Many of the 63 national parks across the United States have seen an explosion in visitor numbers both during and after the pandemic, which has often led to booked campsites, blocked trails and set entry requirements in an attempt to limit the people.
The big name national parks however are only one category of public lands under the purview of the National Park Service. And the designation doesn’t necessarily indicate superiority of sights and activities — many of the lesser-known national historic sites, monuments, recreation areas and beaches also provide great places to explore a variety of natural beauty. and attraction of the United States, but without a big ticket crowd.
“Regardless of formal designation, each of the 424 sites in the National Park System offers visitors a variety of opportunities for inspiration, relaxation, recreation and education,” said Kathy Kupper, a public affairs specialist at NPS.
Here are five suggestions for less crowded alternatives to national parks this busy summer season.
It’s a wild, rocky coastline surrounded by lush forests and dramatic cliffs — but on Lake Superior, not the Atlantic or Pacific Ocean. Pictured Rocks’ 42-mile coastline is a stunning destination for those seeking hiking, camping and waterfront recreation, and in 2022, this national lakeshore received about a quarter as many visitors as Acadia National Park. The namesake Pictured Rocks, sandstone cliffs covered in vibrant swaths of color from mineral deposits, rise up to 200 feet from the water and can be explored by boat tour, kayak or hiking trail.
If you are looking for the wooded mountain beauty of Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina and Tennessee, consider…
The opportunity to hike and camp in the thickly forested mountains of Appalachia are key draws of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which was the most visited national park in 2022, drawing close to 13 million recreational visitors. Find a similarly stunning setting at the 24,000-acre Cumberland Gap National Historical Park, which received just under 750,000 visitors last year. The Gap, a natural path through the Appalachians, was a trade route for Native Americans and, later, a route for pioneers heading West. In addition to 85 miles of trails rich with lookouts, waterfalls and wildlife, tour the historic Hensley Settlement o Gap Cavehome to spectacular stalagmites and bats.
If you are looking for a river trip through the geologic marvel of Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona, consider…
Colorado and Utah
Dinosaur National Monument
Rafting the Grand Canyon on the Colorado River is a bucket list activity for many. As such, this is a trip that may require extensive planning in advance; last year, the park saw more than 4.7 million visitors. Comparably epic and certainly more accessible, rafting the Green and Yampa Rivers through Dinosaur National Monument offers a similar experience of racing rapids, towering canyon walls and remote mountains and desert that desert (and received only 350,000 visitors in 2022). And, as its name suggests, the National Monument is a destination for ancient dinosaur fossils and petroglyphs.
If you are looking for the otherworldly hoodoos of Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah, consider…
Hoodoos, the name for the spindly, towering spiers of rock, are the main draw of Bryce Canyon National Park, which boasts the largest number of these rock formations on the planet – and more than two million visitors a year. The hoodoos at Chiricahua National Monument in the Chiricahua Mountains in Southeastern Arizona don’t have the distinctive orange color of Bryce Canyon, but are still numerous, striking and almost crowd-free; the park received just over 600,000 visitors in 2022.
If you are looking for the wildlife-spotting opportunities of Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado, consider…
California
Point Reyes National Seashore
The Pacific Coast location and vast grasslands of Point Reyes in the West Marin region may not seem like an obvious alternative for the towering peaks of Rocky Mountain National Park. But if your passion is wildlife spotting — a big draw for some of the Rockies’ 4 million visitors by 2022 — Point Reyes is a fitting choice. The beach receives half as many visitors as the National Park last year and is home to a Tule Elk Preserve, along with elephant seals, a wide variety of bird species and, in certain seasons, migratory gray whales.
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