Top Ten Most-Isolated National Parks

Death Valley National Park, California

By Rich Beattie

Death Valley National Park

You don't have to brave the Alaskan winters to find solitude. A whopping 900,000 people poured into Southern California's Death Valley in 2002, but with almost 3.4 million parched acres, the numbers didn't matter much. Of course, in this very accessible playground (just two and a half hours from Las Vegas), the danger is excessive heat; summertime mercury can clear 120 degrees. You'll find plenty of great hiking and camping among the dunes and cracked earth; just be sure to use a four-wheel-drive when braving the backcountry. Accompanying you through ghost towns and the lowest point in the western hemisphere (282 feet below sea level) will be bats, gophers, porcupines, and, of course, tons of reptiles.

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Last Updated: 12 Jul 2011
Published: 29 Apr 2002
The details, dates, and prices mentioned in this article were accurate at the time of publication.

4 comments...

nvnusman May 02, 2012 |

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And what about the Great Basin National Park? What? Never heard of it! Where??? Just off The Loneliest Road in America, US Highway 50, in eastern Nevada, not far from where Stephen King set "Desperation" and a bit of a jaunt from Area 51. It's in the middle of everything and still in the middle of nowhere!

uffdatx April 23, 2012 |

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I would have thought Guadalupe Mountains National Park would have made the list. Few people stray beyond the visitors' center and with just over 86,000 acres, the back country trails are lightly traveled. The only exceptions are the main trail to the top of Guadalupe Peak, and the McKittrick Canyon Trail. Even on those you might see only one or two dozen hikers the whole day. A lack of water helps keep it that way, since you have to carry your own water, which limits most hikers.

daboysrback August 22, 2011 |

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Ditto, Big Bend Natl Park encompasses more than 800,000 acres in SW Texas & lies in south Brewster County, one of the most sparsely populated areas of the USA. The park exhibits dramatic contrasts; Because of the range in altitude from approximately 1,800 feet along the river to 7,800 feet in the Chisos Mountains, a wide variation in available moisture and in temperature exists throughout the park(100+ vs 72). Cultural resources range from the Paleo-Indian period 10,500 years ago to present day.

Name August 15, 2011 |

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So, three out of 10 for the continental US. Misleading title, I think.

Also, how could you possibly leave out Big Bend National Park?, a place that defines the middle of nowhere? You really, really have to want to go there to visit, since it's not only a many-miles dead-end sidetrip, but you have to navigate what is probably the most isolated stretch of interstate highway in the US (the over 550 miles of absolute nothingness between San Antonio and El Paso.