Best time to visit El Malpais National Monument
March, April and May are the best balance at El Malpais National Monument: mild and dry for the park (average highs 56° to 73°F), with crowds from busy to very busy. May is busiest, with about 20,000 visitors. January is the quietest, with highs near 43°F.
- Quiet
- Moderate
- Busy
- Very busy
- Few or no visits (may be closed)
- Best months
Month by month
- Station
- Pietown 19NE, NM USC00296812
- Lat / lon
- 34.49, -107.89
- Elevation
- 7,961 ft
- From park center
- 20.9 mi
- Normals
- 1991–2020
- Visits
- 2023–2025
| Field | Jan | Feb | Marbest | Aprbest | Maybest | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High, °F | 43° | 47° | 56° | 64° | 73° | 83° | 83° | 80° | 75° | 64° | 52° | 43° | 63° |
| Low, °F | 20° | 23° | 27° | 33° | 41° | 50° | 53° | 52° | 46° | 37° | 27° | 20° | 36° |
| Precipitation, in | 0.8 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 2.6 | 2.6 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 13.4 |
| Snow, in | 9.8 | 6.4 | 5.1 | 1.4 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.5 | 6.0 | 9.9 | 41.2 |
| Daylight, h:mm | 10:03 | 10:52 | 11:52 | 13:01 | 13:58 | 14:29 | 14:16 | 13:27 | 12:21 | 11:15 | 10:18 | 9:50 | |
| Visitors, thousands | 7 | 9 | 14 | 17 | 20 | 16 | 15 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 10 | 10 | 161 |
| Crowds | Moderate | Moderate | Busy | Very busy | Very busy | Very busy | Busy | Busy | Busy | Busy | Moderate | Moderate | |
| Weather | Cool | Cool | Mild | Mild | Mild | Hot | Hot | Mild, wet | Mild, wet | Mild, wet | Cool | Cool |
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip., in | Snow, in | Daylight | Visitors | Crowds | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 20° | 0.8 | 9.8 | 10:03 | 7,000 | Moderate | Cool |
| February | 47° | 23° | 0.7 | 6.4 | 10:52 | 8,800 | Moderate | Cool |
| Marchbest | 56° | 27° | 0.7 | 5.1 | 11:52 | 14,000 | Busy | Mild |
| Aprilbest | 64° | 33° | 0.3 | 1.4 | 13:01 | 17,000 | Very busy | Mild |
| Maybest | 73° | 41° | 0.8 | 0.1 | 13:58 | 20,000 | Very busy | Mild |
| June | 83° | 50° | 0.6 | 0 | 14:29 | 16,000 | Very busy | Hot |
| July | 83° | 53° | 2.6 | 0 | 14:16 | 15,000 | Busy | Hot |
| August | 80° | 52° | 2.6 | 0 | 13:27 | 13,000 | Busy | Mild, wet |
| September | 75° | 46° | 1.5 | 0 | 12:21 | 15,000 | Busy | Mild, wet |
| October | 64° | 37° | 1.0 | 2.5 | 11:15 | 15,000 | Busy | Mild, wet |
| November | 52° | 27° | 0.8 | 6.0 | 10:18 | 10,000 | Moderate | Cool |
| December | 43° | 20° | 1.0 | 9.9 | 9:50 | 9,600 | Moderate | Cool |
| Year | 63° | 36° | 13.4 | 41.2 | 161,000 | |||
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 83°F
- Coldest nights January, average low 20°F
- Source NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information; National Park Service
- Visitors a year about 161,000 (2023–2025 average)
- State New Mexico
Closures, reservations and alerts: El Malpais National Monument on nps.gov
Nearby
- El Morro National MonumentBest: Apr and May · New Mexico
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