Least Visited National Parks In the United States

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The United States is home to 58 different national parks and over 300 units or areas such as national monuments and national seashores that are protected by the National Park Service. The first national park to come into existence in the U.S. was Yellowstone (located in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming) on March 1, 1872. Today, it is one of the most visited parks in the country. Other popular parks in the U.S. include Yosemite in California, the Grand Canyon in Arizona and the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee and North Carolina.

Each of these parks sees millions of visitors each year. There are many other national parks in the U.S. however that receive far fewer annual visitors. The following is a list of the ten least visited national parks through August 2009. The list is arranged by the number of visitors in that year and begins with the least visited park in the U.S. Information was obtained from the Los Angeles Times article, "America's Hidden Gems: The 20-Least Crowded National Parks in 2009."

Least Visited National Parks

  1. Kobuk Valley National Park
    Number of Visitors: 1,250
    Location: Alaska
  2. National Park of American Samoa
    Number of Visitors: 2,412
    Location: American Samoa
  3. Lake Clark National Park and Preserve
    Number of Visitors: 4,134
    Location: Alaska
  4. Katmai National Park and Preserve
    Number of Visitors: 4,535
    Location: Alaska
  5. Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve
    Number of Visitors: 9,257
    Location: Alaska
  6. Isle Royale National Park
    Number of Visitors: 12,691
    Location: Michigan
  7. North Cascades National Park
    Number of Visitors: 13,759
    Location: Washington
  8. Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve
    Number of Visitors: 53,274
    Location: Alaska
  9. Great Basin National Park
    Number of Visitors: 60,248
    Location: Nevada
  10. Congaree National Park
    Number of Visitors: 63,068
    Location: South Carolina

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Briney, Amanda. "Least Visited National Parks In the United States." ThoughtCo, Aug. 29, 2020, thoughtco.com/least-visited-national-parks-united-states-1434506. Briney, Amanda. (2020, August 29). Least Visited National Parks In the United States. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/least-visited-national-parks-united-states-1434506 Briney, Amanda. "Least Visited National Parks In the United States." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/least-visited-national-parks-united-states-1434506 (accessed March 29, 2024).