What Time Can Our Picnic Start? Austin Sunset Times by Month

Once you've picked a package and a date, there's one question left: what time? In Austin the honest answer is that it depends on the month — because every picnic we set up is over by the time the sun goes down.

We carry everything in by hand and pack it all away afterward, and nobody should be folding up a tent in the dark. So the latest start follows the sunset: in December a two-hour picnic for two starts by 3:00; in late June, as late as 6:00.

• ✦Golden Hour ($200, one hour) ends right at sunset. Without extra time it starts an hour before the sun goes down — the last hour of light is the whole idea, however many guests you are
• ✦A two-hour picnic for two — Pillow Talk or Daydream — ends about 30 minutes before sunset
• ✦With three or more guests, a two-hour picnic ends about an hour before sunset. The same goes for the group picnics, The Gathering and The Canvas
• ✦The one-hour proposal packages — Will You, She Said Yes and The Forever Yes — end about 15 minutes before sunset
• ✦Extra time moves the latest start earlier. On Golden Hour, adding any extra time also brings back a short buffer before sunset: in early December it starts by 4:30, but with 30 extra minutes, by 3:30
• ✦The form rounds down to the half hour, so a latest start always lands on the hour or at half past

These are the numbers our booking form uses, from November 2026 through October 2027. The sunset range runs from the earliest to the latest sunset of the month, and each time is the latest start the form will offer — earlier starts are always there too. "Two hours for two" is Pillow Talk or Daydream with two guests; "groups" covers The Gathering, The Canvas and any two-hour picnic with three or more guests; "proposal" is Will You, She Said Yes or The Forever Yes.

• ✦January — sunset 5:42–6:07 PM · Golden Hour by 4:30–5:00 PM · two hours for two by 3:00–3:30 PM · groups by 2:30–3:00 PM · proposal by 4:00–4:30 PM
• ✦February — sunset 6:08–6:29 PM · Golden Hour by 5:00 PM · two hours for two by 3:30 PM · groups by 3:00 PM · proposal by 4:30–5:00 PM
• ✦March — sunset 6:30–7:49 PM (the clocks spring forward on March 14) · Golden Hour by 5:30–6:30 PM · two hours for two by 4:00–5:00 PM · groups by 3:30–4:30 PM · proposal by 5:00–6:30 PM
• ✦April — sunset 7:50–8:08 PM · Golden Hour by 6:30–7:00 PM · two hours for two by 5:00–5:30 PM · groups by 4:30–5:00 PM · proposal by 6:30 PM
• ✦May — sunset 8:09–8:27 PM · Golden Hour by 7:00 PM · two hours for two by 5:30 PM · groups by 5:00 PM · proposal by 6:30–7:00 PM
• ✦June — sunset 8:28–8:37 PM · Golden Hour by 7:00–7:30 PM · two hours for two by 5:30–6:00 PM · groups by 5:00–5:30 PM · proposal by 7:00 PM
• ✦July — sunset 8:26–8:37 PM · Golden Hour by 7:00–7:30 PM · two hours for two by 5:30–6:00 PM · groups by 5:00–5:30 PM · proposal by 7:00 PM
• ✦August — sunset 7:55–8:25 PM · Golden Hour by 6:30–7:00 PM · two hours for two by 5:00–5:30 PM · groups by 4:30–5:00 PM · proposal by 6:30–7:00 PM
• ✦September — sunset 7:18–7:54 PM · Golden Hour by 6:00–6:30 PM · two hours for two by 4:30–5:00 PM · groups by 4:00–4:30 PM · proposal by 6:00–6:30 PM
• ✦October — sunset 6:45–7:17 PM · Golden Hour by 5:30–6:00 PM · two hours for two by 4:00–4:30 PM · groups by 3:30–4:00 PM · proposal by 5:30–6:00 PM
• ✦November — sunset 5:30–5:44 PM (after the clocks fall back on November 1, 2026) · Golden Hour by 4:30 PM · two hours for two by 3:00 PM · groups by 2:30 PM · proposal by 4:00 PM
• ✦December — sunset 5:30–5:41 PM · Golden Hour by 4:30 PM · two hours for two by 3:00 PM · groups by 2:30 PM · proposal by 4:00 PM

Twice a year the latest start jumps a whole hour overnight. Next up is Sunday, November 1, 2026, when the clocks fall back. On Saturday, October 31, the sun sets at 6:44 PM; on Sunday, at 5:44. Golden Hour moves from 5:30 to 4:30, and a two-hour picnic for two from 4:00 to 3:00.

In spring it goes the other way. On Sunday, March 14, 2027, the clocks spring forward and sunset jumps from 6:38 PM to 7:38 PM: Golden Hour moves from 5:30 to 6:30, and two hours for two from 4:00 to 5:00. Next fall the change comes later than this year — on Sunday, November 7, 2027 — so the first week of that November keeps October's later evenings.

From June through September, the middle of an Austin day is simply too hot to enjoy sitting outside. Go early — the first start is 9:00 AM, and 9 or 10 is the sweet spot before the heat builds — or go late, in the last hours before sunset, when the light turns gold. In June and July, Golden Hour can start as late as 7:00 or 7:30 PM.

• ✦Pick the date first. Times appear only once you've chosen a day, because they depend on that day's sunset
• ✦The starts closest to sunset show up first, every half hour. Earlier hours of the day, from 9:00 AM, open under "Earlier in the day"
• ✦Grayed-out times are already taken. We keep an hour between two picnics, to pack one away and set up the next
• ✦Times after sunset don't appear at all — they aren't taken, they just aren't offered
• ✦Under the times, one line sums it up: when your picnic starts, when it ends and when the sun sets that day

Two to four weeks ahead is comfortable for most dates; Fridays and Saturdays in October, November, March and April need four weeks or more. Inside three days there's a $30 rush fee, plus another $30 if your order has fresh flowers or food.

And if you'd love your picnic to run into the dark, with the candles and string lights doing the work, that's possible by arrangement — in a backyard, at home, on a rooftop or at a private venue. It costs more than the same picnic in daylight, and the price depends on the place and the hour: message us with the evening you have in mind, and we'll tell you the exact amount before you book anything.

You pick the month, and the sun picks the hour. Everything is set up before you arrive.