First Saturday of the month, so here are the three National Parks best visited in March. See January and February for more.

March is a tricky month for parks, as many parks are still in winter or are too cold and wet to enjoy. But in the west at higher elevation, spring comes earlier and a few parks are fairly dry year round. Arches, Joshua Tree and Pinnacles are my March park picks.

Let’s be honest, an enjoyable experience at Arches is all about parking. Ideally, you want to stop at each arch spot, hike a bit, take photos and then move on to the next. If it’s overly crowded, that can be difficult, even with timed entry or arriving at sunrise. Since it’s too hot in summer, the shoulder seasons are crowded. Winter is too cold, and slick rock trails are dangerous when there’s ice. The solution is March. Snow is rare, but it makes a better photo if you see any on or through an arch. Temperatures are fine, with most daytime highs in the 70° F range. There will still be plenty of people, but not nearly as many as Spring Break. Sure, fall is fine too, but you could say that about most of the parks.

Joshua Tree is a great spot for hiking and camping, but the campgrounds are mostly at ~4,000 feet. So winter is uncomfortable, and as the park is in the Colorado and Mojave deserts, summer is uncomfortable too. I prefer March, when you can see wildflowers. The trees and rocks are great, but it’s even better to find a pretty little flower unexpectedly blooming off some rough trail. Like Arches, the park is popular and crowded at Spring Break.

Pinnacles similarly is high, relatively dry, and has limited trail side parking, so I like March there before Spring Break. But there’s a special reason to go in March (or maybe October), as the entire Bear Gulch cave is open. My favorite part of Pinnacles are the caves, but due to bats raising their young, many underground areas are off limits for months of the year. The weather is fine for hiking too, and you can see wildflowers.

Hope this series helps you plan your next national park adventure!