Climate and average weather in Estes Park
In Estes Park, the summers are warm, wet, and partly cloudy and the winters are very cold, snowy, and mostly clear.
Over the course of the year, the temperature in Estes Park typically varies from 10°F to 72°F, and is rarely below -5°F or above 79°F. July is the hottest month of the year, while January is the coldest.
Based on the travel score, the best time of year to visit Estes Park for warm-weather activities is from early June to late September.
- Hottest
- Jul
- 72°
- Coldest
- Jan
- 11°
- Wettest
- Jul
- 5.7 in
- Driest
- Dec
- 1.1 in
- Rain / yr
- 34.6 in
- 149 wet days
- Daylight
- 9.1–14.9 h
- shortest–longest
- Elevation
- 0 ft
- 40.4°N
- Clearest
- Nov
- 42% cloud
Estes Park is town in Larimer County, Colorado, United States.
- Density
- 356/km²
- people per km²
- Founded
- 1859
Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.
Estes Park weather by month, at a glance
The whole year in one picture — sky, rain, humidity, temperature and travel score. Click any band to jump to its full chart.
Each stripe is one measure across the whole year, stacked so a single day reads top to bottom. The sky band runs overcast grey on top down to clear blue at the base — more blue means sunnier — followed by the rainfall curve, the humidity band, a temperature strip that tints each stretch of the year by how warm its average high is, and the travel-score line at the foot. Scan straight down any date to read that day across every measure at once; the score climbs highest around early June to late September.
Temperature through the year
Daily average highs and lows in Estes Park, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.
The hot season lasts 3.5 months, from June 3 to September 17, with daily high temperatures above 62°F. The hottest month of the year in Estes Park is July, with an average high of 72°F and low of 46°F.
The cool season lasts 3.7 months, from November 19 to March 11, with daily high temperatures below 38°F. The coldest month of the year in Estes Park is January, with an average low of 11°F and high of 31°F.
Days typically run about 23°F warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 26°F) in June.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°F) | 31 | 32 | 39 | 44 | 54 | 66 | 72 | 70 | 63 | 51 | 39 | 31 |
| Avg low (°F) | 11 | 11 | 17 | 22 | 31 | 40 | 46 | 45 | 37 | 27 | 18 | 10 |
| Avg high (°F) | Avg low (°F) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 31 | 11 |
| Feb | 32 | 11 |
| Mar | 39 | 17 |
| Apr | 44 | 22 |
| May | 54 | 31 |
| Jun | 66 | 40 |
| Jul | 72 | 46 |
| Aug | 70 | 45 |
| Sep | 63 | 37 |
| Oct | 51 | 27 |
| Nov | 39 | 18 |
| Dec | 31 | 10 |
How hot and cold Estes Park really feels
The felt-temperature range through the year — heat index on the day's high (summer humidity), wind chill on the night's low (winter wind). The dashed lines are the plain thermometer; the gap is how much hotter or colder it really feels.
On the coldest nights, wind chill pulls the feels-like down to about -3°F (around December 25), with roughly 254 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 32°F) — 163 of them bitterly cold — worst in December.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feels-like high (°F) | 31 | 32 | 39 | 44 | 54 | 66 | 72 | 70 | 63 | 50 | 39 | 31 |
| Air high (°F) | 31 | 32 | 39 | 44 | 54 | 66 | 72 | 70 | 63 | 51 | 39 | 31 |
| Feels-like low (°F) | -1 | 0 | 8 | 15 | 26 | 37 | 44 | 42 | 34 | 21 | 8 | -1 |
| Air low (°F) | 11 | 11 | 17 | 22 | 31 | 40 | 46 | 45 | 37 | 27 | 18 | 10 |
| Feels-like high (°F) | Air high (°F) | Feels-like low (°F) | Air low (°F) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 31 | 31 | -1 | 11 |
| Feb | 32 | 32 | 0 | 11 |
| Mar | 39 | 39 | 8 | 17 |
| Apr | 44 | 44 | 15 | 22 |
| May | 54 | 54 | 26 | 31 |
| Jun | 66 | 66 | 37 | 40 |
| Jul | 72 | 72 | 44 | 46 |
| Aug | 70 | 70 | 42 | 45 |
| Sep | 63 | 63 | 34 | 37 |
| Oct | 50 | 51 | 21 | 27 |
| Nov | 39 | 39 | 8 | 18 |
| Dec | 31 | 31 | -1 | 10 |
Average hourly temperature in Estes Park
A compact picture of the whole year, hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled average temperature. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.
Read left to right for the day of the year and top to bottom for the hour of the day; the color is the modeled temperature, cool blues through to hot reds on the same scale as the other charts. A vertical slice is a single day's swing — coolest just before dawn, warmest in the mid-afternoon — while a horizontal slice follows one hour across the seasons. The darker overlay marks night and the lighter one the twilight around sunrise and sunset. Colors run warmest on July afternoons, near 72°F, and coldest before dawn in January, near 11°F.
Estes Park weather by month
Every month at a glance. Click a month for its detailed page.
| Month | High / Low (°F) | Rainfall (inches) | Wet days | Snow days | Daylight (hours) | Travel score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 31° / 11° | 1.1 | 6.7 | 7.6 | 9.4 | 0.0 |
| Feb | 32° / 11° | 1.3 | 8.1 | 9 | 10.4 | 0.0 |
| Mar | 39° / 17° | 2.0 | 9.6 | 9.1 | 11.7 | 0.0 |
| Apr | 44° / 22° | 3.4 | 13.5 | 10.2 | 13 | 0.7 |
| May | 54° / 31° | 4.6 | 18.6 | 5.1 | 14.2 | 2.7 |
| Jun | 66° / 40° | 4.2 | 17.5 | 0.6 | 14.8 | 5.0 |
| Jul | 72° / 46° | 5.7 | 20 | 0 | 14.6 | 5.3 |
| Aug | 70° / 45° | 4.9 | 20 | 0 | 13.6 | 5.2 |
| Sep | 63° / 37° | 3.0 | 13.3 | 1.1 | 12.3 | 5.1 |
| Oct | 51° / 27° | 2.0 | 8.9 | 5.6 | 10.9 | 2.6 |
| Nov | 39° / 18° | 1.2 | 6.2 | 6.3 | 9.8 | 0.1 |
| Dec | 31° / 10° | 1.1 | 6.3 | 7.2 | 9.2 | 0.0 |
Chance of rain
How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.
Estes Park gets about 34.6 in of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is often wet, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.
The wetter season lasts 5.4 months, from around Apr 11 to Sep 21, peaking in July at about 69% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Dec 26.
July is the wettest month by volume, with 5.7 in over about 20 wet days; December is the driest, with 1.1 in. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rain on a day (%) | 21 | 29 | 32 | 45 | 59 | 59 | 64 | 63 | 46 | 28 | 22 | 20 |
| Rain days | 7 | 8 | 10 | 14 | 19 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 13 | 9 | 6 | 6 |
| Rain on a day (%) | Rain days | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 21 | 7 |
| Feb | 29 | 8 |
| Mar | 32 | 10 |
| Apr | 45 | 14 |
| May | 59 | 19 |
| Jun | 59 | 18 |
| Jul | 64 | 20 |
| Aug | 63 | 20 |
| Sep | 46 | 13 |
| Oct | 28 | 9 |
| Nov | 22 | 6 |
| Dec | 20 | 6 |
Monthly rainfall
Over a full year, Estes Park collects about 34.6 in of rain across 149 wet days — roughly 2.9 in in an average month.
It doesn’t fall evenly. July is the wettest month with 5.7 in, while December is the driest at just 1.1 in. The three wettest months alone bring about 44% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rainfall (in) | 1.1 | 1.3 | 2.0 | 3.4 | 4.6 | 4.2 | 5.7 | 4.9 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 1.2 | 1.1 |
| Rain days | 7 | 8 | 10 | 14 | 19 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 13 | 9 | 6 | 6 |
| Snow days | 8 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 7 |
| Rainfall (in) | Rain days | Snow days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 1.1 | 7 | 8 |
| Feb | 1.3 | 8 | 9 |
| Mar | 2.0 | 10 | 9 |
| Apr | 3.4 | 14 | 10 |
| May | 4.6 | 19 | 5 |
| Jun | 4.2 | 18 | 1 |
| Jul | 5.7 | 20 | 0 |
| Aug | 4.9 | 20 | 0 |
| Sep | 3.0 | 13 | 1 |
| Oct | 2.0 | 9 | 6 |
| Nov | 1.2 | 6 | 6 |
| Dec | 1.1 | 6 | 7 |
Snow in Estes Park
Average snowy days through the year, the snow-season span, and estimated snowfall — for ski trips and the perennial 'will there be snow at Christmas?' question.
Estes Park averages about 62 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Sep 8 to Jun 17 — about 9.3 months.
April is snowiest, with roughly 10 days of snow and an estimated 29 in of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 133 in of snow.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Snow days | 8 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 7 |
| Snowfall (in) | 9 | 16 | 22 | 29 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 13 | 13 |
| Snow days | Snowfall (in) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 8 | 9 |
| Feb | 9 | 16 |
| Mar | 9 | 22 |
| Apr | 10 | 29 |
| May | 5 | 15 |
| Jun | 1 | 1 |
| Jul | 0 | 0 |
| Aug | 0 | 0 |
| Sep | 1 | 4 |
| Oct | 6 | 11 |
| Nov | 6 | 13 |
| Dec | 7 | 13 |
Clouds and sunshine
How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.
In Estes Park, the average share of the sky covered by clouds shows moderate seasonal variation over the course of the year.
The clearer part of the year begins around August 10 and lasts for 5.5 months, ending around January 24. The clearest month is November, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 68% of the time on average.
The cloudier part of the year begins around January 25 and lasts for 4.7 months, ending around June 16. The cloudiest month is April, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 57% of the time.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clearer (%) | 58 | 53 | 51 | 43 | 44 | 56 | 55 | 60 | 67 | 68 | 68 | 61 |
| Cloudier (%) | 42 | 47 | 49 | 57 | 56 | 44 | 45 | 40 | 33 | 32 | 32 | 39 |
| Clearer (%) | Cloudier (%) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 58 | 42 |
| Feb | 53 | 47 |
| Mar | 51 | 49 |
| Apr | 43 | 57 |
| May | 44 | 56 |
| Jun | 56 | 44 |
| Jul | 55 | 45 |
| Aug | 60 | 40 |
| Sep | 67 | 33 |
| Oct | 68 | 32 |
| Nov | 68 | 32 |
| Dec | 61 | 39 |
Daylight, sunrise and sunset
Hours of daylight through the year, with sunrise and sunset times.
The gold band is daylight — sunrise runs along its lower edge, sunset along the upper — so it widens toward summer and pinches toward winter, with night the dark area above and below. The longest day, around June 15, brings about 14 h 54 min of light; the shortest, around December 14, only 9 h 06 min — a swing of roughly 5 h 48 min.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 9.4 | 10.4 | 11.7 | 13.0 | 14.2 | 14.8 | 14.6 | 13.6 | 12.3 | 10.9 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| Sunrise (AM) | 7:29 | 7:05 | 6:22 | 5:30 | 4:51 | 4:36 | 4:49 | 5:18 | 5:49 | 6:20 | 6:56 | 7:24 |
| Sunset (PM) | 4:54 | 5:29 | 6:02 | 6:34 | 7:05 | 7:28 | 7:26 | 6:55 | 6:04 | 5:14 | 4:39 | 4:32 |
| Daylight (h) | Sunrise (AM) | Sunset (PM) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 9.4 | 7:29 | 4:54 |
| Feb | 10.4 | 7:05 | 5:29 |
| Mar | 11.7 | 6:22 | 6:02 |
| Apr | 13.0 | 5:30 | 6:34 |
| May | 14.2 | 4:51 | 7:05 |
| Jun | 14.8 | 4:36 | 7:28 |
| Jul | 14.6 | 4:49 | 7:26 |
| Aug | 13.6 | 5:18 | 6:55 |
| Sep | 12.3 | 5:49 | 6:04 |
| Oct | 10.9 | 6:20 | 5:14 |
| Nov | 9.8 | 6:56 | 4:39 |
| Dec | 9.2 | 7:24 | 4:32 |
Sunny days
How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.
Estes Park averages about 10 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 5 and 16 days.
The sunnier stretch runs 4.9 months, from around Sep 3 to Jan 30. The sunniest month is November, with roughly 16 sunny days (bright).
The greyest month is May, down near 6 sunny days — about 63% fewer than the November peak.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunny days | 12 | 9 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 13 |
| Sky | Mixed | Mixed | Mixed | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Mixed | Mixed | Mixed | Bright | Mixed |
| Sunny days | Sky | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 12 | Mixed |
| Feb | 9 | Mixed |
| Mar | 10 | Mixed |
| Apr | 7 | Gloomy |
| May | 6 | Gloomy |
| Jun | 7 | Gloomy |
| Jul | 8 | Gloomy |
| Aug | 9 | Mixed |
| Sep | 13 | Mixed |
| Oct | 15 | Mixed |
| Nov | 15 | Bright |
| Dec | 13 | Mixed |
Humidity comfort
Share of days at each humidity comfort level, based on the dew point — the measure that tracks how muggy it actually feels.
Humidity comfort is graded by the dew point — the temperature at which the air would be fully saturated — because it tracks how muggy it actually feels far better than relative humidity does. A low dew point feels dry and crisp; a high one feels sticky and oppressive no matter the reading on a humidity gauge.
In Estes Park, the air stays dry or comfortable essentially all year. Even in January, the muggiest month, it feels humid or worse only about 0% of the time — humidity is not something you need to plan around here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dry (%) | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| Dry (%) | |
|---|---|
| Jan | 100 |
| Feb | 100 |
| Mar | 100 |
| Apr | 100 |
| May | 100 |
| Jun | 100 |
| Jul | 100 |
| Aug | 100 |
| Sep | 100 |
| Oct | 100 |
| Nov | 100 |
| Dec | 100 |
Wind
Average wind speed through the year, banded into plain-language speed zones so a number reads as 'breezy' or 'calm' without knowing the scale.
This is the average sustained wind speed at the standard 10 metres above open ground — the steady flow a weather station reports, not the sharper gusts that come and go, which can run half again as fast. It's the number that says whether a place is generally breezy or calm.
Across the year, average wind speed in Estes Park is typically calm, near 6 mph, and varies moderately with the seasons.
The windier part of the year lasts 6.1 months, from around Oct 16 to Apr 19. The windiest month is January, averaging about 7 mph (calm).
The calmer part of the year runs from around Apr 20 to Oct 15, with July the calmest month at about 4 mph.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wind speed (mph) | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 7 |
| Feels | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm |
| Wind speed (mph) | Feels | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 7 | calm |
| Feb | 7 | calm |
| Mar | 6 | calm |
| Apr | 6 | calm |
| May | 5 | calm |
| Jun | 5 | calm |
| Jul | 4 | calm |
| Aug | 4 | calm |
| Sep | 5 | calm |
| Oct | 6 | calm |
| Nov | 7 | calm |
| Dec | 7 | calm |
Hazard calendar for Estes Park
When the seasonal hazards worth planning around — the rainy season, tropical-cyclone risk and dust haze — are active through the year.
Estes Park's rainy season runs April–September, when most of the year's rain falls.
Best time to visit Estes Park
To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Estes Park throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.
Around late September, Estes Park is still near the tail of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds already thinning.
Inferred from the travel-score curve; month-by-month visitor numbers are a planned addition.
The travel score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 64°F and 82°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Estes Park for general outdoor tourist activities is from early June to late September, with a peak score in the last week of June.
The travel score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Travel score (0–10) | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 2.7 | 5.0 | 5.3 | 5.2 | 5.1 | 2.6 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| Rating | poor | poor | poor | poor | poor | fair | fair | fair | fair | poor | poor | poor |
| Travel score (0–10) | Rating | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 0.0 | poor |
| Feb | 0.0 | poor |
| Mar | 0.0 | poor |
| Apr | 0.7 | poor |
| May | 2.7 | poor |
| Jun | 5.0 | fair |
| Jul | 5.3 | fair |
| Aug | 5.2 | fair |
| Sep | 5.1 | fair |
| Oct | 2.6 | poor |
| Nov | 0.2 | poor |
| Dec | 0.0 | poor |
The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 75°F and 93°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Estes Park for hot-weather activities is from late June to late August, with a peak score in the second week of July.
The beach/pool score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).
What to pack for Estes Park, by month
Month by month, what's worth putting in the bag — from the temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind. Tap a month for a quick packing note.
For a warm-season trip around July (highs near 72°F), the essentials are light clothes, a warm layer, rain gear and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near 31°F), pack a warm layer and a heavy coat.
In July, Estes Park sees daytime highs around 72°F and nights near 46°F. Pack rain gear and sun protection. Worth having: light clothes and a warm layer. About 20 days see rain.
UV index (midday) in Estes Park by month
Clear-sky midday UV index through the year, shaded by the WHO exposure levels — how much sun protection each month calls for.
Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Estes Park peaks around July 13 at about 11 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near January 11 at about 2 (low).
The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 10 months of the year.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV index (midday) | 2 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 2 |
| Level | Low | Moderate | High | High | Very high | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Very high | High | Moderate | Moderate |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 2 | Low |
| Feb | 4 | Moderate |
| Mar | 6 | High |
| Apr | 7 | High |
| May | 9 | Very high |
| Jun | 11 | Extreme |
| Jul | 11 | Extreme |
| Aug | 10 | Extreme |
| Sep | 8 | Very high |
| Oct | 6 | High |
| Nov | 3 | Moderate |
| Dec | 2 | Moderate |
Average hourly UV index in Estes Park
Modeled clear-sky UV for every hour of every day — when in the day sun protection actually matters.
The whole year hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled clear-sky UV index — the midday peak scaled down as the sun sits lower in the sky. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.
UV falls off far faster than brightness as the sun drops, so even in July the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 9 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 6.5 hours reach 6 or more. Mornings and late afternoons stay comparatively gentle year round.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV ≥ 3 (h/day) | 0 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 |
| UV ≥ 6 (h/day) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 5.5 | 3.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UV ≥ 3 (h/day) | UV ≥ 6 (h/day) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 0 | 0 |
| Feb | 3 | 0 |
| Mar | 6 | 1 |
| Apr | 7 | 3 |
| May | 8 | 5 |
| Jun | 9 | 6.5 |
| Jul | 9 | 6.5 |
| Aug | 8 | 5.5 |
| Sep | 7 | 3.5 |
| Oct | 5 | 0 |
| Nov | 2 | 0 |
| Dec | 0 | 0 |
Air quality in Estes Park by month
Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see which months the air is worst, not just the yearly average.
Air quality in Estes Park is worst in October — around 51 µg/m³ PM2.5 (poor), about 8.7× the cleanest month (November, 6 µg/m³).
Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 6 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 33 | 27 | 51 | 6 | 7 |
| Level | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Moderate | Moderate | Poor | Good | Good |
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 6 | Good |
| Feb | 7 | Good |
| Mar | 8 | Good |
| Apr | 7 | Good |
| May | 8 | Good |
| Jun | 10 | Good |
| Jul | 10 | Good |
| Aug | 33 | Moderate |
| Sep | 27 | Moderate |
| Oct | 51 | Poor |
| Nov | 6 | Good |
| Dec | 7 | Good |
Growing season
The growing season in Estes Park typically lasts about 135 days, from around May 20 to October 1 — the span where a frost-free day is more likely than not. It is reliably frost-free from June 9 to September 11.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frost-free chance (%) | 2 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 45 | 94 | 100 | 100 | 81 | 27 | 7 | 3 |
| Frost nights | 31 | 28 | 31 | 30 | 31 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 31 | 30 | 31 |
| Frost-free chance (%) | Frost nights | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 2 | 31 |
| Feb | 2 | 28 |
| Mar | 4 | 31 |
| Apr | 9 | 30 |
| May | 45 | 31 |
| Jun | 94 | 7 |
| Jul | 100 | 0 |
| Aug | 100 | 0 |
| Sep | 81 | 20 |
| Oct | 27 | 31 |
| Nov | 7 | 30 |
| Dec | 3 | 31 |
Growing degree days
Growing degree days tally heat above 50°F: each day adds however many degrees its average temperature runs over that threshold, and cold days add nothing. Estes Park banks about 640 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around July.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Growing degree days (°F·days) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 99 | 277 | 222 | 41 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Growing degree days (°F·days) | |
|---|---|
| Jan | 0 |
| Feb | 0 |
| Mar | 0 |
| Apr | 0 |
| May | 0 |
| Jun | 99 |
| Jul | 277 |
| Aug | 222 |
| Sep | 41 |
| Oct | 0 |
| Nov | 0 |
| Dec | 0 |
Solar energy
Average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground, banded into brightness zones so the number means something at a glance.
Solar energy is how much sunlight actually reaches the ground each day, measured in kilowatt-hours per square metre (kWh/m²) — the combined effect of how long the sun is up, how high it climbs, and how much cloud gets in the way. It's the raw fuel a solar panel has to work with: for scale, 1 kWh/m² a day is dim and wintry, while 7+ is desert-bright.
Estes Park receives about 5.2 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 2.4 and 7.7 kWh/m².
The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.4 months, from around Mar 11 to Sep 21. The brightest month is June, averaging about 7.6 kWh/m² (intense).
The dimmest month is December, down near 2.5 kWh/m² — roughly 67% less than the June peak.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solar energy (kWh/m²) | 2.8 | 3.9 | 5.4 | 6.5 | 7.1 | 7.6 | 7.3 | 6.5 | 5.5 | 4.1 | 3.0 | 2.5 |
| Level | Moderate | Moderate | Bright | Intense | Intense | Intense | Intense | Intense | Bright | Bright | Moderate | Moderate |
| Solar energy (kWh/m²) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 2.8 | Moderate |
| Feb | 3.9 | Moderate |
| Mar | 5.4 | Bright |
| Apr | 6.5 | Intense |
| May | 7.1 | Intense |
| Jun | 7.6 | Intense |
| Jul | 7.3 | Intense |
| Aug | 6.5 | Intense |
| Sep | 5.5 | Bright |
| Oct | 4.1 | Bright |
| Nov | 3.0 | Moderate |
| Dec | 2.5 | Moderate |
Where is Estes Park?
Estes Park sits at 40.4°N, 105.5°W, 0 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Loveland, 24 mi away.
Topography around Estes Park
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 2, 10 and 50 miles of Estes Park.
Within 2 miles, the terrain around Estes Park has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,450 ft around an average of 7,825 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 7,995 ft; within 50 miles, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 9,531 ft.
The land around Estes Park is covered by trees (54%) and grassland (32%) within 2 miles, trees (78%) within 10 miles, and grassland (42%) and trees (41%) within 50 miles.
United States travel facts
- Power plugs
- Type A / B
- 120 V · 60 Hz
- Prices
- ≈ 100% of US
- price level, 2025
- GDP per capita
- $90,027
- 2025
- Happiness
- 6.8 / 10
- World Happiness, 2025
- Safe drinking water
- 98%
- of population, 2024
- Homicide rate
- 5.8
- per 100k, 2023
- Road deaths
- 12.7
- per 100k/yr, 2019
- Income group
- High
- World Bank
- Religion
Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.
Data sources
Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Estes Park (40.3772°, -105.5217°, elevation 0 ft), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Monthly air-quality (PM2.5) seasonality is from the CAMS EAC4 reanalysis (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service), scaled to the WHO annual mean where available. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).