Ballarat weather: When is the best time to visit Ballarat?

The Ballarat weather can be cold and windy in winter. The best time to visit Sovereign Hill is between October and April, with March a particularly good month to visit Ballarat.

Ballarat, along with Bendigo, is one of the two main cities of the Goldfields region in Victoria. There are several good things to do in Ballarat that make it worth the drive, including Kryal Castle, the Ballarat Wildlife Park and the genuinely excellent Sovereign Hill open air museum.

Sovereign Hill in Ballarat is more than just a museum – it’s a recreated gold mining town crammed with activities. Photo by David Whitley/ Australia Travel Questions

But your enjoyment of an excellent open air museum may depend fairly heavily on the weather. And the Ballarat weather is notorious even amongst Melburnians who accept their own city’s four seasons in one day reputation.

4 Ballarat experiences to book in advance ⬇️

Sovereign Hill tickets – visit Australia’s best open air museum. Give it a full day, too – there’s so much to see and do.
Ballarat Wildlife Park entry – meet loads of cute native Aussie animals.
Kryal Castle admission – enjoy a bizarre knights in armour theme park.
Beer-making course – learn to brew, with tastings and lunch thrown in.

Ballarat weather compared to Melbourne

Ballarat is at a significantly higher elevation than Melbourne – it starts at about 400 metres above sea level. The Goldfields city is often a couple of degrees colder than the Victorian capital. Winters can get notoriously chilly, with the lower temperatures in Ballarat married to strong winds.

If you’re working out the best time to visit Sovereign Hill, the Bureau of Meteorology has plenty of climate data.

Ballarat weather stats: Hottest month

The hottest month in Ballarat is January, with a mean maximum daily temperature of 25.2°C. February is more or less the same with a mean maximum daily temperature of 25.1°C. Obviously, that mean temperature disguises a few absolutely roasting hot days.

In terms of rainfall, the Ballarat weather is also best in January and February. The average monthly rainfall in January is 40.1mm, compared to 74mm in July. That might not seem like a massive difference, but there’s a big difference in the number of rainy days. There’s an average of 4.7 rainy days in February, but 14.2 in July.

Best time to visit Ballarat, Victoria

If you think January and February might be a touch too hot for your tastes, then March and December are a little cooler, with only a marginal increase in rainfall. The Ballarat weather is pretty decent from October to April, but March is probably the best month to visit Ballarat.

More Australian weather by destination