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 Appleton
Appleton's 8 PM sunsets run from about May 3 to August 13 — 103 evenings in a typical year. The wider season of sunsets at 7 PM or later lasts 187 days, from March 15 to September 17. At the other end of the year, sunsets before 4:30 PM begin around November 12 and last until January 5.
Days in Appleton first reach 12 hours of daylight around March 17, a few days before the March equinox, and drop back under 12 hours after September 25. Days with at least 15 hours of daylight run from May 21 to July 20. Days with less than 9 hours of daylight run from December 6 to January 4 (30 days).
The Sun's rising point moves along the horizon too. Around the June solstice it rises in the NE (55°) and sets in the NW (305°); by the December solstice it rises in the ESE (123°) and sets in the WSW (237°). That is a 68° 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 Appleton
Appleton lies at 44.28°N, high enough in latitude that residents feel the seasons clearly in the length of the day. Between the summer and winter solstice, daylight in Appleton changes by 6h 40m.
On the summer solstice around June 21, Appleton receives 15h 31m of daylight — the longest day of the year. By the winter solstice around December 21, that shrinks to 8h 51m, the shortest day. At the spring and autumn equinoxes, day and night are nearly equal at about 12h 10m, as they are everywhere on Earth.
Sunset moves fastest around September, when it shifts by up to 1.9 minutes a day in Appleton, and barely moves for weeks around the solstices. See how sunrise and sunset change through the year for why.
The Sun's Path Over Appleton
Where the Sun sits in the sky over Appleton depends on the season, and the contrast between summer and winter is set by the city's latitude of 44.28°N. On the summer solstice the midday Sun reaches 69.2° above the horizon in Appleton, its highest point of the year. On the winter solstice the midday Sun only reaches 22.3°, 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 Appleton 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 Appleton
It is natural to assume Appleton sees its latest sunset on the longest day of the year, but it does not. The latest sunset actually falls around June 26 at about 8:42 PM, while the earliest sunset comes around December 9 at roughly 4:14 PM — noticeably before the December solstice.
On the morning side, the earliest sunrise in Appleton is around June 15 at 5:09 AM, and the latest sunrise around November 1 at 7:31 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 Appleton
Appleton, Wisconsin changes its clocks twice a year, and both changes are visible in this page's numbers. On the second Sunday in March, Appleton springs forward and the evening changes overnight: sunset jumps from about 5:51 PM on Saturday to about 6:53 PM on Sunday. The price is paid at dawn — sunrise slips from around 6:18 AM back to 7:16 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 5:43 PM to 4:41 PM in a single day — the abrupt start of the early-dusk season — while sunrise brightens from around 7:31 AM to 6:32 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 Appleton
For photographers in Appleton, Wisconsin, 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 Appleton's local timezone.
Golden "hour" is a misnomer — its length in Appleton 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 38 minutes; near the June solstice, when the Sun rises and sets at a shallower angle, it stretches to roughly 45 minutes, and near the December solstice it lasts about 48 minutes.
See the golden hour guide and blue hour guide for how to plan a shoot around these windows.
Solar Energy Potential in Appleton
Under clear skies, Appleton, Wisconsin receives about 4.7 peak sun hours per day averaged across the year — from roughly 1.4 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 Appleton sits at 44.3°N, a fixed, south-facing panel captures the most energy over the year when tilted at roughly 44° from horizontal — about equal to the latitude. If you adjust the tilt seasonally, flatten to about 29° in summer, when the Sun rides high, and steepen to about 59° in winter, when it stays low.
These are clear-sky upper bounds from Appleton's solar geometry, not a forecast; clouds, shading, and equipment lower real output. See what peak sun hours mean.
How Appleton Compares
Daylight in Appleton swings 6h 40m between the June and December solstices. The median across the 1,847 cities on this site is 5h 16m, so the seasons move the clock 1h 24m further in Appleton than in a typical American city. By that measure Appleton ranks 142nd of 1,847 nationally, and 7th of the 35 Wisconsin cities listed here — counting from the largest swing down.
Appleton sits about 1.6° east of 90°W — the meridian Central Time is built around. Longitude alone therefore puts mean solar noon roughly 6 minutes before clock noon in standard time, so the Sun runs ahead of the clock here. 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 Appleton
Appleton, Wisconsin, has an estimated urban-area population of 230,473. Its primary county or equivalent is Outagamie; its center is at 44.28°N, 88.39°W. Clocks here follow Central Time, which is the timezone all sunrise, sunset, golden-hour and twilight times on this page are shown in.
Times are computed for Appleton'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.