Every park has a best season. Here's where to go each month of the year, and why.
January belongs to the deserts, the subtropics and one snow-globe exception. Summer's furnace parks are finally hikeable, Florida's wetlands are in their dry season, and Yellowstone's wolves are easiest to spot against the snow.
Death Valley · Everglades · Saguaro · Yellowstone · Virgin Islands · Hawaiʻi Volcanoes · Big Bend
February is the last great month for the desert parks before spring-break crowds, and the first hint of wildflower season in the lowest valleys. Snow brings out a rare side of the red-rock parks.
Big Bend · Joshua Tree · Death Valley · Everglades · Biscayne · Bryce Canyon · Saguaro
March is wildflower month in the Southwest and California. After a wet winter, desert annuals bloom, the coastal islands turn yellow, and condors ride the thermals over Pinnacles.
Pinnacles · Saguaro · Joshua Tree · Channel Islands · Death Valley · Big Bend · Congaree
April is prime time for Utah's red-rock parks, between winter cold and summer's 100-degree days, and for Appalachian wildflowers. Spring comes to the Smokies from the valleys upward.
Arches · Capitol Reef · Great Smoky Mountains · Zion · Canyonlands · Pinnacles · Guadalupe Mountains
May is a turning point: snowmelt powers Yosemite's waterfalls, Great Sand Dunes gets a seasonal beach, baby bison appear on the northern plains, and the first summer programs start.
Yosemite · Great Sand Dunes · Mesa Verde · Congaree · Theodore Roosevelt · Carlsbad Caverns · Shenandoah
June is baby-animal season in the Rockies, the height of the Pacific Northwest's rhododendron bloom and the opening month of Alaska's summer.
Yellowstone · Grand Teton · Redwood · Kenai Fjords · Isle Royale · Acadia · Great Smoky Mountains
July is high summer: the alpine roads are fully open, Alaska's bears gather at the salmon runs, and the high country finally melts out.
Glacier · Katmai · Rocky Mountain · Crater Lake · Olympic · Lassen Volcanic · Denali
August is high-country month: subalpine meadows peak, the Sierra backcountry is snow-free, and Alaska's glaciers are at their most accessible.
Mount Rainier · North Cascades · Kings Canyon · Wrangell–St. Elias · Great Basin · Voyageurs · Glacier
September is the insider's month: summer crowds thin, elk bugle, aspens turn gold in the Rockies and Great Basin, and Alaska's tundra turns red.
Rocky Mountain · Grand Teton · Denali · Katmai · Great Basin · Yellowstone · Crater Lake
October is fall-color month in the East and prime hiking season in Utah. It's also a good time for bridge jumping in West Virginia.
Great Smoky Mountains · Shenandoah · Acadia · New River Gorge · Zion · Cuyahoga Valley · Canyonlands
November sends hikers south: Texas canyons light up with fall color, the deserts cool off, and Arkansas's thermal springs are especially welcome.
Guadalupe Mountains · Big Bend · Death Valley · Joshua Tree · White Sands · Hot Springs · Congaree
December favors the tropics and deserts: Florida's dry season begins, the Caribbean is past hurricane season, and the Southwest is quiet and cool.
Everglades · Virgin Islands · Hawaiʻi Volcanoes · Death Valley · Saguaro · Dry Tortugas · Bryce Canyon