Home › Journeys › New Mexico South: White Sands & Carlsbad › Best time
Best Time for New Mexico South: White Sands & Carlsbad
Last updated:
Sweet spot: January, February, March. Computed from NASA POWER climate normals across the route's overnight towns, balancing temperature, rainfall and daylight.
💡 Good to know
- Gypsum dunes cool enough to sled barefoot, cavern temperatures constant, and green chile season roasting through the fall — desert winter at its most generous.
- Surface heat pushes past 38°C but the caverns hold 13°C year-round, and the Brazilian free-tailed bats spiral out of the cave mouth every summer dusk.
| Month | Low | High | Rain | Daylight | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −1.4°C | 12.1°C | 14 mm | 10.1 h | ❄ |
| February | 0.3°C | 15.1°C | 12 mm | 10.8 h | |
| March | 4.3°C | 20.2°C | 12 mm | 11.8 h | |
| April | 8.3°C | 25.1°C | 10 mm | 12.8 h | |
| May | 13.4°C | 30.1°C | 13 mm | 13.7 h | |
| June | 19.3°C | 35.6°C | 18 mm | 14.1 h | |
| July | 21.2°C | 34.5°C | 55 mm | 13.9 h | |
| August | 20.4°C | 33.4°C | 47 mm | 13.2 h | |
| September | 16.2°C | 29.9°C | 45 mm | 12.2 h | |
| October | 9.8°C | 24.5°C | 24 mm | 11.2 h | |
| November | 3.2°C | 17.4°C | 14 mm | 10.3 h | |
| December | −1.1°C | 12.0°C | 14 mm | 9.9 h | ❄ |