IF visiting a national park is on your agenda, so, no doubt, are nature and solitude. But it’s difficult to enjoy a moose sighting if you’re one of hundreds attempting to do so, and it’s nearly impossible to find a contemplative moment in bumper-to-bumper traffic.
Each year, more than 3 million visitors pass through our country’s most well-known parks, and while they are undeniably incredible, a visit can often excite in all the wrong ways.
Happily, there are a few outstanding alternatives to the usual big-name spots.
These beautiful, but little-known, national parks – think visitation figures closer to the population of Binghamton than Brooklyn – sit in all their splendor far (make that v.v. far) off the beaten track.
DRY TORTUGAS
The Florida Straits
Annual visitation: 74,741
Lore has it that this chain of seven islands 70 miles west of Key West once was plied by pirates and that off their shores lie sunken gold. Today, the islands and their surrounding shoals and waters make up Dry Tortugas National Park. Ninety-nine percent of the park’s 64,657 acres is open water and submerged island, and patches of pristine coral reef make it a snorkeling and scuba-diving haven. Colorful reef fish mingle with larger species, including amberjack, grouper, sharks and the tortugas (sea turtles) that give the islands their name.
(Borrow snorkel equipment at the Visitors Center, but divers must bring their own gear.)
Bird watch – the area is renowned for its tropical species – swim and go salt water sport fishing. Plus, Dry Tortugas is the site of Fort Jefferson. Construction on the massive building – allegedly the largest brick structure in the Western Hemisphere – began in 1846, and it was used mostly as a prison during the Civil War. It’s absolutely colossal, looks surreally out of place and is well worth the trip.
Camping: Ten “primitive” (no-facilities) sites are on Garden Key, short walk from the ferry and run $3 a night per person (drytortugas.com; nps.gov/drto).
NORTH CASCADES
Washington
Annual visitation: 20,724
With its fantastically rugged landscape – including spots with such worry-inducing names as Jagged Ridge and Mount Fury – this 684,302-acre park 100 miles northeast of Seattle, isn’t for the weak.
One of three parks in a “complex” that also includes Ross Lake and Lake Chelan National Recreation Area, North Cascades is one of the wildest places in the lower 48, and is one of the nation’s most heavily glaciated areas.
Mountain climbers will find plenty to test their skills, including Mount Shuksan, which at 9,127 feet is one of the Cascades’ tallest and most famous mountains. Beat Generation fans can hike to the top of Desolation Peak, the mountain that served as the setting for Jack Kerouac’s novel “Desolation Angels.” Other options include hiking – there are 386 miles of maintained trails – fishing, horseback riding and boating.
Camping: There are four camp grounds located inside the park. Fees vary from $10-$12 and spaces are filled on a first-come, first-served basis (nps.gov/noca).
CONGAREE
South Carolina
Annual visitation: 107,114
Joyce Kilmer might as well have been writing about Congaree when he penned, “I think that I shall never see/A poem lovely as a tree.”
Anyone who feels the same way should hightail it to this spot just 30 miles from the state capital, Columbia.
Situated along the meandering Congaree River, this 22,200-acre park protects the largest contiguous tract of old-growth bottomland hardwood forest remaining in the nation. Trees include enormous hardwoods and towering pines, and the area boasts one of the highest forest canopies in the world.
The easiest way to check out the foliage is from the park’s 2.3-mile stretch of elevated boardwalk. Also, a number of ground-level trails wind through the forest, giving visitors a view of deer, raccoons, opossums and the occasional bobcat. Bird watching is popular; you can also get a guided tour.
Camping: Three areas, some geared toward large groups, two are no-facilities sites and all are free (nps.gov/cosw).
GREAT BASIN
Utah
Annual visitation: 87,020
Feeling old? A trip to Great Basin National Park, three hours southwest of Salt Lake City, will help put your priorities in order.
The park’s 22,200 acres offer a curious mix of climes. Though largely desert, the area is punctuated by towering, snowcapped mountain ranges and isolated alpine lakes.
Wheeler Peak, the second-highest mountain in Utah, offers gorgeous views from atop its 13,063-foot summit. And the stalagmites and stalactites of Lehman Caves boast some of the world’s most unique limestone formations.
Great Basin is also home to three groves of bristlecone pine trees, which, with many pushing their 4,000th birthday, are the oldest living things in the world.
Hikers will find trails ranging from quarter-mile trips to three-day backcountry adventures.
Camping: Five first-come, first-served areas are available, with a $10 per-site, per-night fee.
There are also free no-facilities sites (nps.gov/grba).
VOYAGEURS
Minnesota
Annual visitation: 234,231
Though there are plenty of trails for the hiking enthusiasts, water is the main draw at Voyageurs, which is located on the Canadian border.
The 218,054-acre park (almost 84,000 acres of this is water, and the majority of visitors get around by boat), lies in the southern part of the Canadian Shield. Some of the oldest exposed rock formations in the world are here, as are rolling hills interspersed between bogs, beaver ponds, swamps, islands, small lakes and four large lakes.
Fishing is popular (you’ll need a Minnesota license) and Voyageurs boasts some of the best bass and walleye water in the country.
Though power boats are allowed in the park (but no jet skis!), there’s plenty of room for canoers and kayakers to enjoy a bit of solitude.
Popular canoe and kayak routes range from short day trips to excursions lasting over a week. Be sure to keep an eye out for wildlife like black bears, beavers, moose and bald eagles while you paddle.
There are lots of other activities on hand as well, such as a junior ranger program and North Canoe Voyages.
Camping: There are over 215 free sites located in the park on a first-come, first-served basis. Campsites are accessible by water only (nps.gov/voya).