is there shade?

Is there shade at Chautauqua Amphitheater?

Partly. The reserved seats at Chautauqua Amphitheater sit under the pavilion canopy and are largely protected, while the lawn is open sky and stays in direct sun until close to sunset. For a July 7:00 PM show, about 84% of the seating is effectively shaded on average across the evening.

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Most shaded sections (July evening show)

Roof & cover

A pavilion canopy covers the reserved seats; the lawn is uncovered.

How this is computed

Chautauqua Amphitheater (Chautauqua, NY) is oriented 235° from true north. We compute the sun's exact position for your date and start time and run it against the seating geometry, plus live schedules and an hour-by-hour forecast on the interactive site.

Interactive shade map for Chautauqua Amphitheater · Satellite shadow view

Chautauqua Amphitheater after 7 PM: reading the evening sun

A 7:00 PM show at Chautauqua Amphitheater begins with the July sun already low, about 19 degrees above the horizon, hanging west-northwest, and it keeps dropping until sunset at 8:52 PM in high summer. That timing works in your favor. Across a typical evening show, our model scores the venue 73 percent shaded overall.

The pit and pavilion shade first

The stage at Chautauqua Amphitheater points southwest toward its seating, and the structure around the reserved sections does most of the work once the sun gets low. Pit 3 grades out at 94 percent shaded for a 7:00 PM start, and the pavilion sections, 212, 111, 110, 213, and 211, all come in at 92 percent. If staying out of the sun is the priority, those are the seats to chase.

The lawn takes the sun

Open lawn means open sky, and that holds here. Lawn 1 is the sunniest spot in the venue at 54 percent shaded across an evening show; Lawns 2, 3, and 4 sit at 50 percent. Expect direct sun on the grass through the first stretch of the night, softening steadily as the sun sinks and quitting entirely by 8:52 PM. A hat and sunscreen cover the gap.

Arriving early changes the math

The overall number measures the show itself. Turn up at 6:00 PM for gates or a good patch of grass and the picture is thinner, 50 percent shaded from that hour onward, because the sun still has real height at 6. Staking out lawn territory in Chautauqua costs you the sunniest hour; the last hour is free shade for everyone.

For your exact date and seat, the interactive shade map runs the same model minute by minute.

Tickets

Upcoming events at Chautauqua Amphitheater are ticketed on TixBit. Check the shade map first, then grab a seat on the shady side.

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