Best time to visit Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area
May, September and November are the best balance at Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area: mild and dry for the park (average highs 58° to 80°F), with crowds from busy to very busy. October is busiest, with about 96,000 visitors. January is the quietest, with highs near 45°F.
- Quiet
- Moderate
- Busy
- Very busy
- Few or no visits (may be closed)
- Best months
Month by month
- Station
- Oneida, TN USC00406829
- Lat / lon
- 36.50, -84.53
- Elevation
- 1,440 ft
- From park center
- 8.2 mi
- Normals
- 1991–2020
- Visits
- 2023–2025
| Field | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | Maybest | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sepbest | Oct | Novbest | Dec | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High, °F | 45° | 49° | 58° | 68° | 76° | 82° | 85° | 85° | 80° | 69° | 58° | 49° | 67° |
| Low, °F | 25° | 27° | 33° | 41° | 50° | 59° | 64° | 62° | 55° | 42° | 32° | 28° | 43° |
| Precipitation, in | 5.2 | 5.1 | 5.7 | 5.3 | 4.9 | 4.8 | 5.6 | 4.5 | 4.0 | 3.3 | 3.8 | 6.0 | 58.1 |
| Snow, in | 2.2 | 1.5 | 0.8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 5.5 |
| Daylight, h:mm | 9:55 | 10:48 | 11:51 | 13:04 | 14:05 | 14:38 | 14:25 | 13:33 | 12:22 | 11:11 | 10:10 | 9:41 | |
| Visitors, thousands | 34 | 40 | 49 | 64 | 83 | 79 | 78 | 70 | 77 | 96 | 55 | 49 | 773 |
| Crowds | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Busy | Very busy | Very busy | Very busy | Busy | Very busy | Very busy | Busy | Moderate | |
| Weather | Cool | Cool | Mild, wet | Mild, wet | Mild | Hot | Hot | Hot | Mild | Mild | Mild | Cool |
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip., in | Snow, in | Daylight | Visitors | Crowds | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 45° | 25° | 5.2 | 2.2 | 9:55 | 34,000 | Moderate | Cool |
| February | 49° | 27° | 5.1 | 1.5 | 10:48 | 40,000 | Moderate | Cool |
| March | 58° | 33° | 5.7 | 0.8 | 11:51 | 49,000 | Moderate | Mild, wet |
| April | 68° | 41° | 5.3 | 0 | 13:04 | 64,000 | Busy | Mild, wet |
| Maybest | 76° | 50° | 4.9 | 0 | 14:05 | 83,000 | Very busy | Mild |
| June | 82° | 59° | 4.8 | 0 | 14:38 | 79,000 | Very busy | Hot |
| July | 85° | 64° | 5.6 | 0 | 14:25 | 78,000 | Very busy | Hot |
| August | 85° | 62° | 4.5 | 0 | 13:33 | 70,000 | Busy | Hot |
| Septemberbest | 80° | 55° | 4.0 | 0 | 12:22 | 77,000 | Very busy | Mild |
| October | 69° | 42° | 3.3 | 0 | 11:11 | 96,000 | Very busy | Mild |
| Novemberbest | 58° | 32° | 3.8 | 0 | 10:10 | 55,000 | Busy | Mild |
| December | 49° | 28° | 6.0 | 1.0 | 9:41 | 49,000 | Moderate | Cool |
| Year | 67° | 43° | 58.1 | 5.5 | 773,000 | |||
Year: average high and low, total precipitation and snowfall, total visitors. T = trace (under 0.05 in). – = not measured at this station. Updated .
- Hottest July, average high 85°F
- Coldest nights January, average low 25°F
- Source NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information; National Park Service
- Visitors a year about 773,000 (2023–2025 average)
- States Tennessee and Kentucky
Closures, reservations and alerts: Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area on nps.gov
Nearby
- Obed Wild and Scenic RiverBest: May, Oct and Nov · Tennessee
- Manhattan Project National Historical ParkBest: May, Oct and Nov · Tennessee, New Mexico and Washington
- Cumberland Gap National Historical ParkBest: May, Sep and Nov · Kentucky and Virginia
- Great Smoky Mountains National ParkBest: Sep, Oct and Nov · Tennessee and North Carolina