Best time to visit Canyonlands National Park
The short answer
Best months to visit Canyonlands National Park: April–May and September–October. Daily highs run about 60–80°F, and we have no crowd data for this park.
Hardest months: November–February, mostly because of cold weather.
How we picked these months: each month is scored on daily highs (65–82°F is ideal), rain, snow and seasonal closures, with no crowd adjustment, because we have no visit counts for this park. We list the months within 15% of the top score (at most 5).
Weather and crowds by month
Canyonlands National Park month by month
Park-wide averages across 6 locations. We have no visitor counts for this park, so crowds are not shown.
| Month | Rating | High / low | Rain | Snow | Closures |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | Poor | 35° / 19°F | 0.2 in | 6.1 in | – |
| February | Poor | 42° / 23°F | 0.3 in | 5.0 in | – |
| March | Fair | 52° / 31°F | 0.6 in | 4.0 in | – |
| April | Best | 61° / 38°F | 0.5 in | 2.1 in | – |
| May | Best | 71° / 47°F | 0.7 in | 0.6 in | – |
| June | Fair | 84° / 59°F | 0.4 in | – | – |
| July | Poor | 90° / 66°F | 0.3 in | – | – |
| August | Fair | 87° / 63°F | 0.6 in | – | – |
| September | Best | 79° / 55°F | 0.7 in | – | – |
| October | Best | 62° / 41°F | 0.9 in | 1.0 in | – |
| November | Poor | 48° / 29°F | 0.4 in | 2.6 in | – |
| December | Poor | 36° / 20°F | 0.3 in | 6.1 in | – |
Weather by location
Parks with a big range of elevation can differ a lot from one area to another. Open a location to see its own numbers.
Park-wide (center of the park)
| Month | High | Low | Rain | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 40°F | 23°F | 0.3 in | 2.7 in |
| February | 48°F | 28°F | 0.2 in | 2.3 in |
| March | 59°F | 36°F | 0.7 in | 0.9 in |
| April | 68°F | 43°F | 0.3 in | – |
| May | 77°F | 53°F | 0.3 in | – |
| June | 91°F | 65°F | 0.2 in | – |
| July | 96°F | 72°F | 0.2 in | – |
| August | 92°F | 68°F | 0.4 in | – |
| September | 85°F | 60°F | 0.5 in | – |
| October | 68°F | 45°F | 0.8 in | – |
| November | 53°F | 33°F | 0.4 in | 0.7 in |
| December | 41°F | 25°F | 0.3 in | 2.6 in |
Island in the Sky
| Month | High | Low | Rain | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 35°F | 19°F | 0.3 in | 3.3 in |
| February | 42°F | 23°F | 0.2 in | 3.0 in |
| March | 53°F | 32°F | 0.7 in | 1.4 in |
| April | 62°F | 40°F | 0.3 in | – |
| May | 72°F | 50°F | 0.4 in | – |
| June | 86°F | 62°F | 0.2 in | – |
| July | 91°F | 69°F | 0.3 in | – |
| August | 87°F | 65°F | 0.5 in | – |
| September | 80°F | 57°F | 0.5 in | – |
| October | 63°F | 42°F | 0.8 in | 0.7 in |
| November | 48°F | 31°F | 0.4 in | 1.1 in |
| December | 36°F | 22°F | 0.3 in | 3.5 in |
The Needles
| Month | High | Low | Rain | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 21°F | 2°F | 0.2 in | 21.1 in |
| February | 23°F | 5°F | 0.5 in | 16.0 in |
| March | 31°F | 11°F | 0.6 in | 18.4 in |
| April | 38°F | 15°F | 1.2 in | 11.5 in |
| May | 50°F | 24°F | 2.2 in | 3.3 in |
| June | 64°F | 34°F | 1.2 in | – |
| July | 73°F | 43°F | 0.7 in | – |
| August | 70°F | 41°F | 1.3 in | – |
| September | 61°F | 33°F | 1.9 in | 0.7 in |
| October | 45°F | 21°F | 1.4 in | 3.7 in |
| November | 32°F | 9°F | 0.6 in | 10.5 in |
| December | 21°F | 0°F | 0.2 in | 21.3 in |
The Maze
| Month | High | Low | Rain | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 38°F | 23°F | 0.2 in | 3.3 in |
| February | 45°F | 27°F | 0.2 in | 3.2 in |
| March | 56°F | 36°F | 0.5 in | 1.2 in |
| April | 65°F | 43°F | 0.3 in | – |
| May | 75°F | 53°F | 0.4 in | – |
| June | 88°F | 65°F | 0.3 in | – |
| July | 93°F | 72°F | 0.3 in | – |
| August | 90°F | 68°F | 0.5 in | – |
| September | 82°F | 61°F | 0.4 in | – |
| October | 66°F | 46°F | 0.8 in | 0.7 in |
| November | 52°F | 34°F | 0.3 in | 1.1 in |
| December | 40°F | 25°F | 0.3 in | 3.4 in |
The Rivers
| Month | High | Low | Rain | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 40°F | 24°F | 0.3 in | 3.0 in |
| February | 47°F | 28°F | 0.2 in | 2.8 in |
| March | 58°F | 37°F | 0.6 in | 1.1 in |
| April | 67°F | 44°F | 0.3 in | – |
| May | 77°F | 54°F | 0.4 in | – |
| June | 90°F | 66°F | 0.2 in | – |
| July | 95°F | 72°F | 0.2 in | – |
| August | 92°F | 69°F | 0.4 in | – |
| September | 84°F | 61°F | 0.5 in | – |
| October | 67°F | 47°F | 0.8 in | – |
| November | 53°F | 35°F | 0.4 in | 0.8 in |
| December | 41°F | 26°F | 0.3 in | 2.9 in |
Horseshoe Canyon
| Month | High | Low | Rain | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 37°F | 21°F | 0.2 in | 2.9 in |
| February | 45°F | 26°F | 0.2 in | 2.5 in |
| March | 56°F | 35°F | 0.5 in | 1.2 in |
| April | 66°F | 42°F | 0.3 in | – |
| May | 75°F | 52°F | 0.4 in | – |
| June | 89°F | 64°F | 0.2 in | – |
| July | 94°F | 71°F | 0.3 in | – |
| August | 91°F | 68°F | 0.4 in | – |
| September | 82°F | 59°F | 0.5 in | – |
| October | 65°F | 44°F | 0.9 in | – |
| November | 51°F | 33°F | 0.3 in | 1.1 in |
| December | 39°F | 24°F | 0.2 in | 3.1 in |
Canyonlands National Park by season
Spring (March–May)
Spring (March–May) is a good time to visit Canyonlands National Park. Daily highs average 52–71°F and lows 31–47°F. Expect about 0.6 in of rain a month and 2.2 in of snow, with up to 2 in on the ground. There is no crowd data for this park.
Summer (June–August)
Summer (June–August) is a mixed time to visit Canyonlands National Park. Daily highs average 84–90°F and lows 59–66°F. Expect about 0.4 in of rain a month and little or no snow. There is no crowd data for this park.
Fall (September–November)
Fall (September–November) is a good time to visit Canyonlands National Park. Daily highs average 48–79°F and lows 29–55°F. Expect about 0.7 in of rain a month and 1.2 in of snow, with up to 0 in on the ground. There is no crowd data for this park.
Winter (December–February)
Winter (December–February) is a difficult time to visit Canyonlands National Park. Daily highs average 35–42°F and lows 19–23°F. Expect about 0.2 in of rain a month and 5.7 in of snow, with up to 4 in on the ground. There is no crowd data for this park.
For what to do in each season, see our guides to trip planning, fees and hours, trails, camping and things to do, where the planning page also has our written advice on when to go. In-depth topic guides cover individual places and hikes.
What the National Park Service says about the weather
Canyonlands is part of the Colorado Plateau, a "high desert" region that experiences wide temperature fluctuations, sometimes over 40 degrees in a single day. The temperate (and most popular) seasons are spring (April-May) and fall (mid-September-October), when daytime highs average 60 to 80 F and lows average 30 to 50 F. Summer temperatures often exceed 100 F, making strenuous exercise difficult. Winters are cold, with highs averaging 30 to 50 F, and lows averaging 0 to 20 F.
Weather: modeled monthly averages for 2014-2023 (Open-Meteo Archive API), averaged over 6 locations. Modeled grid cells can read cooler than weather stations in deep canyons and deserts, and warmer or colder at high elevation. Visits: not available for this park.
