Best time to visit Bandelier National Monument
April is the best balance at Bandelier National Monument: mild and dry for the park (an average high of 61°F), with very busy crowds. May is busiest, with about 26,000 visitors. January is the quietest, with highs near 40°F.
- Quiet
- Moderate
- Busy
- Very busy
- Few or no visits (may be closed)
- Best months
Month by month
- Station
- Los Alamos, NM USC00295084
- Lat / lon
- 35.86, -106.32
- Elevation
- 7,424 ft
- From park center
- 5.6 mi
- Second station
- Jemez Dam, NM 5,388 ft
- Normals
- 1991–2020
- Visits
- 2023–2025
| Field | Jan | Feb | Mar | Aprbest | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High, °F | 40° | 45° | 53° | 61° | 70° | 81° | 83° | 80° | 74° | 63° | 50° | 40° | 62° |
| Low, °F | 21° | 24° | 30° | 35° | 44° | 54° | 57° | 55° | 49° | 38° | 28° | 21° | 38° |
| High at 5,388 ft, °F | 47° | 53° | 61° | 70° | 79° | 90° | 93° | 90° | 84° | 72° | 58° | 48° | 70° |
| Precipitation, in | 0.9 | 0.7 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 2.9 | 3.2 | 2.0 | 1.6 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 17.5 |
| Snow, in | 9.9 | 8.8 | 5.9 | 3.3 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.7 | 4.4 | 8.0 | 42.1 |
| Daylight, h:mm | 9:59 | 10:50 | 11:51 | 13:03 | 14:02 | 14:34 | 14:22 | 13:31 | 12:22 | 11:13 | 10:13 | 9:45 | |
| Visitors, thousands | 6 | 8 | 25 | 24 | 26 | 23 | 21 | 18 | 19 | 22 | 13 | 15 | 220 |
| Crowds | Quiet | Moderate | Very busy | Very busy | Very busy | Very busy | Busy | Busy | Busy | Very busy | Moderate | Busy | |
| Weather | Cool | Cool | Cool | Mild | Mild, wet | Hot | Hot | Mild, wet | Mild, wet | Mild, wet | Cool | Cool |
| Month | High °F | Low °F | High at 5,388 ft | Precip., in | Snow, in | Daylight | Visitors | Crowds | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 40° | 21° | 47° | 0.9 | 9.9 | 9:59 | 6,300 | Quiet | Cool |
| February | 45° | 24° | 53° | 0.7 | 8.8 | 10:50 | 8,000 | Moderate | Cool |
| March | 53° | 30° | 61° | 1.0 | 5.9 | 11:51 | 25,000 | Very busy | Cool |
| Aprilbest | 61° | 35° | 70° | 0.9 | 3.3 | 13:03 | 24,000 | Very busy | Mild |
| May | 70° | 44° | 79° | 1.2 | 0.1 | 14:02 | 26,000 | Very busy | Mild, wet |
| June | 81° | 54° | 90° | 1.2 | 0 | 14:34 | 23,000 | Very busy | Hot |
| July | 83° | 57° | 93° | 2.9 | 0 | 14:22 | 21,000 | Busy | Hot |
| August | 80° | 55° | 90° | 3.2 | 0 | 13:31 | 18,000 | Busy | Mild, wet |
| September | 74° | 49° | 84° | 2.0 | 0 | 12:22 | 19,000 | Busy | Mild, wet |
| October | 63° | 38° | 72° | 1.6 | 1.7 | 11:13 | 22,000 | Very busy | Mild, wet |
| November | 50° | 28° | 58° | 0.9 | 4.4 | 10:13 | 13,000 | Moderate | Cool |
| December | 40° | 21° | 48° | 0.9 | 8.0 | 9:45 | 15,000 | Busy | Cool |
| Year | 62° | 38° | 70° | 17.5 | 42.1 | 220,000 | |||
Year: average high and low, total precipitation and snowfall, total visitors. T = trace (under 0.05 in). – = not measured at this station. Updated .
- Hottest July, average high 83°F
- Coldest nights January, average low 21°F
- Source NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information; National Park Service
- Visitors a year about 220,000 (2023–2025 average)
- State New Mexico
Elevation matters here: the record's second station, Jemez Dam, NM, sits at 5,388 ft, against 7,424 ft for Los Alamos, NM. Expect conditions between the two depending on where you go.
Closures, reservations and alerts: Bandelier National Monument on nps.gov
Nearby
- Valles Caldera National PreserveBest: May and Jun · New Mexico
- Petroglyph National MonumentBest: Feb and Apr · New Mexico
- El Malpais National MonumentBest: Mar, Apr and May · New Mexico
- El Morro National MonumentBest: Apr and May · New Mexico