It takes just a few minutes of research to figure out which national parks are the most popular — and the least. But figuring out which parks are underrated, with low visitor counts and high ratings, requires a bit more data.
To answer the question Lake.com, a vacation rental platform, reviewed the National Park Service’s visitation numbers to determine which parks see less than 750,000 visitors in a year. Then, they looked at those parks’ Google reviews and reviewed ratings to score the parks out of 100 possible points. According to the platform, “Parks were awarded a higher score for fewer visits, fewer reviews, and a high ratio of reviews to visits and for higher ratings.”
In the end, North Cascades National Park in Washington state came out on top with a rating of 89.7 out of 100. The park, which is less than three hours by car from Seattle and sits near the U.S.-Canada border, is best known for its rugged terrain shaped by glaciers and waterways. Even today, over 300 glaciers cling to the park’s jagged peaks, and the wild landscape is best known for its dense forest, clear lakes, and the gray wolves and grizzly bears that call the park home.
Even though North Cascades National Park boasts a landscape akin to the popular Glacier National Park (with 12 times the number of glaciers), it remains one of the less visited parks in the system, with just over 40,000 visitors in 2023. Glacier National Park saw 2.9 million visitors in 2023.
Factors like this make North Cascades National Park underrated, providing people looking for beautiful vistas without crowds the perfect destination.
“National parks attract an incredibly large volume of visitors every year, especially as summer approaches. However, there are many hidden gems out there which are just as wonderful as the most-visited spots – and that may be better for avoiding crowds,” David Ciccarelli, CEO of Lake.com, said in the study shared with Travel + Leisure.
Following North Cascades on the list was Isle Royale National Park, an island chain in Lake Superior, Michigan. Dry Tortugas National Park in Florida, which is mostly water and whose seven islands are only accessible by boat or seaplane, came in at No. 3. Following the top three picks were a series of Alaskan national parks.
For the full list, along with their corresponding data, see below.
1. North Cascades National Park
Number of Visits in 2023: 40,351
Google Reviews: 1,232
Average Review Rating: 4.8
Final Score (Out of 100): 89.65
2. Isle Royale National Park
Number of Visits in 2023: 28,965
Google Reviews: 459
Average Review Rating: 4.8
Final Score (Out of 100): 86.02
3. Dry Tortugas National Park
Number of Visits in 2023: 84,285
Google Reviews: 1,582
Average Review Rating: 4.8
Final Score (Out of 100): 84.64
4. Gates of the Arctic National Park
Number of Visits in 2023: 11,045
Google Reviews: 146
Average Review Rating: 4.5
Final Score (Out of 100): 78.19
5. Wrangell-St. Elias National Park
Number of Visits in 2023: 78,305
Google Reviews: 873
Average Review Rating: 4.7
Final Score (Out of 100): 77.55
6. Great Basin National Park
Number of Visits in 2023: 143,265
Google Reviews: 2,028
Average Review Rating: 4.7
Final Score (Out of 100): 77.38
7. Katmai National Park
Number of Visits in 2023: 33,763
Google Reviews: 250
Average Review Rating: 4.8
Final Score (Out of 100): 74.36
8. Lake Clark National Park
Number of Visits in 2023: 16,728
Google Reviews: 119
Average Review Rating: 4.8
Final Score (Out of 100): 74.08
9. Guadalupe Mountains National Park
Number of Visits in 2023: 227,340
Google Reviews: 2,684
Average Review Rating: 4.7
Final Score (Out of 100): 71.93
10. Congaree National Park
Number of Visits in 2023: 250,114
Google Reviews: 3,254
Average Review Rating: 4.7
Final Score (Out of 100): 71.84
