If tranquility is what you seek in nature, visiting some of the most popular national parks in the U.S. might not be for you (at least during high season). However, some U.S. national parks excel in peace and quiet, and KÜHL has compiled a top 10 list based on data such as visitation per square acre and the number of guided tours available.
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KÜHL explains that it calculated a “Solitude Score” for each national park in the U.S., using data like National Park Service visitor numbers, park acreage, accessibility, ranger staffing, and TripAdvisor tour listings. KÜHL’s resulting report ranks parks by how much peace and quiet they actually offer. See the top 10 below.
[RELATED: These National Parks Have the Highest ‘Disappointment Rates’]
Top 10 National Parks for Peace and Quiet
- Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska: near-perfect 95.6 score, just 0.006 visits per acre
- Lake Clark National Park, Alaska: no road access, zero guided tours
- Lassen Volcanic National Park, California: one of California’s most overlooked parks
- Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska: boat or kayak entry only, 670,000 acres
- Glacier National Park, Montana: over a million acres of backcountry that day-trippers rarely reach
- Biscayne National Park, Florida: 95% submerged across 172,971 acres, it sees 2.96 visits per acre, with activities like kayaking dispersing visitors
- Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas: efficient crowd dispersion and accessibility barriers
- Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota: open prairies and remote location with 10.40 visits per acre
- Big Bend National Park, Texas: desert vastness and logistical challenges often mean empty trails
- Arches National Park, Utah: with 19.13 visits per acre, off-peak trails provide seclusion amid red-rock formations
Which park would you add to KÜHL’s list?
Header stock image of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska by Alan Majchrowicz/Getty Images
