Seasonal figures below use a 2025 reference year. Choose a date in the planner above for that day’s times, golden hour, twilight, and daylight milestones.
Seasonal Sun Milestones in Winter Haven
Winter Haven's 8 PM sunsets run from about April 28 to August 20 — 115 evenings in a typical year. The wider season of sunsets at 7 PM or later lasts 218 days, from March 9 to October 12. Even in midwinter, sunset here never falls before 5 PM on the clock.
Days in Winter Haven first reach 12 hours of daylight around March 16, a few days before the March equinox, and drop back under 12 hours after September 26.
The Sun's rising point moves along the horizon too. Around the June solstice it rises in the ENE (63°) and sets in the WNW (297°); by the December solstice it rises in the ESE (116°) and sets in the WSW (244°). That is a 53° swing — worth knowing when choosing a west-facing viewpoint for a summer sunset or an east-facing window for winter morning light.
Dates use the 2025 reference year. Clock-time milestones near daylight-saving changes move with the second Sunday in March and the first Sunday in November.
Daylight Through the Year in Winter Haven
At 28.01°N, Winter Haven has a milder seasonal daylight swing than cities to the north. Across the year, the length of the day here varies by 3h 33m.
On the summer solstice around June 21, Winter Haven receives 13h 55m of daylight — the longest day of the year. By the winter solstice around December 21, that shrinks to 10h 22m, the shortest day. At the spring and autumn equinoxes, day and night are nearly equal at about 12h 8m, as they are everywhere on Earth.
Sunset moves fastest around September, when it shifts by up to 1.2 minutes a day in Winter Haven, and barely moves for weeks around the solstices. See how sunrise and sunset change through the year for why.
The Sun's Path Over Winter Haven
Where the Sun sits in the sky over Winter Haven depends on the season, and the contrast between summer and winter is set by the city's latitude of 28.01°N. On the summer solstice the midday Sun climbs to 85.4° above the horizon in Winter Haven — nearly straight overhead, leaving objects almost no shadow at solar noon. On the winter solstice the midday Sun only reaches 38.6°, sitting much lower in the southern sky and casting long shadows even at noon.
Those roughly 47 degrees separating the summer and winter midday Sun are exactly what give Winter Haven its seasons.
The live sun path at the top of this page shows the Sun's altitude and compass bearing for the current moment or any chosen date.
Earliest and Latest Sunrises and Sunsets in Winter Haven
It is natural to assume Winter Haven sees its latest sunset on the longest day of the year, but it does not. The latest sunset actually falls around July 1 at about 8:27 PM, while the earliest sunset comes around December 1 at roughly 5:31 PM — noticeably before the December solstice.
On the morning side, the earliest sunrise in Winter Haven is around June 10 at 6:30 AM, and the latest sunrise around March 9 at 7:43 AM. The equation of time and daylight saving pull these dates away from the solstices — explained in why the latest sunset isn't on the longest day.
How Daylight Saving Time Moves Sunrise and Sunset in Winter Haven
Winter Haven, Florida changes its clocks twice a year, and both changes are visible in this page's numbers. On the second Sunday in March, Winter Haven springs forward and the evening changes overnight: sunset jumps from about 6:32 PM on Saturday to about 7:32 PM on Sunday. The price is paid at dawn — sunrise slips from around 6:44 AM back to 7:43 AM, so mornings turn dark again just as they were brightening.
The reverse comes on the first Sunday in November, when clocks fall back: sunset drops from about 6:42 PM to 5:41 PM in a single day — the abrupt start of the early-dusk season — while sunrise brightens from around 7:38 AM to 6:39 AM.
Only the clock label shifts on those Sundays; the times above are for a typical year. More in how daylight saving time changes sunrise and sunset.
Golden Hour & Blue Hour Photography in Winter Haven
For photographers in Winter Haven, Florida, the planner shows your selected date's morning and evening golden-hour and blue-hour windows. Choose Today, Tomorrow, or a date in the calendar; all clock times are calculated in Winter Haven's local timezone.
Golden "hour" is a misnomer — its length in Winter Haven depends on the season, because it lasts as long as the Sun takes to climb from the horizon to 6° (or descend back). Around the equinoxes it runs about 31 minutes; near the June solstice, when the Sun rises and sets at a shallower angle, it stretches to roughly 34 minutes, and near the December solstice it lasts about 35 minutes.
See the golden hour guide and blue hour guide for how to plan a shoot around these windows.
Solar Energy Potential in Winter Haven
Under clear skies, Winter Haven, Florida receives about 6 peak sun hours per day averaged across the year — from roughly 3.4 in December up to 8.2 in June. One peak sun hour equals one hour of sunlight at full intensity (1 kW/m²), the standard unit for estimating solar panel output.
Because Winter Haven sits at 28.0°N, a fixed, south-facing panel captures the most energy over the year when tilted at roughly 28° from horizontal — about equal to the latitude. If you adjust the tilt seasonally, flatten to about 13° in summer, when the Sun rides high, and steepen to about 43° in winter, when it stays low.
These are clear-sky upper bounds from Winter Haven's solar geometry, not a forecast; clouds, shading, and equipment lower real output. See what peak sun hours mean.
How Winter Haven Compares
Daylight in Winter Haven swings 3h 33m between the June and December solstices. The median across the 1,847 cities on this site is 5h 16m, so Winter Haven has a 1h 43m gentler seasonal swing than a typical American city. By that measure Winter Haven ranks 1715th of 1,847 nationally, and 74th of the 173 Florida cities listed here — counting from the largest swing down.
Winter Haven sits about 6.7° west of 75°W — the meridian Eastern Time is built around. Longitude alone therefore puts mean solar noon roughly 27 minutes after clock noon in standard time, so the Sun runs behind the clock here, which is why evenings hold light later than the time zone would suggest. The equation of time then moves true solar noon up to about 16 minutes either side of that through the year.
About Sun Times in Winter Haven
Winter Haven, Florida, has an estimated urban-area population of 300,369. Its primary county or equivalent is Polk; its center is at 28.01°N, 81.70°W. Clocks here follow Eastern Time, which is the timezone all sunrise, sunset, golden-hour and twilight times on this page are shown in.
Times are computed for Winter Haven's city-center coordinates, so towns to the east see each event slightly earlier and towns to the west slightly later; the nearby-cities list above shows the typical gap.