Best time to visit Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
May and June are the best balance at Black Canyon of the Gunnison: mild and dry for the park (average highs 66° to 76°F), with crowds from busy to very busy. June is busiest, with about 54,000 visitors. March is the quietest, with highs near 49°F.
- Quiet
- Moderate
- Busy
- Very busy
- Few or no visits (may be closed)
- Best months
Month by month
- Station
- Black Canyon Of The Gunnison, CO USC00050754
- Lat / lon
- 38.55, -107.69
- Elevation
- 8,151 ft
- From park center
- 3.5 mi
- Second station
- Montrose #2, CO 5,789 ft
- Normals
- 1991–2020
- Visits
- 2023–2025
| Field | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | Maybest | Junbest | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High, °F | 37° | 40° | 49° | 56° | 66° | 76° | 82° | 81° | 72° | 60° | 47° | 36° | 58° |
| Low, °F | 13° | 16° | 23° | 29° | 38° | 46° | 53° | 52° | 44° | 33° | 23° | 13° | 32° |
| High at 5,789 ft, °F | 40° | 46° | 57° | 64° | 74° | 86° | 90° | 87° | 79° | 67° | 52° | 41° | 65° |
| Precipitation, in | 1.7 | 1.7 | 2.0 | 1.8 | 1.6 | 0.7 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 2.1 | 1.9 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 19.9 |
| Snow, in | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Daylight, h:mm | 9:45 | 10:41 | 11:50 | 13:09 | 14:15 | 14:51 | 14:37 | 13:40 | 12:23 | 11:07 | 10:01 | 9:29 | |
| Visitors, thousands | 10 | 7 | 10 | 11 | 36 | 54 | 43 | 40 | 49 | 34 | 13 | 5 | 314 |
| Crowds | Quiet | Quiet | Quiet | Quiet | Busy | Very busy | Busy | Busy | Very busy | Busy | Quiet | Quiet | |
| Weather | Cold | Cold | Cool | Mild, wet | Mild | Mild | Hot | Hot | Mild, wet | Mild, wet | Cool | Cold |
| Month | High °F | Low °F | High at 5,789 ft | Precip., in | Snow, in | Daylight | Visitors | Crowds | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 37° | 13° | 40° | 1.7 | – | 9:45 | 10,000 | Quiet | Cold |
| February | 40° | 16° | 46° | 1.7 | – | 10:41 | 7,200 | Quiet | Cold |
| March | 49° | 23° | 57° | 2.0 | – | 11:50 | 9,500 | Quiet | Cool |
| April | 56° | 29° | 64° | 1.8 | – | 13:09 | 11,000 | Quiet | Mild, wet |
| Maybest | 66° | 38° | 74° | 1.6 | – | 14:15 | 36,000 | Busy | Mild |
| Junebest | 76° | 46° | 86° | 0.7 | – | 14:51 | 54,000 | Very busy | Mild |
| July | 82° | 53° | 90° | 1.6 | – | 14:37 | 43,000 | Busy | Hot |
| August | 81° | 52° | 87° | 1.7 | – | 13:40 | 40,000 | Busy | Hot |
| September | 72° | 44° | 79° | 2.1 | – | 12:23 | 49,000 | Very busy | Mild, wet |
| October | 60° | 33° | 67° | 1.9 | – | 11:07 | 34,000 | Busy | Mild, wet |
| November | 47° | 23° | 52° | 1.5 | – | 10:01 | 13,000 | Quiet | Cool |
| December | 36° | 13° | 41° | 1.5 | – | 9:29 | 5,100 | Quiet | Cold |
| Year | 58° | 32° | 65° | 19.9 | – | 314,000 | |||
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 82°F
- Coldest nights January, average low 13°F
- Source NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information; National Park Service
- Visitors a year about 314,000 (2023–2025 average)
- State Colorado
Elevation matters here: the record's second station, Montrose #2, CO, sits at 5,789 ft, against 8,151 ft for Black Canyon Of The Gunnison, CO. Expect conditions between the two depending on where you go.
Closures, reservations and alerts: Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park on nps.gov
Nearby
- Curecanti National Recreation AreaBest: Apr, May and Oct · Colorado
- Colorado National MonumentBest: Mar, Apr and Oct · Colorado
- Mesa Verde National ParkBest: Apr and May · Colorado
- Arches National ParkBest: Mar and Nov · Utah