Where to go in May
A sweet spot before the humidity and the crowds arrive together — almost everywhere is pleasant at once, which isn’t a thing you can say for long.
Looking up The Eta Aquariids peak on the night of May 5–6, 2027. The calendar, with the moon on each night ›
Beach warm
43 places
- Death Valley CA 101° / 75° Serious heat now. Sightsee from the car and the overlooks.
- Palm Springs CA 95° / 66° The heat means it now — do everything before breakfast.
- Phoenix AZ 95° / 70° The switch flips: mornings good, afternoons already unforgiving.
- Tucson AZ 92° / 62° Saguaros in bloom and the heat turning serious.
- South Padre Island TX 90° / 74° Full summer arrives quietly, before the crowds figure it out.
- Fort Myers FL 90° / 69° Hot and bright, with the first storms building inland.
- El Paso TX 89° / 62° Summer arrives early and the mountain trails empty out.
- Las Vegas NV 89° / 66° Heat clears its throat — mornings golden, afternoons already serious.
- Orlando FL 88° / 66° The heat arrives — do your walking before nine.
- Tampa FL 88° / 71° Hot afternoons arrive; the rain hasn't yet.
- Naples FL 88° / 70° Heat settles in before the rain does.
- Sarasota FL 88° / 68° Beach-perfect and dry, if you can handle the heat.
- Corpus Christi TX 87° / 71° Summer arrives, and Buc Days announces it loudly.
- Clearwater FL 87° / 70° Peak swimming, and the sky still behaving itself.
- Austin TX 87° / 67° Summer's opening statement, delivered with thunder.
- Houston TX 87° / 68° The air thickens and the storms get serious.
- Miami FL 87° / 73° Storms come back on schedule; mornings still belong to you.
- San Antonio TX 87° / 66° Warm and heavy, with storms that genuinely mean it.
- Kahului (Maui) HI 87° / 68° The quiet gap between whale season and school holidays.
- Key West FL 86° / 76° The sea turns soft and the showers start wandering in.
- Fort Lauderdale FL 86° / 74° Wet season knocks; the water is finally perfect.
- Panama City Beach FL 85° / 66° Everything you booked this beach for, all at once.
- St. Augustine FL 85° / 67° Beach weather lands and the crowds haven't caught up.
- Pensacola FL 85° / 67° The beach month — warm water, sun, and less rain.
- Daytona Beach FL 85° / 66° Ocean warms up while the sky stays generous.
- Honolulu HI 85° / 72° Long light, calm mornings, ocean warm enough to linger.
- Savannah GA 85° / 63° Do the cemetery tour early; by noon you'll want shade.
- New Orleans LA 85° / 71° The humidity moves in and takes off its coat.
- Galveston TX 84° / 72° Warm sea, warm air, and the island not yet full.
- Hilton Head Island SC 84° / 64° The water turns swimmable and the season properly begins.
- Kailua-Kona HI 84° / 73° The month before the crowds, with the water already warm.
- Sedona AZ 84° / 53° Warm, dry, and long-lit: the trails' finest hour.
- Dallas TX 84° / 65° Warm, wet, and the loudest month on the calendar.
- Destin FL 84° / 68° The month everything works — water warm, sky dry.
- Zion National Park UT 84° / 53° Hot by lunch, glorious by evening — start before sunrise.
- Moab UT 83° / 51° Warm days, perfect nights, and the gnats arrive.
- Gulf Shores AL 82° / 65° The best beach month nobody outside Alabama talks about.
- Memphis TN 82° / 62° Smoke over the river for a solid month.
- Lihue (Kauai) HI 82° / 71° Long days, warm sea, and rates that haven't caught up.
- Atlanta GA 81° / 61° Warm without being oppressive — the last easy month.
- Hilo HI 81° / 67° The year's driest, which here just means fewer downpours.
- Nashville TN 80° / 58° Warm evenings, big storms, and racing hats everywhere.
- Charlotte NC 80° / 58° Warm days, cool nights, engines audible from the interstate.
Genuinely warm
28 places
- Albuquerque NM 80° / 52° Perfect high-desert days before the heat gets ideas.
- Charleston SC 79° / 68° Warm, salt-heavy air and the first real beach weekends.
- Myrtle Beach SC 79° / 62° Everything's open, nothing's crowded yet — the locals' month.
- Williamsburg VA 77° / 57° Long green evenings, and the interpreters still look comfortable.
- St. Louis MO 77° / 58° Warm, green, and the wettest stretch on the calendar.
- Branson MO 77° / 56° The hills go fully green, with thunder most afternoons.
- Washington, DC DC 77° / 58° Green, mild, and the city at its most walkable.
- Asheville NC 76° / 54° Warm, green, and the rhododendron just getting started.
- Santa Fe NM 76° / 43° Clear, mild, and the courtyards finally worth sitting in.
- Anaheim CA 76° / 58° Soft mornings, bright afternoons, gray only if you drive west.
- Virginia Beach VA 76° / 56° The Boardwalk wakes up before the water does.
- Outer Banks NC 75° / 60° Everything reopens, and the ocean stops being a dare.
- Gatlinburg TN 75° / 51° Warm, green, and the fireflies do something impossible.
- Philadelphia PA 74° / 54° Everything blooms and nothing is uncomfortable yet.
- Reno NV 74° / 47° Warm afternoons arrive; the nights haven't got the message.
- Los Angeles CA 74° / 58° May Gray: silver mornings at the beach, sun a few miles inland.
- Napa CA 73° / 48° The last green month before the gold takes over.
- Salt Lake City UT 73° / 50° Warm, bright, and the canyons finally open all the way.
- Atlantic City NJ 73° / 51° Empty and lovely right up until the last weekend.
- Boise ID 72° / 48° The valley at its lushest, and the window is short.
- Denver CO 72° / 43° Green, gorgeous, and the month hail dents every car outside.
- New York City NY 71° / 55° The month the city eats outside and stops complaining.
- Durango CO 71° / 35° Green, dry, and the river running hard and fast.
- Colorado Springs CO 71° / 44° Wildflowers below, snowfields above, and thunder learning its lines.
- Yosemite Valley CA 71° / 45° Peak waterfall season — expect to get wet on the Mist Trail.
- Chicago IL 71° / 51° Patios open the instant the sun does; carry a shell.
- Park City UT 70° / 35° Warm hikes, cold camps, and trails drying from the bottom up.
- Ocean City MD 70° / 53° Shirtsleeves by day, a jacket the moment the sun drops.
Mild
30 places
- Grand Canyon AZ 70° / 36° The window opens: comfortable up here, workable down there.
- San Diego CA 70° / 60° Overcast until lunch, then a perfect afternoon — most days.
- Portland OR 69° / 49° Roses arrive early and the patios fill on faith.
- Santa Barbara CA 69° / 51° Mornings under a lid, afternoons that make up for it.
- Minneapolis MN 69° / 50° Everything blooms at once and nobody stays inside.
- Santa Cruz CA 69° / 48° Everything blooming, and the fog learning its summer routine.
- Burlington VT 69° / 48° Everything turns green overnight — and the blackflies notice too.
- Flagstaff AZ 68° / 35° Warm afternoons, freezing dawns, and pines that smell like butterscotch.
- Niagara Falls NY 68° / 46° Mild, green, and the falls at their loudest before the crowds.
- Boston MA 67° / 50° Everything blooms at once and the patios open properly.
- Seattle WA 66° / 49° The city remembers what it looks like in sunlight.
- Bend OR 66° / 37° Rivers loud, trails open, mornings still nipping at you.
- Mackinac Island MI 66° / 38° Everything reopens, cool and fresh, before the rush arrives.
- Monterey CA 65° / 50° Bright and breezy, and the aquarium line starts early.
- Traverse City MI 65° / 42° The orchards turn white and the town wakes up.
- Cape Cod MA 65° / 48° Perfect for walking, still far too cold for swimming.
- Newport RI 65° / 49° Lovely afternoons interrupted by a lot of grey mornings.
- Bar Harbor ME 65° / 45° Everything reopens — and so do the blackflies.
- Portland, Maine ME 64° / 46° Green arrives all at once; the ocean stays unconvinced.
- San Francisco CA 64° / 51° Sunny inland, gray at Ocean Beach, both on the same day.
- Bozeman MT 63° / 39° Everything comes up at once, and so does the rain.
- Door County WI 62° / 43° Orchards in bloom, roads empty, evenings sharp.
- Lake Placid NY 62° / 40° Green comes late, and the blackflies come with it.
- South Lake Tahoe CA 62° / 33° Warm afternoons, freezing dawns, and half the trails still snowed in.
- Fairbanks AK 62° / 39° Green explodes, days stretch, mosquitoes have not yet mobilized.
- Jackson Hole WY 60° / 32° Mud, meltwater, and the first bears back on the flats.
- Aspen CO 60° / 35° The awkward one: snowmelt below, snowfields above, town asleep.
- Yellowstone WY 60° / 35° Calves and cubs everywhere, and the high country still buried.
- Juneau AK 58° / 40° The best odds of a clear day all year.
- Anchorage AK 56° / 40° Green arrives overnight and the evenings stop ending.
Crisp
1 place
Warm water this month
- Key West 85°
- Fort Myers 85°
- Naples 85°
- Miami 84°
- Tampa 84°
- Fort Lauderdale 84°
- Clearwater 84°
- Sarasota 83°
- Corpus Christi 82°
- Lihue (Kauai) 81°
- Galveston 81°
- Kailua-Kona 80°
- South Padre Island 80°
- Gulf Shores 80°
- Pensacola 79°
- Destin 78°
- Panama City Beach 78°
- Honolulu 78°
- Kahului (Maui) 78°
- Hilo 78°
- St. Augustine 77°
- Charleston 76°
- Savannah 75°
- Hilton Head Island 75°
- Myrtle Beach 74°