10 Tips to Avoid Crowds at National Parks

Crowds Ruin the National Park Experience

What do you see when you hear the words National Park?  Do you see beautiful mountain vistas?  Pristine beaches? Unique scenery like caves?  Wildlife?

Yes to all those things and more, but in some parks, you will see lots of cars looking for parking, tour buses idling, and people queued up for that perfect selfie.

Crowds are the opposite of a serene experience with nature.

Can you see the most beautiful sights AND enjoy that serene experience?

The answer is YES, but you have to do certain things, and I’m going to share them with you.

National Parks are Popular

Without a doubt, National Parks in the US are more popular than ever.  88 million people visited the 63 flagship national parks in 2022.  Visitation was pretty steady, around the 70 million, until 2014, when it started to climb, leveling out after 2016, the park service’s centennial year.  Park visitation more than recovered from the pandemic, as Americans rediscovered the outdoors.

We’ve been to 60 out of the 63 National Parks, so we know first hand how to avoid the crowd in the national parks.  The three parks we have yet to visit are the three least visited parks, so crowds are certainly not a problem there.

You can avoid the crowds by following these 10 tips.

Tip #1: Visit the Most Popular Parks During the Shoulder Seasons

If your schedule allows, visit during the shoulder seasons when the weather is still nice enough, but the crowd is mostly gone.  Shoulder season varies by park, but they are typically spring, like April and May, or fall, like September and October.

For example, 43% of the visitors came to Yosemite National Park during June, July and August in 2019.  Fully 60% of Yellowstone visitors came during June, July and August in 2021.  The number of visitors in October at Yellowstone is 1/3 of July!

While parks with short seasons start to close facilities as the peak season winds down, there is usually more than enough to see, with adequate services.  But check the NPS and concessionaires’ web sites for the most accurate information.

At parks with heavy winter snowfall, such as Crater Lake, the fully open date varies year to year.  Check the historical opening dates before you make your plans.

We seldom visit the parks in June, July and August.  We stay home to avoid the crowd and the heat.  In addition to fewer people, spring and fall have the best weather at most parks.

Tip #2: Start Your Day Early and/or End Your Day Late

What if your schedule doesn’t allow you to visit during the shoulder seasons?  You can still get that uncrowded experience if you get up early, stay late at the park, or both.

Most people go to the most popular sights at the most popular parks between 9 am and 4 pm.

By the time most people get up, have their breakfast, and drive to the sights, it’s usually 10 am.  At many of the most popular sights or trail heads, parking is hard to get after 9 am.

Some of the most beautiful, serene scenery with the best lighting is at sunrise, with a few exceptions such as Delicate Arch at Arches National Park.

The crowd thins out after 4 pm, when most visitors leave.  Since the days are typically long in the summer, there is plenty of time to see the sights before dark, without the crowd.

As an example, a day we spent at Yellowstone in early October started from Canyon Village, where we stayed.  We got to the nearby Grand Canyon of Yellowstone shortly after sunrise, had the place all to ourselves and watch the sun light up the colorful canyon.

We then drove to the Lower Geyser Basin and Fountain Paint Pot before 9:30 am.  It was starting to get crowded.  By the time we finished our short hike at 11:00, the tour buses were arriving and the parking lot was full.

After Fountain Paint Pot, we went on a hike with our packed lunch on the DeLacy Creek Trail to Shoshone Lake, the largest lake without road access.  We encountered less than a dozen other people on our 6 mile trek.  We finished the hike around 3pm, and went to Old Faithful to watch the geyser.

Yes, it was before 4pm and it was crowded, but Old Faithful was built to handle lots of people.

After watching the geyser erupt on schedule, we went to one of the most beautiful, colorful sights, the Grand Prismatic Spring.  We got there at 4:30 pm when the last of the tour buses were leaving and the parking lot was emptying out.  We lingered at Grand Prismatic for a good while as the crowd really thinned out, before heading back to Canyon Village.

Visit the most popular sights before 9 am or after 4 pm.

Tip #3: Stay Inside the Park at the Larger Parks

At the larger parks, such as Yellowstone and Death Valley, stay overnight inside the park.  Why? Because you want to get to the sights early, and stay at the sights late to beat the crowd.

At Yellowstone, for example, it takes 50 minutes to go from the gateway town of West Yellowstone to Old Faithful.  From northern gateway town of Gardiner to Old Faithful takes one and half hours.  This makes it harder to get there early or to stay late.

Another example is Katmai National Park, where you can see salmon jumping into the waiting jaws of brown bears at Brooks Falls.  Katmai is remote, with no roads, a short season, and very limited lodging.

During the peak season, when the salmons are jumping and the bears are eating, the viewing platform is very crowded during the day, when the day trippers descend on Katmai.

However, before 10 am and after 5 pm, the platforms are not crowded because the day trippers are not there.  With the long Alaskan days during the peak season, you can hang out at the viewing platform after 5 pm, for as long as you want!

This is a huge benefit of staying inside the park.

You have to plan ahead at some parks.  To get lodging at Katmai, for example, you enter into a lottery in December two years before your planned visit.  For example, to get lodging in 2024, you enter the lottery in December of 2022.

Don’t forget, roads in National Parks are not super highways.  They are usually winding roads, so you can’t go very fast.

Staying inside the park is not necessary at the smaller parks where the gateway community is close to the top sights.  For example, Bryce Canyon City is only 10 minutes from Sunrise Point at Bryce Canyon National Park.  At Zion, the gateway town of Springdale is only 9 minutes from Canyon Junction Bridge, the starting point of Zion Canyon Scenic Drive.

Tip #4: Take a Hike or a Nap in the Middle of the Day

What should you do in the middle of the day when the roads and the sights are crowded?  Take a hike!

Even at the most crowded national parks, the crowd disappears once you get on a trail.  At the most popular parks, there are lots of “theme park people” who either can not or would not stray more than a few hundred feet  from their car.

With some notable exceptions, such as Angels Landing and the Narrows at Zion, Vernal Falls at Yosemite, or the Bright Angel Trail at Grand Canyon, you won’t see a crush of people on the trails.

To be sure, you will see people, but you won’t feel the pressure of the crowd.

In order to really appreciate the beautiful parks, and get the full impact of the park, you need to hike a bit.  A few miles on the trail is just the ticket to get away from the crowd and enjoy what the national parks have to offer.

Of course, you see very few people on the backcountry trails, but most of us don’t have the skill or ability to do long, overnight hikes.

What if you can’t or don’t want to hike?  You can go back to your lodge or campsite, take a nap and have a leasurly lunch during the middle of the day  You can then head back to the sights in late afternoon.

Not only do you avoid the crowd, you also avoid the hottest part of the day.

You did take my advice and stay inside the park, right?

Tip #5: Take the Park Shuttle if Available

At some of the most popular parks, such as Zion, Yosemite, Glacier, Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon and Acadia, the National Park Service provides shuttle service to the most popular sights during peak season.  In some places, during the peak season, the shuttle is the only way to enter the most congested areas such as Zion Canyon Scenic Drive.

There are many advantages of taking the shuttle.

First, you don’t have to worry about finding a parking spot.  This is especially important for popular trailheads, because the cars are parked while people go on hours long hikes.

Second, you can enjoy the scenery without having to worry about driving and the traffic.

Third, you can do one way hikes from one stop to another.

At some of the parks, such as Zion and Bryce, the shuttle starts at the gateway community near hotels, making it even more convenient.

The park shuttle doesn’t eliminate the crowd, but makes visiting with the crowd more manageable.

Tip #6: Visit the Lesser Known Parts of the Most Popular Parks.

Many people only go to the most popular sights in the most popular parks.  At these same parks, there are often lesser known but almost as beautiful sights that have far fewer people.

For example, while Zion Canyon Scenic Drive is often packed with people and cars, the “other Zion” – Kolob Canyon, right off of I-15, has far fewer visitors and a different view from above the canyon.  Less than 10% of the Zion visitors visit Kolob Canyon.

The five mile Kolob Canyon Drive leads to a vantage point looking down on the beautiful canyon.  Contrast this with the view from the bottom of the canyon at the much more crowded Zion Canyon Scenic Drive.

Another example is the Hetch Hetchy area of Yosemite.  This is the “other” Yosemite Valley that was reported to be nearly as pretty as Yosemite Valley but was dammed in 1923 to provide water to San Francisco.

Only 1 in a 100 Yosemite visitors visit Hetch Hetchy.  The “above water” scenery is just as beautiful with very nice waterfalls.  It’s well worth the drive.

While the scenery at some of the lesser known parts of the park may not be as stunning as the most popular parts, the lack of crowd makes it a more enjoyable visit.

Tip #7: Visit the “Under the Radar” Parks that are Almost as Beautiful

There are many stunning national parks that are not crowded, any time of the year.  Since I’ve visited nearly all the national parks in the US, I can tell you my most enjoyable visits are at these “under the radar” parks.

Here are some examples:

Black Canyon of the Gunnison – A smaller but steeper version of the Grand Canyon where the sun almost never reaches the river.

Voyageurs – A Large lake for all kinds of water activities and wildlife.

Badlands – Unique scene with an easy to tour loop drive.

Great Sand Dunes – A huge sandbox.  No crowds here because you can go anywhere on the sand dunes.

New River Gorge – Gorgeous mountains, pretty river, rafting, and history.  It’s a new national park that’s bound to get more popular, so visit her before it the word gets out.

Tip #8: Plan ahead

Planning ahead has many advantages.  It’s especially important at the most popular parks where overnight accommodations inside the park are sold out many months or even more than a year ahead.  Here are the items to pay attention to:

• Lodging – due to limited supply, lodging inside the park are often sold out many months ahead.
• Timed entry reservations – during the peak season and time, reservation is required to enter parts of some parks and specific trails.  This may not apply if you have campground or other activities reserved.  The window when the reservations are available varies considerably so check the NPS web site for details. The list changes each year.  Here is the list for 2023:
  • Acadia – Cadillac Mountain from May 24 to October 22 for vehicles.  Times vary by month but it’s as early as 4 am and as late as 8 pm.
  • Arches – April 1 to October 31, from 7 am to 4 pm for vehicles.
  • Shenandoah – Old Rag Mountain trail from March 1 to November 20.  Tickets are good for the whole day.
  • Zion – Angels Landing trail.
  • Rocky Mountain – May 26 to October 22, between 9 am and 2 pm for the entire park, between 5 am and 6 pm for Bear Lake Road.
  • Glacier – May 26 to September 10 for the west side entrances.  July 1 to September 10 for the east side entrances.
  • Haleakala – 3 am to 7 am for sunrise.
  • Yosemite – Weekends in February.  Reservation required for Half Dome trail from the Friday before Memorial Day to the second Monday in October.

• Buy park entrance and tour tickets ahead of time on line to avoid the line and to get your desired time.  In some cases, a tour ticket is required to visit certain parts of the park.  Examples are:
  • Mammoth Cave
  • Carlsbad Caverns
  • Gateway Arch – if you want to go to the top of the arch
  • Wind Cave
• Look for closures or construction – Check the NPS website for any closures or construction.  Avoid those areas.

Here is a handy page with links to NPS sites for each park.

Tip #9: Pack what you need for the day

Whatever your plans are for the day, bring your food, water, sunscreen, bug spray etc. that you will need for the day.

At the most popular parks, lunch is a madhouse with expensive, subpar food at concessions.  Don’t waste your time fighting the crowd.  Bring a sandwich and have a nice lunch at the many picnic areas or just on a nice rock with beautiful scenery surrounding you.

Tip #10:  Visit after dark

Some parks have the best star gazing or moonlit hikes.  You don’t have to worry about crowds or reservations.

We star gazed close to new moon at Black Canyon, Big Bend, Death Valley, Glacier, Joshua Tree and Great Basin national parks and they were incredible.  The Milky Way was clearly visible.  We simply went to a scenic pullout, or a parking lot, away from light sources, turned off the car, and looked up.  Most of the time, there was no one else around.

We went on a ranger led moonlit hike during full moon at Capitol Reef.  The moon was so bright there wasn’t any problem seeing the trail.  No crowd and no sun beating down on you.  All your senses are heightened as you listen to the night sounds.

Conclusion:

If you, like me, value solitude at national parks, these tips will enhance your visit to our wonderful national parks.

I plan my trips specifically to avoid crowds.  I’d rather see a “less stunning” sight with fewer people than to fight the crowd and traffic to see the most (often overrated) “most stunning” sights.

I’d rather put on a jacket, hat, and gloves, brave the elements, to see the most stunning sights than to fight the crowd on a hot summer day.

I’d rather get up early and enjoy the popular sights in solitude at sunrise than to sleep in and have to fight the crowd.  I can always take a nap in the afternoon!

I hope these tips are useful, and make a positive difference in your enjoyment of our wonderful National Parks.