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Subscribe to RSSLots of folks know about Yosemite’s festive lodges in the winter, the excitement of viewing buffalo in the snow at Yellowstone or alligator spotting in the Everglades. Emphasis on lots of people. But there are a number of other lesser known national parks that are gems in the winter, when crowds are down, stargazing is amazing and temperatures range from temperate to pretty terrific.
“Some of the beauty of going to any of the parks in the wintertime is that you’re not going to encounter the crowds you would in the summer or fall,” said Kurt Repanshek, editor of National Parks Traveler, a website devoted to the national parks.
Slideshow: America's lesser-known national parks
Repanshek, who has had a lifelong passion for preserving and protecting national parks, says some of the most memorable visits he’s made to many of the parks happened in the off-season. One of his faves: Virgin Islands National Park on the island of St. John. The park includes 5,650 acres of submerged lands that protects beautiful coral gardens and seascapes.
“Ideally, visit in the wintertime if you’re sick of the slush and snow and all that,” said Repanshek, who loves to snorkel the park’s waters and hike its trails. “It’s 75 to 80 degrees in the winter, no humidity, with beautiful turquoise water.”
Other notable parks to visit in winter:
Death Valley
Alamy
Late winter or early spring is a good time to see wildflowers in Death Valley National Park, Calif.
Yes, you could visit during the park's hottest season — summer (it hit 134 degrees here once) — but winter, when temperatures can average from the 50s to the low 70s, is when the park's 3.5 million acres really allow fun. “I went to Death Valley in (the winter) about three years ago and it was almost a little chilly — 55 degrees,” Repanshek said. “It’s just nicer to have those milder temperatures to enjoy the sand dunes and hiking in some of the canyons.”
Death Valley has great stargazing in winter, but later in that season or early spring, visitors may be lucky enough to come following one of the park’s brief rainy periods, which unleashes cactus blooms and wildflowers, he said.
Biscayne Bay
Copyright Thomas M. Strom / National Parks Conservation Asso
Biscayne National Park near Miami has the third largest coral reef ecosystem in the world.
National parks also include underwater ocean wonders such as those found at this treasure near Miami. This park obviously offers lovely weather in winter, plus abundant water sports. Just 5 percent of this park is land, so it’s all about the ocean, including the third largest coral reef ecosystem in the world. It’s possible to view the reef’s plants and animals by glass-bottom boat, including a chance to glimpse fish, shrimp, crabs and lobsters. “It is incredible to see the marine world at Biscayne National Park,” said John Adornato, Sun Coast regional director for the National Parks Conservation Association. “The coral reef and reef fish are absolutely spectacular.”
Channel Islands National Park
National Park Service
Channel Islands National Park off the Southern California coast has plants and animals found nowhere else, including the island fox.
Amazing marine animals are on offer in the waters around these Southern California islands in winter: whales, dolphins and porpoises. (Possibilities: gray, blue, humpback, minke, sperm and pilot whales, orcas and dolphins.) The park, accessible by park concessionaire boats and planes from Ventura, is made up of five separate islands, all with varied terrain, wildflowers and views. “It’s called the Galapagos of the United States,” said Neal Desai, Pacific Region associate director for National Parks Conservation Association. “(Each island) has unique plants and animals found nowhere else. If you’re out there, you may well have the opportunity to see an island fox, which is the size of a house cat.”
Even though it’s only an hour’s drive from Los Angeles, plus the boat ride to get to the islands, it can be very peaceful, Desai said. “It’s so close to Los Angeles, but not so many people know about this national park. I like it a lot — it’s a complete package. There’s everything from hiking to bird watching to sea activities like kayaking you can do, even snorkeling.”
Lewis and Clark National Historical Park
National Park Service
At Lewis and Clark National Historical Park, visitors can learn about how the explorers lived and worked.
Visitors may contend with rain in the winter, but it’s still very temperate and mild compared to much of the country, minus the traffic and crowds of summer. Visitors following the trail of the famous explorers can experience rain forest, the Columbia River and the drop-dead gorgeous Pacific Coast. A highlight: visiting a replica of Fort Clatsop, the fort built by the explorers to winter over in. Fort Clatsop also features interpretive costumed rangers and trailheads for some amazing hikes.
“It’s probably one of the hidden gems of the national park system,” said Sean Smith, Northwest policy director for the National Parks Conservation Association.
Fort Clatsop is a great destination for families, because it can teach so much about how the explorers lived and worked, Smith said. “It was built using period tools and techniques. They had detailed notes that Lewis and Clark made, including the number of logs used. Trees aren’t as big now, so they but had to use more logs.”
The park overall incorporates some state parks, with sites on both the Oregon and Washington side of the river as well as the Pacific Ocean, he cautioned, so driving can take some time between stops.
Winter is a great time to visit, he added, to truly get a sense of conditions the explorers experienced. “(Lewis and Clark) would have spent their time on the Oregon and Washington coasts in the winter months, so they would have been seeing a climate and winter much like a current visitor does.”
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One of the most beautiful STATE parks to see in the winter is Hocking Hills located in Logan, OH. Winter wonderland and closer to most people than the West Coast.
My vote goes to Hawaii's National Volcanic Park on the Big Island of Hawaii. It's just an hour or so drive from Hilo, on the greenest side of the island. One day you can drive inside the park and take short hikes to get a closer look at the volcanic rocks and hopefully the lava flow itself.
The next day you could go up to the observatory on the snow-covered peak of Mauna Kea, also an hour or so drive from Hilo. So you can have "winter" and tropical beach time on the same day on the Big Island.
And then spend the rest of your vacation lazing on the beach, hiking into rainforests to see waterfalls and wildlife, snorkeling, and enjoying the fresh pineapple, macadamia nuts, and Kona coffee cafes.
I visit the Costa Rican tropical forests (virtually) from the comfort of my living room by listening to very well recorded, long duration soundtracks available partly for free at TranscendentalTones.
I would have thought that the national park to visit in winter is Valley Forge.
One winter on a cruise we had a stop on Puerto Rico and visited El Morro. Beautiful doesn't describe it.
Yellowstone National Park, thumbs up!!
Everglades National Park is a good place for non-Floridians to visit in the winter. In the summer it's too hot and the mosquitoes are thick. I'm surprised The Everglades is not on the list.
Did you not read the first two sentences?
OK, I think I see what they are driving at: Visit the tropical ones in the winter. However, the Grand Canyon southern rim with vistas of snow-covered buttes and mesas is a delightful sight. The trails down are kept open, and even the mules continue to ply the trails.
The cold is dry and very invigorating. It's not deserted by any means, but the people are few enough to actually be pleasantly sociable, but not intrusive.
It's not quite "hidden", but is still a gem.
I agree. The canyon in Winter is a real treat.
Everyone has a favorite, provided they can shake off the lazies and get out there. We just returned from a few days at Organ Pipe National Monument in Arizona where we hiked 8-10 miles Saturday and 5 miles on Sunday. The rains remade the desert smells and appearance in a way totally different from the baking heat of the Summer. The ranger and volunteer staff are exceedingly friendly and helpful and the camping and RV facilities are great. The monument is nearly deserted due to the bad press it has received over the years from illegal border-related activity in the more remote parts. No visitors have been threatened and the trails that remain open are both scenic and safe. To truly see what the vistas and scenery, you MUST take the loop road and do a bit of hiking. Driving through on the way to Mexico does not count.
We used to always visit Death Valley between Christmas and New Years and it was always warm enough to go hiking in shorts. We prefer February to April because of the wildflower blooms, which can happen anywhere in Death Valley depending on the altitude and previous rainfall, and the weather is still great. However, the occasional winter storm that blows through can make for some strong winds that will hinder your outdoor activities.
Cliff Bandringa
Trip blog:
our family travels in our RV during the winter. We just did Death Valley last week, and we were surprised by the beauty of the area! We would definitely recommend it; tho be sure to go with full fuel tanks (it's a big park!), and don't forget your camera! Having been there, we wish that we would have called the Ranger station ahead of time and asked for a schedule of Ranger-led programs, they have some great ones, and we would have altered our schedule to camp in and attend some of the campground programs.
Fort Clatsop was the first National Park that we did a Jr. Ranger program in. It was an interesting park, but as a parent, I wish that we would have gone when there were educational Ranger programs being offered (one of the few downfalls of traveling so much during the school year is that often the kids' programs are reduced in numbers or even unavailable).
We love our National Parks - the kids have earned close to 50 Jr. Ranger badges or patches. If you haven't checked out the Jr. Ranger programs, do so - they are WONDERFUL! and any age can participate, not just 6 to 12 year olds ;)
Big Bend National Park is very nice in the winter. We just got back from there. In the Chisos Mountains Basin at 5400' elevation, some nights didn't get below 45 and the days were about 65. At Rio Grande Village at 1850' elevation, temperatures were about 20 degrees cooler at night and 10 degrees warmer in the daytime. My eight year old grandson and I backpacked South Rim for the fourth time in three years. The scenery and vistas are stunning and you are in the darkest skies of the Lower 48. Some nights, the stars are an incredible horizon to horizon show. I've been there about 50 times in 45 years and can't wait to go back.