How Crowded Is Olympic National Park in September?

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

In a typical September the park sees about 400,000 recreation visits, based on National Park Service monthly counts from 1979 to 2025.

That makes September the 3rd-busiest of the park's twelve months, sitting between the August peak (2.6×) and the December low (0.3×).

On our Best Time to Visit score September rates 59/100 ("Fair"), versus the top-rated May at 67/100 — best overall balance of crowds, weather and daylight.

Typical September weather, from 1991–2020 NOAA climate normals at the nearest station, averages a daytime high near 68°F and an overnight low around 48°F, with about 1.6" of precipitation.

That average of about 58°F is a comfortable range for hiking and being outdoors all day.

Because June, July and August together draw about 50% of annual visitors, choosing September instead steps outside that summer crush — the single biggest lever on how crowded the park feels.

You'll have about 12.3 hours of daylight in September to explore — between the 8.2-hour midwinter low and the 15.8-hour summer high.

Park-wide, 2025 drew 3,584,187 recreation visits, down 3.6% from 3,717,267 in 2024.