The Chicago Tribune has assembled a brief photoessay highlighting the 20 National Monuments receiving the fewest visitors in 2009, based on National Park Service data. The "winner," with only 14 visitors for the whole year, was Aniakchak, Alaska (pictured above):
No roads will take you to Aniakchak National Monument and Preserve, on the Alaskan peninsula 450 miles southwest of Anchorage. To access this park you'll need to hire an air taxi or a power boat. The park encompasses a 6-mile-wide, 2,000-foot-deep caldera formed by the collapse of a 7,000-foot mountain and offers visitors a taste of one of the wildest terrains in Alaska.
About half of the others are in Arizona and New Mexico, but you can also find peace and quiet in National Monuments in the Virgin Islands, Missouri, Colorado, Idaho, Texas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Virginia, and Alabama. Details at the link.
Link. Photo credit Tahzay Jones.
Newest 5 Comments
Inaccessibility brings survivability. These places might be there for our grandchildren to enjoy.
Abusive comment hidden.
(Show it anyway.)
meg, that's the beauty of it..... no roads, no ppl, just you and ma nature.....
Abusive comment hidden.
(Show it anyway.)
drill baby drill !
Abusive comment hidden.
(Show it anyway.)
you know, I'm all about exploring unappreciated places. but if I have to hire a bush pilot or chopper to get there, I think I'll take a pass for now. Not that I want roads built in those areas...there are enough places to visit with roads near them!
Abusive comment hidden.
(Show it anyway.)
Yeah, but was it crowded? I loved visiting a glacier in Alaska last year where we were the only people there.
Abusive comment hidden.
(Show it anyway.)