Best time to visit North America: where to go each month

The easiest time to travel in North America is from September to early October: most of its destinations are comfortable to be outside then. Below, the best places for each month, and every country’s own seasons, across four countries and 365 destinations.

Month by month

For each month, the best places in North America for being outside, for sun at the seaside and for walking, read at midday and spread across the region. Each name opens the map there, in the middle of that month, on that rating.

January — Being outside: Kapaa, Fort Lauderdale, McAllen. Sun: Kapaa. Walking: Santa Monica, San Antonio, St. Petersburg.
February — Being outside: Kapaa, Sarasota, Indio. Sun: Marco Island. Walking: Santa Monica, Phenix City, San Antonio.
March — Being outside: Kapaa, Sarasota, San Antonio. Sun: Marco Island. Walking: Santa Monica, Hot Springs, St. Andrews.
April — Being outside: Fort Walton Beach, Tucson, Kapaa. Sun: Marco Island, Kapaa. Walking: Santa Monica, Albuquerque, Kelowna.
May — Being outside: Santa Ana, Asheville, Kelowna. Sun: Sarasota, Kapaa, Rockport. Walking: Santa Monica, Penticton, Vernal.
June — Being outside: Santa Monica, Santa Fe, Penticton. Sun: Kapaa, Garden City, Key West. Walking: Shoreline, Monterey, Whitehorse.
July — Being outside: Seattle, Jackson, Saugeen Shores. Sun: Kapaa, Holbrook, Westminster. Walking: Port Townsend, Whitehorse, Monterey.
August — Being outside: Seattle, Steamboat Springs, Summerside. Sun: Kapaa, Westminster, Annapolis. Walking: Whitehorse, Port Townsend, Monterey.
September — Being outside: Portland, Santa Fe, Niagara Falls. Sun: Kapaa, North Myrtle Beach. Walking: Port Townsend, Summerside, Monterey.
October — Being outside: Santa Monica, Anderson, Lubbock. Sun: Kapaa, Vero Beach, Rockport. Walking: Portland, Gallup, Montréal.
November — Being outside: Santa Monica, St. Augustine, San Antonio. Sun: Kapaa, Marco Island. Walking: Sacramento, Martinez, Hot Springs.
December — Being outside: Honolulu, Sarasota, Santa Ana. Sun: Kapaa. Walking: Santa Monica, San Antonio, Phenix City.

Country by country

Each country’s main season, where most of its cities agree. “Varies by place” means no stretch suits most of the country at once; its own guide splits it up.

Country	Being outside	Sun	Walking
Bermuda	mid Mar to early Jun	mid Jun to early Oct	late Nov to early May
Canada	Jun to mid Sep	rarely good	May to Jun
Greenland	rarely good	rarely good	varies by place
United States	late Sep to early Oct	varies by place	mid Apr to early May

The best-known places

The most-visited places with a guide of their own, and each one’s main season. Each season opens the map at its peak.

Place	Country	Being outside	Sun	Walking
Manhattan	United States	mid May to Jun	Jul to Aug	late Sep to early Nov
Miami	United States	late Nov to mid Apr	Apr to mid Jun	mid to late Jan
San Francisco	United States	Aug to mid Oct	rarely good	all year
Paradise	United States	Apr to May	late May to mid Jun	mid Oct to early May
Fort Lauderdale	United States	mid Nov to Apr	Apr to mid Jun	mid to late Jan
Oak Ridge	United States	Nov to Apr	mid Apr to May	mid Dec to Jan
Washington	United States	mid Sep to mid Oct	Aug	Apr to mid May
Chicago	United States	mid Jul to early Oct	at best fair	mid May to early Jun
Lower	United States	mid Sep to mid Oct	late Jun to Aug	mid Apr to May
Boston	United States	Aug to early Oct	mid Jul to early Aug	mid Sep to early Nov
Santa Ana	United States	mid Mar to mid Jul	mid Jul to early Sep	late Oct to early Jun
Montréal	Canada	late May to mid Sep	mid Jul	Sep to mid Oct
Nashville	United States	mid Apr to mid May	early to mid Jun	mid Oct to Nov
Myrtle Beach	United States	late Mar to mid May	late May to Jun	Feb to Apr
Santa Monica	United States	Apr to mid Dec	at best fair	mid Sep to early Jul
Houston	United States	late Feb to Apr	May	late Nov to early Feb

Rankings for North America

Best places for sun at EasterWarm, dry weather from late March to mid April.Best places for sun in MayEarly-summer heat before the crowds and before the worst of it.Best places for sun in late OctoberWhere the half-term fortnight is still properly warm.Where it is still warm in NovemberSunbathing weather in the darkest stretch of the northern autumn.Clear skies and warmth in FebruaryThe least cloud anywhere that also feels warm at midday in February.August without the heatComfortable, dry August days in places that do not feel hotter than 26°C.Where to go walking in JanuaryPlaces where the middle of winter is cool, dry walking weather rather than cold or wet.Cool enough to walk in JulyWhere the height of the northern summer is still mild enough for a long day on foot.Best cities for a break in AprilBig cities where April is comfortable for a day on foot between sights.Best cities for a break in OctoberBig cities where October is mild and dry enough to be outside all day.Where snow is likeliest at ChristmasCold enough for snow to hold and wet enough for it to fall, over late December and early January.Places that are pleasant most of the yearThe cities with the most weeks a year of comfortable, dry weather for being outdoors.

Other regions

EuropeNorth Africa and the Middle EastAfrica south of the SaharaCentral Asia and the CaucasusSouth AsiaEast AsiaSouth-East AsiaAustralia and the PacificMexico, Central America and the CaribbeanSouth America

How this is worked out

Every figure is a decade of weather-station observations blended into one typical year, read at midday local solar time. Places are the region’s towns and cities that draw visitors, and for sun its seaside holiday places. Being outside is the Easy outdoors rating, Sun is Sunbathing and Walking is Active outdoors; a place is named for a month when it rates Good or better across the whole month.