La Jolla Cove · painted for this minute from La Jolla’s own horizon and tonight’s cloud forecast
Golden hour · the sun is 2.8° up · overcast at 80%
The sun goes down at
5:49 PM
T-00:05:00It drops behind land 193 m away to the west-south-west, 14 min before the official sunset time of 6:03 PM. Look west-south-west, to the left of Scripps Pier. Golden hour starts at 5:28 PM.
Sunset Score · Getting cloudy (80% cover): the color may be muted. Thin high clouds (80%) that turn pink after the sun goes down.
Prefer the real thing? Watch the live La Jolla Cam cam →
Know Before You Go
Park & walk
free
Scripps Park and the seawall
Best spot
the point
west-facing bluffs over the cove
Wildlife
sea lions
and seals on the rocks below
Live cam
La Jolla
sun sets straight over the water
see you at sunset
Tonight’s times, the week ahead and the year by month are below. Cove Sunset runs nightly, weather permitting, from about two hours before sunset.
Tonight, Wednesday, October 28, the sun sets at 6:03 PM at La Jolla. From the sand it drops behind land 633 feet away 14 min earlier, at 5:49 PM. Golden hour starts at 5:28 PM, and the sky stays light until about 6:28 PM. Tonight's Sunset Score is 6 out of 10. Getting cloudy (80% cover): the color may be muted.
Sunrise today was at 7:05 AM, which gives La Jolla 10 hr 59 min of daylight. It is fully dark by about 6:57 PM.
The next seven evenings at La Jolla: 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 | 5:49 PM | from 5:28 PM | 6:28 PM | 80% | 6/10 |
| Thu Oct 29 | 5:48 PM | from 5:27 PM | 6:27 PM | 100% | 3/10 |
| Fri Oct 30 | 5:47 PM | from 5:26 PM | 6:26 PM | 60% | 9/10 |
| Sat Oct 31 | 5:46 PM | from 5:25 PM | 6:25 PM | 100% | 3/10 |
| Sun Nov 1 | 4:45 PM | from 4:24 PM | 5:24 PM | 100% | 3/10 |
| Mon Nov 2 | 4:44 PM | from 4:23 PM | 5:23 PM | 0% | 5/10 |
| Tue Nov 3 | 4:43 PM | from 4:22 PM | 5:22 PM | 0% | 5/10 |
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), to the left of Scripps Pier as you face the water. The favorite place to watch is La Jolla Cove.
Tonight’s timeline for Cove Sunset is at the top of this page.
Can’t make it to the beach? Watch the live La Jolla Cam 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 (299°); around December 21 it goes down furthest south, in the west-south-west (240°). In June it sets over open water. In December it drops behind land 564 feet away.
Golden hour tonight runs from 5:28 PM to sunset at 6:03 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 6:18 PM to 6:37 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 (Tue Jun 29). Times are local and include daylight saving time where it applies.
| Month | Sunrise | Sunset | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|
| October 2026 | 6:54 AM | 6:18 PM | 11 hr 23 min |
| November 2026 | 6:21 AM | 4:49 PM | 10 hr 29 min |
| December 2026 | 6:46 AM | 4:46 PM | 10 hr |
| January 2027 | 6:53 AM | 5:06 PM | 10 hr 13 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 | 5:52 AM | 7:42 PM | 13 hr 50 min |
| June 2027 | 5:42 AM | 8:00 PM | 14 hr 18 min |
| July 2027 | 5:53 AM | 8:00 PM | 14 hr 7 min |
| August 2027 | 6:14 AM | 7:36 PM | 13 hr 23 min |
| September 2027 | 6:34 AM | 6:58 PM | 12 hr 24 min |
The official sunset time is when the top of the sun sinks below a flat sea horizon. We also check La Jolla’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 6:03 PM at La Jolla today (Wednesday, October 28). From the beach it drops behind land 14 min earlier, at 5:49 PM.
The sun rose at 7:05 AM at La Jolla today.
10 hr 59 min of daylight, from 7:05 AM to 6:03 PM.
Golden hour at La Jolla runs from 5:28 PM to sunset at 6:03 PM, when the sun is low and the light turns warm and soft. Blue hour follows, from 6:18 PM to 6:37 PM.
The sky stays light enough to see without a flashlight until about 6:28 PM, the end of civil twilight. It is fully dark by about 6:57 PM.
Tonight's Sunset Score is 6 out of 10, from the cloud forecast at sunset. Getting cloudy (80% cover): the color may be muted.
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 633 feet away, to the west-south-west.
Over the next year the earliest sunset at La Jolla is 4:44 PM on Friday, December 4, and the latest is 8:03 PM on Tuesday, June 29.
La Jolla Cove is the favorite spot at La Jolla. Get there 30 to 45 minutes before sunset for a good place, and stay 20 minutes after for the afterglow.
Yes. The La Jolla Cam live cam shows La Jolla in real time, linked from this page.
| Pacific Beach sunset | 4 mi | 6:03 PM |
|---|---|---|
| Torrey Pines State Beach sunset | 5 mi | 6:03 PM |
| Ocean Beach sunset | 7 mi | 6:03 PM |
| Del Mar sunset | 8 mi | 6:03 PM |
| Solana Beach sunset | 10 mi | 6:03 PM |
| Coronado Beach sunset | 13 mi | 6:03 PM |
See every beach on one map: sunset times tonight across the US →