How Crowded Is De Soto National Memorial in December?

December runs about 1× De Soto National Memorial's average month, which makes it an average month here — roughly 9% of the park's yearly visitors come in December.

In a typical December the park sees about 20,000 recreation visits, based on National Park Service monthly counts from 1979 to 2025.

That makes December the 4th-busiest of the park's twelve months, sitting between the March peak (1.6×) and the September low (0.7×).

On our Best Time to Visit score December rates 53/100 ("Fair"), versus the top-rated September at 87/100 — the best overall balance of crowds and daylight.

Because June, July and August together draw about 21% of annual visitors, choosing December instead steps outside that summer crush — the single biggest lever on how crowded the park feels.

You'll have about 10.3 hours of daylight in December to explore — near the year-round minimum.

Park-wide, 2023 drew 231,892 recreation visits, up 33.9% from 173,150 in 2022.

Across the past decade overall visitation has eased about 22.9%, so December may feel a touch quieter than it once did.