5 Lesser-Known National Parks Worth The Trek

19.03.2024 - 18:17 / forbes.com

Millions flock to the national parks every year to witness spectacular fall color light up the Great Smoky Mountains or to see the otherworldly geothermal pools in Yellowstone. Last year, in particular, was a banner year for national park visitation, according to newly released figures from the park service: The parks welcomed 325.5 million visitors to the more than 400 national park sites. The visitation numbers are up 4% from 2022, though not a full rebound from the years leading up to the pandemic when the parks saw nearly 330 million visitors.

While parks like Smoky Mountains, Grand Canyon, Zion, Yellowstone and Rocky Mountain continue to be the most popular parks in terms of the number of visitors they attract, park rangers say they’re noticing that more people are coming during shoulder season and some lesser-known parks broke visitation records last year.

“From Kaloko Honokōhau National Historical Park in Hawai'i to Congaree National Park in South Carolina, parks are attracting more visitors each year to learn about our shared history,” National Park Service Director Chuck Sams said in a press statement. “Our national parks tell our shared American story. I'm glad visitors are finding hidden gems, exploring in the off-season and finding new ways to have a great time in our national parks.”

Still, there’s some parks, many in Alaska, that are mostly undiscovered and receive less than 1% of the parks visitors every year — and it’s not because these places aren’t just as beautiful as the most popular ones, but rather because they’re far more difficult to reach (and some even require backcountry survival skills as a prerequisite for visiting).

Ahead, see the most popular national parks, then get an intro to some of the lesser-known parks that are most certainly worth the trek.

America’s most popular national parks each draw millions of visitors each year. The Smokies top the list with more than 13 million visitors. The park straddles the Tennessee and North Carolina border and is a known destination for leaf peepers who come to see sugar maples, sweetgum, and hickories change colors. It’s also a popular place in late-April to June when visitors take a shot with the lottery system to get in and see the synchronous fireflies.

Here’s a list of the most popular national parks in the U.S.

Some of the country’s least visited national parks are only accessible by seaplanes or ferries, so their remote locations are likely what’s keeping their visitation numbers low. But these lesser-known parks are most certainly worth the trek, and adventurous visitors who make it to these more far-flung spots might see caribou in Gates of the Arctic or see the Northern Lights in the night sky over Michigan.

Here’s five of