Free State

Best Time for Clarens & Eastern Free State

Artists' village in the Maluti foothills — sandstone hiking and mountain air

Monthly scores for 5 activities — derived from multi-year wind, rainfall, sea temperature, and wave averages. No opinion: every score is calculated from the data.

Hiking — Month by Month

Scored on: Dry trails, mild–warm temp, low wind

Best months: Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct

Scale:ExcellentGoodFairPoorAvoid

Jan

3/5

Fair

15.6d rain

Feb

3/5

Fair

14d rain

Mar

4/5

Good

8.4d rain

Apr

4/5

Good

9d rain

May

5/5

Excellent

3.2d rain

Jun

5/5

Excellent

2.2d rain

Jul

5/5

Excellent

2.2d rain

Hols

Aug

5/5

Excellent

2.4d rain

Sep

5/5

Excellent

3.4d rain

Oct

4/5

Good

9d rain

Nov

3/5

Fair

12.4d rain

Dec

3/5

Fair

18d rain

Hols

Where to go

  • Rooiberge Mountain Reserve (day hikes)
  • Golden Gate Highlands NP (Ribbok Trail)
  • Clarens Griqua Trail

Best Months per Activity

Months scoring 4/5 or higher. Click a row to explore that activity.

Hiking

Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct

Mountain Biking

Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct

Trail Running

Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec

Camping

Mar, Apr, May, Aug, Sep, Oct

Fishing

Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec

Monthly Weather Averages

5-year averages 2020–2024 (ERA5 reanalysis)

Month High/Low (°C) Rain days Wind (km/h) School
January24.3/13.215.617.8Term
February24.1/13.11417.9Term
March23.3/11.68.417.3Term
April19.7/8.2917Term
May17.8/5.43.215.2Term
June14.6/1.72.215.1Term
July14.9/1.42.216.7Winter break
August17.8/3.42.418.6Term
September22/7.33.421Term
October23.4/9.6921.3Term
November23.7/10.912.420.3Term
December24.3/131820.2Summer break

How Scores Are Calculated

Each month receives a score of 1–5 per activity using fixed thresholds on the raw data. No editorial judgement — every score is derived directly from ERA5, NOAA ERSSTv5, and CMEMS figures.

Hiking:Dry trails, mild–warm temp, low wind
Mountain Biking:Dry trails, manageable temp, low wind
Trail Running:Cool–warm temp (heat risk ↑), low rain
Camping:Dry nights, mild temperatures (frost/heat penalty)
Fishing:Calm seas, manageable wind, cooler water

Data Sources & Attribution

Wind speed, rainfall & air temperature

ERA5 reanalysis (ECMWF) via Open-Meteo Archive API. Daily-max 10 m wind speed, total daily precipitation, and 2 m temperature, 2020–2024, averaged to monthly means. License: CC-BY 4.0.

open-meteo.com

Data last fetched: 2026-05-02

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