Best time to visit Valles Caldera National Preserve
May and June are the best balance at Valles Caldera National Preserve: mild and dry for the park (average highs 62° to 72°F), with crowds from busy to very busy. October is busiest, with about 11,000 visitors. March is the quietest, with highs near 45°F.
- Quiet
- Moderate
- Busy
- Very busy
- Few or no visits (may be closed)
- Best months
Month by month
- Station
- Los Alamos 13 W, NM USW00003062
- Lat / lon
- 35.86, -106.52
- Elevation
- 8,716 ft
- From park center
- 4.2 mi
- Second station
- Jemez Springs, NM 6,262 ft
- Normals
- 1991–2020
- Visits
- 2023–2025
| Field | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | Maybest | Junbest | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High, °F | 36° | 38° | 45° | 52° | 62° | 72° | 74° | 71° | 66° | 57° | 46° | 36° | 54° |
| Low, °F | 9° | 12° | 20° | 25° | 32° | 39° | 45° | 43° | 36° | 26° | 17° | 9° | 26° |
| High at 6,262 ft, °F | 48° | 52° | 60° | 68° | 76° | 87° | 89° | 86° | 80° | 70° | 56° | 47° | 68° |
| Precipitation, in | 1.8 | 2.0 | 2.4 | 1.8 | 1.4 | 1.1 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 2.2 | 2.2 | 1.6 | 1.8 | 25.5 |
| Snow, in | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Daylight, h:mm | 9:58 | 10:49 | 11:51 | 13:03 | 14:03 | 14:35 | 14:22 | 13:31 | 12:22 | 11:13 | 10:13 | 9:44 | |
| Visitors, thousands | 2 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 5 | 3 | 81 |
| Crowds | Quiet | Quiet | Moderate | Moderate | Busy | Very busy | Very busy | Very busy | Very busy | Very busy | Moderate | Moderate | |
| Weather | Cold | Cold | Cool | Cool | Mild | Mild | Mild, wet | Mild, wet | Mild, wet | Mild, wet | Cool | Cold |
| Month | High °F | Low °F | High at 6,262 ft | Precip., in | Snow, in | Daylight | Visitors | Crowds | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 36° | 9° | 48° | 1.8 | – | 9:58 | 2,500 | Quiet | Cold |
| February | 38° | 12° | 52° | 2.0 | – | 10:49 | 2,500 | Quiet | Cold |
| March | 45° | 20° | 60° | 2.4 | – | 11:51 | 3,800 | Moderate | Cool |
| April | 52° | 25° | 68° | 1.8 | – | 13:03 | 5,000 | Moderate | Cool |
| Maybest | 62° | 32° | 76° | 1.4 | – | 14:03 | 8,600 | Busy | Mild |
| Junebest | 72° | 39° | 87° | 1.1 | – | 14:35 | 9,600 | Very busy | Mild |
| July | 74° | 45° | 89° | 3.7 | – | 14:22 | 10,000 | Very busy | Mild, wet |
| August | 71° | 43° | 86° | 3.7 | – | 13:31 | 9,000 | Very busy | Mild, wet |
| September | 66° | 36° | 80° | 2.2 | – | 12:22 | 11,000 | Very busy | Mild, wet |
| October | 57° | 26° | 70° | 2.2 | – | 11:13 | 11,000 | Very busy | Mild, wet |
| November | 46° | 17° | 56° | 1.6 | – | 10:13 | 4,900 | Moderate | Cool |
| December | 36° | 9° | 47° | 1.8 | – | 9:44 | 3,300 | Moderate | Cold |
| Year | 54° | 26° | 68° | 25.5 | – | 81,000 | |||
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 74°F
- Coldest nights January, average low 9°F
- Source NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information; National Park Service
- Visitors a year about 81,000 (2023–2025 average)
- State New Mexico
Elevation matters here: the record's second station, Jemez Springs, NM, sits at 6,262 ft, against 8,716 ft for Los Alamos 13 W, NM. Expect conditions between the two depending on where you go.
Closures, reservations and alerts: Valles Caldera National Preserve on nps.gov
Nearby
- Bandelier National MonumentBest: Apr · 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