Skip to main content

Looking for solitude? These are the 3 least visited national parks in America

Adventurers seeking isolation will love these 3 national parks

least visited national parks three bright yellow tents on red autumn tundra with mountains blue sky  amp survey equipment
NPS / NPS

If you’re sick and tired of those crowds at your favorite national park, you’re not alone. Many parks have seen a huge increase in visitors in just the last year alone, leading to the implementation of reservation systems that can sometimes be more complicated than helpful. In this article, we will explore some of the least-visited national parks according to 2023 statistics.

Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, Alaska

Gates of the Arctic National Park
Annie Spratt / Unsplash

Gates of the Arctic is the northernmost U.S. national park, and its remoteness makes it one of the least-visited with only 11,045 visits in 2023. Located entirely above the Arctic Circle, this 8.5 million-acre park has tons of wilderness with hardly any roads, trails, nor established campsites. Key sights include the rugged Brooks Range, wild rivers, and all of the wildlife, such as caribou, grizzly bears, wolves, and wolverines.

Recommended Videos

Activities around the park

  • Backpacking and wilderness hiking: There are no marked trails, which makes exploring the park a true wilderness adventure. You can hike through river valleys, across tundra, and past granite spires like the Arrigetch Peaks.
  • Water sports: Canoeing or kayaking on the Kobuk River is one of the best ways to experience the pristine arctic landscapes of the park.
  • View the wildlife: The park is home wildlife that thrives in cold temperatures. If you come during the annual migration, you’ll see caribou, as well as grizzly bears, wolves, dall sheep, and more.
  • Native Alaskan culture: Learn about the local Native Alaskan cultures, particularly the Nunamiut Eskimos and Iñupiat people, whose ancestral lands lie within the park.
  • Aurora Borealis: During the winter months, the park offers the opportunity to view the Northern Lights.

National Park of American Samoa, American Samoa

National Park of American Samoa
NPS / NPS

The National Park of American Samoa saw a total of 12 135 visitors last year. This is the only U.S. national park located in the Southern Hemisphere, which makes it extra special. The park spans parts of three islands in the South Pacific —Tutuila, Ofu, and Ta‘ū. At this national park, you can explore a mix of tropical rainforests, beaches, and coral reefs, and about 30% of the plants and the Samoan starling are endemic to the islands. One of the major goals of this park is to preserve the traditional Samoan culture, so you can even visit a traditional Samoan village.

Activities around the park

  • Hiking: Trek through lush rainforests along trails like the Mount Alava Trail, which provides fantastic views of Pago Pago Harbor. For the highest overlook in the islands, try the Lata Mountain Trail on Ta‘ū.
  • Snorkeling and diving: At the National Park of American Samoa, there are vibrant coral reefs with over 950 species of fish and 250 types of coral. The waters are home to sea turtles and humpback whales, which breed in the area during the winter. Try snorkeling or diving to see them up close!
  • Samoan cultural experiences: As mentioned before, you can visit traditional Samoan villages to immerse yourself in the local culture and customs. You may even stay with local families, learn about their way of life, and even try traditional foods and crafts.
  • Beach activities: The beaches on Ofu Island are regarded as some of the most beautiful in the world due to their white sand. It doesn’t get any better than this!

Kobuk Valley National Park, Alaska

Evening light on the Great Kobuk Sand Dunes
NPS / NPS

Kobuk Valley is famous for the Great Kobuk Sand Dunes, which are the largest active sand dunes in the Arctic. According to 2023 statistics, this park had a total of 17,616 visitors. Stretching 25 square miles, the dunes here are unusual, so high north, and they are definitely worth seeing with your own two eyes. The park is a great place to view the caribou migration, with about half a million caribou passing through it annually. Indigenous people have hunted caribou here for over 8,000 years, which makes it sacred.

Activities around the park

  • Exploring the sand dunes: You can hike or camp near the Great Kobuk Sand Dunes, which offer a surreal view of the surrounding mountains in the middle of the Arctic tundra.
  • Caribou migration: During the fall, visitors can witness one of nature’s most dramatic spectacles as hundreds of thousands of caribou cross the Kobuk River.
  • Backcountry camping: Like Gates of the Arctic, Kobuk Valley has no developed facilities, so you have to pack your own gear. Camping here is a true wilderness experience where you can enjoy life at its most adventurous.
  • Northern lights: If you visit in the fall or winter, you have a good chance of witnessing the Aurora Borealis in this remote, dark sky park.
  • Water sports: The Kobuk River is perfect for float trips. You can paddle down the river in a kayak and stop to explore the sand dunes along the way.

Without a doubt, these three parks show nature at its most authentic. They offer some of the most remote and untouched landscapes in the U.S. National Park System, so if you visit, you’ll get a rare chance to experience the beauty of untouched nature.

Sarah Joseph
With a bright sense of adventure and a heart for the mountains, Sarah is always thrilled to share nature with others through…
Witness nature’s most magical light show at Congaree’s firefly event this May
Don't miss out on your chance to see the magical beauty of fireflies this year
Fireflies at sunset

Fireflies are one of the most magical sights in the entire world. To me, it ranks above rainbows and below the northern lights, just because the conditions have to be just right. Fireflies are active from late spring into early summer in the Northern Hemisphere, and peak activity often happens in June or July. Fireflies prefer warm, humid evenings without any wind or rain, and you'll want to look for them in areas with tall grass, woods, and areas with little light pollution. If you want a great chance to see the fireflies this year, head to South Carolina's Congaree National Park for their annual firefly viewing event.

This year, the Firefly Viewing Event will take place from May 14 to the 21st. During this special time, visitors can expect an awe-inspiring spectacle as the fireflies perform a light show as part of their mating rituals. Because it's a popular event, park staff are doing their best to protect the fireflies' habitat, so attendance is tightly controlled.

Read more
From salt flats to sand dunes: The hidden wonders of Death Valley National Park
Adventure across California’s most diverse landscapes
Salt flats in badwater basin in Death Valley

Death Valley National Park is infamously known as big, barren, and foreboding. So why is it named one of the best national parks to visit in winter, attracting over 1 million annual visitors? The answer is in this park's sheer variety of natural landmarks. One moment, you're standing on a mile-long salt flat. Next, you're admiring the rainbow-colored badlands, and by sunset, you're trekking the dunes -- all within the same park.
Have I piqued your interest? I hope so. Death Valley rivals Yosemite as one of California's most ecologically diverse natural landmarks, and it deserves a visit. But what formations are most worth your time, especially if you only have one day to explore? Let me suggest a few must-see sights based on my most recent visit and a primer on the park's history and geography.

Death Valley National Park’s history, climate, and key facts

Read more
These are the national parks undergoing controlled burns to cut wildfire risks
Going to one of these national parks soon? You might just see some smoke.
Shenandoah National Park in the fall

Prescribed burns are one of the park rangers' most important tools to protect their national parks and ecosystems. By intentionally burning off the excess vegetation like dry grass, shrubs, and dead wood, prescribed burns ultimately reduce the chance of wildfires because there won't be any old vegetation to catch fire later. It's far better for the National Forest Service and local fire teams to do the burns in a controlled setting than to watch it get out of hand later in the year. Here are the national parks across America that are currently in their burning phase:

Shenandoah National Park: Fire managers plan to burn approximately 40 acres of Big Meadows and 20 acres in the park's headquarters. Weather permitting, the burn will start on March 11 and end around April 30th.
Voyageurs National Park: This month, burns will take place in selected wetlands near Black Bay and Cranberry Bay on Rainy Lake to eliminate invasive hybrid cattails and reduce woody plant encroachment.
Cape Cod National Seashore: Prescribed burns will occur at Fort Hill in Eastham during the second week of March. The affected area will be 14 acres along the hillside adjacent to the upper parking lot at Fort Hill.
George Washington Carver National Monument: From March 10th to the 14th, this national monument plans a prescribed burn of about 100 acres to reduce woody species. While the area will be open to visitors, the Carver trail will be closed.

Read more