After visiting 25 US national parks, my favorite underrated spots include Mesa Verde, Denali, and Everglades National Park.
I visited 25 US national parks.
Emily Pogue
After visiting 25 US national parks, I've fallen in love with some lesser-known locations.
I love visiting Colorado's Mesa Verde National Park, which is home to 800-year-old cliff dwellings.
I've also enjoyed my time in Alaska's Denali National Park and Florida's Everglades National Park.
A national park is meant to be an oasis — a reprieve from the traffic and crowds of urban life. Unfortunately, though, many people seek this same reprieve, meaning some national parks have become extremely crowded during peak seasons.
Although many parks have implemented timed-entry systems to combat overcrowding, this solution isn't foolproof. For example, when I was leaving Arches National Park last summer around noon, the line to get in was over two hours long — and these people all had reservations.
To avoid this issue altogether, I like to visit parks with lower attendance rates. The good news is many of these lesser-known national parks are just as spectacular as the big names.
Of the 25 US national parks I've visited, these were some of my favorite less-popular spots.
Colorado's Mesa Verde National Park is home to 800-year-old cliff dwellings.
Mesa Verde National Park is located in southwestern Colorado.
Emily Pogue
Located in the southwestern corner of Colorado, Mesa Verde is often overlooked as people continue west to "The Mighty Five" parks in Utah. Yet, the vistas in Mesa Verde National Park can easily rival those of its peers.
However, what truly sets the park apart is the chance to see the over 800-year-old cliff dwellings of the Ancestral Pueblo people. My husband and I did several short hikes to view the preserved homes from different angles.
Unfortunately, we were there a week before the guided tours began for the season, so we couldn't walk through the buildings for ourselves.
If you're interested in attending a tour, make sure to thoroughly read through the options (some involve climbing ladders on the sides of cliffs and crawling through a tunnel on your hands and knees).
Denali National Park in Alaska has activities for every kind of traveler.
Denali National Park offers six million acres of land.
Emily Pogue
Understandably, several of the least-visited national parks reside in Alaska. While they're a trek to get to, they offer an unmatched level of seclusion. But as far as Alaskan national parks go, Denali is a great choice because it's fairly easy to get to from Anchorage.
The park's six millionacres offer all kinds of opportunities to explore. For example, visitors can go for an early morning hike to try to catch a glimpse of Denali, the tallest peak in North America. For a more relaxing option, I recommend taking a four-hour bus tour into the heart of the park.
Or, if you need an animal fix, you can attend a demonstration of the park's famous sled dogs (aka canine rangers) and give them pets afterward for a job well done.
The wildlife is the star at Everglades National Park in Florida.
When visiting Everglades National Park, we saw 48 alligators in two hours.
Emily Pogue
Located just an hour outside Miami, Everglades National Park houses the largest subtropical wilderness in the US. In my opinion, a tram tour is the best way to explore this South Florida park, which is home to many rare and endangered species.
The trams have open sides, allowing for clear viewing of the dozens of alligators that line either side of the road — in total, we counted 48 alligators in a two-hour timeframe.
Halfway through the tour, the tram pulled up to a ramp that spiraled up into the sky. When we reached the top of the Shark Valley Observation Tower, we could truly appreciate how expansive the park really is.
If you're OK with being a bit closer to the gators, bikes are also available to rent to cruise along the 15-mile-long Shark Valley Tram Road.
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