CNN
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Timed entry, long lines of cars at the gates and trails crowded with people angling for the best photos ops. Visitors aren’t likely to find any such hurdles at the least visited of the United States’ national parks.
Visitation numbers hit a new record for 2024, with the National Park Service’s more than 400 sites welcoming a whopping 331.9 million recreation visits.
The 63 headliners — the sites with “national park” in the name — accounted for 28% of all the visits. But some are way more packed than others. And with the recent slashing of about 1,000 park jobs, some parks may soon feel the strain of crowds acutely.
While Zion National Park in Utah and the Grand Canyon in Arizona are managing summer crowds, these 15 spots — five of which are in Alaska — will see a small fraction of the millions of visitors crowding the most popular parks.
Some are very remote and lack much of the infrastructure of the blockbuster spots, but there’s no shortage of vast, spectacular wilderness to explore.
Here are the 15 least visited US parks for 2024:
1. Gates of the Arctic National Park & Preserve, Alaska
11,907 recreation visits
With no roads, no trails, no cell service and no established campsites, this massive expanse is a true wilderness experience. The park and preserve has six designated Wild Rivers.
“Visitors may wander at will across 8.4 million acres of superlative natural beauty,” the park’s website says. Visitors must be self-sufficient, flexible and “able to execute self-extraction and communication, should an emergency situation arise.” Arrive prepared.
2. North Cascades National Park, Washington
16,485 recreation visits
Peaks crowned by more than 300 glaciers tower over this alpine landscape that sees a fraction of the visitors of Washington’s other national parks — Mount Rainier and Olympic. While the park itself is sparsely visited, two bordering National Recreation Areas — Ross Lake and Lake Chelan — mean visitation to the combined three-unit North Cascades complex is much higher. Over 1,600 species of plants — more than any other US national park — have been identified on this land that spans temperate rainforest to a dry ponderosa pine ecosystem. North Cascades has more than 400 miles of trails.
3. Kobuk Valley National Park, Alaska
17,233 recreation visits
There are no roads, campgrounds or entrance gates for this 1.8 million-acre expanse’s human visitors. Half a million caribou migrate through this park, crossing the Kobuk River and Onion Portage, according to the National Park Service. An 8,000-year tradition of hunting caribou here continues today.
4. Lake Clark National Park & Preserve, Alaska
18,505 recreation visits
Stretching across more than 4 million acres, this national park and preserve is home to three designated Wild Rivers and two National Natural Landmark volcanoes. The land holds 10,000 years of human history and preserves the ancestral homelands of the Dena’ina people.
5. National Park of American Samoa
22,567 recreation visits
Most parkgoers will need a passport to visit this spot in a remote part of the South Pacific. Hawaiian Airlines offers direct flights to American Samoa from Honolulu. The park has units on three islands and stretches across 13,500 acres, some 4,000 of which are marine acres that are mostly coral reefs.
6. Isle Royale National Park, Michigan
28,806 recreation visits
An isolated archipelago in Lake Superior, Isle Royale boasts 165 miles of trails and more than 30 campgrounds. It’s open from mid-April through the end of October. Ferry and seaplane service typically runs from mid-May through the end of September, according to NPS.
There are fewer mammal species here — only 18 — than on the mainland because animals must cross at least 14 miles of Lake Superior. Wolves and moose are among the notable animal residents.
7. Katmai National Park & Preserve, Alaska
36,230 recreation visits
Katmai is an important habitat for thousands of brown bears. One of the world’s premier bear-viewing spots, according to the Park Service, Katmai is home to an estimated 2,200 brown bears. Brooks Camp along the Brooks River is one of the most popular viewing spots to observe bears feasting on salmon.
8. Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve, Alaska
81,670 recreation visits
America’s largest national park, Wrangell-St. Elias encompasses 13.2 million acres — or about the size of Yellowstone National Park, Yosemite National Park and Switzerland combined, the Park Service says. Most of the park is backcountry, and visitor services are limited. There are some maintained trails in the frontcountry Nabesna and McCarthy areas.
9. Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida
84,873 recreation visits
About 70 miles (113 kilometers) west of Key West, Dry Tortugas is mostly open water with seven small islands. Garden Key is home to one of the nation’s largest 19th-century forts, Fort Jefferson. The park is accessible by boat or plane and is host to nearly 300 species of birds. Bush Key closes every year from February to September so that sooty terns and brown noddies can breed there undisturbed.
10. Great Basin National Park, Nevada
152,068 recreation visits
Mountain peaks meet hot desert valleys here. Great Basin National Park is home to 13,063-foot Wheeler Peak, ancient bristlecone pines, about 40 caves and a wide array of plants and animals. The elevation ranges from 5,000 to 13,000 feet with hiking trails for all levels.
11. Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota
199,030 recreation visits
Billed as a park of “water, islands and horizons,” Voyageurs covers 218,055 acres — 84,000 of which is water. There are more than 500 islands and four large lakes, plus more than two dozen smaller lakes in the park, which is best experienced by boat. Voyageurs shares its northern boundary with Canada, and lucky visitors may even see the northern lights.
12. Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Texas
226,134 recreation visits
This park boasts the four highest peaks in Texas and the world’s most extensive Permian fossil reef. Guadalupe Mountains Wilderness has more than 80 miles of trail including a hike in the Salt Basin Dunes that rise 100 feet from the desert floor.
13. Congaree National Park, South Carolina
242,049 recreation visits
Congaree National Park’s landscape is “defined by the presence of both flood and flame,” the Park Service says.
Floodwaters from the Congaree and Wateree rivers regularly cover the park’s old-growth bottomland hardwood forest, and the upland pine forest depends on wildfires to clear out competing vegetation. Canoeing and kayaking are popular ways to explore the park. There’s a 15-mile marked canoe trail.
14. Channel Islands National Park, California
262,581 recreation visits
Stretching over five islands and the surrounding ocean, Channel Islands National Park offer opportunities to hike, snorkel, kayak, birdwatch and more. The National Park Service strongly recommends sea kayaking with an authorized guide.
Anemones, sea stars, urchins, barnacles, periwinkles and other marine creatures inhabit the park’s tide pools — some of the best in Southern California. There is one established campground on each island; reservations are required. Backcountry camping is allowed on two islands.
15. Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, Colorado
335,862 recreation visits
The canyon, sculpted over two million years by the Gunnison River and other natural forces, measures 2,722 feet (829 meters) at its greatest depth. A wide variety of rock types — including igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary — are displayed within its walls. The wilderness of the inner canyon requires a permit to enter. Nearly 60 mammal species and 174 bird species call the Black Canyon home.