15 U.S. National Parks for the Savvy Traveler

Savvy out travelers know a great deal of preparation and planning is involved to create the perfect National Parks vacation. Yes, Yosemite and Yellowstone National Parks are bucket list parks worthy of a visit at least once in a lifetime, but how worthwhile is the experience? How much travel is involved to get there and once you’re inside? Are you able to appreciate the park's natural beauty or are the crowds reminiscent of a theme park on a summer weekend? And finally, how much will it cost to book a hotel room or campsite in the area?

With this real world criterion in mind, the travel blog Travel Lemming has reviewed each National Park in the U.S. to determine which is the best for seasoned travelers.

Rather than picking the prettiest, most well-known, or the most visited park in the system, Travel Lemming instead compiled data from a number of sources including the U.S. National Park Service, other travel sites, and publicly available information. Included in their research were how crowded the park is and how close is the nearest airport. It also looked at user reviews and the area's lodging cost. They even included the park’s biodiversity.

California has the most parks included on the list at five, Florida has the next most at two, and no other state has more than one park on the list. You can read the entire list of 63 National Parks and their rankings at travellemming.com.

Here are the Top 15 National Parks for Seasoned Travelers.

15. Grand Canyon National Park – Arizona

30th Least Crowded
9th Best Reviewed
38th Best Weather
38th Most Affordable
35th Most Accessible
5th Most Biodiverse

You can read the entire list of Travel Lemming's 63 National Parks and their rankings at travellemming.com.

13. Kenai Fjords National Park – Alaska (TIE)

12th Least Crowded
1st Best Reviewed
53rd Best Weather
37th Most Affordable
24th Most Accessible
25th Most Biodiverse

You can read the entire list of Travel Lemming's 63 National Parks and their rankings at travellemming.com.

13. Cuyahoga Valley National Park – Ohio (TIE)

59th Least Crowded
34th Best Reviewed
23rd Best Weather
13th Most Affordable
2nd Most Accessible
21st Most Biodiverse

You can read the entire list of Travel Lemming's 63 National Parks and their rankings at travellemming.com.

12. Redwood National Park – California

28th Least Crowded
9th Best Reviewed
23rd Best Weather
29th Most Affordable
42nd Most Accessible
20th Most Biodiverse

You can read the entire list of Travel Lemming's 63 National Parks and their rankings at travellemming.com.

11. Great Smokey Mountains National Park – Tennessee, North Carolina

54th Least Crowded
1st Best Reviewed
23rd Best Weather
52nd Most Affordable
15th Most Accessible
1st Most Biodiverse

You can read the entire list of Travel Lemming's 63 National Parks and their rankings at travellemming.com.

10. Channel Islands National Park – California

17th Least Crowded
45th Best Reviewed
1st Best Weather
47th Most Affordable
22nd Most Accessible
13th Most Biodiverse

You can read the entire list of Travel Lemming's 63 National Parks and their rankings at travellemming.com.

9. Death Valley National Park – California

11th Least Crowded
32nd Best Reviewed
21st Best Weather
39th Most Affordable
20th Most Accessible
19th Most Biodiverse

You can read the entire list of Travel Lemming's 63 National Parks and their rankings at travellemming.com.

8. Mammoth Cave National Park – Kentucky

49th Least Crowded
45th Best Reviewed
14th Best Weather
5th Most Affordable
16th Most Accessible
8th Most Biodiverse

You can read the entire list of Travel Lemming's 63 National Parks and their rankings at travellemming.com.

7. Big Bend National Park – Texas

13th Least Crowded
19th Best Reviewed
10th Best Weather
20th Most Affordable
55th Most Accessible
12th Most Biodiverse

You can read the entire list of Travel Lemming's 63 National Parks and their rankings at travellemming.com.

6. Everglades National Park – Florida

14th Least Crowded
57th Best Reviewed
1st Best Weather
27th Most Affordable
5th Most Accessible
16th Most Biodiverse

You can read the entire list of 63 National Parks and their rankings at travellemming.com.

4. Sequoia National Park – California (TIE)

25th Least Crowded
19th Best Reviewed
10th Best Weather
16th Most Affordable
28th Most Accessible

You can read the entire list of 63 National Parks and their rankings at travellemming.com.

4. Kings Canyon National Park – California (TIE)

18th Least Crowded
34th Best Reviewed
14th Best Weather
3rd Most Affordable
29th Most Accessible

You can read the entire list of 63 National Parks and their rankings at travellemming.com.

3. Biscayne National Park – Florida

31st Least Crowded
45th Best Reviewed
1st Best Weather
4th Most Affordable
4th Most Accessible
30th Most Biodiverse

You can read the entire list of 63 National Parks and their rankings at travellemming.com.

2. North Cascades National Park – Washington

7th Least Crowded
9th Best Reviewed
38th Best Weather28th Most Affordable
18th Most Accessible
2nd Most Biodiverse

You can read the entire list of 63 National Parks and their rankings at travellemming.com.

1. Shenandoah National Park – Virginia

40th Least Crowded
19th Best Reviewed
23rd Best Weather
2nd Most Affordable
7th Most Accessible
6th Most Biodiverse

You can read the entire list of 63 National Parks and their rankings at travellemming.com.