These Stunning U.S. National Parks Are Only Reachable by Boat or Plane

As travelers search for lesser-visited, off-the-beaten-path destinations, the outdoors is an easy answer. The United States has one of the most robust park systems in the world, with 63 national parks and roughly 640 million acres of public land. However, as outdoor travel has increased in popularity, so have park visitation numbers—especially at parks that are easily accessible (like Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the most visited national park).

One often-overlooked alternative are the national parks that are simply harder to reach. Specifically those that are only accessible by boat or plane, an added step that naturally limits crowds. In addition to a handful of remote national parks in Alaska with no roads to speak of, there are also islands off the coast of California, Florida, and Michigan that are only reachable by water or air. 

Dry Tortugas National Park – Florida

Out in the ocean west of Key West and the start of the U.S. Route 1 is Dry Tortugas National Park, which consists of seven islands, the world’s third-largest barrier reef, and a lot of water. (In fact, 99 percent of the park’s protected area is located underwater.) For that reason, the park is known for its snorkeling, diving, and sea life—including turtles and colorful fish. There are a few ways to get to the park but none of them are as easy as renting a car or booking a taxi. Most travelers come by boat from Key West (private, charter, or ferry), while others take a seaplane from Key West International Airport.  

Gates Of The Arctic National Park & Preserve – Alaska

As the northernmost national park in the U.S., Gates Of The Arctic National Park & Preserve’s very location makes it hard to get to. It sprawls north of the Arctic Circle and has no roads (or trails or campsites). The only way to get there is by hiking in (a true endeavor since there are no trails) or taking an air taxi into the park’s 8.4 million acres of untouched tundra and boreal forest. 

If you want to truly get away, this is the place. There is no cell service and no park services; everything is rugged and wild and exceptionally beautiful. As the park puts it, “visitors may wander at will across 8.4 million acres of superlative natural beauty. This is a place for discovery and exploration.”

Isle Royale National Park – Michigan

Like many of the national parks on this list, the car-free Isle Royale National Park has wilderness instead of roads. The remote cluster of 450 islands is located in  Lake Superior, near Michigan’s border with Canada, and is only open from April to October. The park, which is also a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, has remote hiking, fishing, boating, and even scuba diving. 

To get there, travelers can take a ferry or seaplane from mainland Michigan or Minnesota. Most travelers stay overnight or lean into the seaplane offerings to make the journey a faster day trip.

Katmai National Park & Preserve – Alaska

Katmai National Park & Preserve is known for the thousands of brown bears that come to hunt salmon while visitors look on, but it also has an expansive four million acre wilderness. (The park is larger than the state of Connecticut.) The park is located on the northern Alaska Peninsula, northwest of Kodiak Island, and there are no roads in or out. To reach the park, travelers can take an air taxi from a town or village (Anchorage, Dillingham, Homer, King Salmon, Kodiak) or take a boat to the coast of Katmai. 

Channel Islands National Park – California

Channel Islands National Park is made up of five islands set 20 to 70 miles of the California coast. The islands, which are often called “the Galapagos Islands of North America,” promise to give visitors a taste of southern California as it once was, and much of that is due to the journey it takes to get there.

The Channel Islands can only be reached via ferry and the car-free islands must be traversed by foot (or explored by boat). Like most hard-to-reach places, those that make the trip are well rewarded: Thousands of seals gather along the shore of San Miguel Island while Santa Cruz Island has plentiful sea caves. And then there’s the fact that the islands are home to 145 plant and animal species that live nowhere else. 

Lake Clark National Park & Preserve – Alaska

Lake Clark National Park & Preserve doesn’t look that far out — it’s southwest of Anchorage and north of Katmai National Park — but the park has no road system and is home to true wilderness, think bears, volcanoes, and rugged peaks. Travelers can only get to the park by taking a small plane or air taxi.

Kobuk Valley National Park — Alaska

Like Gates Of The Arctic National Park & Preserve, Kobuk Valley National Park is located north of the Arctic Circle. It is known for its migrating caribou, expansive tundra, and living sand dunes — but seeing the magic isn’t easy. To reach the park, which is located around 25 miles north of the Arctic Circle and west of Gates Of The Arctic, visitors must hike, boat, or fly in.