Best time to visit Carlsbad Caverns National Park
January, February and November are the best balance at Carlsbad Caverns: mild and dry for the park (average highs 56° to 65°F), with crowds from moderate to busy. March is busiest, with about 53,000 visitors. January is the quietest.
- Quiet
- Moderate
- Busy
- Very busy
- Few or no visits (may be closed)
- Best months
Month by month
- Station
- Carlsbad Caverns, NM USC00291480
- Lat / lon
- 32.18, -104.44
- Elevation
- 4,435 ft
- From park center
- 10.1 mi
- Normals
- 1991–2020
- Visits
- 2023–2025
| Field | Janbest | Febbest | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Novbest | Dec | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High, °F | 56° | 61° | 68° | 76° | 84° | 92° | 91° | 90° | 83° | 75° | 65° | 57° | 75° |
| Low, °F | 34° | 37° | 43° | 49° | 58° | 66° | 68° | 66° | 60° | 52° | 42° | 35° | 51° |
| Precipitation, in | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 1.3 | 1.2 | 2.2 | 2.0 | 2.9 | 1.2 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 13.8 |
| Snow, in | 0.4 | 0.9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 | 2.0 | 3.5 |
| Daylight, h:mm | 10:15 | 11:00 | 11:53 | 12:55 | 13:47 | 14:14 | 14:04 | 13:19 | 12:20 | 11:20 | 10:28 | 10:03 | |
| Visitors, thousands | 20 | 21 | 53 | 41 | 36 | 48 | 50 | 35 | 29 | 24 | 30 | 34 | 422 |
| Crowds | Moderate | Moderate | Very busy | Busy | Busy | Very busy | Very busy | Busy | Busy | Moderate | Busy | Busy | |
| Weather | Mild | Mild | Mild | Mild | Hot | Very hot | Very hot | Very hot | Hot | Mild, wet | Mild | Mild |
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip., in | Snow, in | Daylight | Visitors | Crowds | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Januarybest | 56° | 34° | 0.3 | 0.4 | 10:15 | 20,000 | Moderate | Mild |
| Februarybest | 61° | 37° | 0.4 | 0.9 | 11:00 | 21,000 | Moderate | Mild |
| March | 68° | 43° | 0.6 | 0 | 11:53 | 53,000 | Very busy | Mild |
| April | 76° | 49° | 0.5 | 0 | 12:55 | 41,000 | Busy | Mild |
| May | 84° | 58° | 1.3 | 0 | 13:47 | 36,000 | Busy | Hot |
| June | 92° | 66° | 1.2 | 0 | 14:14 | 48,000 | Very busy | Very hot |
| July | 91° | 68° | 2.2 | 0 | 14:04 | 50,000 | Very busy | Very hot |
| August | 90° | 66° | 2.0 | 0 | 13:19 | 35,000 | Busy | Very hot |
| September | 83° | 60° | 2.9 | 0 | 12:20 | 29,000 | Busy | Hot |
| October | 75° | 52° | 1.2 | 0 | 11:20 | 24,000 | Moderate | Mild, wet |
| Novemberbest | 65° | 42° | 0.7 | 0.2 | 10:28 | 30,000 | Busy | Mild |
| December | 57° | 35° | 0.6 | 2.0 | 10:03 | 34,000 | Busy | Mild |
| Year | 75° | 51° | 13.8 | 3.5 | 422,000 | |||
Year: average high and low, total precipitation and snowfall, total visitors. T = trace (under 0.05 in). – = not measured at this station. Updated .
- Hottest June, average high 92°F
- Coldest nights January, average low 34°F
- Source NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information; National Park Service
- Visitors a year about 422,000 (2023–2025 average)
- State New Mexico
Closures, reservations and alerts: Carlsbad Caverns National Park on nps.gov
Nearby
- Guadalupe Mountains National ParkBest: Feb, Apr and Nov · Texas
- White Sands National ParkBest: Jan, Feb and Nov · New Mexico
- Big Bend National ParkBest: Jan, Feb and Nov · Texas
- Petroglyph National MonumentBest: Feb and Apr · New Mexico