Best time to visit Ross Lake National Recreation Area
April, May and August are the best balance at Ross Lake National Recreation Area: mild and dry for the park (average highs 56° to 79°F), with crowds from quiet to moderate. July is busiest, with about 229,000 visitors. February is the quietest, with highs near 41°F. December sees few or no visitors, so parts of the park may be closed: check nps.gov.
- Quiet
- Moderate
- Busy
- Very busy
- Few or no visits (may be closed)
- Best months
Month by month
- Station
- Ross Dam, WA USC00457185
- Lat / lon
- 48.73, -121.07
- Elevation
- 1,236 ft
- From park center
- 4.2 mi
- Normals
- 1991–2020
- Visits
- 2023–2025
| Field | Jan | Feb | Mar | Aprbest | Maybest | Jun | Jul | Augbest | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High, °F | 38° | 41° | 47° | 56° | 65° | 70° | 79° | 79° | 70° | 56° | 44° | 38° | 57° |
| Low, °F | 30° | 31° | 33° | 38° | 45° | 50° | 55° | 56° | 50° | 43° | 35° | 31° | 41° |
| Precipitation, in | 9.7 | 6.0 | 6.4 | 3.2 | 2.1 | 1.7 | 1.0 | 1.2 | 2.5 | 6.7 | 11.1 | 9.2 | 60.8 |
| Snow, in | 17.2 | 11.9 | 7.8 | 0.3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.8 | 23.7 | 66.7 |
| Daylight, h:mm | 8:41 | 10:05 | 11:43 | 13:37 | 15:14 | 16:08 | 15:47 | 14:22 | 12:31 | 10:42 | 9:05 | 8:17 | |
| Visitors, thousands | 7 | 8 | 10 | 36 | 117 | 176 | 229 | 125 | 127 | 144 | 24 | 6 | 1,009 |
| Crowds | Quiet | Quiet | Quiet | Quiet | Moderate | Busy | Very busy | Moderate | Busy | Busy | Quiet | Few or no visits | |
| Weather | Cold | Cool | Cool | Mild | Mild | Mild | Mild | Mild | Mild | Mild, wet | Cool | Cold |
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip., in | Snow, in | Daylight | Visitors | Crowds | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 38° | 30° | 9.7 | 17.2 | 8:41 | 7,100 | Quiet | Cold |
| February | 41° | 31° | 6.0 | 11.9 | 10:05 | 8,200 | Quiet | Cool |
| March | 47° | 33° | 6.4 | 7.8 | 11:43 | 9,800 | Quiet | Cool |
| Aprilbest | 56° | 38° | 3.2 | 0.3 | 13:37 | 36,000 | Quiet | Mild |
| Maybest | 65° | 45° | 2.1 | 0 | 15:14 | 117,000 | Moderate | Mild |
| June | 70° | 50° | 1.7 | 0 | 16:08 | 176,000 | Busy | Mild |
| July | 79° | 55° | 1.0 | 0 | 15:47 | 229,000 | Very busy | Mild |
| Augustbest | 79° | 56° | 1.2 | 0 | 14:22 | 125,000 | Moderate | Mild |
| September | 70° | 50° | 2.5 | 0 | 12:31 | 127,000 | Busy | Mild |
| October | 56° | 43° | 6.7 | 0 | 10:42 | 144,000 | Busy | Mild, wet |
| November | 44° | 35° | 11.1 | 5.8 | 9:05 | 24,000 | Quiet | Cool |
| December | 38° | 31° | 9.2 | 23.7 | 8:17 | 6,200 | Few or no visits | Cold |
| Year | 57° | 41° | 60.8 | 66.7 | 1,009,000 | |||
Year: average high and low, total precipitation and snowfall, total visitors. T = trace (under 0.05 in). – = not measured at this station. Updated .
- Hottest August, average high 79°F
- Coldest nights January, average low 30°F
- Source NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information; National Park Service
- Visitors a year about 1,009,000 (2023–2025 average)
- State Washington
Closures, reservations and alerts: Ross Lake National Recreation Area on nps.gov
Nearby
- North Cascades National ParkBest: May, Jun and Sep · Washington
- San Juan Island National Historical ParkBest: Jun, Aug and Sep · Washington
- Olympic National ParkBest: Apr, May and Jun · Washington
- Mount Rainier National ParkBest: Jul, Aug and Sep · Washington