bargem

We would like to take month and drive cross-country from Va. and end up in the Four Corners area. My husband wants to do this in January, but I think it may be too cold. We would like to avoid the summer heat - when is the best time to visit? Thanks

ElendilPickle

It would not only be cold, but snowy in January.

Late March or April would be a great time to travel, though New Mexico gets pretty windy in the spring. I would probably wait until fall; the weather is super, and you could take in the Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque the first week in October.

Lee Ann

emalloy

Both spring and fall are nice times to be there. May is great because there are more hours of daylight than in the fall, the winds tend to have died down, temperatures are perfect, not too hot, not too cold. September is also very nice and you could stay till October and take in the Balloon Fest as mentioned before. Also if you go to the Vales caldera you might get to see elk in rut, bugling and strutting their stuff.

peterboy

The week before Labor Day and the week after are the
quietest time in the National Parks. The weather is
also perfect except for the occasional thunderstorm.

What are you interested in seeing and doing?

lazuliangel

We were there last March, right at the tail end. It was beautiful, though as ElendilPickle said, it was terribly windy. If you're planning on staying the night in the area, book a hotel room in Cortez, CO, since as we found out to our detriment, there are no hotels in Shiprock and the next closest town, almost 98 miles away, is Farmington. (That said, we did score an upgrade to a king suite, since it was the only hotel room left ...)