Johnson Beach · painted for this minute from Perdido Key’s own horizon and tonight’s cloud forecast
The sun is touching the horizon · some cloud at 70%
The sun goes down at
6:06 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 Johnson Beach. Golden hour starts at 5:32 PM.
Sunset Score · Getting cloudy (72% cover): the color may be muted. Thin high clouds (72%) 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 Gulf Islands NPS cam →
Know Before You Go
Park fee
$25/vehicle
7-day pass for the Florida fee areas
Fishing
no license
surf fishing allowed on national seashore
Best spot
Johnson Beach
west-facing quartz sand, no buildings in sight
Dark skies
rare
least light-polluted panhandle beach
see you at sunset
Tonight’s times, the week ahead and the year by month are below. Gulf Dunes Sunset runs nightly, weather permitting, from about two hours before sunset.
Tonight, Thursday, October 29, the sun sets at 6:06 PM at Perdido Key. It sets over open water here, so that is when you will see it go. Golden hour starts at 5:32 PM, and the sky stays light until about 6:30 PM. Tonight's Sunset Score is 6 out of 10. Getting cloudy (72% cover): the color may be muted.
Sunrise today was at 7:03 AM, which gives Perdido Key 11 hr 4 min of daylight. It is fully dark by about 6:58 PM.
The next seven evenings at Perdido Key: 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 | 6:06 PM | from 5:32 PM | 6:30 PM | 72% | 6/10 |
| Fri Oct 30 | 6:06 PM | from 5:31 PM | 6:29 PM | 100% | 3/10 |
| Sat Oct 31 | 6:05 PM | from 5:30 PM | 6:28 PM | 100% | 3/10 |
| Sun Nov 1 | 5:04 PM | from 4:29 PM | 5:28 PM | 95% | 3/10 |
| Mon Nov 2 | 5:03 PM | from 4:29 PM | 5:27 PM | 100% | 3/10 |
| Tue Nov 3 | 5:02 PM | from 4:28 PM | 5:26 PM | 43% | 9/10 |
| Wed Nov 4 | 5:02 PM | from 4:27 PM | 5:25 PM | 27% | 7/10 |
Tonight the sun goes down in the west-south-west (255° on a compass), to the left of Johnson Beach as you face the water. The favorite place to watch is Johnson Beach.
Tonight’s timeline for Gulf Dunes Sunset is at the top of this page.
Can’t make it to the beach? Watch the live Gulf Islands NPS 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 (298°); around December 21 it goes down furthest south, in the west-south-west (243°). In June it drops behind land 2280 feet away. In December it sets over open water.
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 6:21 PM to 6:40 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 4:50 PM (Thu Dec 3) and the latest is 7:57 PM (Thu Jul 1). Times are local and include daylight saving time where it applies.
| Month | Sunrise | Sunset | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|
| October 2026 | 6:53 AM | 6:20 PM | 11 hr 28 min |
| November 2026 | 6:17 AM | 4:55 PM | 10 hr 38 min |
| December 2026 | 6:40 AM | 4:52 PM | 10 hr 12 min |
| January 2027 | 6:48 AM | 5:12 PM | 10 hr 24 min |
| February 2027 | 6:32 AM | 5:39 PM | 11 hr 7 min |
| March 2027 | 7:01 AM | 6:59 PM | 11 hr 57 min |
| April 2027 | 6:24 AM | 7:18 PM | 12 hr 54 min |
| May 2027 | 5:57 AM | 7:38 PM | 13 hr 40 min |
| June 2027 | 5:49 AM | 7:54 PM | 14 hr 5 min |
| July 2027 | 5:59 AM | 7:54 PM | 13 hr 55 min |
| August 2027 | 6:18 AM | 7:33 PM | 13 hr 16 min |
| September 2027 | 6:35 AM | 6:58 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 Perdido Key’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 Perdido Key today (Thursday, October 29).
The sun rose at 7:03 AM at Perdido Key today.
11 hr 4 min of daylight, from 7:03 AM to 6:06 PM.
Golden hour at Perdido Key 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 6:21 PM to 6:40 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 6 out of 10, from the cloud forecast at sunset. Getting cloudy (72% cover): the color may be muted.
Tonight the sun sets in the west-south-west, at 255° 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 Perdido Key is 4:50 PM on Thursday, December 3, and the latest is 7:57 PM on Thursday, July 1.
Johnson Beach is the favorite spot at Perdido Key. Get there 30 to 45 minutes before sunset for a good place, and stay 20 minutes after for the afterglow.
Yes. The Gulf Islands NPS live cam shows Perdido Key in real time, linked from this page.
| Orange Beach sunset | 8 mi | 6:07 PM |
|---|---|---|
| Gulf Shores sunset | 16 mi | 6:08 PM |
| Pensacola Beach sunset | 16 mi | 6:05 PM |
| Dauphin Island sunset | 39 mi | 6:09 PM |
| Fort Walton Beach sunset | 49 mi | 6:03 PM |
| Destin sunset | 56 mi | 6:03 PM |
See every beach on one map: sunset times tonight across the US →