Gary is a city of about 77,156 people in Lake County, Indiana, at 183 m (600 ft). Today the sun rises at 7:08 AM and sets at 6:02 PM; the evening golden hour runs 5:24 PM – 6:19 PM. Below are monthly times, sun directions, the best photo locations within 80 km and the nearest dark skies.
Sunrise, sunset & golden hour by month
| Month (15th) | Sunrise | Golden hour ends | Golden hour starts | Sunset | Blue hour ends | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7:14 AM | 7:57 AM | 4:01 PM | 4:44 PM | 5:15 PM | 9h 30m |
| February | 6:46 AM | 7:25 AM | 4:44 PM | 5:23 PM | 5:52 PM | 10h 37m |
| March | 7:02 AM | 7:39 AM | 6:19 PM | 6:56 PM | 7:24 PM | 11h 54m |
| April | 6:10 AM | 6:47 AM | 6:53 PM | 7:30 PM | 7:59 PM | 13h 20m |
| May | 5:31 AM | 6:11 AM | 7:23 PM | 8:02 PM | 8:34 PM | 14h 31m |
| June | 5:16 AM | 5:57 AM | 7:44 PM | 8:26 PM | 9:00 PM | 15h 10m |
| July | 5:29 AM | 6:10 AM | 7:42 PM | 8:23 PM | 8:56 PM | 14h 54m |
| August | 5:59 AM | 6:37 AM | 7:13 PM | 7:51 PM | 8:21 PM | 13h 52m |
| September | 6:30 AM | 7:07 AM | 6:24 PM | 7:01 PM | 7:29 PM | 12h 30m |
| October | 7:02 AM | 7:40 AM | 5:32 PM | 6:10 PM | 6:38 PM | 11h 08m |
| November | 6:39 AM | 7:20 AM | 3:49 PM | 4:31 PM | 5:00 PM | 9h 52m |
| December | 7:10 AM | 7:54 AM | 3:36 PM | 4:21 PM | 4:52 PM | 9h 11m |
Local time in America/Chicago, daylight saving time included.
Where the sun rises and sets in Gary
At Gary the sunrise point swings a long way through the year: about 57° (ENE) at the June solstice and 121° (ESE) in late December. Sunset moves from 303° (WNW) in June to 239° (WSW) in December, and the midday sun climbs to 72° in summer but only 25° in winter.
Best photo spots near Gary
58 photo locations lie within 80 km of Gary. Each links to a full planning page with sunrise and sunset directions.
Waterfalls
State Parks
Lakes
Lighthouses
Beaches
Botanical Gardens
Botanical GardenNight sky, Milky Way & aurora
The sky over central Gary is estimated at Bortle 8 (city sky). The nearest truly dark location in our database is Brisco, about 131 km (82 mi) away (Bortle 3). The Milky Way core is up during darkness from March to September, best in June. Northern lights need roughly Kp 6.0+ to appear low on the northern horizon here.
Darkest skies within 200 km
| Location | Type | Distance | Est. Bortle |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brisco | Ghost Town | 131 km (82 mi) | 3 |
| Chatterton | Ghost Town | 133 km (82 mi) | 3 |
| Sloan | Ghost Town | 144 km (90 mi) | 3 |
| Middle Fork River Forest Preserve | Dark Sky Place | 144 km (90 mi) | 3 |
| Portland Arch | Natural Arch | 153 km (95 mi) | 3 |
| Cades Mill Bridge | Covered Bridge | 170 km (106 mi) | 3 |
| Wallace Covered Bridge | Covered Bridge | 180 km (112 mi) | 3 |
| Eugene Covered Bridge | Covered Bridge | 181 km (112 mi) | 3 |
| Month | Milky Way core window (15th) | Hours | Max altitude |
|---|---|---|---|
| March | 4:18 AM – 5:18 AM | 1.0 | 16° |
| April | 2:19 AM – 4:19 AM | 2.0 | 19° |
| May | 12:17 AM – 3:27 AM | 3.2 | 20° |
| June | 10:35 PM – 3:05 AM | 4.5 | 20° |
| July | 10:25 PM – 1:35 AM | 3.2 | 20° |
| August | 9:35 PM – 11:35 PM | 2.0 | 19° |
| September | 8:35 PM – 9:35 PM | 1.0 | 16° |
| October | 7:41 PM – 7:41 PM | 0.0 | 10° |
Cloud cover by month
Long-term NASA satellite data for this area show September as the clearest month (about 46% average cloud cover) and December as the cloudiest (73%). July is the warmest month and January the coldest, which matters for gear, snow access and how long batteries last at night.

