Denver, Colorado Sunrise & Sunset Times

Denver, the capital of Colorado, sits at exactly one mile above sea level on the western edge of the Great Plains, with the dramatic front wall of the Rocky Mountains rising abruptly to the west. Known as the "Mile High City," Denver enjoys over 300 days of sunshine per year — more annual sun than San Diego or Miami Beach. The thin, dry air at altitude intensifies the light, giving the sky a deep cobalt blue that visitors notice immediately and residents never quite take for granted.

Around the summer solstice, the sun rises at 05:30 and sets at 20:32, providing 15 hours 2 minutes of daylight — long, warm days with cool mountain breezes and afternoon thunderstorms that build dramatically over the Rockies before sweeping across the city. During the winter solstice, sunrise comes at 07:15 and sunset at 16:39, with about 9 hours 24 minutes of daylight. Denver winters bring cold snaps and snowfall, but the famous Colorado sunshine often returns within a day or two, melting the snow and flooding the city with bright, crisp light that makes even January feel manageable.

The swing in sunrise times between summer and winter reaches 105 minutes, tracking with Denver's noticeable seasonal rhythm. Photographers prize the morning blue hour (04:58 – 05:30) and golden hour (05:30 – 06:30) for capturing the gold dome of the Colorado State Capitol with the Front Range peaks glowing pink behind it — a phenomenon locals call "alpenglow." During the evening golden hour (19:32 – 20:32) through blue hour (20:32 – 21:03), the view from City Park or Sloan's Lake looking west offers silhouetted mountain peaks against skies that cycle through amber, rose, and deep violet — the kind of Rocky Mountain sunset that reminds you why so many people move to Denver and never leave.