Skyline Drive flowers
May usually brings pink azaleas. Look from established paths; timing varies with weather and elevation.
May · Skyline Drive flowers
What to see and do in Shenandoah in May
Choose a May outing that fits the route, weather and effort involved.
Whiteoak Canyon
A waterfall hike adds a different view to the ridge drive. Allow for the uphill return and watch wet footing.
May · Whiteoak Canyon
Shenandoah weather in May
May’s normal high is 64°F and low is 46°F, with 4.21 inches of precipitation. Big Meadows at about 3,540 ft supplies the ridge temperature normals. The precipitation normals shown in the chart come from Luray 5 E at about 1,400 ft on the valley floor, not the ridge. Snowfall normals are not reported.
Cooler Hotter
Jan
High36°F
Low19°F
Precip · in2.85
Feb
High38°F
Low22°F
Precip · in2.45
Mar
High44°F
Low27°F
Precip · in3.58
Apr
High57°F
Low37°F
Precip · in3.51
May
High64°F
Low46°F
Precip · in4.21
Jun
High70°F
Low54°F
Precip · in4.76
Jul
High75°F
Low59°F
Precip · in4.12
Aug
High73°F
Low58°F
Precip · in3.77
Sep
High69°F
Low52°F
Precip · in5.42
Oct
High58°F
Low42°F
Precip · in3.17
Nov
High48°F
Low32°F
Precip · in3.21
Dec
High40°F
Low24°F
Precip · in3.10
Shenandoah crowds in May
May averages 158,253 recreation visits, 50% of the peak monthly average in October.
LowestLowModerateHighPeakAverage month: 133,666May
Tips for your May visit
Check the approach before choosing the rest of the day.
AFront Royal Entrance (North Entrance)BThornton Gap EntranceCSwift Run Gap EntranceDRockfish Gap Entrance (South Entrance)
- Park boundary
Front Royal Entrance (North Entrance)
Normal road approach, subject to weather and individual site restrictions.
How we built this page.
An independent guide using official data. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the National Park Service.
- Crowds
- 2021–2025 monthly averages. NPS recreation visits, compared with the park’s own busiest month. Visits are not unique visitors or a count of people on a trail.
- Weather
- 1991-2020 climate normals. NOAA’s Big Meadows, VA station. These describe typical weather at the station, not every part of the park or a forecast.
- Roads & lodging
- Normal seasonal schedules. NPS guidance and official operator information. Confirm access, hours and availability before you travel.
Historical records and data-quality checks
- Visit history: 1979–2025 NPS monthly recreation visits.
- Weather history: 1935–2025 daily observations, separate from climate normals. We average daily highs and lows and total the rain for each month.
- Complete months only: every day must pass our quality checks for that metric. Missing or incomplete records stay blank; we never interpolate.
- Excluded measurements: flagged, presumed-zero and lagged values. Trace rain counts as zero measurable rainfall.