By Sara Benson

When summer crowds turn Yosemite and Grand Canyon National Parks into parking lots, visitors to America's less heralded national parks can still find ample elbow room. Whether tramping through the primeval rain forests of the Pacific Northwest, watching bison gallop across the Great Plains or standing underneath the world's largest trees in California, visiting the more off-the-beaten-path national parks makes for road trips to remember.

Sequoia (Sequoia sempervirens) redwoods, near mossy trees
© Carol Polich. Lonely Planet Images.

Case in point: Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. While 3.5 million visitors descend upon Yosemite Valley, the mighty canyon of the Kings River – which is deeper than the Grand Canyon in some places – sees less than half as many people each year. Kings Canyon is where naturalist John Muir, best known for his work preserving Yosemite, often led personal retreats by the river at Road's End. With the same spiring granite formations, misty waterfalls and high Sierra alpine scenery as Yosemite, Kings Canyon and Sequoia National parks are likewise strewn with nature trails, swimming holes, and serene places to go horseback riding and backpacking in the mountains. The parks also have underground marble caves to explore, not to mention towering groves of giant Sequoia trees, which can live for more than 2,000 years. The parks' Generals Highway winds for 25 scenic miles from the General Grant Tree, the United State's largest giant Sequoia and our nation's Christmas tree, to the verdant Giant Forest. In the remote southern part of Sequoia National Park, the remains of a historic mining settlement are glimpsed at Mineral King, rising above the foothills where Potwisha Indians once dwelled.

Where the Buffalo Still Roam

Although Theodore Roosevelt National Park may not have Yellowstone's famous "Old Faithful" geyser, this little-known park offers equally spectacular wildlife watching. It's historically situated on the cattle ranch started by America's 26th president, Teddy Roosevelt, a big-game hunter, outdoorsman and later wilderness conservationist, who helped build our national park system. Here in the North Dakota badlands, native prairie grasses wave and golden eagles soar overhead, setting the stage for spotting more American fauna such as bison, wild horses, elk, bighorn sheep, coyotes, beavers, porcupines and prairie dogs. Visitors can hike or take horseback rides across the plains, go fishing on the Little Missouri River, then gather around the campfire at night for a ranger chat. Although the park looks remote on maps, it's a straight shot north of Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota.

Meadow and distant mountains, Olympic Peninsula.
© Ann Cecil. Lonely Planet Images.

Much More Than Mountain Highs

In the Pacific Northwest, glacier-covered Mount Rainier National Park is flooded with more than two million tourists annually. Although Olympic National Park receives even more visitors, it still feels uncrowded. You can pretend to have its stunning enviroscapes to yourself: windswept Pacific Ocean beaches, temperate rain forest and rugged mountains. More than 95 percent of the park is designated as wilderness, with roads that barely touch the interior wild heart of the place. To climbers, the glacier-capped peaks of the Olympic Mountains issue a sirens' song. For road-trippers, scenic drives lead to old-growth fir forests where bald eagles soar; glacially carved lakes ringed by walking trails; and rocky beaches with sunset views of the Strait of San Juan de Fuca. Circumnavigating the park, U.S. Highway 101 loops around the Olympic Peninsula, providing access to more isolated park destinations where you may be the only visitor for the day.

Close up of a flowering Torrey Yucca, Yucca torreyi in the Big Bend National Park.
© Mark Newman. Lonely Planet Images.

Floating Islands Up North

The rugged Maine coastline of Acadia National Park draws nearly three million tourists every year. But it's not the only place to go island hopping in our national park system. In the remote reaches of Michigan's northern Lake Superior, the world's largest freshwater lake, is Isle Royale National Park. The only way to visit the park is by boat or seaplane from Michigan or Minnesota. Its primitive wilderness stands little changed by the centuries – or the 20,000 or so people who make the effort to reach here each year. The park's main island, Isle Royale, and 400 smaller islets offer nearly limitless opportunities for paddling and hiking around this precious international biosphere reserve, a UNESCO designation given in recognition of the park's unique marine and terrestrial ecosystem. The islands are havens for wildlife, including wolves, moose and other majestic Northwoods animals. Scuba divers can investigate underwater shipwrecks, while canoes and kayaks make their protected waterway journeys between landfalls. For first-time visitors, guided boat and walking tours of the islands await, including unforgettable sunset cruises.

Down South by the Rio Grande

Finally, there's Big Bend National Park. Often overlooked, Texas' largest national park averages less than 400,000 visitors yearly. Big Bend banks on its supreme gift of solitude along more than 100 miles of river that forms the international boundary between the U.S. and Mexico. The national park combines the riparian zone of the Rio Grande, with its wealth of birding opportunities, scenic drives and hikes into a mile-high mountain basin, and four-wheel drive off-road adventures and mountain-biking routes in the Chihuahuan Desert. After exploring archaeological ruins, visitors can hike into remote canyons and soak in the hot springs outside the historical crossroads of Rio Grande Village. Unlike most U.S. national parks, summer is not an ideal time to visit Big Bend – it's too hot. Spring and fall are milder, while winter brings a dusting of snow to the desert peaks.

Bio: Sara Benson makes her home in coastal California, except when she's off road-tripping around the U.S. or working in the Sierra Nevada mountains as a park ranger. Already the author of 30 travel and nonfiction books, Sara has also written for many popular travel Web sites, as well as newspapers and magazines from coast to coast, including National Geographic Adventure and the Los Angeles Times.

The content provided by Lonely Planet Publications, while as accurate as possible, is provided "as is." Neither we, nor Lonely Planet Publications, accept any responsibility for any loss, injury or inconvenience resulting from this information. You should verify critical information (like visas, health and safety) before you travel.