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What to pack for The Grand Canyon in December

Typical December, built from ten years of weather

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Typical for your dates
Highs 45°F, lows 28°F, rain 4 of 31 days
snowycoldshort days
Sunset lands around 5:15pm. Wind averages 7 mph. No border paperwork on this one.
Packing for

Essentials

16 items · 0 packed
Insulated puffy (down or synthetic)
Lows around 28°F. Goes under the shell when the wind picks up.
On sale
Repleto Down Jacket - Women's
budgetWomen's
Repleto Down Jacket - Women's
$74 $185
Shop
at Cotopaxi
On sale
Fuego Down Jacket - Men's
budgetMen's
Fuego Down Jacket - Men's
$108 $270
Shop
at Cotopaxi
On sale
Fuego Hooded Down Jacket - Women's
budgetWomen's
Fuego Hooded Down Jacket - Women's
$148 $295
Shop
at Cotopaxi
On sale
Hybrid WINDSTOPPER Lightweight Puffy Jacket - Men's
mid
Hybrid WINDSTOPPER Lightweight Puffy Jacket…
$196 $280
Shop
at Backcountry.com
On sale
Solazo Down Hooded Jacket - Women's
budgetWomen's
Solazo Down Hooded Jacket - Women's
$90 $240
Shop
at Cotopaxi
Swipe for all 5 options →
Merino base layer top
Wear one, dry one. Cotton stays wet all week here.
On sale
Terramar Men's 3.0 Merino Bi-Layer Long-Sleeve Crew Base Layer Top Gray S
budgetMen's
Terramar Men's 3.0 Merino Bi-Layer Long-Sleeve…
$29.73 $45
Shop
at REI
On sale
Wedze Women’s BL900 Merino Wool Ski Base Layer Top
budgetWomen's
Wedze Women’s BL900 Merino Wool Ski Base Layer Top
$60 $99.99
Shop
at Decathlon America
On sale
Arc'teryx Women's Lana Merino Wool Crew Base Layer Top Black XS
midWomen's
Arc'teryx Women's Lana Merino Wool Crew Base…
$63.93 $90
Shop
at REI
On sale
Arc'teryx Women's Satoro Merino Wool Crew Neck Long-Sleeve Base Layer Top Green XS
midWomen's
Arc'teryx Women's Satoro Merino Wool Crew Neck…
$95.73 $120
Shop
at REI
On sale
Terramar Women's 3.0 Merino Flex Long-Sleeve Crew Base Layer Top Blue XL
budgetWomen's
Terramar Women's 3.0 Merino Flex Long-Sleeve…
$54.73 $80
Shop
at REI
Swipe for all 5 options →
Fleece or midlayer
The layer you'll wear more than any other.
Warm hat (beanie)
Lows drop to 28°F, so a beanie stops heat loss from your head.
Gloves
Wind at 12 km/h and freezing temperatures make bare hands painful within minutes.
Insulated winter boots
Snow covers the ground and 28°F overnight means boots rated below that.
Polarized sunglasses
Desert sun reflects off snow and rocks even on a 3.5 UV day.
DEET or picaridin repellent
Insects don't vanish in December, and bites itch worse in cold.

Before you go

1 to sort

Recommended

11 items
Merino base layer bottoms
Neck gaiter / buff
Thermal socks
Permethrin-treated clothing spray
Reusable water bottle
Multi-port USB-C charger (GaN)