These are the most underrated destinations in the USA
Disney World, Times Square and Yellowstone National Park can be packed to the rafters with tourists. But there are plenty of other places across the United States that continue to fly beneath the travel radar.
While there are literally hundreds of locations that fit that description, here are ten destinations – from cities and national parks to regions and even entire states – that remain refreshingly underrated despite the surge.
Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah
The largest national monument in the Lower 48 states, Grand Staircase-Escalante (GSE) sprawls across almost 1.9 million acres of largely roadless wilderness in south-central Utah.
The park takes its name from the remote Escalante Canyons and a sequence of huge plateaus that descend like a giant staircase between Bryce Canyon and Zion.Supervised by the Bureau of Land Management, GSE offers plenty of scope for wilderness hiking, camping and mounting biking.
In addition to primitive camping, Grand Staircase-Escalante also boasts upscale glamping spots like Yonder Escalante near the Escalante Interagency Visitor Center in the town of Escalante, and Under Canvas near Lake Powell.
Kaʻū District, Hawaii
Likely the first place that Polynesians stepped ashore in the Hawaiian Islands more than 1,000 years ago, Kaʻū is the southern end of the big Island of Hawaii.
Virtually untouched by modern tourism, the district is celebrated for its dramatic black and green sand beaches, tropical fruit and coffee farms and popular Punalu'u Bake Shop.
Hikers and mountain bikers can explore the remote Kahuku Unit or Ka'u Desert in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, while Kealakekua Bay offers awesome kayaking, snorkeling and Hawaiian history at the district's northwest corner.
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Pioneer Valley, Massachusetts
Far western Massachusetts boasts the Berkshires, while the state's eastern end is anchored by Boston and Cape Cod. So what's in the middle? Pioneer Valley, an area carved by the Connecticut River where several vintage mill cities have reinvented themselves in modern times.
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield is where the sport was born in 1891 as a rainy-day indoor activity, while the city's Amazing World of Dr. Seuss Museum & Sculpture Garden celebrates the Springfield-born children's author.
One-off shops, restaurants and the LGBTQ scene make Northampton worth a visit, or hop across the Connecticut River and hike a portion of the New England Trail through the north woods.
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Durham, North Carolina
Few American cities have experienced a more dramatic turnaround over the past 15 years. From its days as a tobacco factory town, Durham has evolved into a science, art, sports and entertainment hub that revolves around a reenergized downtown and reimagined American Tobacco Campus.
The Durham Bulls – the nation's most famous minor league baseball team – play their often-sold-out games at a spiffy little downtown stadium. At the Duke Lemur Center, visitors can walk through giant forest habitats helping to preserve some of the planet's rarest mammals.
Meanwhile, the city's craft brewery and distillery scene is outta sight.
Ouachita Mountains, Arkansas
Tucked into a valley on the southeast edge of the Ouachita range, Hot Springs National Park has been popular since the 1830s when the first bathhouses appeared. But few visitors make it much farther into the highlands of west-central Arkansas.
Unlike the nearby Ozarks, which boast manmade ways to sample nature and culture, the Ouachitas are exceedingly untouristy. That makes these mountains ideal for those who like their hiking, camping and fishing with a large dose of solitude.
Magazine Mountain (the state's highest point) is a regional hang-gliding mecca and the area also boasts gnarly mountain biking routes.
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Pennsylvania Wilds
From abundant wildlife and untamed mountain streams to the old growth trees of the Forest Cathedral and Pine Creek's gaping Mid-Atlantic version of the grand canyon, there's still plenty of wild in north-central Pennsylvania.
One of the least populated places east of the Mississippi River, the Wilds sprawl across a vast expanse of the rugged Allegheny Plateau. In addition to Allegheny National Forest, the region harbors 29 state parks, two national wild and scenic rivers, and a world-class stargazing center at Cherry Springs, as well as human relics like the Kinzua Bridge (dubbed the "8th Wonder of the World" when it opened in 1882).
White Sands National Park, New Mexico
Like something created for a sci-fi movie rather than a quirk of nature, White Sands feels like visiting an alien planet. That's how strange it is to explore the world's largest gypsum dune field.
Visitors can hike across or sled down the bright-white dunes. If you didn't pack your own toboggan, the visitor centre gift shop sells/rents plastic discs.
Overnight backpack camping is available along a sandy wilderness trail.
Block Island, Rhode Island
Unlike the other big isles off southern New England, this offshore slice of the Ocean State has gone the extra mile to preserve its natural environment. In fact, the Nature Conservancy declared the petite isle one of a dozen "Last Great Places" in the western hemisphere.
Wildlife refuges and other nature areas protect 40 per cent of Block Island, and residents are renowned for their fierce opposition to anything that might imperil their pristine Atlantic home.
Beaches, biking and trekking kilometres of coastal and inland trails are the main daytime activities. After dark, the island boasts a surprisingly good food scene and laid-back bars like Captain Nick's and the Poor People's Pub.
Channel Islands National Park, California
A throwback to old California, the five-island park preserves paleolithic digs, frontier-era ranches and relics of Spanish exploration.
But its forte is raw nature. Whales, dolphins, sea lions and sea otters frolic in the waters around the park, while the islands provide a terrestrial habitat for super-rare flora and fauna species like the Torrey Pine and Island Fox.
Only around 30,000 people set foot on the islands each year. For those who make the ferry crossing from Ventura Harbor, there's scuba diving, kayaking, hiking and backpacking – often in total solitude.
