Where to go in March
Nothing is settled in March. The south is already warm, the mountains are still deep in snow, and the middle of the country can hand you both in the same week.
Beach warm
8 places
- Kahului (Maui) HI 83° / 65° The year's rainiest patch — which here means passing showers.
- Death Valley CA 83° / 57° Warm, busy, and beautiful; take the canyons early.
- Kailua-Kona HI 82° / 70° Dry, easy, and the last month with humpbacks around.
- Honolulu HI 81° / 68° Quick showers between long stretches of exactly what you came for.
- Fort Myers FL 81° / 60° Blue skies, ballparks, and the Gulf turning swimmable.
- Miami FL 81° / 66° Ocean finally warm, sidewalks finally loud.
- Palm Springs CA 81° / 54° Pool weather arrives, and every hotel books out.
- South Padre Island TX 81° / 62° Spring break in full roar: book early or drive past.
Genuinely warm
26 places
- Fort Lauderdale FL 80° / 66° Peak crowd, peak color — the water has caught up.
- Naples FL 80° / 61° Warm water at last, shared with the whole town.
- Key West FL 80° / 69° Warm enough to swim without a running start.
- Orlando FL 79° / 56° Pool-warm by lunch, parade-cool by dinner.
- Lihue (Kauai) HI 79° / 67° Rain with intent — and sun between every band of it.
- Hilo HI 79° / 65° The rain steps up; so does everything growing.
- Sarasota FL 78° / 58° Sun, sand, and traffic backed up over the bridge.
- Phoenix AZ 78° / 55° Citrus blossom in the air and baseball in the afternoon.
- Tampa FL 78° / 59° The month everything happens outdoors, and it should.
- Clearwater FL 77° / 59° Bright and warm, with the causeway at a crawl.
- Corpus Christi TX 77° / 58° Wind, spring breakers, and the first swimmable afternoons.
- Tucson AZ 76° / 48° Wildflowers on the roadsides and sun that finally means it.
- Daytona Beach FL 76° / 55° Warming fast, and every motel is booked.
- St. Augustine FL 74° / 55° Spring arrives early here, with a wet edge.
- Houston TX 74° / 54° Warm, bright, and the whole city is outdoors again.
- San Antonio TX 74° / 52° Wildflowers, warm afternoons, and spring break on the river.
- Austin TX 73° / 52° Wildflowers on the roadsides and the whole world in town.
- Panama City Beach FL 73° / 52° Busy sand, chilly surf, and a long, bright day.
- Pensacola FL 72° / 53° Warming up, still soaking — spring is a negotiation.
- Galveston TX 72° / 58° Spring break energy, and water still distinctly bracing.
- El Paso TX 72° / 46° Warm and windy — dust days are part of the deal.
- Savannah GA 71° / 49° Peak Savannah: warm, blooming, and packed to the gills.
- New Orleans LA 71° / 57° Courtyards open, crawfish get cheap, jackets turn optional.
- Las Vegas NV 71° / 51° The whole town moves outdoors and stays there till dark.
- Anaheim CA 71° / 52° The rain eases and the orange blossom smell arrives.
- Destin FL 71° / 54° Spring break arrives before the water is ready.
Mild
35 places
- Los Angeles CA 70° / 52° The last of the rains, with the hills at their best.
- Hilton Head Island SC 70° / 49° Warm enough to eat outside, cool enough to sleep.
- Gulf Shores AL 69° / 50° Spring break fills the condos; locals take the back roads.
- Dallas TX 69° / 48° Windy, green, and the first storms start rehearsing.
- Sedona AZ 68° / 40° Trails firm up, crowds return, storms still roll through.
- San Diego CA 67° / 55° Spring shows up early — bring a layer for the mornings.
- Zion National Park UT 66° / 39° Spring arrives, and the shuttle line arrives with it.
- Santa Barbara CA 66° / 46° Sun returning, ocean at its most unwelcoming.
- Atlanta GA 66° / 45° Everything blooms, everything turns yellow, everyone starts sneezing.
- Charleston SC 66° / 52° The month spring stops being a rumor around here.
- Myrtle Beach SC 65° / 45° Spring break arrives and the town wakes up fast.
- Moab UT 65° / 36° Hiking weather lands, and the Jeep rigs land with it.
- Napa CA 64° / 42° Bud break, green hills, and one more wet stretch.
- Charlotte NC 64° / 41° Spring shows up wet, green, and coated in pine dust.
- Memphis TN 64° / 44° Warm one day, storm-watching the next — spring plays rough.
- Santa Cruz CA 64° / 43° Rain, wind, and the coldest water on the calendar.
- Albuquerque NM 63° / 36° Sunny and gusty, with dust on everything by evening.
- Nashville TN 63° / 40° Redbuds, sirens, and a wardrobe you rebuild every morning.
- Monterey CA 63° / 46° Wet weeks, and the ocean at its coldest and wildest.
- San Francisco CA 62° / 49° Still soggy, but the light is back and the wind picks up.
- Branson MO 60° / 38° Theaters relight and the woods start blushing redbud.
- Williamsburg VA 60° / 39° Bare trees one week, blossoms the next.
- Reno NV 59° / 34° Ski boots and shirtsleeves in the same weekend.
- Gatlinburg TN 59° / 35° Wet, unsettled, and the first green on the low trails.
- Santa Fe NM 59° / 28° Thaw, wind, and mud on every trail.
- Asheville NC 59° / 38° Mud, wind, and a mountain that cannot commit.
- Outer Banks NC 59° / 43° Windiest month of the year, and gloriously so.
- Virginia Beach VA 59° / 39° Blustery and bright; the first shorts sighting happens anyway.
- Portland OR 57° / 40° Warmer, wetter, and utterly convinced it isn't spring yet.
- Yosemite Valley CA 57° / 34° Storm after storm, feeding the snowpack that runs the falls.
- St. Louis MO 57° / 37° Spring arrives in bursts, with the wind doing the talking.
- Washington, DC DC 57° / 39° Blossom watch begins, coats stay on. Both are true.
- Denver CO 56° / 27° Snowiest month, honestly — and also the month you'll wear shorts.
- Boise ID 56° / 35° Spring's early edge — jacket at dawn, sleeves by afternoon.
- Salt Lake City UT 55° / 36° Spring in the valley, still winter above the canyon mouth.
Crisp
25 places
- Colorado Springs CO 55° / 27° The mountain still wears white while town shakes off its coat.
- Park City UT 55° / 24° T-shirt afternoons on the hill, frozen corduroy at first chair.
- Seattle WA 54° / 40° Cherry blossoms under a sky that can't commit.
- Grand Canyon AZ 54° / 25° Still icy up top, already warming far below.
- Durango CO 53° / 23° Deceptive month: warm afternoons, and nearly every night below freezing.
- Philadelphia PA 53° / 34° Raw and unreliable — but the daffodils are trying.
- Atlantic City NJ 53° / 33° The turn — still raw, but the shutters come off.
- Flagstaff AZ 52° / 24° Snow and mud in the same week — pick waterproof.
- Ocean City MD 52° / 35° Kites, wind, and the boardwalk showing first signs of life.
- Bend OR 52° / 28° Afternoons soften, nights don't — classic high-desert bait.
- New York City NY 50° / 36° Spring teases, then a wet slap. Layers, and an umbrella.
- South Lake Tahoe CA 48° / 24° Spring skiing by afternoon, hard frost almost every night.
- Chicago IL 47° / 31° Thaw and refreeze, week by week — waterproof boots earn their keep.
- Bozeman MT 46° / 24° Skiing peaks just as the calendar says otherwise.
- Cape Cod MA 46° / 30° Grey, blustery, and stubbornly not yet spring.
- Newport RI 46° / 31° Rain, wind, and mansions you can have to yourself.
- Boston MA 46° / 31° Slush, false starts, and one surprise storm nobody planned for.
- Aspen CO 43° / 20° Deepest snowpack, longest light — skiers' favorite month, quietly.
- Portland, Maine ME 42° / 26° Snow, then slush, then snow again — and sugaring starts.
- Yellowstone WY 42° / 19° Winter ends on the calendar, not on the ground.
- Minneapolis MN 42° / 25° The melt begins, and so does the season of potholes.
- Bar Harbor ME 42° / 25° Mud, ice, and a lot of falling weather. Skip it.
- Niagara Falls NY 41° / 25° Thaw, meltwater, and the attractions starting to stir.
- Burlington VT 41° / 24° Sap runs, snow keeps falling, spring stays theoretical.
- Jackson Hole WY 40° / 18° Sun-softened snow up high, still hard-frozen down in town.
Deep winter
8 places
- Traverse City MI 39° / 21° Sloppy underfoot — the sap runs and the town waits.
- Juneau AK 39° / 27° Spring skiing above, slush below, daylight in abundance.
- Mackinac Island MI 39° / 16° Too late for the ice, too early for the boats.
- Door County WI 38° / 21° Mud season, plainly — the peninsula has not woken up yet.
- Lake Placid NY 36° / 16° Still winter above the village, sloppy down in it.
- Anchorage AK 33° / 19° Bright, snowy, and finally warm enough to stay outside.
- Denali National Park AK 25° / 0° Hard fast snow and days long enough to use.
- Fairbanks AK 25° / -3° Bright days, dark nights, and cold you can actually manage.
Warm water this month
Snow you can mostly count on
- Aspen 26.9 in
- Lake Placid 18.9 in
- Burlington 17.5 in
- Flagstaff 15.6 in
- Portland, Maine 13.6 in
- Bozeman 13.1 in
- Juneau 12.4 in
- Traverse City 12.3 in
- Anchorage 11.0 in
- Yellowstone 10.9 in
- Park City 9.8 in
- Jackson Hole 9.2 in
- Boston 9.0 in
- Denver 8.8 in
- Door County 8.6 in
- Minneapolis 8.2 in
- Denali National Park 8.2 in
- Grand Canyon 8.1 in
- Fairbanks 6.5 in