America's Least-Visited National Parks, by the Numbers

Gates of the Arctic draws about 12,600 visitors a year, averaged over the last three full years. Great Smoky Mountains draws about 12.7 million. That's a gap of more than 1,000x between two units that both carry the same "National Park" designation. Here are America's ten least-visited national parks, pulled from the same three-year NPS visitation data behind every crowd score on this site — plus an honest catch: our own 1–10 score can't always tell a genuinely quiet park from a merely seasonal one.

Key takeaways

• Gates of the Arctic averages about 12,600 visitors a year — the fewest of any U.S. national park — versus roughly 12.7 million a year at Great Smoky Mountains, the most-visited.
• Six of the ten least-visited parks are in Alaska, and most have no roads reaching them at all — access is by chartered small plane or boat.
• Every park on this site — including Yellowstone and Zion — hits a crowd score of 10/10 ("Peak") in its own busiest month, because the score is normalized to each park's own range, not compared across parks. Raw visitor counts are what actually separate a quiet park from a seasonal one.
• Six of these ten parks charge no entrance fee at all.

The 10 least-visited national parks

Ranked by average annual recreation visits over the most recent three full calendar years — the same visitation window used everywhere on this site.

• Gates of the Arctic — about 12,600 visitors a year, the fewest of any national park. No roads lead in; most visitors arrive by chartered small plane. Free to enter.
• Kobuk Valley — about 14,200 visitors a year. Like its Alaska neighbor above, it has no roads or maintained trails; access is by air taxi. Free to enter.
• Lake Clark — about 18,300 visitors a year, reachable only by small plane or boat from Anchorage. Free to enter.
• Isle Royale — about 29,000 visitors a year on an island in Lake Superior reachable only by ferry, seaplane, or private boat. $7 entrance fee.
• North Cascades — about 34,600 visitors a year despite sitting a few hours from Seattle; the terrain is simply too rugged for easy road access. Free to enter.
• Katmai — about 34,800 visitors a year, best known for the brown bears that fish at Brooks Falls. Reachable only by boat or floatplane. Free to enter.
• Dry Tortugas — about 86,200 visitors a year, a cluster of islands roughly 70 miles west of Key West reachable only by boat or seaplane. $15 entrance fee.
• Wrangell–St. Elias — about 89,600 visitors a year at the largest national park in the U.S. by area, which keeps most of it effectively out of reach for a day trip. Free to enter.
• Great Basin — about 152,200 visitors a year in eastern Nevada, several hours from the nearest interstate. Free to enter.
• Voyageurs — about 208,700 visitors a year, a Minnesota park built around interconnected lakes best explored by boat. Free to enter.

Why raw visitor counts and our crowd score can disagree

Every park on this site gets a 1–10 crowd score for each month, but per our methodology, that score is normalized to that specific park's own busiest month — never compared across parks. That means Yellowstone's July, its highest-traffic month, scores a 10/10 "Peak" — and so does Gates of the Arctic's July, even though the two months look nothing alike in raw visitor numbers. A crowd score answers "is this a quiet time for this specific park," not "is this a quiet park in absolute terms." For the second question, the visitor totals above are what actually matters.

How to use this list

If solitude matters more than marquee scenery, start with this list rather than a "quiet month" at a busy park — even a crowded park's single best month, per our monthly quiet-parks rankings, can still draw real crowds. Every park above has its own full 12-month crowd chart and climate data on its park page. And if what you actually want is the least crowded time to visit a busier, marquee park rather than a different park altogether, see our companion piece on America's busiest national parks and their peak-to-quiet swing.

Frequently asked questions

What counts as the "least-visited" national park?

This list uses average annual recreation visits over the most recent three full calendar years — the same NPS visitation data and window behind every crowd score on this site — limited to units carrying the "National Park" or "National Park & Preserve" designation. Monuments, historic sites, seashores, and other National Park Service units aren't included.

Why are so many of the least-visited parks in Alaska?

Alaska's parks are large, remote, and mostly roadless — Gates of the Arctic and Kobuk Valley have no roads or maintained trails at all, and reaching either requires a chartered small plane. That access barrier alone keeps annual visitation in the thousands rather than the millions, regardless of how spectacular the scenery is.

Does a low visitor count mean a park is easy to have to yourself?

Usually, but not automatically. A few of these parks — Dry Tortugas among them — still concentrate most of their visitors into a narrow travel season, so even a low-traffic park can feel busier on its single peak day. Check a specific park's month-by-month breakdown rather than assuming from the annual total alone.

Why does Yellowstone show a 10/10 crowd score if visitor counts vary so much?

Because the crowd score measures how busy a park is relative to its own typical range, not relative to other parks. A 10/10 means "this is that park's busiest month" — true for Yellowstone in July and equally true for Gates of the Arctic in July, even though the two months look nothing alike in raw visitor numbers.