10 underrated national parks

The US is home to 62 stunning and varied National Parks. Most people already know about the big-hitters like Yosemite, Grand Canyon, and Bryce, and while those are certainly incredible spots, there are a slew of lesser-known parks that also deserve recognition. In celebration of our brand-new book USA National Parks: Lands of Wonder, we’ve rounded up 10 underrated parks across the country to add to your bucket list so you can start dreaming, planning, and enjoying the great outdoors.  

Wind Cave

Wind Cave only became known to the wider world in 1881, when two brothers, Tom and Jesse Bingham, stumbled upon the cave’s entrance after following the direction of a loud whooshing sound. Today, 140 miles of labyrinthine corridors have been mapped, revealing unique geological wonders, such as needlelike growths known as frostwork, knobby “popcorn” calcite structures, and—webbed across the cave’s ceilings—the world’s largest and perhaps finest example of boxwork formations.

Crater Lake

Located in Oregon, Crater Lake is famous for the startling color and clarity of the lake. One look at the breathtakingly clear blue water of Crater Lake and you’ll want to get into it as quickly as possible. You can do this by hiking down the Cleetwood Cove Trail on the northern rim, accessible mid-June through October.

Glacier

Nearly two million people a year journey to Glacier, in the far north of Montana, to witness the grandeur of the glaciers and the solitude and adventure of the park’s extensive, often challenging hiking trails. The 26 active glaciers are a huge draw, but the “Crown of the Continent” also offers magnificent wildlife and turquoise lakes, formed when age-old glaciers scraped hollows in the land. Many of those icy lakes are so clear you can see right to the lake bed.

Acadia

Nestled in the islands of coastal Maine, a romantic and charming natural oasis awaits. Forty-five miles of historic carriage roads and bridges commissioned by Rockefeller meander through Mount Desert Island, allowing land passage without obstruction from cars. This makes the park serene with boulder-filled lakes, granite mountains, hardwood forests, and dramatic coastal beaches. 

Isle Royale

Born of volcanoes and sculpted by ancient glaciers, Isle Royale’s mystique has enchanted modern explorers in the Midwest for more than 100 years. Sitting in the middle of the world’s second largest freshwater body, Lake Superior, this relatively obscure park is a tousled world of lush trees, hidden lagoons, and stunning shoreline. The lack of communications signals offers solitude to all who seek it.

North Cascades

The jagged peaks of the North Cascade Range are home to more biodiverse plant life than any other national park. Outside Alaska, it’s also where you’ll find the most glaciers—a third of those in the Lower 48. As you’d expect in such a wild landscape, there are endless backcountry adventures to be had, with hundreds of miles of trails finding their way to unspoiled meadows and lakes, which you may well have to yourself. 

Katmai

Katmai National Park and Preserve offers a classic image of wild Alaska. From Brooks Camp, you can set out on the five-mile established trail into a forest that sings with the chirping of birds and provides cover for scurrying martens, porcupines, and weasels. Forty-two mammal species live here, and you stand a good chance of running across many on the trails.

Black Canyon of the Gunnison

Here is one of Colorado’s best-kept secrets—its cliffs looming big over the river below. For perspective, the Painted Wall outstrips both the Eiffel Tower, France, and the Empire State Building, New York City, in height. Staring into the Black Canyon elicits a dizzying sense of the earth moving. You can’t always see to the bottom—the name comes not from black walls, but because sunlight scarcely reaches the river below. That river, the Gunnison, is responsible for the canyon’s existence, patiently carving it into surrounding volcanic rock over eons.

Congaree

Today, under old-growth canopies, shy wildlife hide in the trees while amphibians, reptiles, and fish make their way through the floodplain, formed when the Congaree and Wateree rivers are swelled by heavy rains. Insects fill the air during hot summer months, Spanish moss drips from the cypress trees, glistening in the humidity, and scores of bird species’ fly through this International Biosphere Reserve. In the morning, reflections of the trees are precise in the stillness of the water. At night, head out on “owl prowls” to listen for echoing calls of barred owls.

Pinnacles

Forged from the forces of volcanic eruptions and tectonic uplift, the unique landscape of Pinnacles National Park brings you closer to California’s fascinating and tumultuous geological past. Topping it all are the volcanic spires that were formed 23 million years ago when a volcano the size of Mount St. Helens formed close by. All this topographic variety makes Pinnacles a magnet for abundant wildlife. Little compares to spotting a wild California condor in its native habitat, hearing a cacophony of acorn woodpeckers and over 20 species of raptor, or glimpsing bobcats, gray foxes, and black-tailed deer.