These are the Most and Least Popular National Parks in the United States
This national parks bucket list ranks all 63 U.S. parks by popularity.
Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Yellowstone — we all know these are some of the most popular and crowded national parks in the U.S. But what about spots like Utah’s Canyonlands, California’s Sequoia, or South Dakota’s Badlands?
This guide to the most and least visited national parks in the United States ranks all 63 using the annual visitation numbers from the National Park Service. The latest data is from 2019, so we’ve based our list on that and added in new park number 63, New River Gorge National Park and Preserve, where it would fall given its past stats as a National River.
Under each national park, you’ll find a few of the top things to do there, tips for seeing the busier ones with fewer crowds, and reasons why the least visited ones often get overlooked.
Keep reading to find out where your favorite national parks fall on the popularity scale and use the map to quickly pinpoint the busiest ones. The colors of the rainbow rank the parks, with red as the most crowded and violet the least.
(Editorial Note: We plan to keep the rankings from 2019 up this year since closures and different travel patterns in 2020 will likely skew the data from what’s typical.)
1. Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Great Smoky Mountains National Park soars past the competition as the most popular park each year, thanks in part to the free entry and the fact that there are fewer national parks in the eastern United States but plenty of big cities.
The park spans more than 500,000 acres along the Tennessee-North Carolina border and is known for its black bears, forests of Fraser fir and red spruce, Appalachian Trail hikes, and high peaks like Clingmans Dome.
Summer and fall leaf-peeping season are the busiest times here, so consider a trip in June for lower crowds and gushing waterfalls.
Annual Visitors: 12,547,743
Great Smoky Mountains National Park Itinerary
2. Grand Canyon National Park
Grand Canyon National Park surrounds 277 miles of the Colorado River in Arizona, where it cuts through walls of rock up to a mile deep and 18 miles wide.
Sightseeing at more than a dozen lookout points, hiking into the canyon, and watching the sunset cast golden light on the rocks are a few of the best things to do here.
The South Rim is by far the more popular Grand Canyon stop, so try the North Rim or consider a visit in early spring or late fall to avoid big tourist groups.
Annual Visitors: 5,974,411
3. Rocky Mountain National Park
Colorado’s Rocky Mountain National Park is only about 70 miles outside Denver, so it’s one of the most accessible national parks in the western U.S.
More than 400 square miles of alpine and subalpine environments are full elk, bighorn sheep, mule deer and moose that you can often spot on hiking trails and scenic drives. The Trail Ridge Road is a popular route to take in the sights.
Summer and fall are the busiest here, but spring brings wildflowers to lower elevations and roads and trails begin to clear from snow in May or June.
Here’s how to plan a one day in Rocky Mountain National Park itinerary.
Annual Visitors: 4,670,053
4. Zion National Park
The soaring red and pink cliffs of Zion National Park mean stunning views from above and below, looking into the canyon on daring hikes like Angel’s Landing and staring up at walls of rock from bucket-list trails like The Narrows.
The southern Utah park can feel crowded in the busy season since most trailheads and services are at the floor of the canyon. To avoid the masses, skip the months of May through September.
Annual Visitors: 4,488,268
5. Yosemite National Park
California’s most popular park, Yosemite, is famous for its waterfalls, granite cliffs and sequoia trees. Visitors flock here to snap photos of the towering Yosemite Falls and Bridalveil Falls, climb the Half Dome and El Capitan, and take in the breathtaking scene of Yosemite Valley from the Tunnel View.
The park is busiest in June through September, so come in early spring for gushing waterfalls or early fall for lower crowds before the snow sets in and roads close.
Annual Visitors: 4,422,861
6. Yellowstone National Park
The first national park established in the United States, Yellowstone boasts incredible hydrothermal features, including geysers like Old Faithful, bubbling mud pots, and the Mammoth Hot Springs.
The nearly 3,500 square miles of parklands in Wyoming and parts of Montana and Idaho also cover rivers and lakes, canyons, forests, and fields where the bison and antelope play.
The park has the best weather and peak crowds in summer, so consider shoulder months like April, May and October to catch some roads open or go for the winter wonderland experience of snowmobiling and wolf-watching.
Annual Visitors: 4,020,288
How to Spend 4 Days in Yellowstone National Park
7. Acadia National Park
The only national park in New England, Maine’s Acadia covers a stretch of high rocky coastline that juts into the Atlantic Ocean. Located on Mount Desert Island, the park features some 150 miles of trails as well as scenic drives.
Visitors can summit Cadillac Mountain, snap photos at the Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse, whale-watch from rocky beaches, and visit the local seaside town of Bar Harbor.
Warm summer vacations and leaf-peeping fall trips are most popular here, so a chilly spring visit is less crowded.
Annual Visitors: 3,437,286
8. Grand Teton National Park
Located just south of Yellowstone in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Grand Teton National Park is famous for its pointy peaks and reflective rivers and lakes. Visitors flock to spots like Inspiration Point, Mormon Row and Schwabacher Landing for stunning vistas of gushing waterfalls and mountain scenes.
Hiking on dozens of trails and boating on the Snake River and Jackson and Jenny Lakes are popular summertime activities.
Crowds are lower in early spring and fall, the latter a great time for wildlife watching as animals like elk and moose find mates and bison migrate.
Annual Visitors: 3,405,614
9. Olympic National Park
Full of rain forests, glacier mountains and Pacific coastline, Olympic National Park covers close to 1 million acres of a peninsula west of Seattle.
The Olympic Mountains here are perfect for hiking and backpacking, lakes and coastal waterways invite fishing and boating, and lush forests have family-friendly walking paths.
Campgrounds begin opening in spring and summer is the busiest time. The island gets a lot of precipitation, so expect rain or snow no matter the season.
Annual Visitors: 3,245,806
10. Glacier National Park
Glacier National Park covers a span of the Rocky Mountains in northern Montana near the Canadian border. Along the popular Going-to-the-Sun Road, you can drive past glacier-topped mountains, green valley meadows and glistening lakes.
There are also 700-plus miles of trails for hiking and cycling.
The park is open year-round, but much more challenging to access outside summer when snow blankets the area and most roads are closed. Going-to-the-Sun Road often isn’t fully cleared until late June and typically remains open until some time in October, so visiting on the cusps of summer is the best way to avoid the heaviest crowds.
Annual Visitors: 3,049,839
11. Joshua Tree National Park
Southern California’s Joshua Tree is named for the twisty, prickly trees that fill the Mojave Desert landscape.
It’s actually best to visit this park in winter since the cooler temps make the desert hikes much more enjoyable. After the summer heat dies down, visitors hit the trails to gold mines, through cactus fields, and along rocky ridges with views of the Coachella Valley.
Annual Visitors: 2,988,547
12. Bryce Canyon National Park
Bryce Canyon National Park is famous for its rusty-colored hoodoos, rock formations shaped into pointy spires. The destination in southern Utah is only about an hour from popular Zion National Park, so the two are easy to combine in one road trip.
The easiest trails here take you along the top ridges for stellar views in the canyon from spots like Sunset Point and Inspiration Point, while more challenging options lead down into the basin to walk among the hoodoos.
Annual Visitors: 2,594,904
13. Cuyahoga Valley National Park
Ohio’s only national park is just 20 miles south of Cleveland and one of the closest national parks for nearby states like Michigan, Pennsylvania and even New York.
The Cuyahoga River creates cascades like Brandywine Falls while more than 125 miles of hiking trails cut through woodlands and wetlands. Early autumn is one of the best times to visit for the vibrant foliage and spring for wildflowers and gushing waterways.
Annual Visitors: 2,237,997
14. Indiana Dunes National Park
Similar to Cuyahoga, the popularity of Indiana Dunes is in part due to the low density of national parks and lots of big cities in this part of the country. Located along the sandy shores of southern Lake Michigan, the park is less than 50 miles from Chicago and just a couple of hours from Indianapolis and Milwaukee.
The 15,000 acres and 15 miles of lake coastline are perfect for beach days and hikes along wetlands, prairies and rolling hills of sand.
Annual Visitors: 2,134,285
15. Gateway Arch National Park
Gateway Arch is a bit of a head-scratcher when it comes to the “national park” name, as this one is located in the middle of the city and distinguished mostly for historic significance instead of a natural landscape.
The St. Louis, Missouri, site signifies the westward expansion of the U.S. and the Lewis and Clark Expedition that departed from near here. The famous steel monument is the tallest in the U.S. at 630 feet and was built in the 1930s. Visitors can ride a tram to the top for views of the city and the Mississippi River.
Annual Visitors: 2,055,309
16. Death Valley National Park
Death Valley National Park borders southern Nevada and California and is famous for containing the lowest spot in North America — the Badwater Basin at 282 feet below sea level.
Folks travel here to walk along the salt flats, view the colorful rocks at Artists Palette, and look out over the jagged landscape of the Devils Golf Course.
Death Valley is one of the hottest and driest places on earth, so visiting in winter and spring is best to avoid the dramatic summer heat that often hits above 120 degrees Fahrenheit.
These are the best places to stay in Death Valley National Park
Annual Visitors: 1,740,945
17. Arches National Park
With more than 2,000 stone arches, it’s no wonder how this Utah park got its name. The red rock formations here also include pointy pinnacles and narrow eroded walls called fins.
You can hike among the geological wonders to spots like Delicate Arch and Landscape Arch, two of the most photographed in the park, and Balanced Rock, which is exactly what it sounds like. This one day in Arches National Park itinerary has the best hikes and views.
March through October is the busy season as spring and fall have comfortable temps, so consider a winter visit to avoid crowds.
Annual Visitors: 1,659,702
Read Next: Guide to Visiting Arches and Canyonlands National Parks
18. Mount Rainier National Park
About 90 miles south of Seattle, Mount Rainier National Park includes more than 200,000 acres of wilderness and the 14,410-foot Mount Rainier, an active volcano.
Along 260 miles of trails, you can hike to waterfalls, through rain forests, along flower-filled meadows, and beside lakes and rivers.
Adventure seekers can also summit the glaciated peak with a climbing permit.
Annual Visitors: 1,501,621
19. Hot Springs National Park
Bathhouses with thermal waters are the big draw to Hot Springs National Park in central Arkansas. Bathhouse Row downtown features spa buildings dating to the late 19th and early 20th century, a few still offering treatments and soaking pools to this day.
Elsewhere around the park, hilly trails with forests and creeks make for scenic hiking.
Annual Visitors: 1,467,153
20. Shenandoah National Park
Shenandoah National Park traces a portion of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia, full of waterfalls, dense forests, and rocky hills. Most of the action here is located along Skyline Drive, a scenic highway running 105 miles through the park.
Hiking some of the 500-plus miles of trails is one of the most popular activities, and a portion of the famous Appalachian Trail is within park bounds.
The park typically gets crowded during fall leaf-peeping season, but for good reason.
Annual Visitors: 1,425,507
21. Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
Located on the Big Island, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park contains two active volcanoes — Kilauea and Mauna Loa. Covering an expanse that stretches from the sea to summits more than 13,000 high, the park is full of diverse landscapes and unique experiences for visitors.
A road trip on Crater Rim Drive will take you to caldera overlooks, steam vents, sulfur landscapes and lava tube caves. There are also plenty of day hikes through rain forests, up cinder cones and across hardened lava lakes.
Annual Visitors: 1,368,376
22. Sequoia National Park
The southern Sierra Nevada mountains host neighboring Sequoia National Park and Kings Canyon National Park in east-central California, known for the famously large trees that grow here.
Visitors come to hike the granite hills, massive forests, flowing meadows and waterfalls. Mount Whitney, the tallest peak in the lower 48, is also in this area, but you’ll need a permit to climb it.
Annual Visitors: 1,246,053
23. Capitol Reef National Park
The landscape of Capitol Reef National Park in Utah is literally described by the National Park Service as “a wrinkle on the earth,” otherwise known as a monocline, where rock strata bend or dip steeply.
Layers of red and golden sandstone features here include canyons, rock bridges and arches, cliffs and domes. About 15 trails are available for day hiking, but with a permit you can also go backpacking to more remote parts of the park.
Annual Visitors: 1,226,519
24. New River Gorge National Park
The newest national park and preserve, New River Gorge in West Virginia previously was designated a national river.
Whitewaters here pass through canyon landscapes in the southern part of the state, so activities like rafting and hiking both are popular.
As a national river in 2019, its visitation numbers would place it at 24th on this list, but we expect that could change as it rises in popularity with the new distinction.
Annual Visitors: 1,195,721
25. Everglades National Park
Everglades National Park covers a massive 1.5 million acres in southern Florida, protecting wetland habitats that are home to threatened, vulnerable and endangered species like the Florida panther, West Indian manatee, green sea turtle and American crocodile.
The environment in the park consists of piney woods, marshes and mangroves on the coast and inland. Kayaking and boating are popular activities but there are also hiking trails and boardwalks where you can spot alligators from a respectable distance.
Annual Visitors: 1,118,300
26. Saguaro National Park
Named after a massive cactus that grows in this part of southern Arizona, Saguaro National Park surrounds Tucson and is full of desert plant and animal life.
Summer temps in the park can get up to 110 degrees or more, so visiting in late fall through early spring is best for outdoor activities like hiking and camping.
Annual Visitors: 1,020,226
27. Haleakala National Park
Haleakala National Park on Maui in Hawaii is divided into two distinct sections — the Summit District leading up to a 10,023-high shield volcano, and the Kipahulu District, which is on the remote eastern coast of the island.
Hiking through bamboo forests and to waterfalls is the most popular activity on the coastal side, while the famous Haleakala sunrise draws crowds to the summit each morning to watch the dawn break. There are also hikes around the craters and volcanic landscapes in the elevated district.
Annual Visitors: 994,394
28. Badlands National Park
The remote wilderness of South Dakota’s Badlands stretches over 244,000 acres of canyons and prairies with bison and bighorn sheep.
Scenic drives are popular here, as well as biking, horseback riding and camping. There’s also a fossil lab and exhibit trail with discoveries found in the park.
Annual Visitors: 970,998
29. Canyonlands National Park
Canyonlands ranks the least visited of Utah’s five national parks, but it’s a can’t-miss if you’re road tripping through the state, and just 30 minutes from Arches National Park.
The landscape here is carved by the Colorado River and Green River into buttes, mesas and canyons. Desert hikes and boating on the waterways and rapids are some of the best ways to soak up the scenery.
Annual Visitors: 733,996
30. Biscayne National Park
Located at the northern Florida Keys just south of Miami, Biscayne National Park is made up of islands, reefs and a mangrove shoreline, much of which is only reachable by boat. It’s the perfect first stop on a Florida Keys itinerary.
An underwater trail here connects shipwrecks and other dive sites where coral grows in abundance. Other highlights include the Boca Chita Lighthouse with its observation deck and Elliot Key, where you can hike and camp.
Annual Visitors: 708,522
31. Crater Lake National Park
The picture-perfect Crater Lake fills the caldera of a collapsed volcano in Oregon’s Cascade Mountains with impossibly blue water. It’s said to be the deepest lake in the U.S.
Visitors to the national park can hike or drive the rim road for views of the mountains and an island in the lake. Most services and facilities here only open for the summer season of July through September when the snow is cleared.
Annual Visitors: 704,512
32. Theodore Roosevelt National Park
Theodore Roosevelt National Park is the quintessential Western wonderland, where bison and elk roam on the range. The Little Missouri River flows through here surrounded by a landscape of wide sweeping prairies and badlands.
The Scenic Loop Drive offers a great overview, but you can also hop out for hiking trails and kayak on the river.
Annual Visitors: 691,658
33. Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve
Glacier Bay ranks as the most visited of Alaska’s eight national parks mostly due to the big cruise ships that day trip through the inlets and fjords. The park is located near state capital Juneau and is part of the Inside Passage of Alaska’s southern coastline.
Some 3.3 million acres here include glaciers, mountains and waterways. Cruise and private vessel access to the park are both regulated and limited by the park service. Visiting on an Alaskan cruise is the easiest way to enjoy the scenery, and ships typically spend eight or more hours slowly moving through the park with a ranger on board as a sort of tour guide.
Annual Visitors: 672,087
34. Petrified Forest National Park
Colorful fossilized or mineralized wood is the main attraction at Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona. Much of it is preserved in the Rainbow Forest Museum, where you can walk along trails with paleontological markers.
Backcountry day hikes are allowed in the wilderness areas like the Painted Desert with its red and orange rock features.
Annual Visitors: 643,588
35. Kings Canyon National Park
Located in California’s Sierra Nevada, Kings Canyon and neighboring Sequoia national parks are best known for the giant trees that grow here — some of the largest in the world. Hunting down famous ones like General Grant Tree is a popular pastime, but you can also explore the landscapes of mountain foothills, caverns and canyons.
Annual Visitors: 632,110
36. Wind Cave National Park
Established in 1903, Wind Cave National Park is one of the oldest in the country and preserves one of the world’s longest caves.
Visitors can only access the underground passages on a guided tour when available, but the rest of the park offers scenic hikes through forests and drives along prairies where you might spot resident bison.
Annual Visitors: 615,350
37. White Sands National Park
This southern New Mexico park is made up of 275 miles of white gypsum sandhills. You can hike the dunes and bike or drive the surrounding scenic paths, but one of the best ways to enjoy the environment is by sand sledding.
Annual Visitors: 608,785
38. Denali National Park and Preserve
Home to the tallest mountain in North America, Denali National Park and Preserve also wraps in 6 million acres of interior Alaska. The landscape here ranges from glaciers and lakes to tundra and forests.
Most of the park is off-limits to private vehicles, so bus tours take visitors about 90 miles down Denali Park Road to hike, admire the scenery, and look for grizzly bears, moose and caribou.
Annual Visitors: 601,152
39. Mesa Verde National Park
Hundreds of ancient Ancestral Pueblo dwellings are preserved in Mesa Verde National Park, located in southwest Colorado. You can tour some of the archeological sites independently or with a guide, plus hike trails along rocky ridges and valley overlooks.
Annual Visitors: 556,203
40. Mammoth Cave National Park
Kentucky’s only national park preserves a massive cave system with over 400 miles currently mapped out. You can join tours to explore parts of it, stay above ground on more than 80 miles of hilly trails, or take to the rivers for kayaking and fishing.
Annual Visitors: 551,590
41. Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve
Snow-capped mountains backdrop Colorado’s Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, where the towering mounds are said to be the tallest in the country. A seasonal snow-melt creek typically forms at the base in late spring creating a brief window of beachy fun.
Besides hiking and sand sledding, you can also explore forested trails and alpine lakes.
Annual Visitors: 527,546
42. Lassen Volcanic National Park
Northern California’s Lassen Volcanic National Park is full of hydrothermal features like mud pots, steam vents and bubbling pools.
Some 150 miles of trails here lead to alpine lakes, rolling meadows, pine and cedar forests, and geysers. You can also hike about 2.5 miles up to the top of the dormant Lassen Volcano.
The park is blanketed in snow for much of November through May, so summer visits are much more popular.
Annual Visitors: 517,039
43. Redwood National Park
Named for the giant trees that grow here, Redwood National and State Parks also preserve a nearly 40-mile stretch of coastline in Northern California.
Hiking is one of the best things to do in the park, with trails meandering in forests and along rugged and secluded beaches and bluffs. There are also scenic drives through the redwoods and to Pacific Ocean overlooks.
Annual Visitors: 504,722
44. Big Bend National Park
Thanks to its remote locale, Big Bend National Park in southwest Texas is pretty light on crowds, especially considering there are more than 800,000 acres and 150 miles of hiking trails here.
The park sits near the Mexico-U.S. border where the Rio Grande divides the two countries, with landscapes of mountains, canyons and deserts.
Annual Visitors: 463,832
45. Carlsbad Caverns National Park
More than 100 caves are part of Carlsbad Caverns National Park in southern New Mexico. You can tour some of the caverns to see stalactites and stalagmites or enter the Big Room, one of the largest cave chambers in the country, on a self-guided walking path.
Annual Visitors: 440,691
46. Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
The least visited of Colorado’s four parks, Black Canyon of the Gunnison is a steep and deep gorge made by the Gunnison River. Hikes along the rims get the best views of the rocky drops, but you can also tackle challenging climbs down into the depths with a permit.
Annual Visitors: 432,818
47. Channel Islands National Park
Five islands off the coast of Southern California make up this unique national park. Features like sea caves, high bluffs, beaches and cliffs make for scenic hikes, and you can enjoy water sports and snorkeling from some of the islands.
Boat access is available to each of the islands and planes land on Santa Rosa and San Miguel.
Annual Visitors: 409,630
48. Kenai Fjords National Park
The National Park Service describes Kenai as the place “where mountains, ice and ocean meet,” a perfectly concise and fitting description of the Alaskan destination. Located on the Kenai Peninsula, about 125 south of Anchorage, this is one of few national parks in the state you can get to by road, though most of it is best explored on boat tours.
The Harding Icefield is preserved in park bounds, with landscapes of glaciers, islands and fjords. The best site you can drive to seasonally is Exit Glacier, where short trails take you to overlooks and longer hikes further into the icefield.
Annual Visitors: 356,601
49. Voyageurs National Park
Voyageurs National Park is made up of lakes and waterways in northern Minnesota where the state meets the Canadian border.
A few forested trails with overlooks are available by land, but most visitors come here to get out on the water, either by private vessel, on tours, or in a houseboat. In winter, the park transforms into a wonderland for snowshoeing, snowmobiling and cross-country skiing.
Annual Visitors: 232,974
50. Guadalupe Mountains National Park
Just a couple of hours from El Paso in western Texas, Guadalupe Mountains National Park contains the tallest peaks in the state, as well as canyon and desert landscapes. You’ll feel like you’re out in the middle of nowhere here with the vast wilderness and lack of crowds.
Hikes in Guadalupe Mountains National Park include a steep 4.2-mile path up Guadalupe Mountain to reach the highest point in Texas. Guadalupe is just 30 miles from Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico, so the two pair well on road trips.
Annual Visitors: 188,833
51. Pinnacles National Park
California’s least visited national park, Pinnacles is centrally located in the state between Los Angeles and San Francisco. The landscape of the rocky and mountainous destination is made up of spires left behind from ancient volcanic activity.
The park is best explored on foot — you can hike among caves, woods and shrublands in search of eagles and the endangered California condor.
Annual Visitors: 177,224
52. Congaree National Park
A floodplain of the Wateree and Congaree Rivers, this national park in South Carolina has a swampy feel, with a large bottomland forest. Boardwalks loop through the old-growth woods, but one of the best ways to explore the park is by canoe or kayak.
Annual Visitors: 159,445
53. Virgin Islands National Park
Virgin Islands National Park fills about two-thirds of St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands, preserving everything from a historic sugar plantation to tropical forests to sandy shoreline. Protected bays and beaches on the Caribbean Sea are perfect for snorkeling above coral reefs.
Annual Visitors: 133,398
54. Great Basin National Park
Great Basin National Park is the perfect alternative to the other massively crowded parks in the Southwest. It’s located in the wilderness of eastern Nevada about 300 miles north of Las Vegas and near the border of Utah.
Mountains, deserts, pine groves and caves welcome hikers and explorers, but one of the best things to do is cruise Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive for overlooks and sightseeing heading up a mountain. Because of the high elevation in much of the park, some activities are only available in summer and early fall, but winter adventurers come here for remote skiing and snowshoeing.
Annual Visitors: 131,802
55. Katmai National Park and Preserve
The famous nature scene of brown bears catching salmon as they leap upstream is perhaps the highlight of Katmai National Park and Preserve, where platforms at Brooks Falls give visitors a prime view during feeding time.
Like many national parks in Alaska, Katmai takes some effort to reach, which is why it falls among the least visited in the country. The mountains, lakes and tundra are located on a peninsula about 300 air miles southwest of Anchorage and accessed by boat or plane only.
Annual Visitors: 84,167
56. Dry Tortugas National Park
Located about 70 miles west of popular Key West, Dry Tortugas is typically a day trip destination accessed by boat or seaplane from the Florida Keys.
Since it’s formed by seven islands and coral reefs, activities like snorkeling and diving are big here, but you don’t want to miss the historic Fort Jefferson on Garden Key. If you want to stay for more than a day, remote camping with limited facilities is available.
Annual Visitors: 79,200
57. Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve
Covering a whopping 13.2 million acres, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve is a land of fire and ice — with the country’s largest collection of glaciers and active volcanic fields.
The park maintains some trails and offers ranger-led programs in summer, but most of the adventure here happens in the wilderness with opportunities for mountaineering, sea kayaking and backpacking. Proper planning, skills and even the aid of a local guide are recommended for backcountry trips.
The park is in eastern Alaska near Canada’s Yukon territory. You can drive to the outskirts in some areas, but only a couple of gravel roads actually extend into the park. The main visitor center is 200 miles northeast of Anchorage.
Annual Visitors: 74,518
58. National Park of American Samoa
Located in American Samoa in the South Pacific, this park encompasses three islands with rainforests and sandy beaches as well as the surrounding coral reefs. Hiking and snorkeling are among the most popular things to do in American Samoa.
This is one of the least visited national parks due to the time and expense to get here from the mainland U.S. A passport is also required to visit.
Annual Visitors: 60,006
59. North Cascades National Park
Though North Cascades is just 100 miles from the Seattle metro, this alpine wilderness feels extremely remote and is one of the least visited national parks in the country.
With forests, lakes, valleys, mountains and glaciers to explore, the outdoorsy opportunities are endless. Some 400 miles of trails criss-cross the park and local companies offer rafting, climbing and backpacking trips.
Summer is the warmest and driest season to visit and in winter many roads are closed.
Annual Visitors: 38,208
60. Isle Royale National Park
This northern Michigan park touches the border with Canada and includes an isolated island in Lake Superior. Boats, ferries and seaplanes depart from ports in Michigan and Minnesota to drop visitors off in the park.
On day trips, you can hike the island and kayak and canoe the waterways, but remote campgrounds are also available for overnight adventures.
Annual Visitors: 26,410
61. Lake Clark National Park and Preserve
Although Alaska’s Lake Clark National Park and Preserve is only about 120 miles southwest of Anchorage, no roads connect the destinations, so getting here requires a ride on a small bush plane. Since you have to rent an air taxi for the journey, the expense is what helps keep this remote escape one of the least visited national parks.
When you do make it to Lake Clark, you’ll find a 4 million acre wonderland awaiting, with volcanoes, mountains, lakes and tundra that are home to brown bears, red foxes, caribou and wolves.
Annual Visitors: 17,157
62. Kobuk Valley National Park
To reach Kobuk Valley National Park, you actually have to travel north of the Arctic Circle in Alaska. The journey involves flying from Anchorage or Fairbanks to a gateway town and then hiring an air taxi to drop you off in the park.
Visiting the remote destination requires self-sufficiency, as no park services, gear or food is available beyond the small departure communities.
The payoff, though, is an adventurous experience in the wild, where your campground is wherever you pitch your tent and your neighbors are the millions of caribou who migrate through these parts. If you want to see the park in a little less of an off-grid way, you can book flightseeing trips and brief landings from the communities of Kotzebue or Bettles.
Annual Visitors: 15,766
63. Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve
Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve is the northernmost one in the U.S., located near Kobuk north of the Arctic Circle. Also like Kobuk, there are no roads, trails or services here, though a couple of tiny communities on the outskirts have basic necessities and access into the park.
Rivers run wild in these parts and 8.4 million acres of wilderness and mountains surround you. Local wildlife includes caribou that migrate in and out each year and muskox, a wooly mammal with horns. Visitors should be experienced and self-sufficient to hike and explore here.
Annual Visitors: 10,518
