A few of the stars at night with a view of Fort Jefferson.
National Parks 32 parks Updated March 2026

Least Visited National Parks

Photo: NPS Photo / Brett Seymour
32
Parks
20
States
9
Free Entry
Grand Canyon
#1 Most Visited

Quick answer: Kobuk Valley in Alaska is the least visited national park in the United States, with fewer than 8,000 visitors in 2025. Most of the least-visited parks are in remote Alaska — no roads, no trails, no visitor centers.

The least visited national parks in America are not lesser parks — they are remote ones. Kobuk Valley, Gates of the Arctic, and Lake Clark are in roadless Alaska, accessible only by small plane. Isle Royale sits in the middle of Lake Superior and closes for winter. National Park of American Samoa requires a 10-hour flight from the mainland. If you can reach them, you'll have an experience nothing like the crowded overlooks at Yosemite.

Map

Least Visited National Parks

# Park Visitors (2023)
1
≈ 81K (2023)
2
≈ 60K (2023)
3
≈ 217K (2023)
4
≈ 249K (2023)
5
≈ 360K (2023)
6
Virgin Islands National Park
U.S. Virgin Islands
 ≈ 374K (2023)
7
≈ 433K (2023)
8
≈ 441K (2023)
9
≈ 516K (2023)
10
≈ 506K (2023)
11
≈ 519K (2023)
12
≈ 565K (2023)
13
≈ 601K (2023)
14
≈ 686K (2023)
15
≈ 700K (2023)
16
≈ 784K (2023)
17
≈ 840K (2023)
18
≈ 1.1 million (2023)
19
≈ 1.1 million (2023)
20
≈ 1.2 million (2023)
21
≈ 1.2 million (2023)
22
≈ 1.5 million (2023)
23
≈ 1.8 million (2023)
24
≈ 1.6 million (2023)
25
≈ 1.6 million (2023)
26
≈ 2.2 million (2023)
27
≈ 2.9 million (2023)
28
≈ 2.9 million (2023)
29
≈ 3.4 million (2023)
30
≈ 4 million (2023)
31
≈ 4 million (2023)
32
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Top 10 — Least Visited National Parks

1.

Dry Tortugas National Park

Florida · Southeast

Key Facts

Established
1992
Area
64,701 acres
Visitors / yr
≈ 81K (2023)
Entry fee
$15

Dry Tortugas National Park protects 64,701 acres of open water, coral reef, and seven small islands 70 miles west of Key West, Florida — accessible only by ferry or seaplane and one of the most remote national parks in the eastern United States. The park's centerpiece is Fort Jefferson, the largest masonry structure in the Americas, begun in 1846 and never fully completed; the park was established as a national monument in 1935 and redesignated as a national park in 1992.

Read more about Dry Tortugas National Park
2.

Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve

Alaska

Key Facts

Established
1980
Area
3,283,168 acres
Visitors / yr
≈ 60K (2023)
Entry fee
Free

Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve in southeastern Alaska, established in 1980 and designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992, contains the world's largest assemblage of tidewater glaciers in a single protected area — 3,283,168 acres where a massive ice sheet has retreated 65 miles in roughly 250 years.

Read more about Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve
3.

Pinnacles National Park

California · West

Key Facts

Established
2013
Area
26,686 acres
Visitors / yr
≈ 217K (2023)
Entry fee
$30/vehicle

Pinnacles National Park in California protects 26,686 acres of volcanic rock spires and talus caves near Soledad, established as a national monument in 1908 and elevated to national park status in 2013. It is one of the best places in North America to observe wild California condors and ranks 59th among the 63 U.S. national parks in annual visitation.

Read more about Pinnacles National Park
4.

Congaree National Park

South Carolina · Southeast

Key Facts

Established
2003
Area
26,546 acres
Visitors / yr
≈ 249K (2023)
Entry fee
Free

Congaree National Park in South Carolina protects 26,546 acres of the largest intact old-growth bottomland hardwood forest remaining in the southeastern United States, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve since 1983. Established in 2003, the park holds more national and state champion trees than any other area in the eastern US and draws about 249,000 visitors a year.

Read more about Congaree National Park
5.

Channel Islands National Park

California · West

Key Facts

Established
1980
Area
249,561 acres
Visitors / yr
≈ 360K (2023)
Entry fee
Free

Channel Islands National Park protects five islands off the southern California coast and their surrounding ocean, covering 249,561 acres with no road access — visitors arrive only by boat or small plane. Established in 1980, the park shelters eight endemic species including the island fox and draws roughly 360,000 visitors a year.

Read more about Channel Islands National Park
6.

Virgin Islands National Park

U.S. Virgin Islands · Pacific

Key Facts

Established
1956
Area
14,689 acres
Visitors / yr
≈ 374K (2023)
Entry fee
Free

Virgin Islands National Park covers 14,689 acres on the island of St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands — roughly two-thirds of the island's land area — and was established in 1956 after Laurance Rockefeller donated 5,000 acres to the federal government. Free to enter, the park protects coral reef, tropical dry forest, and the ruins of 18th-century sugar plantations along more than 20 miles of coastline.

Read more about Virgin Islands National Park
7.

Redwood National and State Parks

California · West

Key Facts

Established
1968
Area
138,999 acres
Visitors / yr
≈ 433K (2023)
Entry fee
Free

Redwood National and State Parks in northern California protect 138,999 acres of coast redwood forest along a 50-mile stretch of coastline, home to the tallest trees on Earth. The complex combines one national park with three California state parks under shared management, is free to enter, and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1980.

Read more about Redwood National and State Parks
8.

Carlsbad Caverns National Park

New Mexico · Southwest

Key Facts

Established
1930
Area
46,766 acres
Visitors / yr
≈ 441K (2023)
Entry fee
$1

Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico protects 46,766 acres of Chihuahuan Desert above and below ground, including more than 119 caves formed when sulfuric acid dissolved ancient limestone. Established in 1930 and designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995, the park draws about 441,000 visitors a year to the Big Room and the nightly bat flight.

Read more about Carlsbad Caverns National Park
9.

Lassen Volcanic National Park

California · West

Key Facts

Established
1916
Area
106,589 acres
Visitors / yr
≈ 516K (2023)
Entry fee
$30/vehicle

Lassen Volcanic National Park protects 106,589 acres of northern California where all four types of volcanoes exist within a single park boundary and hydrothermal activity keeps the ground boiling today. The park's centerpiece is Lassen Peak, a 10,457-foot plug dome volcano that erupted in 1914 and produced a major explosive event on May 22, 1915, making it the most recently active volcano in the contiguous United States before Mount St. Helens erupted in 1980. Boiling mudpots, fumaroles, and steam vents cluster at Bumpass Hell and Sulphur Works, both accessible from the 29-mile park highway. The park draws about 516,000 visitors per year and sits roughly 50 miles east of Redding at the southern end of the Cascade Range.

Read more about Lassen Volcanic National Park
10.

Black Canyon Of The Gunnison National Park

Colorado · Rockies

Key Facts

Established
1999
Area
30,780 acres
Visitors / yr
≈ 506K (2023)
Entry fee
$30/vehicle

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park in Colorado protects 30,780 acres of one of the deepest, narrowest canyons in North America, where the Gunnison River carved walls up to 2,722 feet deep through 1.7-billion-year-old Precambrian rock; established in 1999, the park draws about 506,000 visitors a year.

Read more about Black Canyon Of The Gunnison National Park

Showing 10 of 32 parks. · See full list above ↑