New Ranking Reveals the Best U.S. National Parks for Introverts

Not every national park trip feels peaceful.

Some parks really do give you room to breathe and hear something other than a tour guide or someone yelling for their kid to get out of the frame. Others are beautiful, yes, but they can feel more draining than restorative if what you really want is quiet.

A new report by Kuhl ranking all 63 U.S. national parks looked at which ones offer the most solitude ahead of National Introverts Week. (Where are my fellow introverts at?) The ranking used a “Solitude Score” based on factors like National Park Service visitor numbers, park acreage, accessibility, ranger staffing, and the number of guided tours listed on TripAdvisor.

Unsurprisingly, Alaska did very well. Parks that are harder to reach and spread across huge swaths of land tended to score highest, while famous, easy-to-access parks with lots of tours and heavy foot traffic landed near the bottom.

The Best U.S. National Parks for Introverts

Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska.

1. Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve, Alaska

Wrangell-St. Elias took the top spot with a near-perfect solitude score of 95.6. That makes sense when you consider the scale of it: more than 13 million acres and just 0.006 recreation visits per acre.

This is not the kind of park you casually swing by. Its remoteness is a big part of why it feels so quiet, and with so few visitors spread across so much land, this is about as far from a crowded park experience as you can get.

The mountains of Lake Clark National Park and Preserve from the Kenai Peninsular across the Cook Inlet.

2. Lake Clark National Park & Preserve, Alaska

Lake Clark came in second, and it sounds like a dream for anyone who wants to get way, way off the grid. There’s no road access, zero guided tours listed, and only a tiny number of visitors spread across roughly 4 million acres.

That lack of convenience is exactly what makes it appealing here. You have to really want to go, which naturally cuts down on crowds.

3. Lassen Volcanic National Park, California

California is not exactly known for uncrowded national parks, which is probably part of why Lassen Volcanic stands out. It scored high thanks to relatively low visitation, a more remote feel, and very few organized tours.

Compared to the state’s bigger-name parks, Lassen sounds like the one for people who want dramatic landscapes without feeling like they’re standing in line to enjoy them.

The majestic glacial landscape of Kenai Fjords National Park offers a serene view of wonder and symmetry.

4. Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska

Kenai Fjords ranked fourth, helped by its huge size and the fact that getting into much of it involves boat or kayak access. Even with some guided tours available, the park still offers enough space to make those experiences feel less packed than they might elsewhere.

If your idea of peace involves glaciers, water, and a little extra effort to get there, this one makes a lot of sense.

5. Glacier National Park, Montana

Glacier rounded out the top five. It’s obviously a famous park, but its sheer size and backcountry access help offset some of that popularity.

In other words, yes, Glacier gets plenty of visitors, but it still has the kind of scale that rewards anyone willing to go a bit farther than the main pull-offs and photo stops.

The National Parks That May Feel Least Peaceful

The report also highlighted the parks that may be toughest for introverts, or honestly, anyone craving some quiet.

Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii - October 4, 2024 - Visitors walk in the Kilauea Iki Crater on Kilauea volcano at Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island of Hawaii. — Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii – Visitors walk in the Kilauea Iki Crater on Kilauea volcano at Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island of Hawaii.

1. Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii

Hawai‘i Volcanoes ranked as the most overwhelming in the study. Between active volcanic features, strong visitor interest, easy access, and more than 100 guided tours listed, it scored lowest for solitude.

It’s one of those places where the dramatic scenery is the draw, but the sensory intensity and group activity are part of the experience too.

2. Yosemite National Park, California

This one probably won’t shock anyone who has been to Yosemite in peak season. It remains one of the most photographed and most visited parks in the country, and the report noted that timed entry has not done much to ease that overall sense of crowding.

Yosemite is stunning, obviously. But if your goal is quiet, you may need to work harder for it there than the postcard views might suggest.

Downtown St. Louis, Missouri, USA viewed from below the arch.

3. Gateway Arch National Park, Missouri

Gateway Arch is a bit of an outlier on this list because it’s an urban national park, but the numbers are wild. The report says it sees more than 13,000 visits per acre, which is the opposite of solitude.

If you’re looking for nature and stillness, this probably is not the park for that.

An October Day on Little Stony Man Mountain, Shenandoah National Park Virginia USA, Virginia — **An October day on Little Stony Man Mountain, Shenandoah National Park Virginia USA, Virginia**

4. Shenandoah National Park, Virginia

Shenandoah ranked near the bottom because of its accessibility and popularity, especially around overlooks and weekend-friendly routes. It’s the kind of place where scenic drives and easy access bring in lots of visitors, which is great for convenience, but less great for silence.

That doesn’t mean it isn’t worth visiting. It just may not deliver that unplugged feeling people sometimes expect.

Father with arms around his family looking at summer mountains landscape, on hiking trip, on top of mountain. View from Trail Ridge Road. Estes Park, Rocky Mountains National Park, Colorado.

5. Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

Rocky Mountain also ranked poorly for solitude, thanks to high visitation, lots of tours, and very accessible popular areas. Like Yosemite, it’s a park where the beauty is not the issue. The crowds are.

If you go in expecting alpine peace and end up in a full parking lot with a line at the trailhead, that score starts to make more sense.

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New Ranking Reveals the Best U.S. National Parks for Introverts — and the Worst for Crowds