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When Shenandoah is busiest and quietest

Shenandoah draws about 1.5 million recreation visits in a typical year. October is the peak, with 18.7% of the year's visits. April is the quietest month that still draws a normal share, at 7.5%.

OctoberBusiest month
AprilQuietest open month
2.5xPeak month visits vs the quietest open month
277,992Visits in a typical October

Share of the year's visits, by month

Shenandoah: share of yearly visits by month1.3%Jan1.7%Feb3.8%Mar7.5%Apr10.2%May11.0%Jun12.4%Jul12.6%Aug10.0%Sep18.7%Oct8.8%Nov2.0%Dec

BusiestQuietest open monthOther months

Low months are not always the best months. January, February, March and December 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 19,513 1.3%
February 25,796 1.7%
March 57,248 3.8%
April 111,806 7.5%
May 150,062 10.2%
June 162,503 11.0%
July 182,992 12.4%
August 184,687 12.6%
September 148,104 10.0%
October 277,992 18.7%
November 131,168 8.8%
December 29,923 2.0%

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.