If you like the wilderness, as well as some alone time, you just may want to check out these National Parks that Americans by and large ignore. However, the isolation you may be seeking is not always easy to get to, as some of these locations are only accessible by boat, plane, or at the very least a long haul in the family car.
- Kobuk Valley National Park in Alaska – In 2007, this National park only saw 847 visitors. It is located in the Arctic Circle and is only accessible by foot, dogsled, or snowmobile. If you hate the night, this is the place for you, as for one month a year, it features 24 hours of daylight.
- Lake Clark National Park in Alaska – Surprise! Another Alaskan park. This park only had 5,549 visitors in 2007, but features pristine wilderness, a volcano, mountains, glaciers, waterfalls, and even a rainforest. Again, this is tough to get to without a crack team of sled dogs or a nice snowmobile.
- National Park of American Samoa – The park spans three islands and features a coral reef, as well as a rainforest. And it only saw 6,774 visitors in 2007. Admission is free, however you will need a few different flights to get there as it is way out in the Pacific, or ten hours by plane.
- Gates of the Arctic National Park in Alaska – This park is roughly the size of Switzerland, but only had 10,942 visitors in 2007. With valleys and rivers, this site is one you must see if nature is your thing. The glaciations and erosion over the last millennia has truly made this area breathtaking.
- Isle Royale National Park in Michigan – This island is closer to Canada than the States, but is the largest island in Lake Superior. You can only get there by boat of seaplane, which may be why only 15,973 people made the trek in 2007. Interestingly, the island is the only place where moose and wolves live in the same place without bears. So there’s that!
- North Cascades National Park in Washington – This park offers Alaskan type wilderness a little closer to home. It also features the most glaciers outside of Alaska at over 300. The number of glaciers is diminishing due to global warming, so you might want to get out there to see them before its too late. You would be one of slightly less than 20,000 to do so in the coming year.
- Dry Tortugas National Park in Florida – This park is seventy miles west of Key West, and is so named due to the lack of fresh surface water, and the fact that Ponce De Leon caught a lot of turtles there in the 1500s. The park features Fort Jefferson, which protected the U.S. from Gulf Coast invaders, namely pirates and eventually became a Union stronghold during the Civil War. It is also a great place to watch birds, as 300 different species call it home.
