How Crowded Is De Soto National Memorial in February?

February runs about 1.3× De Soto National Memorial's average month, which makes it a busy month here — roughly 11% of the park's yearly visitors come in February.

In a typical February the park sees about 26,000 recreation visits, based on National Park Service monthly counts from 1979 to 2025.

That makes February the 2nd-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 February rates 31/100 ("Poor"), 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 February instead steps outside that summer crush — the single biggest lever on how crowded the park feels.

You'll have about 11.1 hours of daylight in February to explore — between the 10.3-hour midwinter low and the 13.7-hour summer high.

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 February may feel a touch quieter than it once did.