Weather in Denver in October

Prime time. October is about as good as Denver gets. Highs average 20.6 °C, lows 5 °C, and rain falls on 6 days — nothing in the month is working against you.

October is the highest-scoring month of the twelve. The nearest rival is September, and the month at the other end of the year is July.

Rain falls on only 6 days, so an itinerary with no wet-weather fallback is a reasonable risk. Nothing specialised needed — this is the month you pack for the trip rather than for the weather.

What the averages hide

Averages flatten a month, and this one hides a few things: 4 nights fall below freezing; the day swings 15.6 °C from low to high, which means one bag has to cover both. Across the twenty years measured, the hottest October day reached 31.5 °C and the coldest night fell to -12.5 °C, and the wettest single day dropped 27 mm — roughly 90% of the month's rain in one day.

October is moderately variable: 6 mm in the driest year against 63 mm in the wettest, around an average of 30 mm. Roughly two Octobers in three land near that average, and the third does something else entirely.

Wind is light at 8.3 km/h, so the temperature on the page is close to the temperature on your skin, and humidity is unremarkable at 48%.

How October sits in the year

The month is on the way down: 7.5 °C cooler than September, with November dropping another 6.5 °C. The first week and the last are not the same trip.

Daylight in October

11.2 hours of daylight, losing 1.3 hours across the month. That is between Denver's extremes of 15 and 9.4 hours, so days are long enough not to constrain the plan.

An inland climate

With no coast nearby, the year swings a fair way — 37 °C between the warmest afternoons and the coldest nights, wider than any coastal city at this latitude would manage. At 1609 m, altitude is doing as much work here as latitude: thinner air means fierce sun by day and heat that leaves the moment it sets. Within October itself the daily swing is 15.6 °C, so mornings and afternoons need different clothes.

How busy it gets

Peak season. Expect the highest prices of the year and to be booking well ahead.

Crowd levels are estimated from climate desirability and school-holiday calendars, not from visitor numbers.

October in Denver versus nearby

If Denver is one option among several, the nearby comparison is worth making. Aspen is the weaker option in October — 7.6 °C cooler, 3 days more rain. Moab is close enough to be a coin toss — within a degree on temperature, 1 day less rain.

So: October is the answer for Denver. If it is booked out or priced out, September is the next best thing at 5 points behind, and July is the month to keep off the shortlist.

Every month in Denver

See all twelve months in Denver, or where else to go in October.