National parks are some of the most-visited destinations in the United States. This is especially true for popular parks such as Yosemite, Acadia, and the Great Smoky Mountains. And while national parks are massive, open spaces, overcrowding can still be an issue.

Tips for Visiting Popular National Parks

So to avoid some of the crowds, I’ve rounded up some lesser-known national parks that are worth a trip.

Here are the best off-the-beaten-path national parks to visit in the United States!

Guadalupe Mountains National Park

Location: West Texas.

Top Things To Do: Hike the McKittrick Canyon Trail, visit the ruins of a mid-1800s Butterfield stagecoach station right off of US 62/180, hike the Devil’s Hall Trail, enjoy the scenic drive south from the Pine Springs Visitor Center along Highway 62/Highway 180 that forms the perimeter of the park.

Fun Fact: Guadalupe Mountains National Park was once a reef beneath the waters of an ancient inland sea. Today, this park protects the world’s most extensive Permian fossil reef and the four highest peaks in Texas.

Know Before You Go: There is no gas in the park. If you’re traveling from El Paso, Texas, Dell City is the closest town with gas, food, and ice. When traveling from New Mexico, Whites City is the last place that has gas stations and restaurants. 

Badlands National Park

Location: Southwest South Dakota.

Top Things To Do: Drive the Badlands Loop Road, hike the Fossil Exhibit Trail, see the prairie dogs at Prairie Homestead right outside the Northeast Entrance to the park, hike the Castle Trail, do a ranger-led stargazing program in the summer, hike the Cliff Shelf Nature Trail, drive the Sage Creek Rim Road.

Fun Fact: Badlands National Park has the largest protected area of mixed-grass prairies in the United States, meaning it’s home to a thriving ecosystem. Bison, prairie dogs, mountain goats, deer, and eagles are common sights around every turn in this park.

Know Before You Go: The rock formations’ colors and patterns are best seen in the morning and evening. The colors and gradient lines can be difficult to see during the day in direct sunlight.

Carlsbad Caverns National Park

Location: Southeast New Mexico.

Top Things To Do: Hike the Natural Entrance down into the caverns, do the Big Room hike, then take the elevator out of the cavern. If you’re up for an adventure, you can do a ranger-led tour to one of the lower caverns and tunnel systems. Walk the Walnut Canyon Vista Trail and drive the scenic Walnut Canyon Desert Drive. In the summer, watch the bat flight at sunset.

Fun Fact: The temperature in the caverns stays around 56°F all year.

Know Before You Go: Reservations are usually required to enter the caverns. So check the Carlsbad Caverns website to see if you’ll need to get a timed entry ticket. 

Dry Tortugas National Park

Location: On an island 70 miles west of the Florida Keys.

Top Things To Do: Tour Fort Jefferson, snorkel, lounge on the beach, bird watch.

Fun Fact: covering 67,400 acres, Dry Tortugas National Park is 99 percent water.

Know Before You Go: This park is only accessible by boat or seaplane, and you can catch a ferry or flight from Key West for a day trip.

Saguaro National Park

Location: Southern Arizona, just outside of Tucson.

Top Things To Do:
Saguaro West/Tucson Mountain District: drive the scenic Bajada Loop Drive, hike the Valley View Overlook Trail, hike from the Signal Hill picnic area to the Hohokam petroglyphs.

Saguaro East/Rincon Mountain District: drive the scenic Cactus Forest Loop Drive, hike the easy 0.3-mile Desert Ecology Loop Trail, hike half of the Cactus Forest Trail from either side and then turn around.

Fun Fact: This park is divided into two sections that give you very different experiences. I recommend spending at least half a day in each side of the park. The park sections are about an hour from each other, and the mornings are always better for beating the heat. So you’ll want to visit the east and west sides of the park on different days.

Know Before You Go: You can walk or bike in the park 24 hours a day. In the Tucson Mountain District (west side of the park), vehicles are allowed from sunrise to sunset every day. In the Rincon Mountain District (east side of the park), cars are permitted from 5:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. in the summer and 5:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. in the winter.

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks

Location: Eastern California. These parks are side-by-side.

Top Things To Do: Hike the Congress Trail, drive through the Tunnel Log, hike Panoramic Point to Park Ridge Fire Lookout, do a guided tour of Crystal Cave, drive the Kings Canyon Scenic Byway, hike to Mitchell Peak, stay at Sequoia High Sierra Camp.

Fun Fact: Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks are called the “Land of Giants.” These parks are home to the world’s largest trees and towering mountains, deep canyons, and vast caverns.

Know Before You Go: These parks have an elevation range of 1,370 – 14,494 feet, so they’re more challenging to reach than many other national parks. You’ll need to factor in how the higher elevation will affect your breathing and pace during your trip.

Alaska’s National Parks

Location: Alaska’s eight national parks (Glacier Bay, Wrangell St. Elias, Kenai Fjords, Katmai, Lake Clark, Denali, Kobuk Valley, and Gates of the Arctic) are some of the most remote parks in the United States.

Top Things To Do: See as many of these parks as possible by land, air, or sea. Watch grizzly bears catch fish, hike, visit the Arctic Circle.

Fun Fact: There are sand dunes in Alaska. North America’s largest Arctic dune field, the Great Kobuk Sand Dunes, is located in Kobuk Valley National Park.

Know Before You Go: Glacier hikes are only available in the summer.

White Sands National Park

Location: Southern New Mexico.

Top Things To Do: Hike at least one of the park’s five trails, sand sled, do a ranger-led tour.

Fun Fact: White Sands National Park is home to the largest gypsum dune field in the world. The landscapes you’ll see here were formed when an ancient sea dried up millions of years ago.

Know Before You Go: It’s easy to get disoriented in the dune fields. Wind moves sand and erases your tracks, GPS can be unreliable, and everything is further than it looks. You should only hike on designated trails, and if you go off-trail to sled, you should never lose sight of your car or trail markers.

Redwood National and State Parks

Location: Northern California. One of the best things about the Redwood National and State park system is its proximity to the Lost Coast, the cute towns of Eureka and Trinidad, and other great stops along highway 101.

Top Things To Do: Hike Fern Canyon, drive the Avenue of the Giants, hike the Rockefeller Loop, drive the Coastal Drive Loop, hike to Trillium Falls, see the sunset at Wedding Rock, do a ranger-led tide pool walk, horseback ride along Redwood Creek.

Fun Fact: The Avenue of the Giants was used as a filming site for the Forest Moon of Endor in Star Wars Return of the Jedi.

Know Before You Go: Most of the parks are free, but Prairie Creek Redwoods, Del Norte Coast Redwoods, and Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Parks charge day-use fees. You’ll usually need to have exact change or pay with a credit card.

Hawaii’s National Parks

Location: Haleakalā National Park is on the island of Maui, and Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park is on the Big Island.

Top Things To Do: 

Haleakalā National Park: hike the Pipiwai Trail, see the Pools at ‘Ohe’o, drive to the Haleakalā summit. Visiting these two national parks are two of the top 101 things to do in Hawaii!

Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park: do a Mauna Kea sunset and stargazing tour, see an active lava flow, drive the Crater Rim Drive and the Chain of Craters Road, see the Pu’u Loa petroglyph field.

Fun Fact: Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park is home to Mauna Loa, the Earth’s largest volcano.

Know Before You Go: To see the sunrise at the Haleakalā summit, you usually need to make reservations on the park website. Visiting these national parks is one of the best ways to travel to Hawaii on a budget.

Shop My Travel Essentials

What are your favorite off-the-beaten-path national parks to visit? Let us know in the comments below!

Plan The Rest of Your Trip

YOUR TRAVEL CHECKLIST

PIN THESE PARKS!

This guide about the best off-the-beaten-path national parks to visit is not a sponsored post, and the thoughts and opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own. Some of the links in this post about the best Off-The-Beaten-Path National Parks To Visit are affiliate links, and, at no cost to you, I may earn a small commission from this guide about the best off-the-beaten-path national parks to visit.