Best Time to Visit Crater Lake National Park

Pick a month. Best months are in bold.

The best months to visit Crater Lake National Park are May, June and September — computed from official NPS visitation (2021–2025 average), NOAA weather normals and daylight. July is the crowd peak (164,423 monthly visits); January is quietest at 4% of peak.

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Best months for fewer crowds

The quietest months at Crater Lake, leaving out harsh weather and months when main access is typically closed.

Monthly crowd curve

Average monthly recreation visits, 2021–2025 (NPS Visitor Use Statistics). Amber bar = current month.

Crater Lake month by month

Crowds: NPS Visitor Use Statistics, mean of 2021–2025 (2020 excluded as a COVID-19 anomaly). Weather: NOAA 1991–2020 monthly normals, station CRATER LAKE NPS HQ, OR US (1 mi from park coordinates). Daylight: computed for the 15th of each month at the park's location. Methodology.

How many people visit Crater Lake each year

Crater Lake National Park had 632,242 recreation visits in 2025, 25% more than 2024 (NPS Visitor Use Statistics). The busiest year since 2015 was 2016, with 756,344. Over 2021–2025 it averaged 574,435 visits a year, which makes it the 27th least-visited of the 63 national parks.

Calendar-year recreation visits as published by NPS Visitor Use Statistics. 2020 is shown here but left out of the monthly averages above, because the COVID-19 pandemic makes it unrepresentative. See how every park compares: all 63 parks ranked by visits.

What to pack for Crater Lake in May

Computed from May's weather normals — Crater Lake's best month above. Visiting another month? Each month page has its own weather-computed list.

• Insulated jacket, beanie and gloves — nights average 29°F, below freezing
• Rain shell + pack cover — 3.6″ of precipitation is normal this month
• Traction devices (microspikes) and gaiters — 15″ normal snowfall (compare other options)
• Insulated, waterproof boots — plus navigation and a basic first-aid kit — 15″ of snow is normal this month

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Common questions

Crater Lake month by month: notes from the park service

• February: February sits deep in Crater Lake's winter, which the park service counts from November through April. Rim Drive is closed to cars and turns into a route for skiing and snowshoeing, while the North Entrance Road becomes a snowmobile trail.
• March: In March Crater Lake is still on winter operations. The park calls itself a Snow Zone: chains or traction tires are required on every vehicle in winter, and rangers can turn back a car that is not equipped.
• April: April is the end of the winter season at Crater Lake, and the park service says plowing typically starts on West Rim Drive in mid-April. There are no set reopening dates: in the park's own table of recent years, the North Entrance and West Rim Drive opened anywhere from May 14 (2015) to June 30 (2023), depending mostly on how much snow fell that winter.
• May: May at Crater Lake is a transition month. The park service gives average highs of 50°F, lows of 28°F, about 20 inches of new snow, and more than 6 feet of snow on the ground at park headquarters.
• June: June brings Crater Lake closer to summer: average highs of 58°F, lows of 34°F, about 4 inches of new snow, and roughly 2 feet still on the ground at headquarters. The lake is invisible about 10% of the time.
• July: July begins what the park service calls Crater Lake's well-defined summer, which runs to mid-September. In recent years the East Rim Drive opened between June 11 and July 22, so the full loop may only just be open in early July.
• August: August is one of the three most popular months at Crater Lake, when roads, trails and facilities are usually fully open. The park service says the fall colour and light can appear from mid-August.
• September: September closes out the summer season at Crater Lake, which the park service puts at July through mid-September. From mid-September, warm days typically give way to cool or cold nights, and fire season often runs into late September and October, so smoke can affect air quality.
• October: October is one of the months the park service calls unpredictable at Crater Lake. It averages a high of 52°F, a low of 31°F and about 21 inches of snow.
• November: November is when Crater Lake shuts its high roads for the year. Rim Drive and the North Entrance Road close to cars by November 1 at the latest, and earlier if a big storm arrives first.
• December: December at Crater Lake, one of the snowiest inhabited places in the USA by the park's own account, means skis or snowshoes on the closed Rim Drive. The Steel Information Center is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day except December 25.

Each month page carries the full note and the NPS page it comes from.

Dive into a month

Comparing parks for the same trip? See how Crater Lake ranks against all 63 parks in May, June and September.

Last verified 2026-09-24 · all parks