Underrated national park sites to visit if you want to avoid crowds, according to someone who has been to all 423 of them

Joey HaddenJul 10, 2021, 17:22 IST

Mikah Meyer recommends National Parks Service sites to beat the crowds.RB/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images, Courtesy of Mikah Meyer

National Parks from Zion to Yellowstone are seeing long lines and record-breaking crowds this season.
Mikah Meyer, who has been to every National Park Service site in the US, suggests skipping hot spots to avoid crowds.
Meyer shared nearby alternatives to the Grand Canyon and other popular national parks.

Zion National Park looked like an amusement park with four-hour wait times for hikes over Memorial Day weekend, as Insider previously reported.

Lines on the first day of daily shuttle service for the 2021 season, March 13, at Zion National Park. (Memorial Day lines not pictured.) Sophie Will/Imagn Content Services/Reuters

To beat the lines, visit Dinosaur National Monument in Colorado and Utah. Mikah Meyer told Insider it's one of his favorite spots after visiting all 423 National Park Service sites, and said visiting Dinosaur National Monument is a better experience than Zion as there are fewer visitors.

The western view from Harper's Corner Trail in Dinosaur National Monument. Courtesy of Mikah Meyer

To beat the lines, visit Dinosaur National Monument in Colorado and Utah. Mikah Meyer told Insider it's one of his favorite spots after visiting all 423 National Park Service sites, and said visiting Dinosaur National Monument is a better experience than Zion as there are fewer visitors.

Instead of California's Yosemite National Park, which The Wall Street Journal reported was overcrowded in June ...

Yosemite National Park when it was open at a reduced capacity in May 2021. Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

... Meyer recommends Pinnacles National Park in the same state. "It's not as amazing as Yosemite," he said, adding that "it's a good alternate alternative" if you're looking for something more remote.

Pinnacles National Park. Courtesy of Mikah Meyer

... Meyer recommends Pinnacles National Park in the same state. "It's not as amazing as Yosemite," he said, adding that "it's a good alternate alternative" if you're looking for something more remote.

The National Park Service expects long lines and full parking lots at the Grand Canyon this summer, according to its website.

View of Mather Point at the Grand Canyon on April 06, 2021. RB/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images

Meyer recommends a nearby Utah national park, Canyonlands, for similar views, although The Wall Street Journal reported that recently even this gem has gotten more crowded.

Canyonlands National Park. Courtesy of Mikah Meyer

Meyer recommends a nearby Utah national park, Canyonlands, for similar views, although The Wall Street Journal reported that recently even this gem has gotten more crowded.

Meyer also suggested Glen Canyon National Recreation Area in Utah and Arizona. You could spend days here, he said.

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. Courtesy of Mikah Meyer

Yellowstone National Park sprawls across parts of three states - Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho - and has seen more visitors than ever since reopening all entrances in 2021, the Billings Gazette reported in May.

Visitors watch black bears in Yellowstone National Park on June 8, 2021. William Campbell/Getty Images

Yellowstone National Park sprawls across parts of three states - Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho - and has seen more visitors than ever since reopening all entrances in 2021, the Billings Gazette reported in May.

For a less crowded - and otherworldly - alternative in Idaho, Meyer recommends Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve. "It sort of feels like you're on the moon."

Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve. Courtesy of Mikah Meyer

For a less crowded - and otherworldly - alternative in Idaho, Meyer recommends Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve. "It sort of feels like you're on the moon."

If you'd hoped to see Yellowstone's Steamboat Geyser erupt - and either missed the chance before it stopped erupting, as Yellowstone Insider reports, or wanted to avoid the park's crowds - Meyer says to visit California's Lassen Volcanic National Park.

Lassen Volcano National Park. Courtesy of Mikah Meyer

If you'd hoped to see Yellowstone's Steamboat Geyser erupt - and either missed the chance before it stopped erupting, as Yellowstone Insider reports, or wanted to avoid the park's crowds - Meyer says to visit California's Lassen Volcanic National Park.

For photos of every National Park Service site, visit Meyer's Instagram and Facebook pages.

Cumberland Island National Seashore. Courtesy of Mikah Meyer

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Underrated national park sites to visit if you want to avoid crowds, according to someone who has been to all 423 of them

Zion National Park looked like an amusement park with four-hour wait times for hikes over Memorial Day weekend, as Insider previously reported.

To beat the lines, visit Dinosaur National Monument in Colorado and Utah. Mikah Meyer told Insider it's one of his favorite spots after visiting all 423 National Park Service sites, and said visiting Dinosaur National Monument is a better experience than Zion as there are fewer visitors.

Instead of California's Yosemite National Park, which The Wall Street Journal reported was overcrowded in June ...

... Meyer recommends Pinnacles National Park in the same state. "It's not as amazing as Yosemite," he said, adding that "it's a good alternate alternative" if you're looking for something more remote.

The National Park Service expects long lines and full parking lots at the Grand Canyon this summer, according to its website.

Meyer recommends a nearby Utah national park, Canyonlands, for similar views, although The Wall Street Journal reported that recently even this gem has gotten more crowded.

Meyer also suggested Glen Canyon National Recreation Area in Utah and Arizona. You could spend days here, he said.

Yellowstone National Park sprawls across parts of three states - Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho - and has seen more visitors than ever since reopening all entrances in 2021, the Billings Gazette reported in May.

For a less crowded - and otherworldly - alternative in Idaho, Meyer recommends Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve. "It sort of feels like you're on the moon."

If you'd hoped to see Yellowstone's Steamboat Geyser erupt - and either missed the chance before it stopped erupting, as Yellowstone Insider reports, or wanted to avoid the park's crowds - Meyer says to visit California's Lassen Volcanic National Park.

For photos of every National Park Service site, visit Meyer's Instagram and Facebook pages.