Best National Parks to Visit Month-By-Month
When planning a trip to the national parks, one of the most important things to consider is the time of year that you are planning your visit. With a few exceptions, most national parks have an optimal time to visit, based on factors such as weather, crowd levels, and road closures.
In this guide, we cover the best time to visit each US national park, based on these factors.
First are the links to our guides about the best parks to visit, month-by-month. This is followed by a series of tables that illustrates the best time to visit each national park based on weather and crowd levels.
When to Visit the National Parks by Month
Below is a series of 12 guides, one for each month of the year. Each national park is listed at least once and many are listed multiples times.
These guides take many factors into consideration: weather, crowd levels, special events, fall colors, best time to go hiking, road closures, and our personal experiences in the parks. We haven’t been to all of the national parks, at least not yet, but we have done a lot of research as to the optimal times to visit these parks.
12 Best National Parks to Visit in January 2024 (USA)
Planning a trip to the US national parks in January but don’t know which ones to visit? In January, much of the country is cold and covered in snow, but there are plenty of parks you can visit to escape the wintry conditions. In this article, we cover the best national parks to visit in […]
10 Best National Parks to Visit in February 2024 (USA)
Which are the best US national parks to visit in February? The answer to that question depends on whether or not you prefer a warm destination or if you want to explore a winter wonderland. Most of the parks on this list have you escaping the cold, wintry weather, with the exception of one beautiful […]
10 Best National Parks to Visit in March 2024 (USA)
Planning a trip to the US national parks in March but don’t know which ones to visit? March brings warmer temperatures to most of the United States. Travel begins to pick up during this month, both because of the warmer weather and because families are hitting the road for spring break. There are a lot […]
14 Best National Parks to Visit in April 2024 (USA)
Which are the best national parks to visit in April? In this guide, we list 14 wonderful parks in the USA. On this list are a few of the most popular parks in the USA, several great spring break destinations, and a few remote, quieter parks to visit. About this National Park Series This article […]
15 Best National Parks to Visit in May 2024 (USA)
Planning a trip to the US national parks in May and don’t know which ones to visit? May is a beautiful time to visit the national parks, now that the snow has melted across much of the country and roads are beginning to reopen. The list of national parks to visit in May is a […]
15 Best National Parks to Visit in June 2024 (USA)
The list of US national parks to visit in June is wonderfully long and diverse. Visit the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, go hiking in the Rocky Mountains, spend some time in the tranquil forests in Olympic and Sequoia National Parks, and explore one of the most underrated US national parks, Wrangell-St. Elias. About […]
15 Best National Parks to Visit in July 2024 (USA)
Which are the best national parks to visit in July? In this guide, we list 15 great parks to visit in the USA. Go hiking in Mount Rainier and Glacier National Parks, go whale watching in the Channel Islands, and venture into Alaska for some amazing adventures. About this National Park Series This article is […]
15 Best National Parks to Visit in August 2024 (USA)
Planning a trip to the US national parks in August and don’t know which ones to visit? August is a busy time to visit the national parks, but crowd levels aren’t quite at their peak (that typically happens in July for many parks). In this guide, we list some popular summertime parks to visit plus […]
12 Best National Parks to Visit in September 2024 (USA)
September is one of the best months of the year to visit the national parks. The weather is fantastic across much of the USA, the busy summer season is coming to an end, and, in some parks, you can see the first of the fall colors. In this guide, we list 12 of the best […]
13 Best National Parks to Visit in October 2024 (USA)
In October, fall colors sweep across much of the United States. The majority of the parks that you will see on this list are parks that are ablaze in fall colors. Some of these are obvious picks, such as Acadia and Shenandoah, but a few may surprise you. In this guide, we list 13 beautiful […]
12 Best National Parks to Visit in November 2024 (USA)
Planning a trip to the US national parks in November and don’t know which ones to visit? The cooler weather in November makes this one of the best times of the year to visit the parks across the southern part of the USA. Road trip through Utah’s Mighty 5, go sledding on sand as white […]
10 Best National Parks to Visit in December 2024 (USA)
Which are the best national parks to visit in December? In this guide, we list 10 beautiful national parks in the USA. Whether you are planning a family getaway during winter break or a vacation before the holiday season rolls around, we have lots of great ideas for you. Go hiking in Utah, gaze across […]
Complete List of the National Parks
In the tables below, we list each of the 63 national parks in alphabetical order, and provide data for the best months to visit each of these parks.
The green line indicates the best months to visit each national park. The red line indicates the most crowded times to visit the park.
There are two different ways to use these tables.
If you have a particular month or season that you are planning your trip, you can look at that column (for example: May) and the parks that are highlighted in green for that month make great options for your trip.
If you have a park that you would like to visit (for example, Bryce Canyon National Park), scroll down to Bryce Canyon and the months highlighted in green are the best times to visit this park.
The tables are broken up into 8 national parks each, just to keep them manageable. In the caption for each table, we have links to our national park guides, if you want to learn more about the parks listed in that table.
To learn more about what the green and red bars indicate, scroll past the tables to the section “More Information about These Tables.”
ACADIA | AMERICAN SAMOA | ARCHES | BADLANDS | BIG BEND | BISCAYNE | BLACK CANYON OF THE GUNNISON | BRYCE CANYON
CANYONLANDS | CAPITOL REEF | CARLSBAD CAVERNS | CHANNEL ISLANDS | CONGAREE | CRATER LAKE | CUYAHOGA VALLEY | DEATH VALLEY
DENALI | DRY TORTUGAS | EVERGLADES | GATES OF THE ARCTIC | GATEWAY ARCH | GLACIER BAY | GLACIER | GRAND CANYON
GRAND TETON | GREAT BASIN | GREAT SAND DUNES | GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS | GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS | HALEAKALA | HAWAI’I VOLCANOES | HOT SPRINGS
INDIANA DUNES | ISLE ROYALE | JOSHUA TREE | KATMAI | KENAI FJORDS | KINGS CANYON | KOBUK VALLEY | LAKE CLARK
LASSEN VOLCANIC | MAMMOTH CAVE | MESA VERDE | MOUNT RAINIER | NEW RIVER GORGE | NORTH CASCADES | OLYMPIC | PETRIFIED FOREST
PINNACLES | REDWOOD | ROCKY MOUNTAIN | SAGUARO | SEQUOIA | SHENANDOAH | THEODORE ROOSEVELT | VIRGIN ISLANDS
VOYAGEURS | WHITE SANDS | WRANGELL-ST. ELIAS | WIND CAVE | YELLOWSTONE | YOSEMITE | ZION
More Information About These Tables
The red lines indicate peak visitation for each national park. This data comes from the National Park Service website based on monthly statistics for the last four years.
The green bars indicate the optimal time to visit each national park, based on several criteria: average high and low temperatures, road closures, and average monthly rainfall. We also used our personal experiences in these parks.
Average Temperature: “Ideal weather” is subjective, but for a month to get a green bar, the daily average high had to stay below 90°F (32°C) and the daily mean had to be above freezing. Since this is based on average temperatures, it does not account for a heat wave or an unusual cold front.
Road Closures: There are many parks that close some or all of the park roads in the winter due to snowfall. For example, Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park is only open from mid to late-June to late September. If this is a once in a lifetime trip, most likely you want to go when you can visit all areas of the park. On the table above, only July through September is listed as a good time to visit Glacier National Park, when all of the park roads are open. However, that doesn’t mean that you cannot visit Glacier National Park in June…you just won’t have access to everything in the park. So, a park won’t get a green bar for any month with a possible road closure.
Special Events: Some parks have special events that only happen one or two months out of the year. Examples of this are the superbloom in Death Valley, seeing the cacti bloom in Saguaro National Park, or watching as bats emerge from Carlsbad Caverns. These also make great times to visit these parks and you can find them listed in our monthly guides (coming soon).
For parks where trees are the dominant feature (Shenandoah, Great Smoky Mountains, and Acadia are a few examples), the presence of foliage is a factor for “optimal time” to visit these parks. For example, Shenandoah is much more picturesque in June, with leaves on the trees, than in February, when the trees are barren.
More Information About the National Parks
NATIONAL PARKS
Get Inspired
Learn more about the US National Parks. See the full list of all 63 parks, get recommendations on where to go, and start planning your next national parks adventure.
