Escape the Crowds: 6 Off-the-Beaten-Path Gems That Rival America’s Most Popular National Parks

Post originally Published February 23, 2024 || Last Updated February 23, 2024

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Escape the Crowds: 6 Off-the-Beaten-Path Gems That Rival America’s Most Popular National Parks

Nestled along the coast of southeast Alaska, Glacier Bay National Park boasts otherworldly landscapes carved over millennia by the relentless advance and retreat of massive ice sheets. Designated both a national park and biosphere reserve, Glacier Bay offers visitors a front row seat to the slow yet dramatic ongoing geological symphony of coastal erosion and regeneration playing out around them.

Glaciers here are no isolated remnants of ice age peaks but living, breathing behemoths that sculpt the terrain with each daily tidal pulse. Hiking trails wind through dense emerald rainforests, across rocky beaches and moraines, and up to lofty vistas revealing the full scale of these frozen rivers as they calve and calve again into azure waters. The stillness is periodically broken by the crack and roar of splitting ice, underscoring one's smallness before these thundering forces of nature.
On a cruise through the bay's deep fjords, humpback whales, sea otters and bald eagles entertain passengers even as towering tidewater glaciers take center stage in all their rugged beauty. It is impossible not to feel awe and admiration for our planet's raw power on full display. While the ice may seem immortal, keen eyes will notice subtle signs of change over days or years indicating Glacier Bay's transition into new ecological stages is well underway.

Visitors hiking or boating through this remote region gain insights into how life adapts and persists against a backdrop of upheaval. Interpretive programs led by National Park Rangers and local indigenous people impart cultural wisdom as well as scientific perspectives on the bay's dynamic geological and biological interplay. Multi-day kayaking expeditions even allow intrepid travelers to camp right at the base of shifting glacial fronts.

What else is in this post?

  1. Escape the Crowds: 6 Off-the-Beaten-Path Gems That Rival America's Most Popular National Parks - Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska: A Park with Drama and Beauty beyond Compare
  2. Escape the Crowds: 6 Off-the-Beaten-Path Gems That Rival America's Most Popular National Parks - Big Cypress National Preserve, Florida: Wander through an Ancient Swamp Teeming with Wildlife
  3. Escape the Crowds: 6 Off-the-Beaten-Path Gems That Rival America's Most Popular National Parks - Virgin Islands National Park, U.S. Virgin Islands: Lush Tropical Landscapes and Bioluminescent Bays
  4. Escape the Crowds: 6 Off-the-Beaten-Path Gems That Rival America's Most Popular National Parks - Gates of the Arctic National Park, Alaska: Raw Natural Beauty with Few Visitors
  5. Escape the Crowds: 6 Off-the-Beaten-Path Gems That Rival America's Most Popular National Parks - Hawaiian Volcanoes National Park: Witness Earth's Constant Geological Shifts
  6. Escape the Crowds: 6 Off-the-Beaten-Path Gems That Rival America's Most Popular National Parks - Channel Islands National Park, California: Untouched Islands off the Coast
  7. Escape the Crowds: 6 Off-the-Beaten-Path Gems That Rival America's Most Popular National Parks - Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida: Historic Forts Amid Emerald Waters and Sea Life
  8. Escape the Crowds: 6 Off-the-Beaten-Path Gems That Rival America's Most Popular National Parks - Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, Colorado: Awe-Inspiring Gorges and Rocky Outcrops


Beyond the sun-soaked beaches and pulsing nightlife of South Florida's urban corridor lies an unexpected rugged wilderness - Big Cypress National Preserve. Encompassing over 700,000 acres of the region's distinctive swampland, this vast and vital wetland ecosystem provides critical habitat for a diversity of plant and animal species. A visitor meandering along one of Big Cypress' primitive trails or paddling through its maze of mangroves quickly discovers this is no stereotypical swamp.

Ancient cypress trees laden with bromeliads and orchids tower above the forest floor, their knobby knees breaching the surface of coffee-colored waters. Alligators patrol the sloughs while flocks of wood storks and ibis stalk prey in the shallows. Endangered Florida panthers prowl the upland pinelands in search of white-tailed deer. Even the elusive ghost orchid - made famous in Susan Orlean's book The Orchid Thief - clings precariously to these remote swamp forests.

For many, the allure of Big Cypress lies in its opportunities for multi-day wilderness adventures, whether backpacking, paddling or bike touring along the Florida National Scenic Trail. Intrepid travelers can traverse immense marsh prairies on raised boardwalks, explore historic Native American sites, and camp beneath the stars surrounded by the nightly chorus of frogs and owls.


Tucked amongst the emerald hillsides and turquoise bays of St. John lies Virgin Islands National Park, a tropical island escape far removed from the crowds of its mainland neighbors. Encompassing nearly 60% of the island, this Caribbean gem teems with exotic landscapes and seascapes awaiting exploration. Meandering trails wind through remnants of lush pre-Columbian rainforests and past petroglyph-adorned ruins left by the island’s indigenous peoples. Snorkelers and divers delight in the kaleidoscopic coral reefs and shipwrecks visible just offshore. Yet it’s the bioluminescent bays that truly leave their mark on visitors.

As night descends, harmless microscopic organisms in the bays begin to glow an ethereal neon blue when disturbed by movement. Every stroke of a kayak paddle or kick of a swimmer’s leg elicits shimmering trails of light dancing across the glassy water. Snorkeling after dark becomes a magical experience akin to floating through the starry depths of space. Many travelers describe these bioluminescent bays as the highlight of their Virgin Islands visit.
Accessible only by hiking or boating, the bays’ remoteness helps maintain ideal conditions for the organisms to thrive compared to more populated locales. Visitors remark on the thrill of arriving at dusk when the water’s bioluminescence is just beginning to reveal itself. Sitting quietly in a kayak evokes a sense of wonder and tranquility. The national park works diligently to monitor tourism impacts and limit visitation to prevent degradation of this fragile phenomenon.


Far above the Arctic Circle, Gates of the Arctic National Park remains one of America’s last great wildernesses, with no roads or trails penetrating its staggering 8 million acres. Despite its sheer vastness, the park sees just 10,000 annual visitors, meaning true explorers can discover profound solitude and bears nearly outnumber people.

With no park facilities beyond a handful of primitive campsites, Gates of the Arctic epitomizes rugged adventure travel. Many visitors arrive by bush plane, touching down onto unmarked tundra runways miles from the nearest soul. Setting out solo into the trackless terrain with only a map and compass elicits a thrilling sense of self-reliance. Days are spent navigating maze-like ridgelines, fording cold rivers, and scanning the horizon for grazing caribou. Nights mean hastily pitching a tent amid 24 hours of summer daylight, then drifting off to the eerie cries of distant arctic wolves.

For backcountry trekkers, the park's highlights include the Arrigetch Peaks and Frigid Crags - otherworldly geological formations sculpted by millennia of freeze and thaw. Scrambling up these weathered granite spires rewards intrepid climbers with breathtaking vistas of lush green valleys giving way to snow-capped giants, the Brooks Range. Witnessing Alaska’s wilderness at its most pristine imparts deep respect for the resilience of arctic flora and fauna. From tiny saxifrages blooming between boulders to massive muskoxen roaming ice fields, life abundantly persists in this extreme environment.
While self-guided adventures allow maximum freedom, many choose to experience Gates of the Arctic on guided backpacking, rafting, or dogsledding excursions. Specialized operators provide critical bear safety knowledge, help minimize wilderness impacts, and share insights into the region’s natural history. For avid photographers, float trips down wild rivers access remote vantage points perfect for capturing the park’s incomparable beauty.


Molten fury churns just below the surface on Hawaii’s Big Island, fueling one of the most dynamic geological showcases on Earth at Hawaiian Volcanoes National Park. Nowhere else lets visitors stand so close to an active volcano’s bubbling cauldron. Kīlauea has spewed almost nonstop since 1983, creating fresh terrain and destroying anything in the lava’s path. Even when not erupting, plumes of toxic steam hiss from cracks and fissures. The result is an ever-evolving topography certain to stir one’s sense of awe.

By day, get up close via crater rim hikes or helicopter tours revealing Kīlauea’s seething magma pit, Halema‘uma‘u. Gaze directly into the belly of the beast from the Jaggar Museum overlook. The molten rock roils like some wild prehistoric beast.

When daylight fades, crater glows eerily with a primeval power no high-tech light show could mimic. For the true lava junkie, hit the trail to find surface flows actively redrawing the island’s contours. Feel the scorching heat radiating beneath your boots at night and watch as fluorescent fingers of 1300°F magma plunge into the sea, releasing explosive plumes of steam.
Of course, witnessing fresh flows requires luck and perfect timing. Fickle Pele, Hawaiian volcano goddess, may redirect or halt the lava at any moment. But her handiwork permanently alters the terrain. Lava fields freeze in time mid-flow like some alien sculpture garden. Miles of jagged aa lava contrast sharply with smooth pāhoehoe.

Hardened flows spell disaster for anything in their path, yet life remarkably reclaims the barren rock over time. Rare silversword plants somehow thrive in the harsh volcanic slopes above steaming vents. Kīpukas – islands of older terrain surrounded by new lava – shelter remnant animal communities.


Channel Islands National Park preserves a unique Californian ecosystem just off the state's Southern coast. Here, quiet bays and secluded beaches retain their pristine character, nourished by the rich upwelling of deep ocean nourishment. On these unfrequable islands, endemic plants and animals evolved in splendid isolation.

Voyaging offshore rewards intrepid travelers with chance encounters with rare wildlife. Peregrine falcons and snowy plovers nest amid the dunes and cliffsides, joined by over 200 shipwrecks cradled along submerged reefs. In kelp forests swaying below the waves flourish abalone and orange garibaldi fish alongside sea otters, reintroduced after decimation in the fur trade. On windswept plateau above sea cliffs, no human sound distracts from nature’s symphony as foxes bark across cacti-strewn meadows.

Topanga and Santa Rosa boast most facilities and visitors while the remotest Anacapa and San Miguel remain too rugged for camping. Farther afield, wild Santa Barbara and Santa Cruz host none at all. Exploring their solitude demands navigating surf-battered shores by kayak and agility scrambling over boulders. Yet their rewards include spying on Xantus’s murrelets, diminutive alcids that nest ledge-upon-ledge.


At the uttermost edge of the Florida Keys, 70 miles into the Gulf of Mexico, Dry Tortugas National Park remains one of America’s most remote yet rewarding destinations. This cluster of seven tiny islands rewards travelers willing to make the journey with warm emerald waters, exotic coral reefs, historic 19th-century fortresses, and phenomenal birdwatching.

Many describe their initial arrival by seaplane or ferry as almost like stepping back in time. Lacking any lodging, bars, or shops, the islands retain a lost-in-time character. Visitors busy themselves snorkeling pristine reefs, lazing on deserted beaches, touring Fort Jefferson, and simply savoring the solitude. While Key West revels a mere hour north, out here one feels blissfully far removed from the modern world.

Of course, the birding steals the show for many. Masked boobies, brown noddies, sooty terns, magnificent frigatebirds and other feathered beauties thrive undisturbed in the protected island habitat. During spring and fall migrations, the tiny isles transform into a global crossroads for neotropical songbirds on the move. Warblers, orioles, buntings and more pause to rest and refuel before braving the 90-mile open ocean crossing to Cuba or Mexico’s Yucatan. Nowhere else in North America offers comparable landfall options. That makes Dry Tortugas an unparalleled location to witness the phenomenon of migration in action. Patients birders will be wowed by both the volume and diversity of species represented.

While underwater environments impress, historic Fort Jefferson fascinates with its immense moated walls and labyrinthian interior. This massive but unfinished coastal citadel was designed to anchor a 19th century coastal defense system protecting the Gulf Coast. Lacking any natural fresh water source, any sizable garrison was impossible. Still, the fort witnessed some fascinating history from its use as a Union prison to serving as a naval base during the Spanish-American war. Visitors can explore the sprawling ruins and stand atop the ramparts taking in unmatched views.


Towering ochre walls plummet nearly 3000 feet at Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, creating a narrow chasm that captures the imagination. Along its sheer limestone cliffs, only the hardiest of native plants can cling to life, their vivid green and red tones standing out brazenly against an otherwise barren display of eroding rock. It is no surprise that the ancestors of today's Ute and Navajo peoples felt this was a sacred place, infused with spiritual energy both powerful and precarious.

Hiking into the echoing abyss immerses one in sheer sensory overload. Look straight up and dizling aerie ledges seem impossibly high above. Peer across the canyon floor and rocky spires appear to merge together, so narrow is this geographic slicing. It is said that standing at the canyon's edge, one can feel its sheer mass of stone leaning inward ever so slightly. The potent summer sun bears down mercilessly but provides little warmth, instead intensifying the minerals' rich hues until the entire landscape glows as if from within.
Bracing the stiff river breeze, avid climbers scale polished domes and fin-like wings of cliff, their precarious holds tested by each gust. Roadrunners zip across talus slopes, briefly glimpsed among the boulders. Meanwhile elk and bighorn sheep pick gravity-defying paths among the crags, sure-footedness seemingly inherent to their mountain ancestry. Around each turn in the trail, the canyon unveils new visual puzzles that tease the mind's eye for hours.

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