month are below. Moonlight Sunset runs nightly, weather permitting, from about two hours before sunset.
Tonight, Monday, November 2, the sun sets at 4:59 PM at Encinitas. It sets over open water here, so that is when you will see it go. Golden hour starts at 4:23 PM, and the sky stays light until about 5:23 PM. Tonight's Sunset Score is 3 out of 10. Overcast (100% cover): you may not see the sun go down. Try another night.
Sunrise today was at 6:09 AM, which gives Encinitas 10 hr 49 min of daylight. It is fully dark by about 5:52 PM.
The next seven evenings at Encinitas: 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 | 4:59 PM | from 4:23 PM | 5:23 PM | 100% | 3/10 |
| Tue Nov 3 | 4:58 PM | from 4:22 PM | 5:22 PM | 72% | 6/10 |
| Wed Nov 4 | 4:57 PM | from 4:21 PM | 5:21 PM | 0% | 5/10 |
| Thu Nov 5 | 4:56 PM | from 4:20 PM | 5:21 PM | 0% | 5/10 |
| Fri Nov 6 | 4:55 PM | from 4:19 PM | 5:20 PM | 0% | 5/10 |
| Sat Nov 7 | 4:54 PM | from 4:18 PM | 5:19 PM | 0% | 5/10 |
| Sun Nov 8 | 4:54 PM | from 4:17 PM | 5:18 PM | 0% | 5/10 |
Tonight the sun goes down in the west-south-west (253° on a compass), to the left of Moonlight Beach as you face the water. The favorite place to watch is Moonlight Beach.
Tonight’s timeline for Moonlight Sunset is at the top of this page.
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 (299°); around December 21 it goes down furthest south, in the west-south-west (242°). In June it sets over open water. In December it sets over open water.
Golden hour tonight runs from 4:23 PM to sunset at 4:59 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 5:13 PM to 5:33 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 4:44 PM (Fri Dec 4) and the latest is 8:03 PM (Wed Jun 30). Times are local and include daylight saving time where it applies.
| Month | Sunrise | Sunset | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|
| November 2026 | 6:21 AM | 4:49 PM | 10 hr 28 min |
| December 2026 | 6:46 AM | 4:45 PM | 9 hr 59 min |
| January 2027 | 6:53 AM | 5:06 PM | 10 hr 12 min |
| February 2027 | 6:34 AM | 5:35 PM | 11 hr 1 min |
| March 2027 | 7:01 AM | 6:58 PM | 11 hr 57 min |
| April 2027 | 6:21 AM | 7:20 PM | 12 hr 59 min |
| May 2027 | 5:51 AM | 7:43 PM | 13 hr 51 min |
| June 2027 | 5:41 AM | 8:01 PM | 14 hr 19 min |
| July 2027 | 5:52 AM | 8:00 PM | 14 hr 8 min |
| August 2027 | 6:13 AM | 7:37 PM | 13 hr 23 min |
| September 2027 | 6:34 AM | 6:58 PM | 12 hr 24 min |
| October 2027 | 6:54 AM | 6:18 PM | 11 hr 24 min |
The official sunset time is when the top of the sun sinks below a flat sea horizon. We also check Encinitas’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 4:59 PM at Encinitas today (Monday, November 2).
The sun rose at 6:09 AM at Encinitas today.
10 hr 49 min of daylight, from 6:09 AM to 4:59 PM.
Golden hour at Encinitas runs from 4:23 PM to sunset at 4:59 PM, when the sun is low and the light turns warm and soft. Blue hour follows, from 5:13 PM to 5:33 PM.
The sky stays light enough to see without a flashlight until about 5:23 PM, the end of civil twilight. It is fully dark by about 5:52 PM.
Tonight's Sunset Score is 3 out of 10, from the cloud forecast at sunset. Overcast (100% cover): you may not see the sun go down. Try another night.
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.
Yes. Tonight the sun sets over open water, to the west-south-west.
Over the next year the earliest sunset at Encinitas is 4:44 PM on Friday, December 4, and the latest is 8:03 PM on Wednesday, June 30.
Moonlight Beach is the favorite spot at Encinitas. Get there 30 to 45 minutes before sunset for a good place, and stay 20 minutes after for the afterglow.
| Solana Beach sunset | 3 mi | 4:59 PM |
|---|---|---|
| Del Mar sunset | 5 mi | 4:59 PM |
| Torrey Pines State Beach sunset | 8 mi | 4:59 PM |
| Carlsbad State Beach sunset | 9 mi | 4:59 PM |
| Oceanside sunset | 12 mi | 4:59 PM |
| La Jolla sunset | 13 mi | 4:59 PM |
See every beach on one map: sunset times tonight across the US →