Ranked from the records

The Least Crowded National Parks in Summer

Summer is peak season almost everywhere, but not equally. These parks average the fewest June–August visits in the National Park Service records — mostly the remote ones, which is exactly the point.

# Park Avg. summer visits / month Best months there
1 American Samoa 1.2K Aug, Jun, and Dec
2 Kobuk Valley 1.6K Jun, Aug, and Jul
3 Gates of the Arctic 3K May, Jun, and Sep
4 Lake Clark 5.3K Sep, May, and Jun
5 North Cascades 6.7K May, Jun, and Apr
6 Dry Tortugas 7.3K Feb, Jan, and Dec
7 Isle Royale 7.6K May, Sep, and Jun
8 Katmai 8.9K Jun, May, and Sep
9 Guadalupe Mountains 12K Jan, Feb, and Sep
10 Congaree 17K Jan, Feb, and Dec
11 Big Bend 21K Feb, Jan, and Sep
12 Wrangell–St. Elias 21K May, Sep, and Jun
13 Great Basin 25K Apr, May, and Mar
14 Pinnacles 27K Jan, Dec, and Nov
15 Virgin Islands 28K Sep, Oct, and Aug

Visitation figures are 2021–2025 National Park Service averages; temperatures are 1991–2020 NOAA normals at each park's reference station. Each park page states its reference point — parks are big, and one station never tells the whole story.

The other lists

The Warmest National Parks in Winter · National Parks at Their Best in Winter · National Parks That Stay Cool in Summer