March is the handover month. The desert parks are still cool enough to walk all day, the southern forests are waking up, and the mountains are firmly shut. It is also spring break, so the famous parks get busy in a way they were not in February. Two of the six below are picked precisely because they do not.
1. Zion National Park, Utah
March is when Zion becomes walkable again. Sixties in the canyon, the Virgin River running high with snowmelt, and the cottonwoods coming back green against the red walls.
The shuttle usually restarts in March, which is the real marker. Angels Landing needs a permit and the lottery runs whether or not the season has properly started.
Our 3 days itinerary: Zion National Park: 3-Day Itinerary. Day by day, with where to sleep and what to book.
2. Saguaro National Park, Arizona
Peak desert month in Tucson. Eighties by late March, wildflowers along the Bajada Loop after a wet winter, and every trail in both districts open and dry.
Start early anyway. The Sonoran sun in late March already has teeth by two in the afternoon.
Our 3 days itinerary: Saguaro National Park Hikes: 3-Day Best Hikes Itinerary. Day by day, with where to sleep and what to book.
3. Big Bend National Park, Texas
The last comfortable month before the Chihuahuan Desert turns. Bluebonnets along the road into the park in a good year, and the Chisos still cool enough for the South Rim in one day.
This is Big Bend at its busiest, which by Big Bend standards means you might see another car at the trailhead.
Our 3 days itinerary: Big Bend National Park 3-Day Itinerary: Desert Hiking Weekend. Day by day, with where to sleep and what to book.
4. Congaree National Park, South Carolina
The old-growth floodplain is at its best before the mosquitoes arrive, and March is that window. Champion loblolly pines, a boardwalk through water tupelo, and almost nobody there.
Check the water level first. When the Congaree is high the boardwalk floods and the paddle trail becomes the trip instead.
Our 2 days itinerary: What to Do in Congaree National Park: A 2-Day Itinerary. Day by day, with where to sleep and what to book.
5. Joshua Tree National Park, California
The wildflower window opens in March and the desert floor can go from brown to yellow in a fortnight after a wet winter. It follows the rain, not the calendar, so watch the park bloom reports rather than booking blind.
Spring break makes the campgrounds competitive. Book, or go midweek.
Our 3 days itinerary: Hikes in Joshua Tree: A 3-Day Best-of Itinerary. Day by day, with where to sleep and what to book.
6. Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Texas
The highest point in Texas, and March is the month to climb it before the heat and after the winter wind drops. Guadalupe Peak is a hard day out and the summit view over the Chihuahuan Desert is worth every metre.
It is genuinely windy here. Fifty mile an hour gusts close trails in spring more often than snow ever does.
Our 2 days itinerary: Guadalupe Mountains Hiking: A 2-Day Texas Itinerary. Day by day, with where to sleep and what to book.
More trips that work in March
- White Sands National Park: A Backcountry Weekend Itinerary 2 Days · Southern New Mexico
- Chiricahua National Monument: A 2-Day Hiking Itinerary 2 Days · Southeast Arizona
- Sedona Hiking: Devil\ s Bridge Cathedral Rock and the Best Red-Rock Trails (3-Day Itinerary) 3 Days · Northern Arizona
- Capitol Reef Itinerary: 2 Days in the Waterpocket Fold 2 Days · South-Central Utah
