Our Favorite Under-the-Radar National Parks to Visit
With Great American Outdoors Day right around the corner, it got me thinking about what National Park I should visit next.
Never heard of Great American Outdoors Day? Me either -- until I saw it on the list of Free Entrance Days for the National Parks.
Free Entrance Days fall on the same holidays year over year. Here's this year's dates:
2023 National Park Free Entrance Days
So, what is Great American Outdoors Day? Quick history lesson.
In 2020, a bipartisan act was signed into law called the Great American Outdoors Act, providing funding for maintenance and repairs of infrastructure within the over 85 million acres of parks and programs overseen by the National Parks Services. (You can read the nitty gritty of it here.)
To celebrate the act becoming law, August 4th was named Great American Outdoors Day and is celebrated each year with a free entrance day to National Parks. And there you have it. (Told you it'd be quick.)
We'll take any reason to get outdoors!
But how do you decide which park to visit?
Did you know that of the 63 US National Parks, 52% of all recreational visits were to the 10 most visited parks?
- Great Smoky Mountain
- Grand Canyon
- Zion
- Rocky Mountain
- Acadia
- Yosemite
- Yellowstone
- Joshua Tree
- Cuyahoga Valley
- Glacier
Them are some busy parks! For good reason. They're stunning! If you haven't been, you should plan on it. BUT...
If you want to avoid the crowds and find a hidden gem . . . then read on for some equally beautiful, under-the-radar National Parks you're sure to love.
I polled the OE team and here are a few suggestions of spectacularly surprising and stunningly serene National Parks you've gotta go see.
Alrighty! Brace yourself for a list of National Parks that will blow your mind and soothe your soul.
Redwood National Park in California
"As my bride, Noelle, and our eldest daughter, and I went for a 5-mile morning run (with exactly zero people in the park the whole time we were running), Noelle was worried about bears, but I may have turned my head looking for a velociraptor a couple of times.
Bryce Canyon National Park
"At Bryce Canyon, the hoodoos range in size from 6-foot to heights exceeding a 10-story building. Below is Thor's Hammer...I knew I was not worthy of it, so I did not grab it. It gets pretty cold here as it rests at an elevation of 7,664 feet above sea level.
Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve in Colorado
Canyonlands National Park in Utah
"Hiking, four-wheeling, horseback riding, mountain biking & river trips. Need I say more? So much to do and so much to see!
"And if the buttes and canyons weren't enough, the archeology in the area is fascinating as well. Stunning Native American rock art of ancestral Puebloans within Horseshoe Canyon displays among other things, life-sized figures painted on and etched into the rock. And there's so much more, including cliff dwellings and other ruins.
"Canyonlands offers views into the past and vast views beyond the horizon in all directions. Breathtaking." -Joe
Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico
"For years we've driven the highways from Utah to Texas to visit family for the summer. One year on our drive back, we added a day to our travels to take in Carlsbad Caverns.
"Carlsbad was off the beaten path for us but well worth the trip. This is the cave of caves. With huge rooms and crazy, fascinating formations throughout the cave, there's so much to gawk at. Living art!
Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado
"Our family drove to Mesa Verde, not really knowing what to expect. Each stop along the loop was like stepping back in time. We walked in and around cliff dwellings as well as excavated mesa-top villages built more than 700 years ago by people of the Pueblo tribe.
While at Mesa Verde, a thunderstorm rolled in. I'm telling you -- lightning is no joke when standing on top of the mesas! Word for the wise: stay safe in your car until the storm passes.
Congaree National Park in South Carolina
Isle Royale National Park in Michigan
North Cascades National Park in Washington
Capitol Reef National Park in Utah