Best Time to Visit Fort Scott National Historic Site
OctoberBest month to visit
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Visit Fort Scott in October
October offers pleasant weather with noticeably thinner crowds (shoulder season). For comparison, May is the most crowded month (~1.8× the average month) and January is the quietest.
Annual visits
25K
2025
Busiest month
May
1.8× avg
Quietest month
Jan
0.2× avg
10-yr trend
steady
+1.4%
More photos of Fort Scott
Photos courtesy of the National Park Service (public domain).
How crowded is Fort Scott by month?
Relative crowd level by month (1.0 = the park's average month), from NPS visitation records 1979–2025.
Month-by-month crowd, weather & daylight
| Month | Crowd level | Best-time score | Avg high / low | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | Very quiet | 43 Poor | 42°F / 22°F | 9.7 h |
| February | Very quiet | 50 Fair | 48°F / 26°F | 10.6 h |
| March | Quiet | 51 Fair | 58°F / 35°F | 11.7 h |
| April | Average | 52 Fair | 68°F / 45°F | 13.0 h |
| May | Very busy | 46 Fair | 77°F / 56°F | 14.0 h |
| June | Very busy | 45 Fair | 86°F / 65°F | 14.6 h |
| July | Busy | 49 Fair | 91°F / 70°F | 14.4 h |
| August | Average | 55 Fair | 90°F / 68°F | 13.5 h |
| September | Busy | 55 Fair | 82°F / 59°F | 12.2 h |
| October★ best | Average | 56 Fair | 70°F / 47°F | 11.0 h |
| November | Quiet | 50 Fair | 57°F / 36°F | 9.9 h |
| December | Quiet | 34 Poor | 46°F / 27°F | 9.4 h |
Climate normals (1991–2020) from the nearest NOAA station (USC00142835, ~1.8 mi away).
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About visiting Fort Scott
Fort Scott National Historic Site is a National Historic Site in KS and one of the system's hidden, low-traffic units, drawing about 25,000 recreation visits in 2025. Visitation has held fairly steady over the past decade. Crowds concentrate sharply by season: May is the busiest month at about 1.8× the park's average month, while January is the calmest at roughly 0.2× — a 8-to-1 swing between high and low season. Roughly 34% 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 80°F in July down to about 32°F in January, with the wettest stretch in May. About 6 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 May rush. Daylight ranges from about 9.4 hours in midwinter to 14.6 hours near the summer solstice, which shapes how much ground you can cover in a day. These crowd figures are drawn from 1979–2025 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
Promises made and broken! Who deserves to be free? The fight for freedom! Soldiers fighting settlers! Each of these stories is a link in the chain of events that encircled Fort Scott from 1842-1873. All of the site's structures, its parade ground, and its tallgrass prairie bear witness to this era when the country was forged from a young republic into a united transcontinental nation.
Weather & conditions
Spring and autumn are pleasant with mild temperatures. Summers are generally hot and humid, while winters are mild with periods of cold weather, snowfall, and ice storms. Thunderstorms, some severe, are common throughout the spring and summer. During periods of severe weather, visitors should seek shelter, as the area is prone to lightning strikes. Visitors are advised to check the weather prior to traveling.
Park overview text courtesy of the National Park Service — official park site.
Where to stay near Fort Scott
Hotels, cabins, lodges and vacation rentals near Fort Scott National Historic Site — live availability and prices to plan your trip. October is our pick for the best balance of light crowds and good weather.
Top-rated places to stay near Fort Scott
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Getting to Fort Scott
The nearest airport is Springfield-Branson National Airport (SGF), about 115 mi (2 hr 27 min drive) away. Most visitors reach Fort Scott by car.
Frequently Asked Questions
October offers pleasant weather with noticeably thinner crowds (shoulder season) at Fort Scott National Historic Site. The park is busiest in May (about 1.8× the average month) and quietest in January.
May is the busiest month at Fort Scott National Historic Site, running roughly 1.8 times the park's average monthly visitation.
January is the quietest month at Fort Scott National Historic Site, at about 0.2× the average month — a good choice if you want to avoid crowds.
Fort Scott National Historic Site recorded about 25,254 recreation visits in 2025. Visitation has been steady over the past decade (+1.4%).
Based on 1991–2020 climate normals, the warmest month at Fort Scott National Historic Site averages about 80°F (July). See the month-by-month table above for the full picture.
Springfield-Branson National Airport (SGF) is the closest airport to Fort Scott National Historic Site, about 115 mi (2 hr 27 min drive) away.
Nearby parks to visit
Keep exploring
Water quality of lakes near Fort Scott
If you are planning to swim, paddle or fish on this trip, these graded lakes are within a 40-mile drive. Grades are A–F from EPA and state-agency sampling.
- Cedar Creek Reservoir water qualityGrade A · 5 mi · KS
- Lake Crawford water qualityGrade B · 15 mi · KS
- Bone Creek Lake water qualityGrade B · 15 mi · KS
- Pleasanton Reservoir water qualityGrade C · 24 mi · KS
- Mound City Lake water qualityGrade D · 22 mi · KS
Sources: National Park Service Visitor Use Statistics (1979–2025), NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020. Crowd index = a month's visits ÷ the park's average month.