10 Underrated National Parks You Have to Visit This Year
The National Park Service has 63 national parks as of early 2024, yet the top 10 get more than half of the annual visitors. In fact, 36 parks don’t even get a full 1% of visitation numbers. These underrated national parks bring so much to the visitor experience, usually without the crowds and annoying timed entry.
At the same time, we’re loving some of the national parks to death, with crowds gathered on delicate trail ecosystems and traffic jams that last hours. Are we really escaping to the wild if we’re doing so with 100,000 people on a given day?
Underrated national parks bring a novelty you can’t always get somewhere else. Some are even great alternatives to the more crowded parks. Once you see what these parks have to offer, you might just think underrated national parks are the most likely to impress.
Great Basin National Park
Nevada
This eastern Nevada national park ranges from half a mile below ground to more than 13,000’ above ground at Mount Wheeler. That range brings half a dozen ecosystems to explore, along with some of the darkest night skies in the United States.
Yet somehow, this park is the second least visited national park on the mainland of the Lower 48. It’s an easy driving distance from Las Vegas (4:30) and Salt Lake City (3:30). Great Basin National Park is also one terminus of the Park to Park in the Dark stargazing road trip from Death Valley.
The best time of year to visit Great Basin National Park is in spring for the wildflowers or fall for the foliage (yep, foliage in the desert!). Summer is peak season with highs in the mid-80s, yet cooler temperatures greet you at the higher elevations.
Big Bend National Park
Texas
Little by little, Big Bend National Park is growing in popularity but still doesn’t get the attention it deserves. Visitation has increased by 60% since 2012.
This far West Texas part shares a border with Mexico. Three ecosystems – the Chihuahuan Desert, Chisos Mountains, and Rio Grande River valley – can be explored in one trip.
It’s another park with pristine night skies and a pretty good chance of clear skies throughout the year. In addition, you can cross the border, hang out in the hot springs, or ride the Rio Grande Wild & Scenic River.
Big Bend National Park offers more than 150 miles of trails at elevations up to 7,832’, which means a cooler experience during the scorching hot summers. Backcountry, frontcountry, and another country are all options at Big Bend National Park, one of the most underrated national parks.
Guadalupe Mountains National Park
Texas
We’re taking a Texas two-stop for underrated national parks. Four hours from Big Bend is Guadalupe Mountains National Park near the New Mexico border. The escarpment is an ancient Permian Reef (230-280 million years ago) filled with fossils as you walk along the trails.
The park is underrated for three reasons.
- It’s 95% wilderness, meaning no roads or scenic drives in the park.
- Five access points get you to the park, but you will have to drive up to two hours to get to different sections.
- Weather risks include intense winds from November through March, as well as summer thunderstorms, mixed with a year-round fire risk.
If that’s where you stop considering the Gualaupde Mountains, you’re just missing out on an incredible park (and you’ll sit two hours in Yellowstone traffic, anyway).
This park is naturally designed for hikers and peak baggers, with the highest point in Texas at Guadalupe Peak (8,751’) and its own iteration of El Capitan defining the landscape. You can explore the Salt Basin Dunes or walk the stunning McKittrick Canyon, then spend a few hours walking through Devil’s Hall, a more rugged version of Zion’s Narrows.
When you want to see the underside of this mountain range, head 30 miles into New Mexico to Carlsbad Caverns National Park.
Black Canyon of the Gunnison
Colorado
Much like Grand Canyon National Park, a trip to Colorado’s Black Canyon of the Gunnison can be as challenging or laid back as you want. On the other hand, this canyon gives off a more gothic vibe than its colorful cousin in Arizona.
The canyon stretches 30 miles with towering cliff walls rising up to 2,600 feet above. The canyon’s unique geological features, including dark, gneiss, and schist rock formations, create a stark and rugged landscape.
Hiking trails, scenic drives, and overlooks allow visitors to explore the rims, Gunnison River, and inner canyon. If you love challenging drives, visit in the summer when you can tackle East Portal Road’s twists and turns.
An AstroFest is held each fall to celebrate this Dark Sky Park. Rock climbing and kayaking the river are two other popular activities at Black Canyon of the Gunnison.
Lassen Volcanic National Park
California
Here’s a park that offers unique thermal features similar to Yosemite but nowhere near the size of Yosemite crowds. Lassen Volcanic National Park has it all – mountain peaks, waterfalls, lakes, meadows, a cinder cone, and a scenic drive that waves from one end of the park to the other. The park has eight famous thermal features, like Bumpass Hell and Devil’s Kitchen.
Part of what makes Lassen Volcanic National Park underrated is the short season to explore the bulk of the park. Tough winters in the Sierra Nevadas mean this park peaks between July and September but stays fully accessible through October. Unfortunately, that’s also the height of wildfire season. In 2021’s Dixie Fire, 68% of the park was impacted.
You can now see the forest regrowth and burn spots, which showcase the circle of life and nature’s role in healing itself.
North Cascades National Park
Washington
Many things about North Cascades National Park are misunderstood, leading to it being the least visited national park in the Lower 48 that isn’t on an island. However, North Cascades is a complex of NPS sites, including Ross Lake and Lake Chelan National Recreation Areas. If you counted all the complex visits, it would rank in the middle of all national park visitation lists.
Much like the Guadalupe Mountains, North Cascades is designated wilderness. On top of the fact that there are no main roads going through the park, Ross Lake NRA cuts the north and south sections in half. That area also gets credit for the tens of thousands of people who drive the scenic North Cascades Highway.
What North Cascades National Park brings to the table is a backcountry adventurer’s dream come true. It has the beauty of Glacier National Park, glaciers and waterfalls included, with no crowds. You’ll see more bears than people. Also, like Glacier NP, the scenic drive is buried in snow half the year.
At the end of the day, a park with 300 glaciers, 400 miles of hiking trails, and 500 turquoise lakes sort of earned the right to be roadless. You gotta work to enjoy this one, but I’m not sure there’s another experience in the National Park Service worth it more than North Cascades.
Petrified Forest National Park
Arizona
It’s hard to be the distant relative of the Grand Canyon in Arizona, and nowhere is that more evident than at Petrified Forest National Park. More than 7.5 million vehicles drive by Petrified Forest on I-40 annually, yet 2023 saw just 520,000 visitors. Maybe it’s the word “petrified”?
Petrified Forest National Park combines the nostalgia of Route 66 with the beauty of Arizona’s Painted Desert and the sparkly insides of trees buried by an ancient sea. It took 200 million years of geology to bring us this show-stopping national park.
Petrified means “stone.” Petrification happens when organic material is buried under sediment and replaced by minerals, resulting in a fossilized version of the original material. If someone is petrified, it means they are frozen with fear – like stone.
Even if you don’t have a lot of time, you can easily drive through the park and head right back to the interstate, seeing badlands, petrified wood, and the Painted Desert Inn National Historic Landmark along the way.
New River Gorge National Park
West Virginia
As one of the newest national parks, New River Gorge might not be as widely known as behemoths like Yosemite and the Grand Canyon. However, the park and West Virginia as a whole tend to be underrated despite its intricate beauty and stellar activities.
National Geographic ranked whitewater rafting on the New River as one of the 20 Coolest Travel Adventures for 2024. In addition to the gorge being “gorgeous,” the outdoor opportunities include rock climbing, rappelling, hiking, and the famous Bridge Walk, nearly 900 feet in the air.
For the best views, take the Endless Wall Trail’s 2.4-mile journey to the edge of the gorge. The most unique trail is the Kaymoor Miner’s Trail, which descends more than 800 steps in a half mile to an old mining town.
Several locations in the park provide epic views of the sunset and night skies. Fall is one of the best times to visit when the colors cascade down the gorge’s nearly 900-foot vertical drop.
Theodore Roosevelt National Park
North Dakota
President Theodore Roosevelt famously said, “I never would have been President if it had not been for my experiences in North Dakota.” Without his dedication to preserving land and establishing the Antiquities Act of 1906, who knows where the National Park Service would be today?
At Theodore Roosevelt National Park, you kind of get three parks in one. There’s the North Unit, with a scenic drive weaving through badlands across 30 miles. It’s the least visited section and mostly wilderness, opening the adventure to backpackers.
The South Unit brings the biggest crowds and offers amazing trails, a 50-mile scenic drive, and a petrified forest of its own.
At the Elkhorn Ranch Unit, you’ll walk in the footsteps of Roosevelt at his beloved ranch. This was his second North Dakota ranch, a somber homecoming after he lost his wife and mother. His first ranch, Maltese Cross Cabin, is at the South Unit Visitor’s Center.
Canyonlands National Park
Utah
I have a bit of writer’s guilt for calling Canyonlands National Park underrated because it’s more like a well-kept secret, and some would like to keep it that way. The park is near Moab, which is an “if you know, you know” secret adventure portal to an upper echelon of activity.
While many people look at Utah’s Mighty Five and line up for Zion’s intense lines or opt for Arches National Park, Canyonlands has all of the features you’ll find in the other four – and then some.
Island in the Sky is great for first-time visitors, and it’s also right next to Dead Horse State Park, where Thelma and Louise famously… (spoiler alert, but hey, it has been since 1991) drove off the cliff.
The Needles is a little less accessible but ideal for experienced backcountry hikers who want to drive a Jeep the way a Jeep was meant to be driven.
Save The Maze for only the most experienced adventures. Easier access is available from vendors in Moab by boat.
The true secrets of Canyonlands are only found by those who dare experience it. What secrets will you find?
More Underrated Spots in National Parks
Even some of the more popular national parks have underrated areas. Instead of visiting the south entrance of Zion, head to Kolob Canyon.
At the Grand Canyon, take the adventure to the North Rim during the warmer months. Rim-to-rim hikers also want to start here to avoid a lower elevation gain on the South Rim final stretch.
Acadia National Park is not underrated, but the Isle au Haut section and the Schoodic Peninsula sure are, with both offering a “quiet side” experience of the Maine natural wonderland.
Then there are parks, like Dry Tortugas and Isle Royale, that frequently get tossed into “least visited” listicles. At the same time, the ferries for these spots fill up quickly and can be reserved months in advance. Least visited? Technically. Unpopular? Nope. Isle Royale National Park gets the most return visitors.
The most overrated thing you can do is follow the crowds to the most popular parks. Break away to the underrated world of national parks and prepare to be impressed.