Two of the 10 best sunsets in America are in Washington state. Here’s where

One of the advantages of living in Washington state is access to epic ocean sunsets at the beach. In western Washington, where the sun sets after 9 p.m. now through mid-July, options for watching the sun sink over the water are extensive.

Advice on the best places in western Washington to catch a sunset abounds, including tips from sources like Visit Tacoma-Pierce County, Bellingham Whatcom Tourism and users on Olympia Reddit.

So which Washington sunsets are a cut above the rest?

Best sunsets in western WA

According to a new national ranking of Tripadvisor reviews that mention sunsets at beaches and their emotional impact, two of the 10 best sunset spots in America are in Washington state.

Analyzing data from thousands of user-generated Tripadvisor reviews, hotel agency Gourmet Marketing found reviews of First Beach in the Quileute Nation on the Olympic Peninsula and Golden Garden Park in Seattle mentioned sunsets the most.

Study authors noted they evaluated quantitative values and “emotional resonance,” while focusing on locations with natural drama and serenity.

“If it feels like a movie scene, that’s because it practically is,” note the study authors of First Beach. Sunsets were mentioned in 25% of Tripadvisor reviews of the location. “First Beach ... offers jagged sea stacks, misty driftwood-covered shores, and Pacific Ocean drama. A quarter of reviewers say the sunsets here are next-level, and they’re right.”

In Seattle, about a fifth of reviews of Golden Garden Park mention the sunsets there, described by report authors as a place “with a front-row seat to Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains.”

“The sunsets here look like something out of a painting,” note the authors.

Here is the full ranking of the top 10 places in America where Tripadvisor users mention the sunset in their reviews:

1. Sunset Beach, New Jersey – 38.1% Sunset mentions
2. Mayflower Beach, Massachusetts – 30.2%
3. Herring Cove Beach, Massachusetts – 25.5%
4. First Beach (La Push), Washington – 25.0%
5. Dubois Beach, Connecticut – 21.7%
6. Golden Gardens Park, Washington – 20.1%
7. Front Beach, Mississippi – 17.7%
8. St. Pete Beach, Florida – 16.9%
9. Compo Beach, Connecticut – 16.8%
10. Cape Charles Beach, Virginia –15.03%

Other places to see a WA sunset

First Beach and Golden Gardens Park were not the only Washington locations to make the list. In fact, nine of the 50 most popular sunset spots in America are in Washington state, according to the Tripadvisor analysis.

Other popular spots that made the list and their ranking include:

• La Push Beach (ranked 14)

• Rialto Beach (15)

• Ruby Beach (24)

• Alki Beach (28)

• Shi Shi Beach (37)

• Long Beach (45)

• North Jetty (49)

This story was originally published June 3, 2025 at 1:23 PM with the headline "Two of the 10 best sunsets in America are in Washington state. Here’s where."

Genevieve Belmaker

The News Tribune

Genevieve Belmaker is an award-winning journalist and author who was previously the Service Journalism Editor for the Northwest news sites in McClatchy. She’s a graduate of the University of Southern California and studied journalism at New York University.