Best time to hike the Dales Way
Best: April–May and September–October. Also good: June–August.
The Dales Way is 130 km long, in 6 stages. Below is the average weather for every month at about 167 m, the middle height of the trail (60–552 m), from 10 years of daily data (2015–2024).
Weather month by month
| Month | High °C | Low °C | Rain mm | Rain days | Daylight h | Snow cm |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6° | 2° | 110 | 18 | 7.9 | 6 |
| February | 6° | 2° | 106 | 16 | 9.7 | 4 |
| March | 8° | 2° | 96 | 17 | 11.7 | 2 |
| April | 11° | 3° | 57 | 11 | 14.0 | 0 |
| May | 15° | 7° | 70 | 14 | 16.0 | 0 |
| June | 18° | 10° | 81 | 15 | 17.2 | 0 |
| July | 18° | 11° | 104 | 18 | 16.7 | 0 |
| August | 18° | 12° | 103 | 19 | 14.9 | 0 |
| September | 16° | 10° | 93 | 17 | 12.6 | 0 |
| October | 13° | 7° | 114 | 19 | 10.4 | 0 |
| November | 9° | 4° | 114 | 19 | 8.4 | 0 |
| December | 7° | 3° | 135 | 21 | 7.4 | 3 |
Season notes from our guide
The best months are April to early June and September to October, when the paths are drier and the villages less busy. July and August are popular and warm, but beds fill early. In winter some B&Bs close, daylight is short, and the crossing of Cam Fell can be wet, cold and misty. Lambing runs from about March to May, so keep dogs under close control. After heavy rain the riverside paths can flood, especially in Wharfedale and by the Lune.
Stages, map, elevation profile, places to stay and emergency help, free.
Read the full Dales Way guideHike it with Outest
Offline maps, stages and places to stay on your phone.
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Weather: NASA POWER (MERRA-2 reanalysis), daily values 2015–2024 near 54.23, -2.33, adjusted to 167 m. Rain days: days with at least 1 mm. Daylight: sunrise to sunset on the 15th of the month.