How Crowded Is El Malpais in January?
January is a quiet month at El Malpais National Monument, running about 0.5× the park's average month — roughly 4% of the year's visitors come in January. It is the quietest month of the year here — the best time to have the place largely to yourself, though you may trade away some warmth and daylight. Typical January weather averages a high near 47°F and a low around 15°F. You'll get about 9.9 hours of daylight to explore.
Frequently Asked Questions
January is quiet at El Malpais National Monument (about 0.5× the average month). Our best-time score rates it "Fair". The single best month overall is August.
The busiest month is May and the quietest is January. January sits at about 0.5× the park's average, or 4% of annual visitation.
Source: National Park Service Visitor Use Statistics (1988–2025), NOAA NCEI Climate Normals 1991–2020. Updated 2026-06-20.