Best Time to Visit Boston
Boston runs through four distinct seasons: winters can drop below freezing with nor'easter snowstorms, while summers turn hot and humid. What changes through the year is the cold, which grips hardest between December and February, the humidity, which peaks in July and August, and the price of a hotel room, which spikes around the Boston Marathon and the fall foliage season. Here's when to go — and when to think twice.
Crisp days, cool nights, fall foliage turning across the Common and the Public Garden, and noticeably fewer crowds than summer — though hotel prices climb around peak foliage weekends.
Mild temperatures, the Public Garden and Esplanade turning green, the Swan Boats back on the lagoon, and hotel prices still below the summer peak.
The coldest weeks of the year, nor'easter snowstorms that can shut down streets and flights, icy sidewalks, and holiday hotel rates lingering into early January.
| Month | Weather | Crowds | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | -6 to 2°C | Low | Low | The coldest month, nor'easter snowstorms possible, hotel rates still elevated just after the holidays |
| February | -5 to 3°C | Low | Low | Still bitterly cold with occasional snowstorms, quiet museums, some of the cheapest hotel rates of the year |
| March | -1 to 8°C | Medium | Low | Snow gives way to slush, still cold enough for a winter coat, the first hints of spring by month's end |
| April | 4 to 13°C | Medium | Medium | Unpredictable — a warm day can be followed by a cold snap; the Boston Marathon on Patriots' Day (third Monday) fills hotels citywide |
| May | 10 to 19°C | Medium | Medium | The Public Garden turns green, Swan Boats return, still cool enough for a jacket in the evening |
| June | 16 to 25°C | High | High | Warm and increasingly humid, long daylight hours, the Esplanade and Harbor Islands fill up on weekends |
| July | 19 to 29°C | Very high | Very high | The hottest and busiest month, harbor cruises and whale watching in full swing, hotel rates at their peak |
| August | 19 to 28°C | High | High | Still hot and humid with occasional thunderstorms, crowds thinning after mid-month |
| September | 14 to 23°C | Medium | Medium | Warm days and cool nights, students return to Cambridge, the first hints of fall colour by late month |
| October | 8 to 16°C | High | High | Peak fall foliage, the Head of the Charles regatta draws crowds, Salem's Haunted Happenings make the North Shore very crowded |
| November | 2 to 10°C | Low | Low | Cold and often grey, foliage fading, otherwise quiet until Thanksgiving week |
| December | -3 to 5°C | High | High | Snow likely, holiday lights downtown draw crowds, the final two weeks are the most expensive of the year |