Famous national parks get the postcards. But these five under-the-radar U.S. national parks get your full attention. Here’s where to go.
Frequent park-goers will tell you the same thing. The famous five (Yellowstone, Yosemite, Zion, Acadia and Great Smoky Mountains) are only the beginning of what the U.S. National Park Service has to offer.
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There are 63 national parks in the United States, and the household names get the lion’s share of the attention. Yet, these five under-the-radar U.S. national parks deliver the same kind of wild scenery and wide-open skies as their better-known counterparts. The only difference is the foot traffic. Most importantly, though, they deserve the detour.
Five Under-the-Radar U.S. Parks Having a Moment
More and more travelers are after slow trips, dark skies and a deliberate digital detox. And the following five under-the-radar national parks are the answer.
1. Great Basin National Park — Nevada
Out in eastern Nevada near the Utah border, Great Basin has caves, ancient trees and a 13,063-foot peak. Annual visitation hovers around 150,000, a number some popular parks clock in a single week, which is part of the appeal.
Up on the slopes of Wheeler Peak, bristlecone pines stretch past 4,000 years old, making them some of the oldest living things on earth. Down on the mountain’s lower flank, a ranger-led tour is the only way into Lehman Caves, where rare shield formations look closer to coral than rock.
The real headline is the night sky. Great Basin earned International Dark Sky Park status in 2016, and the annual astronomy festival every September draws amateur stargazers from across the West. Yes, it’s nine hours from Las Vegas and seven from Salt Lake City. Go anyway.
2. Congaree National Park — South Carolina
About 20 miles southeast of Columbia, Congaree protects the largest stretch of old-growth bottomland hardwood forest in the country. Loblolly pines, bald cypress and water tupelo grow taller here than almost anywhere east of the Rockies. Several rank among the largest of their species.
The 2.4-mile Boardwalk Loop is the easiest way in, a raised path through the floodplain that puts you eye-level with cypress knees and tannin-dark water. In late May, the park hosts one of only a few synchronous firefly displays in North America, when thousands of fireflies light up the forest in coordinated waves. Congaree is free to enter and unlike anything else on this list.
3. North Cascades National Park — Washington
Three hours northeast of Seattle sits a park with more glaciers than the rest of the lower 48 combined. And yet, North Cascades only logs in around 30,000 to 40,000 visitors a year, making it one of the least-visited parks in the contiguous United States. Highway 20 cuts through the heart of the park complex from late spring through October, then closes for avalanche season.
Diablo Lake is the photograph everyone takes, its water turned a surreal mineral-blue by glacial flour suspended in the snowmelt. The trails to Cascade Pass, Maple Pass and Hidden Lake climb into high-alpine terrain, so if you’ve ever wanted Banff without the border crossing or the bus tours, this is where to go.
4. Great Sand Dunes National Park — Colorado
Great Sand Dunes looks like the Sahara dropped at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. Located in south-central Colorado, Great Sand Dunes is home to the tallest dunes in North America, some rising more than 700 feet from the valley floor. Climbing them is a workout. Sandboarding down is the reward, and rentals are available from local outfitters just outside the park gate.
In spring and early summer, snowmelt from the Sangre de Cristo range creates Medano Creek, a temporary stream at the base of the dunes where families splash around in shallow waves of cold mountain water. The park holds alpine lakes for fishing, dense ponderosa forests and night skies dark enough to qualify as another Dark Sky Park certification.
5. Isle Royale National Park — Michigan
The least-visited national park in the lower 48 is also one of the most rewarding. Isle Royale sits 56 miles out into Lake Superior, accessible only by ferry or seaplane. The park closes entirely from November through mid-April. Annual visitation usually lands in the low tens of thousands, fewer than Yellowstone sees in a summer afternoon.
The payoff is a roadless wilderness with about 165 miles of foot trails, including the 40-mile Greenstone Ridge Trail. Wolves and moose roam the forest, and researchers have tracked their populations since 1958, the longest predator-prey study in science.
Lake Superior also holds the largest collection of preserved Great Lakes shipwrecks, making it a magnet for cold-water divers. Above water, it’s the rare American park where you can spend a full day without seeing another person.
Snapshot
- Trade the crowds at Zion and Yellowstone for five under-the-radar national parks across Nevada, South Carolina, Washington, Colorado and Michigan.
- Plan a Great Basin trip around the Dark Sky Park certification, with bristlecone pines over 4,000 years old and an annual astronomy festival every September.
- Walk the Boardwalk Loop at Congaree National Park to see the largest old-growth bottomland hardwood forest in the U.S., plus synchronous fireflies in late May.
- Drive Highway 20 through the North Cascades for access to 300+ glaciers and the mineral-blue water of Diablo Lake, just three hours from Seattle.
- Take a ferry or seaplane to Isle Royale National Park in Lake Superior, the least-visited park in the lower 48, where wolves, moose and shipwrecks await across 165 miles of roadless wilderness.
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