Rule Golden Hour

Golden Hour Forecast for Estes Park, Rocky Mountains

Estes Park, Colorado, United States

Estes Park frames Rocky Mountain National Park’s granite peaks, pine-lined lakes and elk meadows, with autumn color and snow adding seasonal layers.

1 matching opportunities in the 14-day forecast.

Hourly forecast scores

Forecast valid from Oct 7, 2026, 11:00 PM UTC (one hour; not an observation)

Golden Hour Potential

38%

Low Cloud Cover0%

Mid Cloud Cover100%

High Cloud Cover1%

Sun Elevation16.6°

Upcoming Opportunities

When all conditions match, PhotoWeather marks an opportunity window.

Times shown in America/Denver

First upcoming window

Exceptional Golden Hour at Sunset

Estes Park

Fri, Oct 9 · 17:55–18:48 · 1h window

Low confidence

39%

🌇Golden Hour Potential85.6-92.5%

Low Cloud Cover: 0%

Mid Cloud Cover: 5%

High Cloud Cover: 0%

Sun Elevation: 15.9° (Daylight)

71-hour requirements breakdown

When available, this detailed table covers only the stated 71-hour horizon (typically 72–168 hours, depending on available hourly data). Opportunity records above span the full 14-day forecast period, so this table does not explain that entire period. Times shown in America/Denver.

Requirements breakdown is temporarily unavailable or expired. This does not mean no opportunities.

Supporting forecast inputs

Additional hourly values for interpreting the forecast and any derived scores. See the separate requirements breakdown for rule logic; missing values are unavailable.

Forecast time (America/Denver)	Diffuse Radiation	Direct Radiation	Golden Hour	High Clouds	Low Clouds	Mid-Level Clouds	Relative Humidity	Solar Elevation	Total Cloud Coverage	Wind Speed
Wed, Oct 7, 2026Sunrise 07:04 · Sunset 18:34
17:00	205W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	1%	0%	100%	28%	17°	100%	10m/s
18:00	70W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	68%	0%	100%	22%	5.8°	100%	1.7m/s
19:00 Night	0W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	18%	0%	100%	26%	-5.7°	100%	5.5m/s
20:00 Night	0W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	100%	27%	-17°	100%	1.4m/s
21:00 Night	0W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	72%	31%	-28°	72%	5m/s
22:00 Night	0W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	75%	29%	-39°	75%	2.1m/s
23:00 Night	0W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	18%	28%	-48°	18%	3.4m/s
Thu, Oct 8, 2026Sunrise 07:05 · Sunset 18:32
24:00 Night	0W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	0%	34%	-54°	0%	5.1m/s
01:00 Night	0W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	0%	35%	-55°	0%	5.4m/s
02:00 Night	0W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	2%	33%	-52°	2%	4.8m/s
03:00 Night	0W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	2%	33%	-45°	2%	3.2m/s
04:00 Night	0W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	8%	27%	-35°	8%	2.4m/s
05:00 Night	0W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	0%	28%	-25°	0%	2.4m/s
06:00 Night	0W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	0%	28%	-13°	0%	3m/s
07:00 Night	0W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	0%	27%	-1.7°	0%	1.2m/s
08:00	16W/m²	34W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	0%	27%	9.4°	0%	1.4m/s
09:00	42W/m²	196W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	0%	25%	20°	0%	0.58m/s
10:00	57W/m²	368W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	3%	21%	29°	3%	0.63m/s
11:00	67W/m²	514W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	5%	17%	37°	5%	1.1m/s
12:00	194W/m²	467W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	54%	16%	42°	54%	1.4m/s
13:00	441W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	100%	17%	43°	100%	2.1m/s
14:00	310W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	100%	17%	41°	100%	5.3m/s
15:00	52W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	100%	18%	35°	100%	4.5m/s
16:00	295W/m²	8W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	100%	19%	26°	100%	5m/s
17:00	250W/m²	37W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	100%	17%	16°	100%	5m/s
18:00	20W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	100%	19%	5.5°	100%	1.6m/s
19:00 Night	0W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	100%	19%	-6°	100%	2m/s
20:00 Night	0W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	100%	20%	-17°	100%	3.6m/s
21:00 Night	0W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	51%	19%	-29°	51%	2.8m/s
22:00 Night	0W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	93%	21%	-39°	93%	2.3m/s
23:00 Night	0W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	22%	23%	-48°	22%	3.3m/s
Fri, Oct 9, 2026Sunrise 07:07 · Sunset 18:30
24:00 Night	0W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	1%	28%	-54°	1%	2.5m/s
01:00 Night	0W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	0%	28%	-56°	0%	2.9m/s
02:00 Night	0W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	0%	28%	-52°	0%	4.2m/s
03:00 Night	0W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	0%	29%	-45°	0%	4.2m/s
04:00 Night	0W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	0%	30%	-36°	0%	3.6m/s
05:00 Night	0W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	0%	32%	-25°	0%	3.5m/s
06:00 Night	0W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	1%	33%	-13°	1%	3.1m/s
07:00 Night	0W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	0%	32%	-2°	0%	3.7m/s
08:00	14W/m²	35W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	0%	31%	9.2°	0%	3.9m/s
09:00	40W/m²	197W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	0%	25%	20°	0%	5.3m/s
10:00	53W/m²	372W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	0%	24%	29°	0%	7.1m/s
11:00	59W/m²	524W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	0%	24%	37°	0%	5.3m/s
12:00	62W/m²	628W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	0%	21%	42°	0%	4.2m/s
13:00	61W/m²	681W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	0%	20%	43°	0%	4.4m/s
14:00	60W/m²	673W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	0%	20%	40°	0%	5.5m/s
15:00	59W/m²	596W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	5%	18%	34°	5%	6.5m/s
16:00	71W/m²	448W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	5%	18%	26°	6%	6.6m/s
17:00	71W/m²	251W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	5%	21%	16°	7%	6.1m/s
18:00	45W/m²	70W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	41%	39%	5.2°	48%	5.2m/s
19:00 Night	2W/m²	2W/m²	Unavailable	100%	0%	100%	53%	-6.3°	100%	4m/s
20:00 Night	0W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	0%	54%	-18°	0%	5.1m/s
21:00 Night	0W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	5%	51%	-29°	6%	5.2m/s
22:00 Night	0W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	5%	0%	0%	50%	-39°	5%	5.7m/s
23:00 Night	0W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	100%	0%	0%	46%	-48°	100%	6.8m/s
Sat, Oct 10, 2026Sunrise 07:08 · Sunset 18:29
24:00 Night	0W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	100%	0%	0%	42%	-55°	100%	7.5m/s
01:00 Night	0W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	100%	0%	0%	51%	-56°	100%	6.2m/s
02:00 Night	0W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	5%	0%	0%	55%	-53°	6%	5m/s
03:00 Night	0W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	0%	55%	-45°	0%	4.4m/s
04:00 Night	0W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	0%	54%	-36°	0%	4.4m/s
05:00 Night	0W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	0%	55%	-25°	0%	4.4m/s
06:00 Night	0W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	0%	54%	-14°	0%	4.1m/s
07:00 Night	0W/m²	0W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	0%	55%	-2.2°	0%	4.1m/s
08:00	14W/m²	26W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	0%	51%	9°	0%	3.4m/s
09:00	46W/m²	172W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	0%	38%	19°	0%	2.1m/s
10:00	52W/m²	362W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	0%	32%	29°	0%	1.1m/s
11:00	59W/m²	511W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	0%	28%	37°	0%	0.99m/s
12:00	63W/m²	616W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	5%	26%	41°	5%	1.9m/s
13:00	77W/m²	648W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	10%	24%	43°	10%	4m/s
14:00	138W/m²	532W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	73%	25%	40°	75%	6.2m/s
15:00	135W/m²	470W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	19%	26%	34°	21%	6.4m/s
16:00	92W/m²	383W/m²	Unavailable	0%	0%	36%	28%	26°	37%	6.8m/s

How this forecast is evaluated

See which weather signals PhotoWeather uses to identify Golden Hour conditions across Rocky Mountains. The requirements and hourly values above show how those signals apply at Estes Park.

Explore Golden Hour conditions across Rocky Mountains →

Recorded match history

Completed PhotoWeather forecast matches recorded for this exact rule at Estes Park during the last 365 days.

Last 30 days

recorded matching windows · 77% average confidence

Last 90 days

recorded matching windows · 76% average confidence

Last 365 days

165

recorded matching windows · 76% average confidence

Most frequent recorded start hour

06:00 local time, shared by 93 of 165 matches recorded in the last 365 days.

Most represented month

July, with 24 of 165 matches recorded in the last 365 days.

These figures use completed PhotoWeather MatchEvent records from the previous 365 days only. They describe recorded forecast matches, not observations, climatological probability, or a guarantee of future conditions.

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How this forecast is made

Opportunities are threshold-based signals: PhotoWeather checks whether forecast conditions match the rules for a photography scenario. They are planning guidance, not guarantees. Forecasts can change as new model runs arrive, and confidence generally decreases farther into the forecast horizon, so recheck conditions before travelling.

The weather forecast foundation comes through Open-Meteo , which aggregates models from weather agencies. PhotoWeather applies condition-specific thresholds and derived calculations; not every condition uses every model or data input.

How opportunities work → Weather data sources →

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