The Least-Visited National Park Unit in All 50 States

What do Yosemite, Grand Canyon, and Great Smoky Mountains national parks have in common? Breathtaking landscapes is one answer, but it’s not the only one. During peak season, you’ll also find packed parking lots, crowded trailheads, and never-ending lines for restrooms, restaurants, and viewpoints at each one. You go there to unwind, to be awed and inspired. Instead, you find yourself surrounded by tour groups, selfie sticks, and crying toddlers.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. For every national park or historic site that attracts millions of tourists each year, there’s another where the annual number of visitors scarcely exceeds the population of a small town. These parks receive little foot traffic not because they have nothing to offer, but because they are difficult to access due to their remote location, changing climate, or government regulations. In fact, the difficulty in getting there can make the visit even more rewarding.

If you like adventure, prefer the road less traveled, or simply want to get away from the crowds of vacationers, consider adding some these overlooked destinations to your next itinerary.

1. The 5 Least-Visited National Park Units in America
2. The Least-Visited National Park Units in All 50 States (and the District of Columbia)

The 5 Least-Visited National Park Units in America

The five least-visited parks and historical places, according to 2024 National Park Service data, offer unique cultural history and landscapes that few are lucky enough to experience. 

Out of 433 national park units, Carter G. Woodson National Historic Site in Washington, D.C., is the least visited of them all—but there’s a specific reason that has nothing to do with its importance to American history. 

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The site is the former home of Woodson, a prominent Black historian and journalist who was born in Virginia following the Civil War. The park is set to reopen in 2026, a century after he helped introduce the yearly celebration that would eventually become known as Black History Month. The house is currently in the final stages of a lengthy and long-delayed restoration project, which is why it was ranked as the least-visited national park unit in the country, with just 30 recorded visitors in 2024.

In second place, the Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River covers a 200-mile-long stretch of the Rio Grande that runs along the U.S.-Mexico border. Rapids at the bottom corner of Big Bend National Park in West Texas used to be popular with canoeists and kayakers, but today, as a result of both global warming and human consumption, large portions of the Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River are drying up. Just 172 visitors were recorded in 2024. 

Third and fourth place go to Aniakchak National Monument and Preserve and Alagnak Wild River, two of the remotest and most difficult-to-access national parks in Alaska, a state full of remote and difficult-to-access parks. Neither of the two parks, which in 2024 attracted 191 and 278 visitors, respectively, can be reached by road. Instead, you’ll have to fly to one of the surrounding towns, most of which have only a few hundred inhabitants. From there, you can access the parks via boat or air taxi, though the National Park Service website warns that “notoriously bad weather” may cause drop-offs and pick-ups to be “significantly delayed.” The website also mentions that, before entering each park, you’ll first have to take a mandatory bear orientation course at the visitor center, which teaches you how to stay clear of the large grizzly populations.

The fifth least-visited national park unit in the United States, Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial, commemorates the 320 people who lost their lives on July 17, 1944, when two ships carrying ammunition for the Pacific Theatre of World War II exploded. The accident stemmed from unsafe working conditions and a lack of training; most of the people who died were Black sailors who, in the segregated Navy, had not been adequately instructed on how to handle the dangerous cargo. When survivors were ordered to go back to work without any change to safety protocols, 258 Black sailors refused to obey and 50 were charged with mutiny. Though they were convicted, the case highlighted discrimination in the military and inspired both the civil rights movement and racial integration of the armed forced in 1948. In 2024, all 258 sailors were exonerated.

Today, access to the memorial site is limited not because of its geographic location in Suisun Bay, between Sacramento and San Francisco, California, but because it’s part of an active military base. As a result, visitors can only visit the site by signing up for guided tours, which must be reserved at least two weeks in advance. 

The Least-Visited National Park Units in All 50 States (and the District of Columbia)

Before you scroll, keep in mind that some national park units cross state borders. In those cases, the NPS data categorizes the park according to the location of its main headquarters. And there's one more quirk: five states—Connecticut, Delaware, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont—have only one unit each, which makes them the states’ most- and least-visited.