9 Wide Open Spaces To Hike In The Most Crowded National Parks

National parks have been all over the news lately, with staff and budget cuts causing some rangers to suggest that visitors spread out into the park service’s less-touristed areas this season. The reasoning? More diffuse crowds will help to minimize impacts on the landscape while the parks are short-staffed. Also, travelers to lesser-known areas will be less likely to encounter long entry lines or parking scarcity.

I’ve hiked and recreated in all 63 U.S. national parks and written a years-long column about them for Outside. Sure, I’ve seen my fair share of crowded Yosemite trails and vehicle entry lines at Arches. But, I’ve also managed to uncover quieter corners of nearly every park in the country. These scenic regions are the perfect places to find peace, even as our national parks face record-breaking visitation. Here are some of my favorite crowd-free spots in popular parks.

Schoodic Peninsula

Where: Acadia National Park, Maine

Best for: Tide pools, sea birds, coastal views

Situated about an hour’s drive from the hubbub of Mount Desert Island, the Schoodic Peninsula is a wooded haven full of puffins, rocky coastline and colorful tidepools. Home to both the Schoodic Woods Campground and the Frazer Point Picnic Area, this quiet edge of Acadia is great for overnighters and day trippers alike. Take the 1.2-mile trail up to the summit of Schoodic Head to stretch your legs. Then, consult a tide chart and motor over to Blueberry Hill to try and spot blue mussels and periwinkle snails in the tide pools. 

Hetch Hetchy

Where: Yosemite National Park, California

Best for: Waterfalls, backpacking, granite domes

If you’re on the hunt for crowd-free waterfalls and don’t mind driving a little over an hour from Yosemite Valley, Hetch Hetchy is for you. It’s one of the few areas in the park where backpackers can routinely grab walk-up permits for scenic alpine tarns like Lake Vernon. Plus, it’s a region bursting at the seams with stunning cascades. A mostly flat 4.7-mile hike will take you to roaring Wapama Falls, and a burlier 13-mile round-trip takes you to the forked stream of impressive Rancheria Falls.

Kolob Terrace

Where: Zion National Park, Utah

Best for: Red rock vistas, secluded day hiking, sandstone scrambling

The secret’s out about Kolob Canyons, one of my favorite crowd-free spots to hike in Zion, but Kolob Terrace, to the south, still offers blessedly untrammeled wilderness. For breathtaking vistas of the park’s vermilion sandstone bluffs and striated mesas, trek the 4.2-mile Northgate Peaks Trail, which meanders through a fragrant conifer forest before arriving at a truly phenomenal viewpoint. Keep the serenity going with an overnight stay at Lazalu, an off-grid sanctuary off of Kolob Terrace Road. 

Quinault Rain Forest

Where: Olympic National Park, Washington

Best for: Forest bathing, shady dayhiking, lakeside sunsets

Yes, the Hoh Rain Forest gets all of the attention on social media, but the similarly stunning Quinault offers secluded glimpses into the same lush ecosystem that’s home to elk, black bears, and banana slugs. I once spent a full autumn day meandering through moss-cloaked maples on the North Fork Quinault River Trail and didn’t see a single other traveler. Post up in the historic Lake Quinault Lodge for great food and superb sunset views.

Cosby and Mt. Cammerer

Where: Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee

Best for: Peak bagging, backpacking, picnicking

Home to a well-shaded car campground frequented by curious wild turkeys, the Cosby area of Great Smoky Mountains offers the chance to explore less-trafficked trails in peace. A 4.3-mile trek will take you to burbling Hen Wallow Falls, or you could challenge your quads on a steep, all-day ascent of Mt. Cammerer.

Two Medicine

Where: Glacier National Park, Montana

Best for: Dayhiking, paddle sports, mountain views

Featuring panoramic views of two immense sapphire lakes and the imposing face of Rising Wolf Mountain, the Two Medicine area is a must-visit. Backpackers can nab a permit and take a 5-mile (one way) trek to Upper Two Medicine Lake, overnighting along its shimmering shoreline. Dayhikers will love short hikes that go big on the views. Take the 0.6-mile round-trip trek to Running Eagle Falls, or the mostly flat path that borders the northern shore of Two Medicine Lake. For a more intrepid adventure, rent a kayak and spend a day exploring, or book an excursion with nearby Sun Tours, the only Indigenous-led tour company in the park.

Notom-Bullfrog Road

Where: Capitol Reef National Park, Utah

Best for: Slot canyons, scenic drives, overlanding

For some of the best views of the enormous uplift of the Waterpocket Fold, it doesn’t get any better than a scenic drive along Notom-Bullfrog Road. This remote byway is paved for the first 15 miles, then turns into a maintained dirt road until it exits the park and runs into Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. Along the way are a handful of well-mapped slot canyons. Here, visitors can scramble and squeeze their way through narrow sandstone ravines. Experienced backpackers looking to sleep under the stars can grab a free permit and traverse Lower Muley Twist Canyon. Check flash flood warnings before heading out.

East Inlet Trail and Lake Verna

Where: Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

Best for: Backpacking, waterfalls, alpine lakes

When I want to avoid Rocky Mountain crowds in my home state of Colorado, I high-tail it over to the national park’s western edge. Near the charming gateway town of Grand Lake, the East Inlet Trail is one of the area’s most stunning pathways. Crowds tend to peter out after trekking 0.4 miles (each way) on this trail to Adams Falls. Hikers looking for a great all-day romp should continue along this path to pristine Lone Pine Lake (11 miles round-trip) or even farther to Lake Verna. 

Dusy Basin

Where: Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, California

Best for: Backpacking, alpine lakes, peakbagging

My advice for High Sierra lovers who hate crowds: Skip the long, highway-addled drive to Sequoia’s Giant Forest. Instead, motor up view-filled Highway 395 to Bishop, veering west to get to South Lake. This high-elevation lagoon and trailhead is one of my favorite ways to get into California’s alpine, and backpackers will flip for the incredible scenery and mirror-clear tarns along the 12-mile round-trip trail to Dusy Basin.

Nab an overnight permit for Inyo National Forest’s Bishop Pass Trail, then trek through a wonderland of 13ers until cresting the pass and descending into the azure-tinted lakes and toothy spires of this soul-stirring alpine basin.