Best Time to Visit
Best Time to Visit NPS Places
Month windows for 86 source-reviewed National Park Service places, grouped by region and state.
86Places
9Regions
This page lists the 86 NPS places with a source-reviewed best-time guide, grouped by region and state. Month windows come from the NPS Sounds region seasonality model described on the methodology page; each guide shows the full month table and its dated source cards.
Read the NPS Sounds methodology for how month windows are assembled, or browse all NPS places.
9 places
Appalachian
Modeled primary window: May and April. Best value: May and April. Peak crowd pressure: July and August.
11 places
Arctic
Modeled primary window: August and September. Best value: September and May. Peak crowd pressure: July and August.
Alaska
- Best time to visit Aniakchak
- Best time to visit Cape Krusenstern
- Best time to visit Denali National Park & Preserve
- Best time to visit Gates of the Arctic
- Best time to visit Glacier Bay
- Best time to visit Katmai National Park & Preserve
- Best time to visit Kenai Fjords National Park
- Best time to visit Kobuk Valley National Park
- Best time to visit Lake Clark
- Best time to visit Wrangell - St Elias
- Best time to visit Yukon - Charley Rivers
10 places
California Sierra & Coast
Modeled primary window: April and May. Best value: October and April. Peak crowd pressure: July and August.
California
- Best time to visit Channel Islands National Park
- Best time to visit Devils Postpile National Monument
- Best time to visit Golden Gate
- Best time to visit Lassen Volcanic National Park
- Best time to visit Lava Beds National Monument
- Best time to visit Pinnacles National Park
- Best time to visit Redwood National and State Parks
- Best time to visit Sequoia & Kings Canyon
- Best time to visit Whiskeytown
- Best time to visit Yosemite National Park
8 places
Coastal Atlantic
Modeled primary window: May and April. Best value: April and March. Peak crowd pressure: July and August.
19 places
Desert Southwest
Modeled primary window: February and March. Best value: February and December. Peak crowd pressure: October and April.
6 places
Great Lakes
Modeled primary window: September and June. Best value: October and September. Peak crowd pressure: July and August.
8 places
Pacific Northwest
Modeled primary window: July and May. Best value: April and May. Peak crowd pressure: July and August.
12 places
Rocky Mountain
Modeled primary window: July and August. Best value: September and October. Peak crowd pressure: July and August.
3 places
Volcanic/Hawaiian
Modeled primary window: April and October. Best value: November and February. Peak crowd pressure: July and August.