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WhenToVisitParks

Updated June 2026

Best Time to Visit Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley

National MonumentIllinoisMississippi

Our recommendation

Visit Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley in October

October offers pleasant weather with noticeably thinner crowds (shoulder season). For comparison, June is the most crowded month (~2.4× the average month) and January is the quietest.

Annual visits

4K

2025

Busiest month

Jun

2.4× avg

Quietest month

Jan

0.3× avg

10-yr trend

steady

How crowded is Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley by month?

Relative crowd level by month (1.0 = the park's average month), from NPS visitation records 20242025.

0.3×Jan
0.6×Feb
1.2×Mar
1.0×Apr
1.0×May
2.4×Jun
1.8×Jul
1.2×Aug
1.3×Sep
0.5×Oct
0.3×Nov
0.4×Dec

Month-by-month crowd, weather & daylight

MonthCrowd levelBest-time scoreAvg high / lowDaylight
JanuaryVery quiet51 Fair50°F / 32°F10.0 h
FebruaryQuiet52 Fair55°F / 35°F10.8 h
MarchBusy52 Fair64°F / 43°F11.7 h
AprilAverage67 Good74°F / 51°F12.9 h
MayAverage71 Good82°F / 61°F13.8 h
JuneVery busy39 Poor90°F / 69°F14.3 h
JulyVery busy49 Fair92°F / 71°F14.1 h
AugustBusy59 Fair92°F / 71°F13.3 h
SeptemberBusy62 Good87°F / 64°F12.2 h
October★ bestQuiet76 Excellent76°F / 51°F11.1 h
NovemberVery quiet65 Good64°F / 41°F10.2 h
DecemberVery quiet51 Fair53°F / 35°F9.7 h

Climate normals (1991–2020) from the nearest NOAA station (USC00224869, ~16.7 mi away).

About visiting Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley

Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument is a National Monument in IL, MS and one of the system's hidden, low-traffic units, drawing about 4,000 recreation visits in 2025. Visitation has held fairly steady over the past decade. Crowds concentrate sharply by season: June is the busiest month at about 2.4× the park's average month, while January is the calmest at roughly 0.3× — a 8-to-1 swing between high and low season. Roughly 45% 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. Weather swings from an average high-season warmth near 82°F in July down to about 41°F in January, with the wettest stretch in April. About 7 months a year see comfortable average temperatures in the 50–80°F range, which is part of why crowd timing and weather timing don't always line up. The sweet spot is October: pleasant weather with noticeably thinner crowds (shoulder season). Visit then and you trade a little peak-season certainty for noticeably shorter lines and easier parking than the June rush. Daylight ranges from about 9.7 hours in midwinter to 14.3 hours near the summer solstice, which shapes how much ground you can cover in a day. These crowd figures are drawn from 2024–2025 of National Park Service visitor-use records, paired with 1991–2020 NOAA climate normals, and are updated as new monthly data is released.

Park overview

In 1955, 14-year-old Emmett Till traveled to Money, Mississippi, to visit relatives. He was kidnapped, tortured, and murdered after reportedly whistling at a white woman. His mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, insisted on an open-casket funeral near their hometown of Chicago. Her brave decision let the world see the racist violence inflicted upon her son and set the Civil Rights Movement into motion.

Weather & conditions

The Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument has sites in Chicago, IL and Sumner and Glendora, MS. Check local weather conditions in each unit before you visit.

Park overview text courtesy of the National Park Serviceofficial park site.

Frequently Asked Questions

October offers pleasant weather with noticeably thinner crowds (shoulder season) at Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument. The park is busiest in June (about 2.4× the average month) and quietest in January.

June is the busiest month at Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument, running roughly 2.4 times the park's average monthly visitation.

January is the quietest month at Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument, at about 0.3× the average month — a good choice if you want to avoid crowds.

Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument recorded about 3,763 recreation visits in 2025. Visitation has been steady over the past decade.

Based on 1991–2020 climate normals, the warmest month at Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument averages about 82°F (July). See the month-by-month table above for the full picture.

Sources: National Park Service Visitor Use Statistics (20242025), NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020. Crowd index = a month's visits ÷ the park's average month.