Best time to visit Rocky Mountain National Park
June is the best balance at Rocky Mountain: mild and dry for the park (an average high of 71°F), with very busy crowds. July is busiest, with about 752,000 visitors. November 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
- Grand Lake 1 NW, CO USC00053496
- Lat / lon
- 40.27, -105.83
- Elevation
- 8,720 ft
- From park center
- 9.2 mi
- Second station
- Waterdale, CO 5,230 ft
- Normals
- 1991–2020
- Visits
- 2023–2025
| Field | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Junbest | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High, °F | 30° | 34° | 42° | 49° | 59° | 71° | 76° | 73° | 68° | 55° | 40° | 30° | 52° |
| Low, °F | 5° | 6° | 14° | 21° | 28° | 34° | 40° | 38° | 32° | 23° | 13° | 5° | 22° |
| High at 5,230 ft, °F | 44° | 45° | 54° | 60° | 68° | 80° | 87° | 84° | 76° | 63° | 51° | 43° | 63° |
| Precipitation, in | 1.6 | 1.5 | 1.2 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 2.0 | 2.1 | 1.6 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.5 | 18.6 |
| Snow, in | 30.6 | 25.1 | 17.6 | 17.1 | 5.3 | 0.4 | 0 | 0 | 0.4 | 7.4 | 22.5 | 28.5 | 154.9 |
| Daylight, h:mm | 9:35 | 10:36 | 11:49 | 13:13 | 14:24 | 15:02 | 14:47 | 13:46 | 12:25 | 11:04 | 9:53 | 9:18 | |
| Visitors, thousands | 108 | 108 | 155 | 166 | 326 | 612 | 752 | 652 | 596 | 391 | 151 | 129 | 4,147 |
| Crowds | Quiet | Quiet | Quiet | Quiet | Moderate | Very busy | Very busy | Very busy | Busy | Moderate | Quiet | Quiet | |
| Weather | Cold | Cold | Cool | Cool | Mild, wet | Mild | Mild, wet | Mild, wet | Mild, wet | Cool | Cool | Cold |
| Month | High °F | Low °F | High at 5,230 ft | Precip., in | Snow, in | Daylight | Visitors | Crowds | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 30° | 5° | 44° | 1.6 | 30.6 | 9:35 | 108,000 | Quiet | Cold |
| February | 34° | 6° | 45° | 1.5 | 25.1 | 10:36 | 108,000 | Quiet | Cold |
| March | 42° | 14° | 54° | 1.2 | 17.6 | 11:49 | 155,000 | Quiet | Cool |
| April | 49° | 21° | 60° | 1.6 | 17.1 | 13:13 | 166,000 | Quiet | Cool |
| May | 59° | 28° | 68° | 1.6 | 5.3 | 14:24 | 326,000 | Moderate | Mild, wet |
| Junebest | 71° | 34° | 80° | 1.4 | 0.4 | 15:02 | 612,000 | Very busy | Mild |
| July | 76° | 40° | 87° | 2.0 | 0 | 14:47 | 752,000 | Very busy | Mild, wet |
| August | 73° | 38° | 84° | 2.1 | 0 | 13:46 | 652,000 | Very busy | Mild, wet |
| September | 68° | 32° | 76° | 1.6 | 0.4 | 12:25 | 596,000 | Busy | Mild, wet |
| October | 55° | 23° | 63° | 1.3 | 7.4 | 11:04 | 391,000 | Moderate | Cool |
| November | 40° | 13° | 51° | 1.3 | 22.5 | 9:53 | 151,000 | Quiet | Cool |
| December | 30° | 5° | 43° | 1.5 | 28.5 | 9:18 | 129,000 | Quiet | Cold |
| Year | 52° | 22° | 63° | 18.6 | 154.9 | 4,147,000 | |||
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 76°F
- Coldest nights January, average low 5°F
- Source NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information; National Park Service
- Visitors a year about 4,147,000 (2023–2025 average)
- State Colorado
Elevation matters here: the record's second station, Waterdale, CO, sits at 5,230 ft, against 8,720 ft for Grand Lake 1 NW, CO. Expect conditions between the two depending on where you go.
Closures, reservations and alerts: Rocky Mountain National Park on nps.gov
Nearby
- Florissant Fossil Beds National MonumentBest: Oct · Colorado
- Scotts Bluff National MonumentBest: Apr, May and Oct · Nebraska
- Curecanti National Recreation AreaBest: Apr, May and Oct · Colorado
- Black Canyon of the Gunnison National ParkBest: May and Jun · Colorado