America's Most Underrated National Parks

The United States is home to dozens of amazing national parks, each preserving something special and irreplaceable. While protected areas like the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone and Yosemite stand out, there are plenty of exceptional national parks flying under the radar even in 2020. Here 15 you might be overlooking.

One of the nation's best national parks for families, Florida's Dry Tortugas, which is accessible only by ferry or seaplane, comprises seven different islands and a ton of gorgeous open water. Highlights here include Fort Jefferson, remarkable coral reefs and an array of marine life and bird species.

A UNESCO designated Biosphere Reserve, breathtaking Big Bend National Park spans a large swath of southwest Texas and is home to hundreds of species of plants, birds and other animals. The Chisos Mountains found here are also unique as its the only mountain range in the country to be fully contained within the boundary of a national park.

It's easy to overlook Wyoming's Grand Teton National Park with Yellowstone located just 10 miles north. However, this serene destination is among the most picturesque you'll find. Named for the tallest mountain in the 40-mile-long Teton Range, Grand Teton a must-visit for travelers to the popular resort town of Jackson Hole.

Oregon's Crater Lake National Park offers visitors unbeatable views of the Pacific Northwest. America's fifth-oldest national park also marks the site of the deepest lake in the U.S. and the ninth-deepest in the world at nearly 2,000 feet.

Located on an island in Lake Superior, this isolated national park is the ideal place to escape the noise and stresses of the daily grind. Visitors will encounter stunning scenery and wildlife as well as shipwrecks and other special sites like the 19th century Rock Harbor Lighthouse.

South Carolina's biodiverse Congaree National Park preserves the largest intact expanse of old-growth bottomland hardwood forest still remaining in the southeastern U.S. The trees found here are some of the tallest in the country and form one of the highest temperate deciduous forest canopies left on the planet.

Spanning more than half of the island of St. John, Virgin Islands National Park is arguably the most unique national park in the country, boasting fascinating plantation ruins and ancient petroglyphs as well as vibrant coral reefs and beautiful beaches.

This centerpiece of this overlooked national park located in northern California is Lassen Peak, the world's largest plug dome volcano. Visitors will also discover numerous hydrothermal highlights, including fumaroles, mud pots and boiling pools.

Utah's Arches and Zion National Parks certainly warrant all of the admiration but Bryce Canyon shouldn't be slept on. This park is unlike any other thanks to its unique crimson rock formations known as hoodoos. Bryce Canyon is home to the largest concentration of hoodoos found anywhere in the world and visitors can take them in on a number of hiking trails.

A variety of experiences await visitors to Great Basin National Park, including dark skies, ancient bristlecone pine groves and cave tours. The diversity extends to nature and wildlife found here, which includes more than 70 species of mammals, 238 bird species and over 800 different kinds of plants.

Colorado's Mesa Verde National Park is famous for its hundreds of cliff dwellings, of course, however, the park protects almost 5,000 known archeological sites in all preserving the heritage of the Ancestral Pueblo people who lived here from approximately 600 to 1300 CE.

Overshadowed by nearby Olympic National Park, Washington's North Cascades National Park, sometimes referred to as the American Alps, spans more than 500,000 acres of eye-popping wilderness comprising impressive mountain peaks, lakes and glaciers in addition to an abundance of majestic wildlife.

Home to one of the world's richest fossil beds preserving the skeletons of a plethora of species, including saber-toothed cats, Badlands National Park can be experienced on a rewarding hike or from the comfort of a vehicle while cruising the Badlands Loop Scenic Byway.

Colorado's Great Sand Dunes National Park is home to the tallest dunes in North America and without question one of the country's most Instagrammable places. In addition to dunes rising more than 750 feet, visitors will discover massive mountain peaks, alpine lakes and ancient spruce and pine forests as well as a wide range of plants and animals.

Carlsbad Caverns is named for its more than 100 caves of all shapes and sizes, which are the result of limestone dissolved by sulfuric acid. What's more, the park preserves a portion of the Capitan Reef, one of the most well-preserved Permian-age fossil reefs in the world.