National Park Service | Bridger-Teton National Forest | Utah | Wyoming

Escape from tour buses filled with camera-wielding tourists and spend your summer vacation visiting some of the lesser-known national parks

Wyoming
Instead of: Yellowstone National Park
Go to: Bridger-Teton National Forest
The benefit: The forest shares a border with Yellowstone but attracts half the number of visitors. You can go canoeing or mountain biking, hike 2,200 miles of hiking trails, or climb to Gannett Peak, where the 13,809-foot summit marks the highest point in the state. Your only companions will be the elk and bighorn sheep that call the forest home.

Utah
Instead of: Zion National Park
Go to: Capitol Reef National Park
The benefit: The 241,000-acre park is one of Utah’s best-kept secrets. Capitol Reef has towering hoodoos, colorful monoliths and rugged ridges that rival those in Zion. Despite its grandeur, only 617,000 visitors entered the park in 2009, compared with 2.7 million at Zion. The National Park Service voted it the best place for stargazing.