How Crowded Is De Soto National Memorial in March?

March runs about 1.6× De Soto National Memorial's average month, which makes it a busy month here — roughly 13% of the park's yearly visitors come in March.

In a typical March the park sees about 31,000 recreation visits, based on National Park Service monthly counts from 1979 to 2025.

It is the single busiest month of the year at De Soto; September, the quietest, runs only about 0.7× the average — a 2-to-1 swing between high and low season.

On our Best Time to Visit score March rates 13/100 ("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 March instead steps outside that summer crush — the single biggest lever on how crowded the park feels.

You'll have about 11.8 hours of daylight in March 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 March may feel a touch quieter than it once did.