The short answer
For weather, the best months are March through mid-May and late September through early November: daytime highs in the 70s and 80s, cool evenings, the pools open and the desert hikes at their best. For price, the cheapest windows are late summer, the first days of December, mid-to-late January and the weeks after Thanksgiving, when rooms drop sharply midweek. For atmosphere, pool season peaks from May to September and the holidays bring the biggest crowds of the year.
The catch is that Las Vegas is a convention city, and a single trade show can push rates up across every hotel on the Strip regardless of the season. Always check the events hub for the big weeks before you lock in dates. Below is the year month by month.
January and February
The year opens with the calmest weather and one of the most expensive weeks. Highs sit in the upper 50s to low 60s with chilly nights around 40°F; pools are mostly closed, but hiking at Red Rock Canyon and Valley of Fire is ideal. The first week of January is dominated by CES, the enormous technology show that fills well over a hundred thousand rooms and doubles or triples rates for the duration. Once it clears, mid-to-late January is among the cheapest and quietest times of the year.
February brings Super Bowl weekend, which is a huge sportsbook event with rates to match, and Valentine's Day is a popular wedding date. Chinese New Year celebrations bring decorations to the Strip resorts and a spike in visitors from Asia. Outside those weekends, February is mild, inexpensive and good for shows and dining without crowds.
March, April and May
Spring is the most popular season for good reason. Highs climb from the upper 60s in March to the low 90s by late May, pools reopen across the Strip in March and the dayclubs start their season. March Madness in mid-March fills every sportsbook and pushes weekend rates high. Spring break brings younger crowds through March and early April, and the big music and pool-party weekends begin.
April is arguably the single best month: reliably warm, rarely hot, everything open, and hotel rates moderate midweek. May is warmer and busier; Memorial Day weekend is one of the highest-demand pool weekends of the year, and the Electric Daisy Carnival in May brings well over a hundred thousand festival-goers and books out hotels near the Strip. Read the pool season guide for how the pools ramp up.
June, July and August
Summer is hot in a way that shapes every plan. Highs of 100–110°F are normal from mid-June through August, with the occasional stretch above 115°F. The upside is price: hotel rates fall midweek to the cheapest levels of the year, and if you are happy to live by the pool from noon to five and do outdoor things before 9am or after dark, summer is a bargain. The pools and dayclubs are at full tilt and the resort air conditioning is excellent.
July 4th weekend and the weekends of big fights or concerts spike rates. Monsoon season from July to September brings occasional dramatic thunderstorms and flash flooding, usually brief. Desert day trips are risky in the heat; Hoover Dam is fine because it is short, but Valley of Fire and long hikes should wait for autumn. Families on school holidays are the main summer crowd; see Las Vegas with kids for how to cope with the heat.
September, October and November
Autumn is the second peak and, for many regulars, the best time of year. September is still hot but the evenings ease, Labor Day weekend is the last big pool blowout, and the second half of the month sees rates and temperatures both settle. October is superb: highs in the 80s, pools still open, the desert hikes back on, and the calendar packed with conventions, festivals and the start of the residency season. Halloween weekend is a party.
November cools to the 60s and 70s with cold nights. The Formula 1 Grand Prix in late November closes parts of the Strip for weeks of build-out and produces the most expensive room rates of the year for race weekend, then rates crash the week after. Thanksgiving weekend is busy but not extreme. Most pools close in October or November; a few resorts keep one heated pool open year-round.
December
December is two different months. The first days are quiet and cheap, then the National Finals Rodeo arrives for ten nights in early December and fills the city with cowboy hats, viewing parties and higher rates, especially near the Thomas & Mack Center and on the south Strip. The weeks in the middle of the month, once the rodeo leaves, are among the cheapest of the year and the resorts are decorated: the Bellagio Conservatory's holiday display is a highlight, and the weather is crisp with highs in the upper 50s.
Christmas week is moderately busy, then New Year's Eve is the single most expensive night in Las Vegas, with minimum stays, closed roads and several hundred thousand people on the Strip. Our New Year's Eve guide and holidays guide cover both ends of the month.
Weekdays vs weekends matters more than the month
Whatever the season, the day of the week moves prices more than almost anything else. Sunday through Thursday nights are commonly 40–60% cheaper than Friday and Saturday at the same resort, shows are easier to book, restaurants have tables and the pools have chairs. If you can travel midweek, you can afford a better resort and more experiences for the same money. Many regulars arrive on a Sunday or Monday and leave Thursday.
Conventions complicate this, because they fill the midweek nights that would otherwise be cheap. The biggest are CES in January, the construction and consumer-electronics shows in the spring and autumn, and a rotating list of industry events that can add 50,000 to 150,000 visitors for a few days. Check the convention calendar on the official visitor authority website and read our CES guide for the clearest example of how a show reshapes a week.
Match the month to the trip you want
- Pool and party trip: late April to early October, with May and September the sweet spots for heat.
- Shows, dining and gambling with no pool: January after CES, February, early December or mid-December, when rates are lowest.
- Hiking and day trips: October to April; Red Rock, Valley of Fire and the Grand Canyon are all better in the cooler months.
- Family trip: March, April or October, when it is warm enough for pools without dangerous heat.
- Big event trip: pick the event in the events hub and book six months ahead.
- Lowest possible price: midweek in late August, or the second and third weeks of January.
Once you have a month, the trip planning checklist tells you what to book and when, and the itineraries hub has a plan for every length of stay.