23 Completely EMPTY National Parks (and Why You Need To Visit Them!)
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Have you ever planned a trip to a national park, hoping for quiet trails and big views, only to find a sea of people?
It’s frustrating.
The trails feel more like a line at the DMV. You end up dodging selfie sticks and waiting in line for a view.
That’s not what nature is supposed to feel like.
But the truth is, not all national parks are crowded.
Some national parks still feel wild and are full of untapped potential.
No tour buses. No waiting. Just quiet trails, wide-open landscapes, and a kind of stillness that’s hard to find these days.
These 23 parks give you that. And once you experience it, you’ll wonder why everyone else is still fighting for parking at the busy ones.
These Are the Least Visited National Parks in the Country
Gates of the Arctic (Alaska) – 11,045 Visitors Per Year
Gates of the Arctic isn’t just remote — it’s WAY out there.
No roads. No trails. No crowds.
Just endless wilderness, stretching across the Arctic Circle like something out of another world.
You get dropped in by bush plane; from there, it’s just you and the land.
Silence. Solitude.
Massive glacial-carved valleys and jagged peaks that don’t care what day it is.
There’s no place quite like it — well, except maybe a few other parks in Alaska.
But even in a state packed with wild beauty, Gates of the Arctic hits different.
Most Iconic Hike or View
The Brooks Range is wild and stunning, but the real magic hits when your bush plane touches down.
That moment — surrounded by silence, mountains, and nothing man-made — feels like stepping back in time.
Interesting Fact
Gates of the Arctic is the northernmost national park — a place of true wilderness.
It’s so remote and unvisited that more people summit Mount Everest every year.
Kobuk Valley (Alaska) – 17,616 Visitors Per Year
Kobuk Valley is one of the least visited national parks in the country — and one of the most otherworldly.
It’s located in northwestern Alaska, just above the Arctic Circle, and covers 1.75 million acres of untouched wilderness.
That’s bigger than the entire state of Delaware.
You get there by bush plane, and when you land, it’s just you, silence, and …sand dunes??
Yeah… Sand dunes
It’s raw, remote, and unlike anywhere else in the U.S.
Most Iconic Hike or View
The Great Kobuk Sand Dunes stretch for 25 square miles, rising up to 100 feet high — a golden desert surrounded by Arctic wilderness.
It’s like the Sahara met the tundra.
It’s the largest active dune field in the Arctic, and walking across it feels like stepping into another world.
Interesting Fact
Kobuk Valley holds ancient secrets—More specifically, 10,000 years of human history have been found buried in the sand dunes.
The dunes aren’t just scenic — they’re a living archaeological site.
Lake Clark (Alaska) – 18,187 Visitors Per Year
Lake Clark is remote, wild, and packed with everything you picture when you think “Alaska.”
Towering mountains, active volcanoes, turquoise lakes, and some of the best grizzly bear viewing in the world — all in one park.
It’s located on the Alaska Peninsula, about 100 miles southwest of Anchorage, and covers over 4 million acres.
There are no roads into the park, so just getting here requires a floatplane or small bush plane.
This is real, wild Alaska — no crowds, no noise. Just nature at its most raw.
Most Iconic Hike or View
The heart of the park is Lake Clark itself, a 42-mile-long glacial lake surrounded by sharp peaks and wide-open sky.
People come here to fish, paddle, hike, and watch bears hunt salmon in the streams — all with almost no one else around.
Interesting Fact
Lake Clark is one of the only national parks where you can see active volcanoes, wild salmon runs, and grizzly bears all in one day.
It also protects part of the Bristol Bay watershed, home to the largest sockeye salmon run in the world.
Isle Royale (Michigan) – 28,965 Visitors Per Year
Ok, now we’re down in the Lower 48. While you’ll still need a ferry or seaplane to reach it, it’s way more accessible than the remote parks in Alaska.
So why visit? Because this island in Lake Superior is the definition of unplugged.
There are no roads. Just deep forest, rocky shorelines, quiet trails, and cold, clear water.
Most visitors come to hike, paddle, or backpack the island’s rugged backcountry.
And the best part? You’ll probably have the trail to yourself. Even in peak season, it’s one of the least visited parks in the country.
This is the kind of place you go to slow down, breathe deep, and let the outside world fade away.
Most Iconic Hike or View
The most iconic hike on Isle Royale is the Greenstone Ridge Trail — a 40-mile route that runs the length of the island, following its rocky spine.
It has unreal views of Lake Superior, dense forests, and the kind of silence you can feel.
Interesting Fact
Isle Royale is the only national park that completely closes in winter (from November to mid-April) due to harsh weather and isolation.
It’s also home to a long-running study of wolves and moose, one of the oldest predator-prey research projects in the world.
North Cascades (Washington) – 40,351 Visitors Per Year
This is the first park on the list that you can actually drive to — no planes or ferries required.
It’s just a few hours from Seattle, and yet it still feels totally wild.
North Cascades is known for its jagged peaks, deep valleys, and over 300 glaciers — more than any other park in the Lower 48 (Yes, even more than Glacier National Park).
It’s rugged, raw, and often overlooked, which means you get jaw-dropping alpine scenery without the crowds.
You’ll find towering forests, miles of trails that lead deep into the backcountry, and lakes so blue they almost look radioactive.
And when the sun hits those massive glaciers and turquoise water—Unreal.
Most Iconic Hike or View
Diablo Lake Overlook — bright turquoise water framed by dramatic mountain ridges.
It’s a quick stop off the highway, but it looks like you hiked for days to get there.
Interesting Fact
North Cascades has more glaciers than Glacier National Park by a long shot.
It’s sometimes called the “American Alps.” Once you see it, you’ll know why.
Wrangell–St. Elias (Alaska) – 78,305 Visitors Per Year
Wrangell-St. Elias is the largest national park in the U.S.—bigger than Yellowstone, Yosemite, and Switzerland COMBINED.
It covers 13.2 million acres of glaciers, volcanoes, wild rivers, and rugged mountain peaks. And yet, almost no one goes.
Located in southeastern Alaska, Wrangell–St. Elias is remote, wild, and mostly roadless. A few rough gravel roads get you partway in, but the real heart of the park is reached by plane, boat, or days of hiking.
What makes it special?
The Wrangell Mountains tower above everything, with some of the tallest peaks in North America.
Massive glaciers spill down into wide valleys, and abandoned mining towns like Kennecott still stand, frozen in time.
Most Iconic Hike or View
The view from the old Kennecott Mill Town, looking out over the Root Glacier with Mount Blackburn in the background — a powerful mix of history and wilderness.
Interesting Fact
Wrangell–St. Elias is part of the largest international protected wilderness in the world, connected with parks in Canada’s Yukon and British Columbia.
Wildlife doesn’t stop at the border — and neither does the landscape.
Dry Tortugas (Florida) – 84,285 Visitors Per Year
Dry Tortugas feels like a secret. It’s a remote island park, 70 miles west of Key West, only reachable by boat or seaplane — which is exactly why so few people go. But for those who make the trip, it’s unforgettable.
At the center of it all is Fort Jefferson, a massive 19th-century brick fortress surrounded by clear blue water and coral reefs. You can walk the walls, snorkel with tropical fish, or just float in the shallow sea.
This place feels more like the Caribbean than a national park. No crowds or traffic, just the ocean, history, and quiet.
Most Iconic Hike or View
The view from the top of Fort Jefferson, looking out over the moat and into open water — blue in every direction.
Interesting Fact
Dry Tortugas is home to one of the largest brick structures in the Western Hemisphere, built with over 16 million bricks.
It was never finished, never attacked, and still stands strong today.
Katmai (Alaska) – 88,985 Visitors Per Year
Katmai is famous for one thing: grizzly bears.
HUGE grizzly bears catching salmon mid-air at Brooks Falls is one of the most iconic wildlife scenes on the planet.
And it’s not staged.
This happens every summer, naturally, in a place where bears outnumber people.
Located in southwestern Alaska, Katmai is remote and mostly accessible only by plane.
But for wildlife lovers and photographers, it’s worth every mile.
Most Iconic Hike or View
The Brooks Falls bear viewing platform, where you can watch massive brown bears fishing just feet away — no zoom lens required.
Interesting Fact
Katmai was first protected not for its bears, but for its volcanic history.
The Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes is a massive ash-filled canyon created by the 1912 Novarupta eruption, one of the most powerful of the 20th century.
You can hike to explore this surreal landscape via trails like Windy Creek Overlook and Ukak Falls.
Congaree (South Carolina) – 204,522 Visitors Per Year
Congaree might be one of the quietest parks in the East, but it holds something rare — the largest intact old-growth hardwood forest in the U.S.
Towering bald cypress, tupelo, and loblolly pines rise out of swampy ground, creating a landscape that feels ancient and alive.
Located just outside Columbia, South Carolina, Congaree is easy to reach but rarely crowded.
Visitors come for the peace, the bird calls, and the chance to paddle or hike through a forest that floods and changes with the seasons.
Most Iconic Hike or View
Wander above the floodplain and through a cathedral of towering trees on the Boardwalk Loop Trail.
Interesting Fact
Some of Congaree’s trees reach over 160 feet tall, making it one of the highest canopies in North America — often called the “Redwoods of the East.”
Great Basin (Nevada) – 221,465 Visitors Per Year
Great Basin is one of the best-kept secrets in the national park system.
Tucked into eastern Nevada, far from the crowds and highways, this park delivers alpine lakes, ancient trees, and underground caves — all in one trip.
The park is home to Wheeler Peak, rising over 13,000 feet, and the eerie, beautiful Lehman Caves, a marble cave system full of rare formations.
Most Iconic Hike or View
The trail up to Wheeler Peak, where you’ll pass alpine meadows and groves of ancient bristlecone pines before reaching views that stretch across multiple states.
Interesting Fact
Great Basin is one of the best places in the U.S. for stargazing — it’s a designated International Dark Sky Park, with some of the clearest night skies in the country.
National Park of American Samoa – 232,812 Visitors Per Year
This is the only U.S. national park south of the equator, and one of the most unique in the system.
Located on the remote islands of Tutuila, Ofu, and Ta‘ū in American Samoa, this park combines volcanic mountains, rainforests, and coral reefs — all surrounded by the South Pacific.
It’s REALLY far away from any other landmass, which means very few people make the trip.
But those who do will find lush green peaks, quiet beaches, and villages where local culture is still deeply rooted in daily life.
It’s a park where land and sea are equally protected — and both are STUNNING.
Most Iconic Hike or View
The coastal cliffs and turquoise water seen from the Pola Island Trail — one of the few hikes that shows off both jungle and ocean in one frame.
Interesting Fact
This is the only U.S. national park where traditional subsistence farming and fishing are still allowed within park boundaries — by design, to protect the culture as much as the landscape.
Guadalupe Mountains (Texas) – 242,164 Visitors Per Year
Guadalupe Mountains is one of the most rugged and underrated parks in the Southwest.
It’s home to the highest mountain in Texas — Guadalupe Peak, standing at 8,751 feet — and miles of quiet desert trails that wind through canyons, mountains, and high desert.
Located in West Texas, near the New Mexico border, this park is all about big views, rocky ridges, and wide open skies.
If you love hiking and don’t mind earning your views, THIS is your kind of park.
Most Iconic Hike or View
From the top of Guadalupe Peak, the view stretches all the way across the desert.
In fact, on a clear day, you can actually see the curvature of the Earth (How about that, Flat Earthers?).
Interesting Fact
When hiking in Guadalupe Mountains National Park, you pass through four distinct ecosystems as you gain elevation:
- Desert lowlands – hot, dry, and full of creosote bush, yucca, and cacti.
- Foothills – more grasses and shrubs, with scattered piñon and juniper.
- Montane forest – higher elevations bring cooler temps and forests of ponderosa pine and Douglas fir.
- High-elevation woodlands and meadows – near the summit, you’ll find maple, oak, and open grassy areas that feel worlds away from the desert below.
This change in landscape makes hiking here feel like crossing several states in a single day.
Black Canyon of the Gunnison (Colorado) – 308,910 Visitors Per Year
Black Canyon of the Gunnison is one of the most dramatic — and least appreciated — parks in the country.
The canyon isn’t the widest or the longest, but it’s easily one of the steepest and most intense, with dark, narrow walls that drop over 2,000 feet to the Gunnison River below.
Located in western Colorado, this park is easy to reach but rarely crowded.
The cliffs are so sheer that sunlight only reaches the canyon floor for a few minutes a day — which is how it got its name.
And if you access the canyon from East Portal, you’ll find some of our favorite trout fishing in the area, with cold, clear water and plenty of solitude.
This national park actually ended up on our Ultimate Colorado Road Trip: Check That Out Here
Most Iconic Hike or View
Our favorite hike in Black Canyon is the Warner Point Nature Trail.
It’s low effort and VERY high reward— perfect for sunset, too.
Interesting Fact
Black Canyon gets its name not just from the shadows, but from the dark-colored rock that forms its sheer walls.
The canyon is carved from ancient gneiss and schist, some of the oldest exposed rock in North America — over 1.7 billion years old.
Voyageurs (Minnesota) – 328,321 Visitors Per Year
Voyageurs is a water-based national park where you need a boat to truly experience it.
Located along the Canadian border in northern Minnesota, this park is made up of interconnected lakes, islands, and forests — with more shoreline than roads.
Most visitors come to paddle, fish, or camp on remote islands, and if you’re lucky, you might even catch the northern lights dancing across the sky.
It’s peaceful, wild, and full of history from the French-Canadian fur traders the park is named after.
Most Iconic Hike or View
Sunset from a canoe on Kabetogama Lake, with pine-covered islands glowing in the fading light.
Interesting Fact
Voyageurs is one of the few national parks where houseboats are allowed.
If you have ever wanted a private island for the night, this is your chance
Pinnacles (California) – 374,259 Visitors Per Year
Pinnacles is one of the newer and lesser-known national parks, but it packs in a surprising mix of rugged beauty and unique wildlife.
Located in central California, just a couple of hours from the Bay Area, it’s known for its rock spires, talus caves, and steep canyons formed by ancient volcanic activity.
The park is split into east and west sections with no road connecting them — so plan your route carefully.
Most Iconic Hike or View
The trail to the High Peaks, where narrow paths and carved rock steps lead through towering formations with sweeping views of the entire park.
Interesting Fact
Pinnacles is one of the best places in the U.S. to see wild California condors, which have a wingspan of nearly 10 feet and were once nearly extinct.
Kenai Fjords (Alaska) – 377,181 Visitors Per Year
Kenai Fjords is where glaciers meet the sea — a rugged stretch of Alaska’s southern coast where ice, mountains, and ocean come together dramatically.
Located just outside Seward, it’s one of the most accessible national parks in Alaska, yet it still feels completely wild.
Most visitors explore by boat or kayak, gliding past massive tidewater glaciers, watching for whales, puffins, sea otters, and bears along the rocky shores.
On land, the Exit Glacier area offers one of the few ways to walk right up to a glacier with just a short hike.
Most Iconic Hike or View
Looking out over Exit Glacier from the Harding Icefield Trail — a steep climb with jaw-dropping views of the endless ice stretching to the horizon.
Interesting Fact
The Harding Icefield, which feeds nearly 40 glaciers in the park, is one of only four major icefields left in the U.S. — it’s over 700 square miles of snow and ice.
Channel Islands (California) – 408,744 Visitors Per Year
Just off the coast of Southern California, the Channel Islands feel like a world away.
This park protects five isolated islands, each with rugged cliffs, quiet beaches, sea caves, and some of the rarest wildlife in the country — all only accessible by boat or small plane.
There are no roads or stores, just hiking trails, campsites, and wide-open views.
You can kayak through sea caves, snorkel in kelp forests, or hike to the edge of a cliff and not see another soul.
It’s wild, quiet, and incredibly close to Los Angeles — but few people make the trip.
Most Iconic Hike or View
The cliffs of Inspiration Point on Santa Cruz Island, where you can look out across a chain of uninhabited islands and the endless Pacific blue.
Interesting Fact
Because of their isolation, the Channel Islands are home to over 150 species found nowhere else on Earth, earning them the nickname “the Galápagos of North America.”
Virgin Islands National Park – 426,211 Visitors Per Year
Set on the island of St. John in the Caribbean, Virgin Islands National Park is all about turquoise water, white sand, and lush green hills.
This place feels less like a national park and more like a dream.
You can hike to sugar plantation ruins hidden in the jungle, snorkel with sea turtles in crystal-clear bays, or just float in the calm waters of Trunk Bay, one of the most beautiful beaches in the world.
It’s ABSOLUTE paradise — with a little history and a lot of peace.
Most Iconic Hike or View
Looking down on Trunk Bay from the overlook — palm trees, soft sand, and that unreal turquoise water all in one perfect shot.
Interesting Fact
Virgin Islands National Park protects not just nature, but over 100 historic sites, including ancient petroglyphs carved by the island’s earliest inhabitants and ruins from the 18th-century sugar trade.
Redwood National and State Parks (California) – 435,879 Visitors Per Year
Redwood National and State Parks are home to the tallest trees on Earth — towering coastal redwoods that have been growing here for over 2,000 years.
Walking through these ancient forests feels like stepping into another time, where everything is quiet, damp, and impossibly big.
Located along the northern California coast, this park isn’t just trees — it also protects wild rivers, grassy prairies, and rugged shorelines where elk roam and fog rolls in off the Pacific.
It’s peaceful, dramatic, and far less crowded than many other California parks.
Most Iconic Hike or View
Standing beneath the giant redwoods on the Tall Trees Grove Trail, where some of the tallest living things on Earth tower silently overhead.
Interesting Fact
Some redwoods here grow over 370 feet tall — taller than the Statue of Liberty — and they can live for more than 2,000 years.
Denali National Park (Alaska) – 472,481 Visitors Per Year
Denali is the crown of the Alaska Range and home to North America’s tallest peak, Denali, which rises to a staggering 20,310 feet.
The park spans 6 million acres of wild tundra, glaciers, forests, and wide open valleys — with just one road running through it.
Most visitors ride the park shuttle deep into the backcountry, keeping their eyes out for grizzlies, moose, wolves, and caribou.
It’s raw, rugged, and incredibly vast — the kind of place where you can go hours without seeing another person or a single building.
Most Iconic Hike or View
A clear view of Denali from the Eielson Visitor Center — if the weather cooperates, it’s one of the most awe-inspiring sights in any U.S. national park.
Interesting Fact
Only about 30% of visitors actually get to see the mountain, since it’s often hidden by clouds.
Catching a clear view of Denali is considered one of Alaska’s greatest travel moments.
Theodore Roosevelt (North Dakota) – 487,084 Visitors Per Year
Theodore Roosevelt National Park is a rugged slice of the Badlands tucked into western North Dakota, where rolling prairie gives way to colorful rock formations and deep canyons.
It’s wild, open country — the kind that inspired Roosevelt’s deep love of nature and helped shape his conservation legacy.
The park is split into three units, each offering a mix of scenic drives, wildlife, and solitude.
You’re likely to see bison, prairie dogs, elk, and maybe even WILD HORSES roaming free across the landscape.
Most Iconic Hike or View
The panoramic vista from Painted Canyon Overlook, where layers of red, yellow, and gray earth stretch across the horizon in every direction.
Interesting Fact
The park sits right on the edge of one of the largest undeveloped grasslands in the U.S., and it’s one of the few national parks where you can still see wild horses roaming freely.
These horses aren’t introduced — they’ve lived here for generations and are part of what makes the landscape feel untamed.
Great Sand Dunes National Park (Colorado) – 493,428 Visitors Per Year
Great Sand Dunes is home to the tallest sand dunes in North America, rising up to 750 feet at the base of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.
It’s a surreal mix of ecosystems — desert dunes, alpine peaks, wetlands, and forest — all in one place.
Located in southern Colorado, the park is best known for sandboarding, hiking the massive dunes, and wading through Medano Creek, which only flows in spring.
The contrast of towering sand against snowcapped peaks is like nothing else in the country.
This national park actually ended up on our Ultimate Colorado Road Trip: Check That Out Here
Most Iconic Hike or View
Looking across the dunes from the base, with the mountains towering behind — a rare and stunning combination of desert and alpine in one frame.
Interesting Fact
The sand here doesn’t just sit still — it’s constantly shifting, blown by wind that’s shaped this dune field for thousands of years.
Scientists estimate the dunes formed from sand deposits left by ancient lakes, pushed against the mountains by prevailing winds.
Petrified Forest National Park (Arizona) – 505,264 Visitors Per Year
Petrified Forest is a desert park with a prehistoric twist — scattered across the landscape are fallen trees turned to stone, preserved for over 200 million years.
The wood shines with reds, purples, and yellows, thanks to minerals that replaced the organic material over time.
Located in northeastern Arizona, the park also protects part of the Painted Desert, with badlands and layered rock formations that change color with the light.
You can hike through ancient fossils, explore old Route 66 remnants, and walk in the footsteps of dinosaurs.
Most Iconic Hike or View
The overlook at Blue Mesa, where colorful badlands stretch out in soft layers of blue, gray, and purple — a surreal and quiet corner of the desert.
Interesting Fact
Many of the petrified logs you see in the park belonged to trees that once stood over 200 feet tall, back when this area was a lush, tropical forest near the equator.
