The Road Less Traveled

Avoiding Crowds at National Parks

If you did not know by now, I have a bit of an obsession with completing lists. For example, my current traveling habits probably started when a friend got me hooked on the concept of visiting all 50 states. Well, I am down to Idaho. Then, I added my ongoing quest to do the oldest bar in all 50 states. Currently, I am holding at 29 oldest bars visited. Additionally, its not difficult to trigger me into more quests. My most recent travel obsession was triggered by these gifts…

Both gifts are for tracking National Park visits. The map is a scratch off with green trees being visited parks. For the other gift, just apply the stickers to the water bottle, post visit. Now, I am pretty sure that I will not complete the National Park quest…there are 8 in Alaska alone. But, that does not mean that I will not try anyway. Besides distance, time and money, my biggest concern is my distaste for most crowds. So, navigating the National Parks while avoiding the crowds will be my biggest challenge. In this post, we will revisit one of my strategies of taking the road less traveled. Or, to be more specific, knock off the crappy National Parks that no one actually wants to visit.

It’s All Underwater!

If you did not know, some of the National Parks are mostly in water. So, visiting them…and actually seeing something…requires an extra level of preparation as you need to boat, kayak, or snorkel. I recently experienced one such NP when I stopped by Biscayne National Park which is a bit south of Miami. Well, following a near drowning experience in the Mediterranean Sea, PugsleyTonks is not crazy about any heavy duty water adventures. So, with this attitude, its not surprising that my visit to Biscayne was not a long day

Now, I need to be fair here. It’s not entirely underwater. Rather, its a bit over 95% underwater. Above water, they do have a visitor center and a jetty. Sadly, the parks system does not allow dogs in the visitor centers. However, Bella and I could do the jetty walk with all the other “park visitors.”

As you can see, the crowds were manageable at the only above water activity in Biscayne. Once again, to be fair, I wanted to include the last picture (not a PT original). Just to give a nod to the assumed beauty of Biscayne that PugsleyTonks will never see.

Its a Swamp

Somewhere in the National Parks guiding principles, I sure its says something about the parks reflecting all the diverse ecosystems present in our great nation. Well, if you are going to be diverse…you need swamps too. That would be Congaree National Park located somewhere in South Carolina. Now, when Carol, Bella, and I visited Congaree, I think we set the standard for choosing the road less traveled. First, Congaree is always in the top 10 list of least visited National Parks on a good day. Secondly, it was a chilly, late afternoon day in South Carolina. Lastly, it was raining. So, in summation, it was a chilly, rainy, February afternoon in a swamp in the middle of South Carolina. Trust me, we beat the crowds.

Yeah, other than the two park rangers and one wet hiker, we did not encounter any other humans at this National Park. The park has all the usual outdoor activities like camping, hiking, and kayaking. However, it was rainy and it was a swamp. There was no way that Carol was going to leave the safety of the raised boardwalk hike. Thankfully, its a very nice raised boardwalk hike. Its over 2 miles and it gives you a good sense of the swamp…without being submerged in the swamp. Furthermore, while I am saying nice things, it was too cold for the bugs. I can only imagine how buggy this would have been if it was not 55 degrees. We didn’t encounter any of the creepy swamp critters, but it was a nice walk anyway.

Again, I want to be fair to Congaree. The park is beautiful in that creepy swamp kind of way. And, if that is not enough, there are the synchronized fireflies. As this was the wrong time of year, I did not see the synchronized fireflies. But, in late April/early May, there is supposed to be an amazing mating ritual among fireflies. Apparently, all the males will light up and blink at the same time. When they go dark, the females answer and somehow select their intended mate by the synchronized show. Its supposed to be amazing. But, this is NOT the road less traveled. You have to enter a lottery for a chance to watch the synchronized firefly display. This would be the opposite of avoiding the crowd.

Wrap It Up

Just to be clear, please remember this post was just for laughs and giggles. I am sure that with better timing and a better attitude these parks can be quite nice. Do not let yourself have a bad first impression of Biscayne or Congaree because of PugsleyTonks. My focus was entirely on taking the road less traveled avoid crowds and knock off a couple more National Park visits. Have a wonderful day. PT

I hope you have enjoyed “The Road Less Traveled” on Traveling with PugsleyTonks.

Here’s another National Park that few people ever visit…https://travelingwithpt.com/tired-of-crowds-try-dry-tortugas/

Please visit and support your National Parks https://www.nps.gov/planyourvisit/index.htm

P.S. Putting on TWO stickers in one day…what a RUSH!