There are many sites around the country to visit instead of the most popular national parks, helping to relieve their ecosystems.
Yosemite Valley, one of the highlights of America’s National Park Service. Jeff Krause Photography. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
U.S. national parks are more popular than ever. This may sound like a cliché, but it is actually a growing problem. In 2021, America’s national parks received almost 300 million visitors, up 25% from 2020. This increase in visitors is causing strain on the natural environment of those places. In addition, the overcrowding of some national park sites make for an unpleasant experience for visitors. However, many of the visitors to the U.S. National Park Service sites concentrate themselves in a few popular parks. It is possible to have similar experiences at other sites with less crowds. Here are alternative sites to visit for the 10 most popular national parks in the United States.
1. Instead of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, go to Grayson Highlands State Park in Virginia.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park. jody.claborn. Public Domain Mark 1.0.
Grayson Highlands State Park. vastateparkstaff. CC BY 2.0.
The Great Smoky Mountain National Park, which straddles the Tennessee-North Carolina border, is the one of the nation’s most popular national parks, receiving an all-time high of 14.1 million visitors in 2021. The park preserves towering mountains and hosts unique ecosystems. Similar landscapes can be found all over the Southern Appalachians, with the Grayson Highlands State Park in Virginia a similar alternative. Grayson Highlands State Park is the home of the state’s highest peak, Mount Rogers, as well as the home of wild ponies. The treeless mountaintops there also make for sweeping views.
2. Instead of Zion National Park, go to Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area in Nevada.
Zion National Park. Joe Parks. CC BY-NC 2.0.
Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. andrew c mace. CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.
Zion National Park in Utah features deep, narrow canyons with colorful layers of rock. Famous hikes in the park include the Narrows, a trek through a narrow slot canyon, and Angel’s Landing, a hike up an exposed promontory leading to wide views of Zion Canyon. Visitors at the second most popular national park are concentrated at two small areas, Zion Canyon and the Kolob Canyons area, due to the rugged landscape. Similar canyon areas with colorful rock layers can be found in Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, just outside of Las Vegas. Visitors can explore the canyons and sandstone formations there. For the more adventurous, there are trails that take hikers to the peaks of nearby mountains.
3. Instead of Yellowstone National Park, go to Lassen Volcanic National Park in California.
Yellowstone National Park. James St. John. CC BY 2.0.
Lassen Volcanic National Park. Joe Parks. CC BY-NC 2.0.
Yellowstone, the world’s first national park, is full of unique geothermal features like hot springs and geysers and a variety of rare wildlife. However, it is not the only place in the United States where thermal features are found. In Northern California, Lassen Volcanic National Park also has geothermal features. The most pronounced of those are located in Bumpass Hell, a 3-mile hike from the main park road. As Lassen Peak most recently erupted in 1917, the remnants of that eruption can be seen in the Devastated Area. Volcanic activity has shaped the park, morphing it into an area teeming with geothermal activity.
4. Instead of Grand Canyon National Park, go to Palo Duro Canyon State Park in Texas.
Grand Canyon National Park. Grand Canyon NPS. CC BY 2.0.
Palo Duro Canyon State Park. Thomas Shahan 3. CC BY 2.0.
The Grand Canyon of Arizona is the largest canyon in the United States, where the Colorado River carves out the Kaibab Plateau. Each rim, the North and South, offers a different experience to visitors, with the North Rim being more remote and secluded. The second largest canyon in the United States is the Palo Duro Canyon in Texas, which is a less crowded alternative to the Grand Canyon. The Palo Duro Canyon is formed by the Red River eroding the land, forming colorful strips of rock. Visitors can take part in a glamping (luxury camping) experience at the state park, as well as horseback riding into the canyon.
5. Instead of Rocky Mountain National Park, go to San Juan National Forest in Colorado.
Rocky Mountain National Park. Dusty J. CC BY 2.0.
San Juan National Forest. stefanserena. CC0 1.0.
Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado is regarded by some as the quintessential Rocky Mountain landscape. However, it only has one mountain higher than 14,000 feet: Longs Peak. The highest concentration of 14,000 feet peaks can be found in the southwest corner of the state in San Juan National Forest. In that wide span of mountains, hikers can seek solitude in the 2,399 miles of trails. There is also a scenic train ride between Durango and Silverton that allows riders to view the heart of the San Juan Mountains without much physical exertion.
6. Instead of Acadia National Park, go to White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire.
Acadia National Park. moonjazz. CC BY-NC 2.0.
White Mountain National Forest. johncudw2399. CC BY-NC 2.0.
The convergence of mountains and the coast, along with its proximity to several northeastern cities, make Acadia National Park a popular place to visit. The crashing waves along the rocky shore makes for some chaotic scenes, and Cadillac Mountain is the first mountain in the United States to see the sunrise. But, the tallest mountains in the Northeast are located in White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire. Mount Washington, the tallest mountain in the state, has famously unpredictable weather, being the site of the highest wind speed ever recorded. A cog railway takes visitors up the mountain.
7. Instead of Grand Teton National Park, go to the Wind River Range in Wyoming.
Grand Teton National Park. fortherock. CC BY-SA 2.0.
Wind River Range. LoneWolfMontana. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
Grand Teton National Park, located just south of Yellowstone, hosts a number of iconic views, from the rugged peak of Grand Teton itself to the T.A. Moulton Barn. Its lakes are a popular place for boating. While visitors crowd the viewpoints at Grand Teton, the nearby Wind River Range, which is shared by the Shoshone National Forest and the Bridger-Teton National Forest, offers much more solitude. Like Grand Teton, there are no roads in the interior of the Wind River Range, and adventurous travelers go on multi-day treks into the center of the mountain range. Gannett Peak, the tallest mountain in Wyoming, is located in the Wind River Range.
8. Instead of Yosemite National Park, go to the Alabama Hills in California.
Yosemite National Park. Eric Leslie. CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.
Alabama Hills. RS2Photography. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
Yosemite National Park offers majestic landscapes shaped by the remnants of glaciers in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Outside of Yosemite Valley, snowy peaks and bare mountains characteristic of the Sierra Nevadas abound. For a more quiet experience of the Sierras, visitors should consider the “other side” of the mountains, more specifically, the Alabama Hills. Located around the town of Lone Pine, those hills just below the highest peaks of the Sierras include unique geological formations. Hikers can also climb Mount Whitney, the tallest mountain in the contiguous United States. Mono Lake, by the town of Lee Vining, also offers a look at an endorheic salt lake.
9. Instead of Indiana Dunes National Park, go to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in Michigan.
Indiana Dunes National Park. toddwendy. CC BY 2.0.
Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. kirsten.elise. CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.
As one of the newest national parks, only gaining the status in 2019, Indiana Dunes National Park preserves a unique ecosystem in Northwest Indiana just an hour outside of Chicago and South Bend. The beaches along Lake Michigan are popular in the summer and the South Shore Line railroad provides added accessibility by having a few stations in the vicinity. However, Indiana Dunes can get overcrowded in the summer, and Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan provides a more rustic experience. At Pictured Rocks, there are sand dunes like in Indiana Dunes, but also cliffs and waterfalls. While a multi-day hike along the North Country Trail will take intrepid travelers to all of the major sites, most of them are also accessible by car.
10. Instead of Glacier National Park, go to North Cascades National Park in Washington.
Glacier National Park. U.S. Geological Society. CC0 1.0.
North Cascades National Park. i8seattle. CC BY-NC 2.0.
In a place known for its namesake feature, Glacier National Park has relatively few of them. There are only 25 glaciers in the park and the last of them may be gone by 2030 due to climate change. However, there are 300 glaciers in North Cascades National Park, only a bit more than 2 hours away from Seattle. The main road through North Cascades goes through a deep valley with turquoise blue lakes, colored by the minerals carried by the glaciers. The end of the 23-mile unpaved Cascade River Road leads to a trail to Cascade Pass, which rewards visitors with scenic views of Forbidden Peak and Boston Mountain.
Bryan Fok
Bryan is currently a History and Global Affairs major at the University of Notre Dame. He aims to apply the notion of Integral Human Development as a framework for analyzing global issues. He enjoys hiking and visiting national parks.
