The best places aren't always the busiest or even the most popular. Head a little off the pounded path to find the USA's remotest nooks and farthest-flung crannies, from lesser-visited national parks to tiny islands reachable only by boat and roamed by wild mustangs. We can't guarantee you won't see another person, but you'll definitely find some peace and quiet, and some jaw-dropping scenery.
Click through this gallery to discover enchantingly remote places from around the US...
This tucked-away Texan escape hugs the state’s border with Louisiana. It’s an ethereal mix of swampy bayous, ponds and cypress trees, which rise from the water and drip with Spanish moss. People (though not too many – don’t worry) come here to fish from the pier, paddle around the maze of waterways or just rent one of the park’s cabins.
Loggerhead turtles nest on this barrier island off the southeast coast of Georgia. Wild horses graze on the dune grass, which sprouts in tufts on the pale, biscuity sand. People come here to escape, well, other people. Reserve a camping spot in advance online and get there via ferry from St. Marys. Then, the wilderness is your oyster. There’s nearly 10,000 acres of it, from salt-sprayed forests to wetlands and marshes.
The Chisos Mountains meander through this vast national park in southwest Texas. It also encompasses swathes of the Chihuahuan Desert, though you’re unlikely to meet any small dogs out here. Strap on your toughest old boots and get hiking on trails that wind past limestone cliffs to reach waterfalls and mountain peaks. Get a different perspective on the park (and feel very small indeed) by taking a rafting trip down the portion of the Rio Grande river that slices through Elena Canyon.
Kenai Fjords is one of Alaska’s smallest national parks, though it punches above its weight when it comes to adventure and gaspingly beautiful scenery. You won’t know whether to look up or down when kayaking in Resurrection Bay: glaciers like solid, sculpted meringues are mirrored pristinely on the water’s surface. With dozens of bays and coves to explore, plus the forested shoreline, isolation is easy to find. Unless you count the wildlife, from moose to clown-faced puffins.
We hear the moon is pretty quiet this time of year. There’s even less sign of life at Bonneville Salt Flats, a blazingly white, lunar-esque landscape whose surface cracks and curls in the sunshine. These salt pans sprawl across more than 30,000 acres and, unsurprisingly, nothing grows or lives here. View this sparse natural wonder from viewpoints along the I-80 – the salt flats are between Salt Lake City and Wendover, a small city in Nevada.
The Grand Canyon is visited by nearly five million people each year, but thankfully it’s vast enough for the truly determined to escape the crowds. It’s a tough eight-mile (13km) hike (or a dramatic helicopter ride) down to the remote village of Supai, home to the Havasupai Tribe since 1300. Rewards don’t come much better, though, than getting up-close to shimmering waterfalls that tumble softly, like silk, into natural swimming holes. Truly remote, and all the lovelier for it.
This unique 'desert' is actually a former lake, which evaporated over time to reveal a series of whisperingly pale alkali beds. Come to soak in geothermal waters with a mountainous backdrop at Alvord Hot Springs. Or walk past hissing mud pots and bubbling turquoise pools at Mickey Hot Springs (definitely not for bathing). The best way to embrace the isolation is to camp out under the stars – it’s free and accessible year-round.
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Prairie once carpeted vast swathes of the US. Today, few pockets of this ecosystem remain, and most of them form part of Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve in the Flint Hills of Kansas. Trails wind through undulating fields of copper-hued grass, shimmering in the breeze, and past fields grazed by bison and white-tailed deer. The park’s open year-round, but visit in autumn to see the grass at its tallest, and wearing its toastiest colours.
Remote getaways don’t come easy. If they did, everybody would go. Take Monhegan Island, off the mid-coast of Maine and accessible only by boat. Only 60-odd people live on the mountainous enclave, and most of them seem to be artists. It is an inspiring landscape. Stay at one of the cute inns or cottages and spend blissfully serene days following hiking trails through woodland and along ocean bluffs, browsing artists' studios and simply soaking up the sea air and solitude.
These shortbread-hued dunes seem to go on forever, curving, dipping and rising in soft peaks. In fact they spread out for 275 square miles (712sq km), brightening the landscape between the San Andres and Sacramento mountain ranges. Time spent here can be as sedate or adventurous as you like. Take a ranger-led tour to learn about native shrubs and dune grass, hike on undulating trails or sled down the dunes. It’s like a snow day, but much warmer.
You haven’t truly lived until you’ve gazed up at a cave dripping with giant icicles while standing by a lakeshore. The ice formations at Apostle Islands National Lakeshore can only be reached by foot, when Lake Superior’s ice is thick enough to walk on. It's just one of the unusual experiences on this chain of tiny islands. You can camp at sites on 18 of the 21 islands, or go even further off-grid and trek to a backcountry site. The National Park Service website has details on permits and reservations.
Open roads, snow-capped mountains and tree-hemmed trails whispering to be explored: Grand Teton National Park is the embodiment of the great American escape. The vast landscape is etched with hiking and biking trails and interspersed with crystalline lakes, which you can kayak on or picnic beside. The park is open year-round and bursts with wildflowers and wildlife in spring. For real solitude, though, visit in winter and try cross-country skiing across silent, snow-blanketed landscapes.
Herds of wild horses roam the pale beaches and rolling dunes of Carova Beach, a tiny Outer Banks community that can only be reached by boat or 4WD. The graceful animals are thought to be descended from Spanish mustangs shipwrecked here in the 1400s. Watching their graceful movements (from a distance) is one reason chill-seekers should come here. The isolation that’s allowed them to live freely here for centuries is another.
It’s easy to find your own patch of paradise within 5.4 million acres of pine forests, mountains, canyons, lakes and open grasslands. There’s around 350 miles (563km) of trails for hiking, biking and horse riding here in the Black Hills. Backpack through Black Elk Wilderness, camping in forest clearings and by lake shores, to get further from civilisation.
Aside from Langley, a picturesque jumble of artists’ studios and restaurants with patios overlooking the water, Whidbey Island – a short drive and ferry ride from Seattle – belongs to nature. Alder and fir trees encircle rugged campsites and rustic lodges, clusters of oysters cling to the shoreline and orcas can sometimes be spotted metres from the coast. Deception Pass State Park, right at the tip, is the domain of centuries-old fir trees and painterly sunsets.
North Cascades receives only around 30,000 visitors per year – around a tenth of Olympic National Park, a few hours south – yet its beauty is undeniable. Glacier crowns top mountain peaks, forested trails lead to tall waterfalls, and overlooks gaze at views of lakes the colour of creamy turquoise. Camp by the shore of Lake Chelan, whose northern edge is home to the remote, distinctly chilled-out Stehekin Valley.
California’s Highway 1, or Pacific Coast Highway, is one of the world’s most famous road-tripping routes. It ends in Mendocino County, merging with the 101 freeway. But the coast itself carries on. This is the Lost Coast, a 25-mile (40km) section too wild for that wiggly highway to continue through it. Now it’s a whispered secret among backpackers who get this landscape of foggy forests and driftwood beaches (pretty much) to themselves.
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A few hours north of New York City, skyscrapers are swapped for mountain peaks, whose snowy winter caps melt into rivers and lakes come spring. Sidewalks are replaced with tree-lined paths and wildflower meadows, and a traffic jam means getting your kayak stuck in a shallow patch. The Adirondacks, named for the mountain range that wiggles through it, has pretty much everything for a secluded getaway, from backcountry campsites to maple candy made in the region.
Part of the Great Lakes, Isle Royale National Park is a car-free archipelago and an escapist's dream. You’re more likely to encounter a moose than another person while wandering the densely forested trails and kayaking on lakes and canals. If you are craving human contact, there’s a small history museum at Rock Harbor Lighthouse. Otherwise, get a permit to set up your tent at one of the backcountry camping spots, only accessible by foot or water.
Why did the crocodile cross the road? Because, in Everglades National Park, stuff like that just happens. You might have to stop your car for a turtle too, or even a huge lubber grasshopper. Nature is bigger and more abundant in Florida’s vast, subtropical wilderness, which is a big part of the draw. While around one million visitors pass through this national park each year, that's nothing spread across 1.2 million acres of mangroves and marshland.
This barrier island is home to beaches as soft as caster sugar, wild ponies, and some of the most wonderfully remote camping spots in the US. It's also one of the country's best-kept secrets. Pitch up at one of the designated sites, or kayak or backpack to the more secluded backcountry spots. Cruises and kayak tours allow you to observe and photograph the elegant resident ponies from a safe distance, while also scouring the area for dolphins and bald eagles.
There’s no bad time of day, or year, to view the peach, apricot and golden stripes of Oregon’s Painted Hills. The early morning light washes them with pale pastels. In the afternoon, the dipping sun seems to illuminate the rocks from within. And in spring, once the snow melts, yellow wildflowers peep out between the cracks, adding an extra dimension of colour. Take your camera and follow boardwalk trails to find your perfect angle.
Key West nabs most of the visitors to the Florida Keys, so the rest of it is often gloriously uncrowded. Dry Tortugas National Park, a chain of seven islands best known for 19th-century Fort Jefferson, is accessible only by boat or seaplane, which helps keep visitor numbers relatively low despite the embarrassment of natural beauty here. Sea turtles nest on the sand, while surrounding waters are home to shipwrecks, corals and reef sharks.
Here’s the deal: you, a boat and a vast chain of lakes to paddle through. The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness stretches along Minnesota’s border with Canada and is part of the Superior National Forest, so the views aren’t half bad. Less than 200,000 people typically visit each year but, with 1,000 lakes, rivers and streams to explore, it’s possible to paddle for days without seeing another human soul. (Though there's a good chance you’ll spot a black bear or two by the shore.)
Just one road wiggles through Denali National Park, home to North America's tallest peak. That's one gravelly dirt road through six million acres of protected alpine forest, glaciers and mountains, roamed by wolves, Dall sheep and grizzlies. So if you're looking to forget civilisation for a while and be where the wild things are, this Alaskan beauty is surely the place. There are no hotels or cabins, so the only option to stay in the park is camping at one of six remote spots.
It's a ferry ride through Death's Door waterway to get to Washington Island. Once ashore, you'll find a charming haven with hardwood forests, a famed stone beach and around 700 residents. The air is fragrant with the scents of grilled seafood and fresh lavender, which grows abundantly on the 23-square-mile (60sq km) island. There are festivals celebrating anything from literature to Scandinavian dance. But even when it's relatively crowded, it's impossible to be anything other than chilled here.
Former US president Theodore Roosevelt declared Burney Falls, a broad, spring-fed waterfall that crashes into a shimmering pool, the "eighth wonder of the world". You could heap equal praise on many parts of Shasta Cascade, a glorious area of mountains, forests, lava beds and lakes northeast of San Francisco. The waterfall area can get busy on summer weekends, but otherwise you can often find a lakeshore beach, forested campsite or wiggly, redwood-flanked road all of your own.
An hour outside Austin, Texas Hill Country is an adult playground of wineries, ranches and incredible natural beauty. Fredericksburg, a German-settled town with tasting rooms, farm-to-table restaurants and galleries, makes a good base for an escape here. Stop at peach farms en route to Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, centred around a giant, pink granite dome dotted with fragrant shrubs and blackjack oaks. Hike to primitive campsites to sleep under a blanket of stars.
The Finger Lakes region is known for vineyards, which is perhaps enough to recommend it. But there’s a lot more to it than winery tours. It’s named for its 11 long, skinny lakes, where you can kayak or paddleboard away from crowds. Or follow the Gorge Trail, which links 19 waterfalls in Watkins Glen State Park. And then there's the wine – which you can taste on a boat tour around Cayuga Lake. More than two dozen wineries are tucked around its shores.