3 Underrated U.S. National Parks to Add to Your Bucket List
Summer’s here, and we all know what that means. Because of the past year of lockdown, everyone’s itching to send an adventure soon. That means family vacation season is upon us. Visiting a U.S. National Park has always been a popular go-to family getaway. Whether it's the geysers of Yellowstone, endless mountains and cliffs of Yosemite, breathtaking miles of red rock of Arizona's Grand Canyon, or driving through the breathtaking Great Smoky Mountains, you cannot go wrong with a trip to one of these famous national parks. In the United States, there are 63 total national parks, and as of 2020, 57% of visitors were all to the top ten most popular national parks, like Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon (Integrated Resource Management Applications.) However, if you want to take in the natural beauties of these parks but bypass the crowds, check out these underrated U.S. National Parks:
Dry Tortugas National Park — Florida
Dry Tortugas National Park is located approximately 70 miles from the shores of Key West. This park is a center of marine life, home to open waters of coral reefs fostering a diverse ecosystem in a stunning environment. Not to mention, it’s accompanied by seven small islands. Many visitors seeking a national park in Florida head toward the more popular Everglades National Park, but don’t realize what they’re missing. At Dry Tortugas, visitors are able to venture throughout the park’s natural attractions by kayaking, diving, or snorkeling. Visitors can also check out Fort Jefferson, which holds a rich history of the park itself to explore. If you’re feeling bold, visitors of Dry Tortugas are welcome to stay overnight and camp on park lands.
Big Bend National Park — Texas
Lesser known due to its more secluded and difficult to reach location, Big Bend National Park is a highly recommended national park located in the southwest corner of Texas. Big Bend is home to one of the largest amounts of biodiversity in the country including various species of birds, mammals, and lizards. The park consists of three main, but very unique landscapes within the Chisos Mountains, Chihuahuan Desert, and the Rio Grande. Visitors can enjoy canoeing on the Rio Grande, a hike to the park’s hot springs, or bird watching along the park’s numerous trails. If that isn’t enough to convince you, unlike many other U.S. National Parks, Big Bend is open for visitors all year around; so whenever you can squeeze it into your calendar, do.
Great Sand Dunes National Park — Colorado
Great Sand Dunes National Park is famous for – you guessed it– its sand dunes! Great Dunes is located in Colorado’s San Luis Valley, and is home to the tallest dunes on the continent. No motor vehicles are permitted on the dunes, (for protection of nature’s wonders) but visitors are able to hike 750 feet up the dunes. What’s even better about hiking these sand dunes is that visitors can enjoy the easy way down by their pick of sledding or sandboarding. If you’re lucky enough to last until nightfall in Sand Dunes, you’ll have an unreal stargazing experience on Colorado’s darkest and clearest skies.
If you ever find yourself exploring these U.S. National Parks, make sure to capture a picture of the views and tag us @theedgemag!
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Featured image by Tracy Zhang.