What are your favorite less-popular nat'l parks?

[Gato]

Have you ever been to the Cuyahoga Valley National Park? It's in Ohio, I think 6 hours from Chicago? (I could be remembering wrong.) I really liked it there - very peaceful.

Mammoth Cave was also pretty cool.

[lilac05]

I love the Black Hills and Badlands.

Don't forget to check out State Parks, too. There are some really nice ones! When I was a teenager, we loved Turkey Run (I think) in Southern Indiana. They're obviously not as big, but still beautiful, affordable, and within easy driving distance!

I recently saw some day trips for hiking in Iowa recently, too. I'll see if I can find it.

[gault]

Jun 30, 2015 10:13:18 GMT -5 RoxMonster said:

So apparently there is a nat'l park in MN called Voyageurs? I honestly hadn't heard of it until I went to the NPS site. Anyone been there before?

My family used to camp there every summer.

There are most likely other things to do or places to camp, but this is what we did:

Voyageurs is on the Canadian border. You take your boat, fill it with camping supplies and tents and etc, and take off from the boat launch to find your very own island.
There's a huge lake system with islands EVERYWHERE. Some islands are so big they have ponds, and multiple camp sites. We usually chose smaller ones to camp on so we could explore and not worry about disturbing anyone.
So you get to your island, and find the campsite, which is usually labeled and viewable from the shore. There are bear boxes to keep your perishables, areas for tents, picnic tables, fire pit, and outhouses. Some campsites are more...rustic than others.

So you wake up, make breakfast, and go fishing, come back and swim in your private beach/swim area (some have sand but it's mostly rocks in that area), explore the island, hike. It's just beautiful and a really unique experience.

If you don't want to camp, you can take your boat and drive around and fish and hike on other trails and tour the nature/visitor centers. There's a restaurant/inn on both the MN border and the Canadian side.

[Alyssa]

I loved hiking up the Narrows in Zion.  We were there in Aug one year and it wasn't too cowded.

Off road Jeep rental in Moab was another fun trip.  Once again, we were there in Aug. and we were out in the middle of no where walking across Musselman Arch....not a soul for miles.

[Balki.Bartokomous]

I don't have any recommendations within your parameters, but if you do decide to drive a bit further I'd recommend Everglades and Bryce (beautiful in winter and not as crowded as Zion). And if you're able to hop on a plane, Kenai Fjords. We hiked and took a day cruise at Kenai out of Seward and the marine life and views were just awesome.

[Serenity9]

Red River Gorge in Kentucky. It's part of the Daniel Boone National Forest. There are some beautiful hikes and beautiful views there.

Definitely get up to Auxier Ridge!

[FloFTW]

Hear me out.

There's a National Park RIGHT outside of Cleveland and Akron. It kind of connects the two cities. Cuyahoga Valley National Park. It's sort of a more urban national park. Not that it's all built-up (it's beautiful and scenic) but there a little towns throughout, with lots of easily accessible roads. The park itself has a lot of its own attractions (Brandywine Falls, the scenic railroad, hike/bike trails, historic structures, cliffs/ledges), but there are tons of other things to do because of its proximity to Cleveland and Akron.

www.nps.gov/cuva/index.htm

I know it sounds crazy but Cleveland is a really fun city to visit in the summer. Especially if you like food, beer, art, and music. The Cleveland Museum of Art is amazing, and free. There's a really big foodie and craft beer scene going on right now. The Cleveland Orchestra plays concerts at the outdoor venue in the National Park all summer (Blossom Music Center). It could be a really fun 5 day trip.

I don't know where you are in IL, but I know Cleveland to Chicago is only a 6 hour drive.  

[marshmallowmars]

Apostle Islands in Wisconsin

[G22]

A ton of good ones have been mentioned already. I love:
Glacier (MT)
Arches, Zion, Bryce, Canyonlands (UT)
Sequoia, Kings Canyon (CA)
Acadia (ME)
Olympic, Mt Rainier (WA)

[dirtyred]

Jun 30, 2015 10:18:15 GMT -5 juliachild said:

Hot Springs, AR. Its also near Ouachita national forest and Lake Ouachita state park.

If you go to Hot Springs, you can also go to the Diamond State Park and dig for diamonds.  Mammoth Cave in KY is close; there are several Lincoln national monuments in KY and Indiana you could hit on your trip as well.

[juliachild]

Jun 30, 2015 15:28:08 GMT -5 dirtyred said:

Jun 30, 2015 10:18:15 GMT -5 juliachild said:

Hot Springs, AR. Its also near Ouachita national forest and Lake Ouachita state park.

If you go to Hot Springs, you can also go to the Diamond State Park and dig for diamonds.  Mammoth Cave in KY is close; there are several Lincoln national monuments in KY and Indiana you could hit on your trip as well.

I forgot to mention the Diamond park! I found a diamond while we were there.

[RoxMonster]

Wow thanks for all the recs! I had no idea, for instance, there was an NP in Ohio. Never been there, so that could be a good option too.

I also looked at Apostle Islands in WI and that looks awesome. We were actually toying around with doing Door County, so I'm thinking we could combine those two destinations if we ended up doing that.

Lots of research to do. Thanks for all these recs and photos!

[zoidberg]

Canyonlands

[zoidberg]

I have backpacked Isle Royale and it is really beautiful. I assume that you could just ride the ferry round trip and day hike if you want, although I have never done that. If memory serves there is some kind of lodge thing and probably hotels near the ferry on the mainland.

Sylvania Wilderness Area is also pretty amazing.

Boundary Waters, although I have lingering mosquito trauma from all the time we spent there when I was a kid. It is gorgeous, though.

I grew up in Wisconsin, but unfortunately don't know much about non-camping activities at these places. I assume they have some kind of day hiking trails available, though.

Wisconsin has a lot of really beautiful state parks as well.

[MrsAxilla]

RoxMonster here is the link to the map of all the NPS sites. This is the map DH's coworkers have hanging on their office wall with pins marking where they've been. www.nps.gov/hfc/carto/PDF/NPSmap2.pdf

DH suggests Apostle Islanda Nat'l Lakeshore; Pictured Rocks Nat'l Lakeshore; Voyagers Nat'l Park; Badlands Nat'l Park (maybe too far); Big South Fork Nat'l Rec. Area; Sleepong Bear Dunes Nat'l Lakeshore; Sand Dunes Nat'l Park.

As I said, he's going to Isle Royal next week, so I'm happy to let you know how that went. He is staying in park housing, but apparently there is a very nice hotel on the island, so it may work for you after all.

[RoxMonster]

Thanks MrsAxilla!

[textbookcase]

Arches in Utah, Joshua tree, Mesa verde (loooved it), Zion, petrified forest, redwoods, and sequoia have been my favorites.

[textbookcase]

Oh and I liked the Black Canyon of the Gunnison in Colorado as well.

[InBetweenDays]

Boundary Waters in Minnesota is gorgeous. Just bring your bug spray.
Apostle Islands National Lakeshore in Wisconsin