Zaanse Schans Weather
The Zaanse Schans is entirely outdoors. The dike has no shelter on it, the mills only turn when there is wind, and the season decides which doors are unlocked. This page is the climate; the calendar page is the crowds and the events.
What the weather does to a visit here
Four consequences, in the order they will affect you.
- There is no shelter on the dike. Six hundred metres of open path between the water and the polder, and the wind comes across it unobstructed. A windproof coat beats an umbrella every time, because an umbrella here does not survive.
- The sails turn on wind. A still day means mills that are open but not running, which is a different experience and worth knowing before you set out disappointed.
- Rain does not close anything. The mills, the museums, the cheese farm and the workshops are all indoors once you are through the door, and several tour listings state outright that they operate in all weather. A wet day is a museum day here.
- The season changes what is open. April to September is the high season with everything unlocked; October to March runs shorter hours and fewer doors.
The Zaanse Schans month by month
The figures below are the Dutch national climate normals for 1991–2020, published by the KNMI for its reference station at De Bilt. De Bilt is inland; the Zaanstreek sits about fifteen kilometres from the North Sea, so in practice its winters run slightly milder, its summers slightly cooler and its wind considerably stronger than these numbers suggest.
January
Average high / low: 6°C / 1°C. Rain: 71 mm over 18 days. Sunshine: 67 hours.
The coldest, greyest and one of the wettest months, and the emptiest. Several mills are shut and the low season hours are short. What you get instead is the dike to yourself and, on a clear cold morning, the best reflections of the year in the Zaan. Bring more layers than you think: there is no shelter anywhere on the dike and the wind comes straight off the polder.
February
Average high / low: 7°C / 1°C. Rain: 63 mm over 16 days. Sunshine: 90 hours.
Marginally brighter than January and just as quiet. The light lengthens noticeably by the end of the month. This is the month for photographers who want the mill row with nobody in front of it, and the month when a windproof coat matters more than an umbrella — an umbrella on the Kalverringdijk in February is decorative.
March
Average high / low: 11°C / 2°C. Rain: 58 mm over 15 days. Sunshine: 139 hours.
The driest month of the winter half and the point at which the village starts to wake up. Sunshine more than doubles on February. Crocuses come out along the dike and the millers begin opening more consistently. Still low season until the end of the month, so check the board before you come for a specific mill.
April
Average high / low: 15°C / 5°C. Rain: 42 mm over 12 days. Sunshine: 189 hours.
The driest month of the year, and the one with the best ratio of daylight to crowds. High season opens, so everything that opens is open. King’s Day on the 27th is a national holiday: the village is busy and Het Jonge Schaap closes for it. A good month to come.
May
Average high / low: 18°C / 8°C. Rain: 59 mm over 14 days. Sunshine: 218 hours.
The sunniest month of the year, with more sunshine hours than July. Long evenings, warm afternoons and the polder at its greenest. Two event days fall here — National Mill Day on the 9th and Pinksterzaan on Whit Monday — and both fill the village.
June
Average high / low: 21°C / 11°C. Rain: 71 mm over 14 days. Sunshine: 207 hours.
Long days, the light lasting until ten at night, and the first of the properly busy months. De Zoeker opens on Saturdays from now until the end of August, which is the only time of year you can get inside it. Showers are short and heavy rather than persistent.
July
Average high / low: 23°C / 13°C. Rain: 85 mm over 15 days. Sunshine: 214 hours.
The warmest month, and also the wettest by volume — Dutch summer rain arrives as thunderstorms rather than drizzle. The dike is at its busiest between eleven and three. Come before ten or after four, and take the sun seriously: there is no shade on the Kalverringdijk at all.
August
Average high / low: 23°C / 13°C. Rain: 84 mm over 15 days. Sunshine: 196 hours.
As warm as July and marginally darker, with the same afternoon crush. Folklore Day on the 15th and the Dam tot Dam pre-run on the last Friday both bring thousands of people; both are worth seeing and neither is quiet. The school holidays end mid-month and the difference is immediate.
September
Average high / low: 20°C / 10°C. Rain: 78 mm over 14 days. Sunshine: 153 hours.
The best compromise month. Still high season, still warm enough, and noticeably calmer once the Dutch schools go back. The light drops lower and the mill row in the late afternoon starts to be worth waiting for. Open Monument Days mid-month open the Noorderhuis, which is otherwise shut.
October
Average high / low: 15°C / 7°C. Rain: 81 mm over 16 days. Sunshine: 119 hours.
Low season begins and hours shorten. Autumn colour along the polder ditches, long shadows, and far fewer people. Wetter than the summer in days if not in volume, so waterproofs rather than an umbrella. The pedicab between the station and the village stops running on the 1st.
November
Average high / low: 10°C / 4°C. Rain: 80 mm over 19 days. Sunshine: 67 hours.
The wettest month by number of rainy days, and the darkest apart from December. Nineteen days in twenty-eight will see rain of some kind. Also close to empty, and if you want the Zaanse Schans without another visitor in the frame, this is the month to take the risk.
December
Average high / low: 7°C / 2°C. Rain: 84 mm over 19 days. Sunshine: 56 hours.
The darkest month: barely two hours of sunshine a day on average, and dark by half past four. Christmas Day and New Year’s Day run reduced hours, though the clog workshop opens on both from 10:00 to 16:00. Cold, wet and quiet, with the occasional bright frozen morning that makes the whole trip.
The seasons, and which one you want
Spring (March to May) is the best of it. April is the driest month of the year and May the sunniest, the high season is open, and the crowds have not reached their July level. If you can choose, choose this.
Summer (June to August) gives you the longest days and the fullest opening, and it is also when the dike is genuinely crowded between eleven and three. The rain, when it comes, is a heavy thunderstorm rather than a grey afternoon.
Autumn (September to November) begins with the best compromise month in the year and ends with the wettest. September is warm, open and calmer; November is dark, wet and empty.
Winter (December to February) is short days, closed mills and almost nobody. It is the wrong season for a first visit and the right one for a second, and a clear cold morning here is as good as the place gets.
Best time of day
Early or late, and for two separate reasons. Before ten the coaches have not arrived and the village is quiet. After four they have gone, and in summer the low sun comes down the Zaan behind the mill row, which is the photograph everybody actually wants.
The middle of the day is the busiest and, in summer, the harshest light. The mills and museums mostly close at five; the dike does not close at all, so an evening walk in June is free, empty and open.
Zaanse Schans tours from Amsterdam that leave Amsterdam early get you onto the dike inside the good window, which is the single biggest thing a guided day can do for you here.