Gulf Pier · painted for this minute from Pensacola Beach’s own horizon and tonight’s cloud forecast
Golden hour begins · the sun is 11° up · some cloud at 68%
The sun goes down at
5:15 PM
T-00:05:00It drops behind land 40 m away to the west-south-west, 51 min before the official sunset time of 6:06 PM. Look west-south-west, to the right of Gulf Pier. Golden hour starts at 5:32 PM.
Sunset Score · Scattered clouds (61% cover): the best kind of sky, the clouds light up orange and pink. Thin high clouds (61%) that turn pink after the sun goes down; nothing low on the horizon, so you should see the sun all the way down.
Prefer the real thing? Watch the live Pensacola Beach cam →
Know Before You Go
Pier walk
small fee
spectator pass on the Gulf Pier
Fishing
pier pass
no separate license off the public pier
Best spot
Casino Beach
open Gulf horizon by the water tower
Live cam
Beach cam
sun sets straight off the sand
see you at sunset
Tonight’s times, the week ahead and the year by month are below. Gulf Sunset runs nightly, weather permitting, from about two hours before sunset.
Tonight, Wednesday, October 28, the sun sets at 6:06 PM at Pensacola Beach. From the sand it drops behind land 131 feet away 51 min earlier, at 5:15 PM. Golden hour starts at 5:32 PM, and the sky stays light until about 6:30 PM. Tonight's Sunset Score is 9 out of 10. Scattered clouds (61% cover): the best kind of sky, the clouds light up orange and pink.
Sunrise today was at 7:01 AM, which gives Pensacola Beach 11 hr 5 min of daylight. It is fully dark by about 6:58 PM.
The next seven evenings at Pensacola Beach: 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 | 5:15 PM | from 5:32 PM | 6:30 PM | 61% | 9/10 |
| Thu Oct 29 | 5:14 PM | from 5:31 PM | 6:29 PM | 100% | 3/10 |
| Fri Oct 30 | 5:13 PM | from 5:30 PM | 6:28 PM | 100% | 3/10 |
| Sat Oct 31 | 5:12 PM | from 5:29 PM | 6:27 PM | 100% | 3/10 |
| Sun Nov 1 | 4:11 PM | from 4:28 PM | 5:26 PM | 5% | 5/10 |
| Mon Nov 2 | 4:10 PM | from 4:27 PM | 5:26 PM | 100% | 3/10 |
| Tue Nov 3 | 4:09 PM | from 4:27 PM | 5:25 PM | 39% | 9/10 |
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 (249° on a compass), to the right of Gulf Pier as you face the water. The favorite place to watch is Gulf Pier.
Tonight’s timeline for Gulf Sunset is at the top of this page.
Can’t make it to the beach? Watch the live Pensacola Beach 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 (292°); around December 21 it goes down furthest south, in the west-south-west (236°). In June it drops behind land 131 feet away. In December it drops behind land 148 feet away.
Golden hour tonight runs from 5:32 PM to sunset at 6:06 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 6:20 PM to 6:39 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 4:49 PM (Thu Dec 3) and the latest is 7:56 PM (Wed Jun 30). Times are local and include daylight saving time where it applies.
| Month | Sunrise | Sunset | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|
| October 2026 | 6:52 AM | 6:19 PM | 11 hr 27 min |
| November 2026 | 6:16 AM | 4:54 PM | 10 hr 38 min |
| December 2026 | 6:39 AM | 4:51 PM | 10 hr 12 min |
| January 2027 | 6:47 AM | 5:11 PM | 10 hr 24 min |
| February 2027 | 6:31 AM | 5:38 PM | 11 hr 7 min |
| March 2027 | 7:00 AM | 6:58 PM | 11 hr 57 min |
| April 2027 | 6:23 AM | 7:17 PM | 12 hr 54 min |
| May 2027 | 5:56 AM | 7:37 PM | 13 hr 40 min |
| June 2027 | 5:48 AM | 7:53 PM | 14 hr 5 min |
| July 2027 | 5:58 AM | 7:53 PM | 13 hr 55 min |
| August 2027 | 6:17 AM | 7:32 PM | 13 hr 16 min |
| September 2027 | 6:34 AM | 6:57 PM | 12 hr 22 min |
The official sunset time is when the top of the sun sinks below a flat sea horizon. We also check Pensacola Beach’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 6:06 PM at Pensacola Beach today (Wednesday, October 28). From the beach it drops behind land 51 min earlier, at 5:15 PM.
The sun rose at 7:01 AM at Pensacola Beach today.
11 hr 5 min of daylight, from 7:01 AM to 6:06 PM.
Golden hour at Pensacola Beach runs from 5:32 PM to sunset at 6:06 PM, when the sun is low and the light turns warm and soft. Blue hour follows, from 6:20 PM to 6:39 PM.
The sky stays light enough to see without a flashlight until about 6:30 PM, the end of civil twilight. It is fully dark by about 6:58 PM.
Tonight's Sunset Score is 9 out of 10, from the cloud forecast at sunset. Scattered clouds (61% cover): the best kind of sky, the clouds light up orange and pink.
Tonight the sun sets in the west-south-west, at 249° 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 131 feet away, to the west-south-west.
Over the next year the earliest sunset at Pensacola Beach is 4:49 PM on Thursday, December 3, and the latest is 7:56 PM on Wednesday, June 30.
Gulf Pier is the favorite spot at Pensacola Beach. Get there 30 to 45 minutes before sunset for a good place, and stay 20 minutes after for the afterglow.
Yes. The Pensacola Beach live cam shows Pensacola Beach in real time, linked from this page.
| Perdido Key sunset | 16 mi | 6:07 PM |
|---|---|---|
| Orange Beach sunset | 25 mi | 6:08 PM |
| Gulf Shores sunset | 33 mi | 6:08 PM |
| Fort Walton Beach sunset | 33 mi | 6:04 PM |
| Destin sunset | 40 mi | 6:03 PM |
| Dauphin Island sunset | 55 mi | 6:10 PM |
See every beach on one map: sunset times tonight across the US →