Top Ten - NATIONAL PARKS LEAST TRAVELED
December 30, 2008 11:04 AM EST
(Updated: December 30, 2008 11:10 AM EST)
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10 Less-Traveled National Parks America's national parks are a national treasure, but their popularity has its drawbacks. If you'd like to avoid crowds, then think about visiting one of the less-traveled national parks. They all provide magnificent scenery and endless opportunities for outdoor adventure and activity, yet you'll also find peace and quiet and a chance to go off on your own. Listed in alphabetical order, these are some of our favorites. Click on images for an expanded view. 1. Badlands National Park Location: Southwestern South Dakota
What's cool: Seeing fossils of ancient and extinct creatures on the Fossil Exhibit Trail
Activities: Biking, backpacking, auto touring, hiking, camping, bird watching, cross-country skiing, wildlife viewing, horseback riding Despite its forbidding name, Badlands National Park offers magnificent scenery. Wind and water acted on alternating layers of soft and hard rock to create this landscape of jagged ridges, pinnacles, towers, buttes, ravines, and gulches--a landscape softened by vast expanses of prairie grasses. Layers of rock are still visible in the tumbling landforms in the park, and the park's numerous hiking and biking trails make this unusual landscape easily accessible. The Badlands is home to the world's richest Oligocene fossil beds--from 23 to 25 million years old--and erosion has made the fossils visible to the naked eye. Pioneers who crossed the rugged terrain on their way West coined the term badlands, which is now used to describe similar topographies around the world. See a map of Badlands National Park. 2. Big Bend National Park Location: Southwestern TexasWhat's cool: Guided rafting trips on the Rio Grande River Activities: Hiking, backpacking, camping, biking, fishing, horseback riding, whitewater rafting, interpretive programs, bird watching It's easy to feel like the last person standing when you're in Big Bend National Park. Bordered on its southern edges by the Rio Grande, Big Bend is composed mostly of desert and dimpled with just enough mountains to keep things interesting. So vast, quiet, and wild are the park's 801,000 acres, it can be easy to ignore the life that abounds there. A varying climate and altitudes that range from 1,800 feet by the river to 7,800 feet in the Chisos Mountains help over 1,200 plant species and a variety of animal species thrive. More cacti (over 60 kinds), birds (at least 450 species), and reptiles (67 species) are found in Big Bend than in any other park. With fewer than 300,000 visitors annually, Big Bend is also one of the least visited national parks, yet the diversity of its plants, animals, and geology makes it one of the most fascinating. See a map of Big Bend National Park. 3. Carlsbad Caverns National Park Location: Southeastern New MexicoWhat's cool: Cave formations, including chandeliers, hairs and beards, soda straws, balloons and cave pearls Activities: Backpacking, hiking, cave tours, wilderness viewing  Dr. Seuss, even in his wildest dreams, couldn't have created anything as weird and wonderful as the caves in Carlsbad Caverns National Park. Entering any of the park's 94 caves is like entering a psychedelic world where drips of limestone-laced water have been transformed into myriad peaks and spires. Imagine seeing the world from the inside out, and perhaps you can picture the park's caves. Part of the movie Journey to the Center of the Earth was filmed in the park. Carlsbad's underground labyrinths entertain spelunking enthusiasts and novices alike. Amateurs may breathe a sigh of relief upon seeing the elevators, electric lights, and paved paths in Carlsbad Cavern's Big Room, while experts are in for an adventure with one of the park's Wild Cave Tours, which takes them up rope ladders, through crevices, and into rarely seen nooks and crannies. The surrounding area above ground is rich in mammals, birds, reptiles, and butterflies. At night bats emerge from their home in the caverns. See a map of Carlsbad Caverns National Park. 4. Crater Lake National Park Location: Southern OregonWhat's cool: A volcano boat tour on the lake Activities: Hiking, backpacking, camping, auto touring, scuba diving, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, snowmobiling, fishing, wildlife viewing, bird watching, interpretive programs The deepest lake in the Unites States isn't really a lake at all. It's a caldera, an enormous volcanic crater nearly 6 miles wide, with depths close to 2,000 feet. The brilliant blue waters of Crater Lake have stunned visitors for years, and the thrill of gazing at the mirrorlike waters never grows old. But Crater Lake National Park is not just for onlookers: This is a park full of hands-on, outdoor adventure. The lake lies in the midst of 249 square miles of protected wilderness ready to be explored, by foot, snowshoe, or snowmobile. It's not unusual to see black bears, elk, Clark's nutcrackers, or even the elusive bald eagle. A 33-mile Rim Drive encircles the lake. You can experience the cornflower-blue waters and mysterious Wizard Island up close with a guided boat tour or by scuba diving. See a map of Crater Lake National Park. 5. Cuyahoga Valley National Park
Location: Northeastern Ohio
What's cool: A ride on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad
Activities: Auto touring, biking, bird watching, fishing, hiking, wildlife viewing, interpretive programs Surrounded by small villages and dotted with nationally recognized historic buildings and structures, Cuyahoga Valley National Park is a living testament to a largely forgotten era. The park is a reminder of the canal-building days of the early 1800s, when inland transport by canal was thriving. The park extends along a 22-mile stretch of the Cuyahoga River in a region shaped by erosion. History buffs can hike or ride bikes along the towpath of the Ohio & Erie Canal. Demonstrations of the canal's locks take place on weekends during the tourist season. The 3-mile-long Buckeye Trail takes hikers to the Everett Road Covered Bridge, the last covered bridge in Summit County. Another popular destination is the Hale Farm & Village, an outdoor living-history museum with demonstrations of glassblowing, hearth cooking, and cheese making. See a map of Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Location: Northwestern MontanaWhat's cool: Taking a drive along Going-to-the-Sun Highway Activities: Auto touring, backpacking, biking, bird watching, boating, camping, climbing, cross-country skiing, fishing, hiking, horseback riding, snowshoeing, swimming, interpretive programs  Park-goers tenacious enough to trek to the northern reaches of Montana are amply rewarded by one of nature's finest specimens: Glacier National Park. The land deserves its nickname--"God's Country." Rugged mountains stretch toward the sky, then slope toward sparkling lakes and streams at their bases. In late spring and summer, the reds, blues, golds, and purples of wildflowers are so vibrant that the sprawling valleys may at first appear dotted with jewels. Wildlife watching is yet another delight, which grants glimpses of mountain goats creeping along ridges, trumpeter swans calling to one another, and the occasional bear scavenging for a meal. This glacially carved wilderness is an explorer's paradise that provides more than 700 miles of trails. The aptly named Going-to-the-Sun Highway is a 50-mile road across the park that offers views of wetland, forest, peaks, valleys, and the precipitous ridge known as the Garden Wall. At Rising Sun visitors can indulge in a boat cruise on St. Mary's Lake. See a map of Glacier National Park. 7. Great Basin National Park Location: Eastern NevadaWhat's cool: Seeing a glacier in the desert Activities: Caving, hiking, backpacking, biking, cross-country skiing, fishing, horseback riding, snowshoeing, auto touring, bird watching, camping, interpretive programs If you think the only attraction between Utah and California is the gaudy lights of Las Vegas, then a visit to Great Basin National Park in Nevada is long overdue. Although the untrained eye might see little more than desert when driving through the Great Basin, a closer look reveals a land full of flora and fauna. The best way to see Great Basin National Park is by foot, and a number of trails lead visitors to a variety of attractions. Hikers on the Bristlecone Trail see and learn about the rare and ancient bristlecone pine tree, which grows slowly in a twisted, gnarled fashion. From the Bristlecone Trail, hikers can take the Glacier Trail and see the only glacier that still exists in the Great Basin Desert. Lexington Arch, a limestone arch as tall as a six-story building, is quite possibly the park's main attraction and is accessible from the Lexington Arch Trail. Lehman Caves offers glimpses of many limestone formations. See a map of Great Basin National Park. 8. Hawaii Volcanoes National Park Location: Hawaii Island, HawaiiWhat's cool: Hiking into a volcano crater or riding around the crater's rim Activities: Auto touring, backpacking, camping, hiking, hunting, interpretive programs, wildlife viewing Part national park, part tropical oasis, and part geological masterpiece: Any way you look at it, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is a hotbed of activity. Few national parks can boast of having two volcanoes spewing molten lava, and for that fiery sight alone, Hawaii Volcanoes is worth the trip! Visitors to the park make it their business to hike at least one of the trails that take hikers through rainforests and into a volcano crater. Exploring Crater Rim Drive by car or bicycle is another "must-do" activity. The islands of Hawaii were formed when magma from below Earth's crust repeatedly erupted out of fissures on the ocean floor. As the layers of lava hardened, mountains formed and eventually rose above the surface of the ocean to evolve into islands. The Big Island of Hawaii is the newest in the chain, and its volcanoes Kilauea and Mauna Loa are still active, continually adding land to the island with their eruptions. See a map of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. 9. Mesa Verde National Park Location: Southwestern ColoradoWhat's cool: Touring the Cliff Palace or Balcony House Activities: Hiking, camping, snowshoeing, bird watching, cross-country skiing, wildlife viewing, interpretive programs  The cliff dwellings that perch so precariously in the alcoves of rock walls at Mesa Verde National Park never cease to amaze visitors. The story of the Anasazi, or "Ancient Ones," who inhabited these dwellings remains steeped in uncertainties and lends to the mystique that has made this ancient civilization so fascinating. The only things archaeologists know for certain is that the Anasazi originally inhabited the mesa top, and that in AD 1200 they began colonizing the alcoves and shelves of the mesa only to leave abruptly in AD 1300. All that remains are their artifacts and their intricately built dwellings. Visitors to Mesa Verde can explore some of the most prominent dwellings only on guided tours; others are self-guided. Touring the Cliff House, the largest of the dwellings, requires climbing tall ladders and steep cliffs (an overlook can also be accessed by a paved trail and one flight of stairs). But the rewards are stupendous! Another option is to drive the Mesa Top Loop Drive, which takes visitors past mesa-top sites and turnouts that offer stunning views of the cliff dwellings. The park's museum has a collection of over 2 million objects. Hiking trails abound and take hikers along the mesa top or into the canyon. See a map of Mesa Verde National Park. 10. Voyageurs National Park Location: Northern Minnesota
What's cool: Taking a sunset cruise or wildlife-watching boat tour Activities: Backpacking, bird watching, boating, camping, cross-country skiing, snow skiing, snowshoeing, snowmobiling, fishing, hiking, kayaking, swimming, wildlife viewing, interpretive programs |
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Comments: 5
I would recommend them, but I would rather that people stay away so they are not ruined.
We loved the Badlands!
Thank you for posting this to the Gimme 10!!! Group