The best time to visit Mesa Verde National Park will depend on what your priorities are. If you want to make sure you experience the best weather conditions on your trip, you should visit during peak season in the summer.
Despite being located in the desert of southwestern Colorado, the temperatures in Mesa Verde aren’t too extreme, with July highs peaking in the mid-80s. The climate on the mesa is milder than the nearby Montezuma Valley, averaging about 10 degrees cooler in the summer and 10 degrees warmer in the winter. If you’d prefer cooler weather, you can visit during the fall or spring, but you might want to avoid the winter – Mesa Verde gets about 75 inches of snow each year due to its high elevation.
If you want to beat the crowds, then visiting Mesa Verde National Park during the summer would be a mistake. The summer rush occurs between June 15th and August 15th every year, so you can visit during early June or late August and experience pleasant weather without being swamped with other tourists.
You can also visit during the fall or winter, but keep in mind that the park stops offering tours after mid-October, so you won’t be able to visit most of the archaeological sites that make Mesa Verde such an interesting destination. You can also avoid the worst crowds by making the drive out to Wetherill Mesa, which contains several of the best historical cliff dwellings in the park but is rarely visited by tourists. Mesa Verde’s backcountry hiking trails also tend to be pretty empty throughout the year, so you can do a little hiking if you need to get away.
To make the most of your trip, check out our Mesa Verde Self-Guided Driving Tour, or you can sign up for Action+ and gain access to over 100 tours for a single yearly price.
