What time does the sun set in San Diego in winter?
As early as 4:42 p.m. — from late November through about December 10 — after clocks fall back on Sunday, November 1, 2026; sunsets are back after 5 p.m. by January 9 and jump to about 6:55 p.m. when daylight saving returns on March 14, 2027.
- Clocks fall back
- Sun, Nov 1, 2026
- Earliest sunset
- ~4:42 p.m. (late Nov – Dec 10)
- Clocks spring forward
- Sun, Mar 14, 2027
- Shortest day
- ~10 hrs (Dec 21)
The short version
- Daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. on Sunday, November 1, 2026 — sunset drops from about 5:58 p.m. on Oct 31 to 4:57 p.m. on Nov 1.
- The earliest sunsets of the year, about 4:42 p.m., run from late November to around December 10 — not on the solstice.
- The latest sunrises, about 6:51 a.m., come in the first half of January.
- The shortest day, December 21, has about 10 hours of daylight; June 21 has about 14 hours 19 minutes.
- Civil twilight lasts about 27 minutes after sunset in December, so there's usable light until roughly 5:09 p.m.
Visitors expect Southern California winters to feel like summer. The temperatures sometimes do; the daylight doesn't. San Diego is at about 33° north — the same latitude as Dallas and Casablanca — so in December the sun is down before 5 p.m. That matters for beach days, hikes, sunset dinners and anyone driving the mountains.
Sunset time in downtown San Diego, first of each month
Source: Computed with NOAA solar-position equations for 32.716°N, 117.161°W; spot-checked against the U.S. Naval Observatory (Dec 7, 2026: sunset 4:42 p.m.)
The two cliffs in that line are clock changes, not the sun. Sunset on Saturday, October 31 is about 5:58 p.m.; on Sunday, November 1, after clocks fall back, it's 4:57 p.m. The reverse happens on Sunday, March 14, 2027, when sunset leaps from about 5:55 to 6:55 p.m.
Why the earliest sunset isn't on the shortest day
December 21 has the least daylight, but the earliest sunset comes about two weeks before it and the latest sunrise about two weeks after. That's because Earth's elliptical orbit and tilt shift solar noon later through December — a quirk astronomers call the equation of time. In practical terms: evenings start getting longer in mid-December, while mornings keep getting darker into January.
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tue Sept 29, 2026 | 6:41 a.m. | 6:35 p.m. | 11 h 54 m |
| Sun Nov 1 (clocks back) | 6:06 a.m. | 4:57 p.m. | 10 h 51 m |
| Mon Dec 7 | 6:37 a.m. | 4:42 p.m. | 10 h 05 m |
| Mon Dec 21 (solstice) | 6:46 a.m. | 4:46 p.m. | 10 h 00 m |
| Mon Jan 11, 2027 | 6:51 a.m. | 5:01 p.m. | 10 h 10 m |
| Sun Mar 14 (clocks forward) | 7:00 a.m. | 6:55 p.m. | 11 h 56 m |
| Mon Jun 21 | 5:41 a.m. | 7:59 p.m. | 14 h 19 m |
Downtown San Diego. NOAA solar equations; USNO spot check. Times can differ by a minute or two at the coast or inland.
4:42 p.m.
Earliest sunset, late Nov to ~Dec 10
6:51 a.m.
Latest sunrise, early to mid January
~27 min
Civil twilight after a December sunset
Planning around it
- Sunset spots — La Jolla Cove, Sunset Cliffs, Torrey Pines — get crowded 30–45 minutes before sunset. In December that means arriving by 4 p.m.
- Cabrillo National Monument closes at 5 p.m. year-round, so on a December visit the sun sets about 20 minutes before you have to leave.
- Hiking? Start down with at least an hour of light left. Canyon trails lose sun well before the official sunset.
- Mountain drives to Julian or Mount Laguna: plan to be off the curvy roads before dark on winter weekends.
- Photographers: the "blue hour" in December ends around 5:10 p.m.
KEEP READING
SOURCES
Everything above traces back to one of these. Follow them — if one has changed and we haven't, that's our mistake, not yours.
U.S. Naval Observatory · 2026-09-29
Sunrise 6:38, sunset 4:42, civil twilight end 5:09 p.m.
NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory · 2026-09-29
Equations used to compute the table and chart
- PrimaryDaylight saving time
U.S. Department of Transportation (time zone authority)
DST ends first Sunday in November, starts second Sunday in March
- PrimaryOperating hours
National Park Service, Cabrillo National Monument