How Crowded Is Pennsylvania Avenue in September?

September runs about 0.9× Pennsylvania Avenue's average month, which makes it a quiet month here — roughly 7% of the park's yearly visitors come in September.

In a typical September the park sees about 15,000 recreation visits, based on National Park Service monthly counts from 1986 to 2025.

That makes September the 8th-busiest of the park's twelve months, sitting between the July peak (1.5×) and the January low (0.4×).

On our Best Time to Visit score September rates 59/100 ("Fair"), versus the top-rated January at 78/100 — the best overall balance of crowds and daylight.

Because June, July and August together draw about 36% 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 12.2 hours of daylight in September to explore — between the 9.3-hour midwinter low and the 14.7-hour summer high.

Park-wide, 2024 drew 141,840 recreation visits, up 2.7% from 138,108 in 2023.

Across the past decade overall visitation has eased about 38.8%, so September may feel a touch quieter than it once did.