Best time to visit Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument
April and May are the best balance at Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument: mild and dry for the park (average highs 61° to 70°F), with busy crowds. July is busiest, with about 11,000 visitors. January is the quietest, with highs near 44°F.
- Quiet
- Moderate
- Busy
- Very busy
- Few or no visits (may be closed)
- Best months
Month by month
- Station
- Sunset Crater NM, AZ USC00028329
- Lat / lon
- 35.37, -111.54
- Elevation
- 6,980 ft
- From park center
- 1.8 mi
- Second station
- Wupatki NM, AZ 4,908 ft
- Normals
- 1991–2020
- Visits
- 2023–2025
| Field | Jan | Feb | Mar | Aprbest | Maybest | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High, °F | 44° | 47° | 54° | 61° | 70° | 82° | 84° | 81° | 75° | 65° | 53° | 44° | 63° |
| Low, °F | 13° | 16° | 21° | 27° | 34° | 42° | 49° | 47° | 40° | 28° | 18° | 12° | 29° |
| High at 4,908 ft, °F | 48° | 55° | 63° | 71° | 80° | 92° | 94° | 91° | 85° | 73° | 58° | 46° | 71° |
| Precipitation, in | 1.4 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 2.6 | 3.5 | 1.7 | 1.4 | 0.9 | 1.7 | 17.0 |
| Snow, in | 12.2 | 9.4 | 6.1 | 4.2 | 0.8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.2 | 3.5 | 11.9 | 49.3 |
| Daylight, h:mm | 10:01 | 10:51 | 11:52 | 13:02 | 14:00 | 14:32 | 14:19 | 13:29 | 12:21 | 11:14 | 10:15 | 9:47 | |
| Visitors, thousands | 5 | 6 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 88 |
| Crowds | Moderate | Moderate | Very busy | Busy | Busy | Very busy | Very busy | Very busy | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | |
| Weather | Cool | Cool | Cool | Mild | Mild | Hot | Hot | Hot | Mild, wet | Mild, wet | Cool | Cool |
| Month | High °F | Low °F | High at 4,908 ft | Precip., in | Snow, in | Daylight | Visitors | Crowds | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44° | 13° | 48° | 1.4 | 12.2 | 10:01 | 4,700 | Moderate | Cool |
| February | 47° | 16° | 55° | 1.1 | 9.4 | 10:51 | 5,700 | Moderate | Cool |
| March | 54° | 21° | 63° | 1.1 | 6.1 | 11:52 | 10,000 | Very busy | Cool |
| Aprilbest | 61° | 27° | 71° | 0.7 | 4.2 | 13:02 | 7,700 | Busy | Mild |
| Maybest | 70° | 34° | 80° | 0.7 | 0.8 | 14:00 | 7,300 | Busy | Mild |
| June | 82° | 42° | 92° | 0.3 | 0 | 14:32 | 11,000 | Very busy | Hot |
| July | 84° | 49° | 94° | 2.6 | 0 | 14:19 | 11,000 | Very busy | Hot |
| August | 81° | 47° | 91° | 3.5 | 0 | 13:29 | 9,200 | Very busy | Hot |
| September | 75° | 40° | 85° | 1.7 | 0 | 12:21 | 4,700 | Moderate | Mild, wet |
| October | 65° | 28° | 73° | 1.4 | 1.2 | 11:14 | 5,400 | Moderate | Mild, wet |
| November | 53° | 18° | 58° | 0.9 | 3.5 | 10:15 | 5,900 | Moderate | Cool |
| December | 44° | 12° | 46° | 1.7 | 11.9 | 9:47 | 5,300 | Moderate | Cool |
| Year | 63° | 29° | 71° | 17.0 | 49.3 | 88,000 | |||
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 84°F
- Coldest nights December, average low 12°F
- Source NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information; National Park Service
- Visitors a year about 88,000 (2023–2025 average)
- State Arizona
Elevation matters here: the record's second station, Wupatki NM, AZ, sits at 4,908 ft, against 6,980 ft for Sunset Crater NM, AZ. Expect conditions between the two depending on where you go.
Closures, reservations and alerts: Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument on nps.gov
Nearby
- Walnut Canyon National MonumentBest: Apr, May and Oct · Arizona
- Wupatki National MonumentBest: Apr, May and Nov · Arizona
- Tuzigoot National MonumentBest: Feb, Apr and Nov · Arizona
- Montezuma Castle National MonumentBest: Mar, Apr and Nov · Arizona