If this is your first time visiting my blog, Welcome! I love to travel, especially within the United States. As I write this I’ve visited 48/50 states and 34/62 National Parks. Of those 34 parks, some of my favorite are those that most people don’t end up visiting. My seven favorite underrated National Parks are listed below.
#1 – Badlands National Park, South Dakota
I visited the Badlands in October of 2018 on a road trip with my Dad. I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect, but the park blew any expectations I had out of the water. It was overwhelming in so many of the best ways. The colors of the rock, the views, and the history made it unforgettable. I’m already planning my next trip back because I didn’t get enough the first time.
#2 – Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota
This was also on the road trip I took with my Dad. We saw our first snow of the year out here at the National Park. It was incredibly windy the day we visited, but the fall colors still shown bright. The browns, golds, oranges, and other earth tones were beautiful. My favorite part was watching the wild horses and scouting for bison.
#3 – North Cascades National Park, Washington
I visited the North Cascades National Park on a road trip through the US and Canada in June of 2019 with my friend Jen. This was on the 8th day of our 10 day trip. The biggest reason I can give to visit this park is the color of the water. It really is that blue.
#4 – Big Bend National Park, Texas
In December of 2019, I took a solo trip out to Texas to visit a few national parks which you can read about here. This park is huge and it really does days days to explore it. There’s a few different ecosystems here so the various areas all offer something different. Who knew Texas had so many mountains?
#5 – Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Colorado
In April of 2019 I took a solo trip for 10 days to Arizona and Colorado to visit the six National Parks. You can read about that trip here. Black Canyon of the Gunnison is a small park but has this huge canyon in the middle and you’d have no idea from just driving on the highway by it. It was impressive.
#6 – Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona
This was also on my solo trip through Arizona and Colorado. I didn’t have high expectations for this park but it was a pleasant surprise. Again, the colors of this park for April were beautiful. The browns and purples and the colors of the petrified wood were beautiful.
#7 – Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Ohio
Last but not least of my top underrated parks is Cuyahoga Valley National Park. I took a weekend trip here with my friend Beth in October of 2019. You can read about our weekend here. I highly recommend visiting this park in the fall as the trees are changing color and it’s striking.
What’s your favorite underrated park? I have a few others I considered listing here but we’ll have to save that for another blog post. Happy Traveling!
