Best time to visit Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area
August, September and October are the best balance at Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area: mild and dry for the park (average highs 68° to 70°F), with crowds from busy to very busy. May is busiest, with about 74,000 visitors. December is the quietest.
- Quiet
- Moderate
- Busy
- Very busy
- Few or no visits (may be closed)
- Best months
Month by month
- Station
- Santa Monica Pier, CA USC00047953
- Lat / lon
- 34.01, -118.50
- Elevation
- 14 ft
- From park center
- 18.5 mi
- Normals
- 1991–2020
- Visits
- 2023–2025
| Field | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Augbest | Sepbest | Octbest | Nov | Dec | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High, °F | 62° | 62° | 62° | 63° | 63° | 66° | 69° | 70° | 70° | 68° | 67° | 63° | 66° |
| Low, °F | 50° | 50° | 52° | 53° | 56° | 59° | 62° | 62° | 61° | 59° | 54° | 50° | 55° |
| Precipitation, in | 3.1 | 3.1 | 1.7 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.1 | T | T | T | 0.5 | 0.8 | 2.0 | 12.2 |
| Snow, in | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Daylight, h:mm | 10:06 | 10:54 | 11:52 | 12:59 | 13:55 | 14:25 | 14:13 | 13:25 | 12:21 | 11:16 | 10:20 | 9:53 | |
| Visitors, thousands | 54 | 52 | 56 | 64 | 74 | 62 | 64 | 56 | 62 | 57 | 56 | 50 | 707 |
| Crowds | Busy | Busy | Busy | Very busy | Very busy | Very busy | Very busy | Busy | Very busy | Busy | Busy | Busy | |
| Weather | Mild, wet | Mild, wet | Mild, wet | Mild, wet | Mild | Mild | Mild | Mild | Mild | Mild | Mild, wet | Mild, wet |
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip., in | Snow, in | Daylight | Visitors | Crowds | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 62° | 50° | 3.1 | 0 | 10:06 | 54,000 | Busy | Mild, wet |
| February | 62° | 50° | 3.1 | 0 | 10:54 | 52,000 | Busy | Mild, wet |
| March | 62° | 52° | 1.7 | 0 | 11:52 | 56,000 | Busy | Mild, wet |
| April | 63° | 53° | 0.6 | 0 | 12:59 | 64,000 | Very busy | Mild, wet |
| May | 63° | 56° | 0.2 | 0 | 13:55 | 74,000 | Very busy | Mild |
| June | 66° | 59° | 0.1 | 0 | 14:25 | 62,000 | Very busy | Mild |
| July | 69° | 62° | T | 0 | 14:13 | 64,000 | Very busy | Mild |
| Augustbest | 70° | 62° | T | 0 | 13:25 | 56,000 | Busy | Mild |
| Septemberbest | 70° | 61° | T | 0 | 12:21 | 62,000 | Very busy | Mild |
| Octoberbest | 68° | 59° | 0.5 | 0 | 11:16 | 57,000 | Busy | Mild |
| November | 67° | 54° | 0.8 | 0 | 10:20 | 56,000 | Busy | Mild, wet |
| December | 63° | 50° | 2.0 | 0 | 9:53 | 50,000 | Busy | Mild, wet |
| Year | 66° | 55° | 12.2 | 0 | 707,000 | |||
Year: average high and low, total precipitation and snowfall, total visitors. T = trace (under 0.05 in). – = not measured at this station. Updated .
- Hottest September, average high 70°F
- Coldest nights December, average low 50°F
- Source NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information; National Park Service
- Visitors a year about 707,000 (2023–2025 average)
- State California
Closures, reservations and alerts: Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area on nps.gov
Nearby
- Channel Islands National ParkBest: May, Sep and Oct · California
- Cabrillo National MonumentBest: May, Sep and Oct · California
- Joshua Tree National ParkBest: Nov · California
- Sequoia National ParkBest: May, Jun and Oct · California