Golden Hour
Where to stand for first and last light, from east-facing ocean to west-facing bay.
Tonight in East Hampton
Sunrise
7:12 AM
Arrive 20–30 minutes earlier for the first color.
Sunset
5:52 PM
Arrive 30 minutes before for golden-hour light.
Tonight in East Hampton
Sunset at 5:52 PM
Sunset in 498093h 52m
Arrive by 5:22 PM · Golden hour 4:52 PM–5:52 PM
Sunrise east-facing · Sunset west-facing · Both the rare 360° spots, like Montauk Point
Showing 14 of 25 viewpoints (1 sunrise-only · 22 sunset-only · 2 both)
12 spots
Public viewpoints
Public viewpoint · ←W
Big Reed Pond / Theodore Roosevelt County Park
Sunset-bestMontauk
Parking: County park lot; day-use fee
Source: Suffolk County Parks
Photo: Hayden Soloviev (CC BY 4.0), via Wikimedia Commons Public viewpoint · ↖NW
Montauk Point Lighthouse
BothMontauk
Parking: Montauk Point State Park lot; $8 per car, collected 8 am-4 pm in season
Source: NY State Parks - Montauk Point State Park
Public viewpoint · ←W
Hither Hills Overlook
Sunset-bestMontauk
Parking: Hither Hills State Park lot
Source: NY State Parks
Public viewpoint · ←W
Lazy Point (Napeague Harbor)
Sunset-bestAmagansett
Parking: Lazy Point Road; East Hampton Town resident beach permit in season (Town Clerk 631-324-4142)
Source: Town of East Hampton - Beaches
Public viewpoint · ←W
Louse Point
Sunset-bestSprings
Parking: Small lot; permit in season
Source: Town of East Hampton Parks — Louse Point facility page
Beach · ↖NW
Maidstone Park
Sunset-bestSprings
Parking: Town lot; permit in season
Source: Town of East Hampton Parks — Maidstone Park facility page
Beach · ↖NW
Havens Beach
Sunset-bestSag Harbor
Parking: Havens Beach lot; all-day parking with a Sag Harbor Village permit (residents and property owners only)
Source: Village of Sag Harbor - 2026 Parking Permit Application
Photo: Americasroof (CC BY-SA 2.5), via Wikimedia Commons Public viewpoint · ←W
Cedar Point County Park
BothEast Hampton
Parking: County lot; parking fee per vehicle
Source: Suffolk County Parks — Cedar Point County Park (the live county site blocks every request; read via the Internet Archive)
Show 6 more spots
Photo: Leonard J. DeFrancisci (CC BY-SA 3.0), via Wikimedia Commons Public viewpoint · ←W
Towd Point (North Sea)
Sunset-bestNorth Sea
Parking: Roadside; permit in season
Source: Town of Southampton — beach parking information & facilities map
Public viewpoint · ←W
Mecox Bay Overlook
Sunset-bestBridgehampton
Parking: Roadside on Mecox Road
Source: Hamptons Magazine sunset roundup
Photo: Michael Galpert (CC BY 2.0), via Flickr Public viewpoint · ↘SE
Ditch Plains
Sunrise-bestMontauk
Parking: Ditch Plains Road lot; East Hampton Town resident beach permit in season (Town Clerk 631-324-4142)
Source: Town of East Hampton - Beaches
Beach · ↖NW
Long Beach Noyack
Sunset-bestNoyack
Parking: Town of Southampton lot on Long Beach Road; town beach permit, or a daily permit through the Passport Parking app
Source: Town of Southampton - 2026 Beach Parking Permits
2 spots
Public viewpoints
Photo: GoBlue9 (CC BY-SA 4.0), via Wikimedia Commons Public viewpoint · ←W
Orient Point
Sunset-bestOrient
Parking: State park lot; fee in season
Source: NY State Parks
Public viewpoint · ↙SW
Robins Island View (New Suffolk)
Sunset-bestNew Suffolk
Parking: Village street parking
Source: North Fork Patch sunset guide
Why the East End has the best golden hour in the Northeast
A narrow east–west island, surrounded by Atlantic, bays, and sheltered coves. That is the trick: sunrise and sunset can both meet open water here.
- Sunrise
Ditch Plains · Montauk - Sunset
Long Beach · Noyack - Both
Montauk Point · Orient