How Crowded Is First State National Historical Park in January?

January runs about 0.4× First State National Historical Park's average month, which makes it a very quiet month here — roughly 3% of the park's yearly visitors come in January.

In a typical January the park sees roughly 6,100 recreation visits, based on National Park Service monthly counts from 2023 to 2025.

It is the quietest month of the year at First State; by contrast October, the busiest, runs about 2.4× the average — so January is the easiest time to have the place largely to yourself.

On our Best Time to Visit score January rates 78/100 ("Excellent"), versus the top-rated April at 82/100 — the best overall balance of crowds and daylight.

Because June, July and August together draw about 39% of annual visitors, choosing January instead steps outside that summer crush — the single biggest lever on how crowded the park feels.

You'll have about 9.5 hours of daylight in January to explore — between the 9.2-hour midwinter low and the 14.8-hour summer high.

Park-wide, 2025 drew 200,173 recreation visits, down 4.2% from 208,870 in 2024.