# Durango in April ?



## dirtspin (Jul 14, 2007)

Road trippin 1st week of April !!

Curious about, at what elevation we might encounter snow in Durango and what
are average temps in around 1st week of April .
Also thinking Grand Junction might be better choice at that time of year, but kinda hoping
Durango might be possible .
Any feedback on usual weather conditions for 1st week of April would be greatly
appreciated !!

Thanks


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## Pablo (Jul 7, 2004)

It will be cold (probably), it will be snowy everywhere above the town, if not in the town. Do you want to ride bikes? April is one of Colroado's snowiest months. The other is March. You might find some good riding is you go down elevation (like towards Cortez), but there will be no riding the mountain passes. 

Grand Junction (adjacent to Fruita) will aslo be fairly cold, but is is much drier there. It is also a much lower elevation. You won't be able to ride up Grand Mesa (too cold and snowy), but you could ride the trails of you bring warm clothes. You could also probably ride over the Colroado Monument, but that will also be cold.


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## wasserbox (Mar 17, 2002)

dirtspin said:


> Road trippin 1st week of April !!
> 
> Curious about, at what elevation we might encounter snow in Durango and what
> are average temps in around 1st week of April .
> ...


It's a crapshoot in April. You can probably ride on the road, and there will be people training on the passes the first week of April gearing up for the Iron Horse. It will most likely be in the 40-50's during the day, and high 20's at night.

It's freaking cold right now. We haven't had this kind of persistent negative temps as long as I can remember.

I typically spend most of March through mid-May in Utah / GJ-fruita / New Mexico.

If you're looking for a riding destination, I would not pick Durango at that time.


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## ColoradoVeloDude (Oct 7, 2005)

dirtspin said:


> Road trippin 1st week of April !!
> 
> Curious about, at what elevation we might encounter snow in Durango and what
> are average temps in around 1st week of April .
> ...



Go look at www.weatherunderground.com These guys keep an extensive set of past weather history. It won't tell you what the weather will be for this year, but will help you to gauge averages and maybe what to expect. I'd expect sun/snow/rain/wind/fog/whatever/and anything goes. April in Colorado is a roller coaster month for weather -- more so in the mountain areas like Durango. The south western side of the state has been hammered this year by snow. A lot of it may not even by gone by April!

I'd think Grand Junction would be a better bet the the temperatures and overall weather there is a little more predictable. A ride through the Colorado National Monument is a pretty cool ride. I think the best way is to enter through the south east entrance and pop out at the north. If you want a real challenge, drive a little east of Grand Junction and pick up the road to the top of Grand Mesa -- a 7,000 foot elevation gain over 20 miles. Heck of a ride back down. The first two days of the 2005 Ride The Rockies was basically this -- a 47 mile loop Grand Junction through the Colorado National Monument and back, then 98 miles from Grand Junction to Delta over Grand Mesa (more like The Big Grunt). From the top of Grand Mesa it's like 44 miles all down hill into Delta (wheeeee!)


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## Bocephus Jones II (Oct 7, 2004)

Pablo said:


> It will be cold (probably), it will be snowy everywhere above the town, if not in the town. Do you want to ride bikes? April is one of Colroado's snowiest months. The other is March. You might find some good riding is you go down elevation (like towards Cortez), but there will be no riding the mountain passes.
> 
> Grand Junction (adjacent to Fruita) will aslo be fairly cold, but is is much drier there. It is also a much lower elevation. You won't be able to ride up Grand Mesa (too cold and snowy), but you could ride the trails of you bring warm clothes. You could also probably ride over the Colroado Monument, but that will also be cold.


Plus southern CO has been getting record snow this year. Probably even more snow than normal there. I've ridden Moab in Feb before, but it was cold and there was some snow.


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## Pablo (Jul 7, 2004)

Bocephus Jones II said:


> Plus southern CO has been getting record snow this year. Probably even more snow than normal there. I've ridden Moab in Feb before, but it was cold and there was some snow.


Very true, although I don't know about record. There's well above average snowpack all over the state this year, especially in the southwest. Even if there's some serious dust storms and it gets warm very early, I don't see the trails drying out very high up.


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