Updated June 2026

Best Time to Visit Carter G. Woodson Home

National Historic SiteDistrict of Columbia

Our recommendation

Visit Carter G. Woodson Home in August

August offers best overall balance of crowds, weather and daylight. For comparison, February is the most crowded month (~2.4× the average month) and January is the quietest.

Annual visits

2018

Busiest month

Feb

2.4× avg

Quietest month

Jan

0.4× avg

10-yr trend

steady

—

How crowded is Carter G. Woodson Home by month?

Relative crowd level by month (1.0 = the park's average month), from NPS visitation records 2017–2025.

0.4×Jan

2.4×Feb

1.4×Mar

1.0×Apr

0.7×May

2.2×Jun

1.2×Jul

0.6×Aug

0.6×Sep

0.6×Oct

0.5×Nov

0.4×Dec

Month-by-month crowd, weather & daylight

Month	Crowd level	Best-time score	Daylight
January	Very quiet	78 Excellent	9.6 h
February	Very busy	9 Poor	10.5 h
March	Busy	47 Fair	11.7 h
April	Average	67 Good	13.0 h
May	Quiet	81 Excellent	14.1 h
June	Very busy	28 Poor	14.7 h
July	Busy	63 Good	14.5 h
August★ best	Quiet	84 Excellent	13.5 h
September	Quiet	78 Excellent	12.2 h
October	Quiet	73 Good	11.0 h
November	Very quiet	75 Excellent	9.8 h
December	Very quiet	75 Excellent	9.3 h

About visiting Carter G. Woodson Home

Carter G. Woodson Home National Historic Site is a National Historic Site in DC and one of the system's hidden, low-traffic units, drawing about 2,000 recreation visits in 2018. Visitation has held fairly steady over the past decade. Crowds concentrate sharply by season: February is the busiest month at about 2.4× the park's average month, while January is the calmest at roughly 0.4× — a 6-to-1 swing between high and low season. Roughly 34% of the year's visitors arrive in the three summer months of June, July and August alone, so timing a trip outside that window is the single biggest lever on how crowded the park feels. If avoiding people matters most, January offers the thinnest crowds of the year, though you'll trade some warmth and daylight for the solitude. Daylight ranges from about 9.3 hours in midwinter to 14.7 hours near the summer solstice, which shapes how much ground you can cover in a day. These crowd figures are drawn from 2017–2025 of National Park Service visitor-use records, and are updated as new monthly data is released.

Park overview

Before Dr. Carter G. Woodson, there was very little accurate written history about the lives and experiences of Americans of African descent. Today a National Historic Site, Dr. Woodson’s home served as the headquarters for the Association for the Study of African American Life and History. Dr. Woodson established Negro History Week here in 1926, which we celebrate today as Black History Month.

Weather & conditions

Winter: Temperatures usually range from 30 to 50 F. There is occasional snow. Spring: Temperatures usually range widely from 40 to 70 F. Rain is common. Summer: Temperatures usually range from 70 to 90 F. Humidity is usually high. Be prepared and drink plenty of water. There is a water fountain in the visitor center. Fall: Temperatures usually range widely from 40 to 70 F. Humidity can remain high in the earlier part of the season.

Park overview text courtesy of the National Park Service — official park site.

Frequently Asked Questions

August offers best overall balance of crowds, weather and daylight at Carter G. Woodson Home National Historic Site. The park is busiest in February (about 2.4× the average month) and quietest in January.

February is the busiest month at Carter G. Woodson Home National Historic Site, running roughly 2.4 times the park's average monthly visitation.

January is the quietest month at Carter G. Woodson Home National Historic Site, at about 0.4× the average month — a good choice if you want to avoid crowds.

Carter G. Woodson Home National Historic Site recorded about 1,954 recreation visits in 2018. Visitation has been steady over the past decade.