Home / National parks / Grand Canyon

When Grand Canyon is busiest and quietest

Grand Canyon draws about 5.4 million recreation visits in a typical year. July is the peak, with 12.2% of the year's visits. December is the quietest month that still draws a normal share, at 5.8%.

JulyBusiest month
DecemberQuietest open month
2.1xPeak month visits vs the quietest open month
671,865Visits in a typical July

Share of the year's visits, by month

Grand Canyon: share of yearly visits by month3.6%Jan3.9%Feb7.9%Mar9.2%Apr10.4%May10.9%Jun12.2%Jul11.5%Aug9.4%Sep9.0%Oct6.2%Nov5.8%Dec

BusiestQuietest open monthOther months

Low months are not always the best months. January and February each draw under 4% of the year's visits. That usually reflects snow, closed roads or reduced services, so check the park's own conditions page before planning around them. The quietest month overall is January.

Typical visits per month

MonthTypical visitsShare of year
January 195,841 3.6%
February 210,984 3.9%
March 430,074 7.9%
April 498,761 9.2%
May 560,007 10.4%
June 591,960 10.9%
July 671,865 12.2%
August 631,409 11.5%
September 513,055 9.4%
October 485,600 9.0%
November 333,250 6.2%
December 312,227 5.8%

How this was worked out

We averaged 9 years of National Park Service recreation visitor counts (2015 to 2025, leaving out 2020 and 2021). Each month is shown as its share of that year's total, then averaged. The counts are monthly, so this cannot tell you about holiday weekends or a specific week. It is history, not a forecast. Full details are on the methodology page.