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Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Park, CA. A friend and I went there once a couple summers ago, arriving at like 6 pm, and we barely even saw any other cars.
West Virginia state capitol building/museum in Charleston a month ago, I was the only non-employee inside.
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Originally Posted by wamer27
Same here, was a December 10 years ago at Sequoia, not many people at all, which was ideal as I proposed to my wife at General Sherman and no one else there. Redwood National Park, we drove past it and never knew until talking to a ranger at place in Orick. I’ve lived in AK and CO and I think Redwoods and Sequoia’s are best thing I’ve ever seen in nature, you cannot describe them until you see them.
Agreed. Spent a couple of days camping in the coastal redwoods south of Monterey when I was stationed at Ft Ord in the early 80's. About 100 yards in the noise from Hwy 1 completely disappeared and we were alone in the vast grove of giant trees for almost 2 whole days. Amazing. Tried to explain how big these are to my elementary students in South Florida and failed miserably until I found this:
Visited Sequoia and Yosemite two summers ago and although not un-crowded, Sequoia was much less so than Yosemite. Made a mental note to visit again in spring or fall.
Agreed. Spent a couple of days camping in the coastal redwoods south of Monterey when I was stationed at Ft Ord in the early 80's. About 100 yards in the noise from Hwy 1 completely disappeared and we were alone in the vast grove of giant trees for almost 2 whole days. Amazing. Tried to explain how big these are to my elementary students in South Florida and failed miserably until I found this:
Visited Sequoia and Yosemite two summers ago and although not un-crowded, Sequoia was much less so than Yosemite. Made a mental note to visit again in spring or fall.
One cool thing is they are still finding new tallest trees. I read a very long forum a few years ago with a debate between a website giving directions to current tallest trees and scientist tree finders. One guy mentioned he’s found a taller one, but he’ll never tell where it is because people trampling around the base can damage them. It was a weird very interesting read, want them to be known, but don’t want people to see them. Salamanders live in them way high up, as in they were born up there and never reach the ground unless they accidentally fall.
I planted a one foot tall redwood and sequoia tree in my yard in MN. Redwood is fastest growing tree in world, so it grew over a foot first summer. Winter killed redwood, but sequoia did just fine. Had to dig it up and gave it away when I ran into a sewer line needing replacement.
At Chichen Itza, we stayed at a cheap little hotel in Piste, a mile or two walk from the gates. At daybreak, we birded outside, and were the first ones in when the gate opened. The birdlife is amazing inside the peaceful ruins, but an hour later, the tour buses begin to arrive. Time to go home.
But our record is St. Pierre et Miquelon, the French islands off Newfoundland. DW and I went over for New Years. Only one hotel stays open for the winter, and we literally the only two guests. And then there was a blizzard, that shut down the return boat for two days. Higher class hotel than I am used to, full board, classic French style.
I snuck into the Mayan ruins at Tulum one night with two friends and sat on the east side of the main pyramid and watched a full moon rising over the ocean with not another person but us three in the ruins.
Also scored a week on One Foot Island way out in the Aitutaki lagoon just my wife and myself. Occasionally tourist boats would come to the other end of the island during the day but we had it all to ourselves except for those few hours every day or on days when the tourist day boat didn't run.
Half Dome in Yosemite. The more work it takes to visit a tourist site, the fewer tourists there will be. If every Tom, Dick, and Harry can drive up and park nearby, it will be crowded.
During peak tourist season, Half Dome has required a permit for several years so the park can easily limit capacity for safety/crowding reasons.
I spent a long weekend in Washington DC after a business meeting in early March one year. There had been a heavy snow storm about 10 days earlier and the snow was still melting but the place was empty. Got into the Spy Museum and the Holocaust Museum with no waiting.
San Juan Islands in June was not crowded although I was warned that "summer" is very crowded. I found out that their definition of "summer" starts July 4. I live in the high desert southwest where it begins getting hot in mid May.
Since retiring have been traveling to National Parks. I try to schedule in shoulder season when school is in but weather not too hot and go to the most popular spots during the week days. Also schedule around the region's spring break which can vary depending on the part of the country. Spring and fall weather can be unpredictable and some things will not be open early or late in season but I am okay with that. As another poster suggested, I also go into the park later in the day. Eat a nice lunch in town, do museums, less popular scenic drives, visitor centers, etc. in early afternoon and then hit short trails and popular spots in later afternoon and early evening. Ranger programs/talks are usually scheduled at night at the campground amphitheaters. Some examples of my trips:
Big Bend NP - went first week of March. Spring break in Texas starts the second week. After March, it is too hot.
Arches NP - their week long Jeep Safari, biggest event of year, ends on Easter. I went the week after Easter and before it got too hot.
Rocky Mountain National Park - went mid June just after snow melt and again in late Sept for elk bugling season. It got a little crowded but not too bad.
Zion NP - early April. The Kolob Canyon section is not too crowded.
Sequoia/Kings Canyon NP - I also read that this was a less crowded alternative to Yosemite NP and that was the case when I visited in late May right before Memorial Day weekend. Only General Sherman and Moro Rock were congested.
Telluride - late Sept. Businesses were starting to shut down for a few weeks before reopening for ski season but the fall foliage was beautiful.
Yellowstone/Grand Teton NP - right after Labor Day during COVID. Some areas were still crowded but others not so much. Unfortunately the western wildfires smoke then worsened forcing many in California to go camping and Grand Teton NP suddenly got very crowded. Should have gone a week later.
Grand Canyon South Rim - mid Oct during COVID. The National Park hotels were offering good deals which I took as a sign to go. Some attractions were not open but it was not crowded and few international tourists.
I have also read that Cedar Breaks National Monument is like a "mini-Bryce Canyon" but not crowded.
Rocky Mountain NP was uncrowded when I went one year in March. I expected it to be less crowded than in the summer, but was pleasantly surprised to find it basically deserted … and wonderful.
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