The Lower 48's 10 Least-Visited National Parks — #1 Had Just 29,091 Visits

One lower-48 national park recorded just 29,091 recreation visits in 2025. Discover the ten least-visited parks in the contiguous states, from desert mountains to islands, lakes and floodplain forest. METHOD All 51 designated national parks in the contiguous 48 states compared using NPS calendar-year 2025 recreation visits. Alaska (8 parks), Hawaii (2) and territories (American Samoa and Virgin Islands) are excluded geographically. #1 has the fewest visits. North Cascades NP is distinct from adjacent Ross Lake and Lake Chelan NRAs. Visits are not unique people, beauty scores or a guarantee of today’s crowds. CHAPTERS 0:00 BEYOND THE BUSIEST PARKS 0:19 51 PARKS • ONE COMPARISON 0:52 #10 Petrified Forest 1:27 #9 Congaree 2:06 #8 Black Canyon of the Gunnison 2:44 #7 Channel Islands 3:22 #6 Guadalupe Mountains 3:57 #5 Voyageurs 4:35 #4 Great Basin 5:13 #3 Dry Tortugas 5:51 #2 North Cascades 6:32 #1 Isle Royale 7:13 WHICH WOULD YOU EXPLORE? EXACT TOP TEN 1. Isle Royale NP: 29,091 2. North Cascades NP: 46,925 3. Dry Tortugas NP: 89,355 4. Great Basin NP: 161,210 5. Voyageurs NP: 206,326 6. Guadalupe Mountains NP: 206,423 7. Channel Islands NP: 227,186 8. Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP: 250,086 9. Congaree NP: 287,833 10. Petrified Forest NP: 315,951 OFFICIAL SOURCES https://irma.nps.gov/Stats/MvcReportV... https://www.nps.gov/aboutus/national-... https://www.nps.gov/pefo/index.htm https://www.nps.gov/cong/index.htm https://www.nps.gov/blca/index.htm https://www.nps.gov/chis/index.htm https://www.nps.gov/gumo/index.htm https://www.nps.gov/voya/index.htm https://www.nps.gov/grba/index.htm https://www.nps.gov/drto/index.htm https://www.nps.gov/noca/index.htm https://www.nps.gov/isro/index.htm LOCATION IMAGERY Real NPS archive photographs and moving footage. Images represent specific verified locations, not entire states, unique visitors or current conditions. NPS and credited contributors; original source audio is removed. Music: Sounds Good — Michael Ramir C., via Mixkit. Licensed instrumental music with speech ducking; original timed sound effects. AI-assisted narration and editing. Sources and ranking reviewed for this episode. Subscribe to America Ranked for more American countdowns.