Late spring (May–June) and early autumn (September–October) are the best times to visit. The Gutai Mountains are green and hikeable, the countryside is at its most photogenic, and the weather is warm without the summer heat. July and August are busy with Romanian domestic tourists but perfectly fine. Winters are cold and sometimes snowy — the mountains become a modest ski destination, and the bare deciduous forests around the wooden churches have a stark, atmospheric quality. Spring mud (March–April) makes rural roads and tracks difficult.
The Hora la Prislop festival, held in August on the Prislop Pass in the Rodna Mountains, is one of Romania's great folk music and dance gatherings — well worth timing a trip around if you are interested in traditional culture.