Described as “America’s best idea,” the National Park System was established in large part to protect the nation’s most precious landscapes, from the deepest canyons to the tallest peaks. Some of the parks are so dang beautiful, they’ve been known to make people contemplate their own existence.
But not everyone traveling to a national park is moved to existential enlightenment. Some visitors come away angry, frustrated, or disappointed, and they turn to the internet to express themselves. Recently, for my annual end-of-year wrap up of the worst national-parks reviews,I spent an unhealthy amount of time perusing visitor comments on national parks on Google Maps, Yelp, and TripAdvisor to find the best of them.
I learned a few things in the process. I learnedthat a lot of people don’t like the timed entry and reservation systems that many parks have put in place to combat overcrowding. Like, a lot of people; I saw thousands of complaints on that topic. Also, the general lack of parking gets people fired up.
I discovered some really interesting and funny one-star (out of a possible five stars) reviews that spanned quite a spectrum, from someone complaining about the weather (apparently Canyonlands is too hot and sunny) or questioning humanity’s fascination with nature in general (to this person, Joshua Treeis just a load of big stones).
Here are my favorite bad national-park reviews of 2024. As ever, we nod to , grandmaster collector of such information, which, as autumn lit up the multitude of colors in the national forest of Vermont, noted this doozy: “Not a memorable place to go.”
(Note: Some reviews below were edited for brevity, but I left spelling errors and grammar mistakes intact.)
1. Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina and Tennessee
Great Smoky Mountains National Park protects 500,000 acres of mountains, rivers and historic farmland that is widely recognized as the most biodiverse landscape in North America. But not everyone loves it.
⭐ “This is the Walmart of national parks.” —Google Maps
⭐ “A terrible experience! This national park is the largest and most popular park in the middle of the United States and famous for their beers (sic). Every staff of the park told us that beers (sic) were everywhere. However, this park was really disappointing that I did not see any beer (sic). I only saw many turkeys and one fox…[S]ummer might not be a good time to visit here because beers (sic) or other wild animals could hide in trees and bushes.”—Google Maps
2. Death Valley National Park, California and Nevada
This 3.4 million-acre park, straddling California and Nevada, is known for its deep canyons, salt flats, and ghost towns. The first commenter reviewed it without ever having been there.
⭐ “Haven’t gone yet, will go soon, sounds hot tho.”—Google Maps
⭐ “Don’t go, nothing to see….The rock formation is not that great, quite dusty, hot, etc. Feels like an open pit mine. The only use case I can see is if you want to … test yourself or your car AC.”—Google Maps
3. Indiana Dunes National Park, Indiana
Designated a national park in 2019, Indiana Dunes protects dunes and forest on the edge of Lake Michigan, all less than 50 miles from downtown Chicago. But apparently the park has some policies on parties.
⭐ “Can’t grille, can’t smoke, can’t drink, can’t play loud music…who wants to just sit on sand.”—GǴDz Maps
4. Redwood National and State Parks, California
This collection of state and federally protected parks houses the world’s tallest trees, with landscapes spanning from rugged coastlines to thick interior woodlands. Tree color may be a subjective thing.
⭐ “California sucks so I don’t know why I was surprised when I was very disappointed. The trees aren’t as big as everyone says and they’re not red either, terrible name. The National park should just sell the land and turn the trees into paper.”—Google Maps
5. Joshua Tree National Park, California
One of my personal favorite units in the park system, Joshua Tree is home to gorgeous desert landscapes full of boulders that attract climbers and gawkers alike.
⭐ “It’s just a load of big stones. If you go make sure to take a packed lunch and drinks, you’ll certainly thank me.” —TripAdvisor
6. New River Gorge National Park, West Virginia
The newest unit to be granted full park status, New River Gorge is a multi-adventure playground with world-class paddling, rock climbing, hiking, and mountain biking. Other than that…
⭐⭐⭐ “If you hike or like white water rafting, this is a great place. Otherwise, not much else to do.”—Google Maps
7. Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida
I haven’t visited Dry Tortugas yet, but it’s on my list because these islands west of the Florida Keys offer some of the most remote spits of land in America, with beautiful snorkeling and paddling. Some feel waterlogged though.
⭐ “I paid full price for only 1% of land??? Park is literally 99% water….. my shoes got wet too like what????? More like the NOT dry Tortugas”—Google Maps
8. Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado
Couple the tallest sand dunes in North America with long-range views of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and you’ve got…
⭐ “The only reason people go here is to buy a piece of fudge or a T-shirt. That’s about it. This is literally a dumping area for the fine sand used to make volleyball courts. The funniest thing to do here is simply people watching. They act like they never seen dirt before.”—Google Maps
9. Everglades National Park, Florida
Everglades protects the largest wilderness east of the Mississippi. This review is close to being a haiku.
⭐ “No cocodrilos.
no crocodiles seen
money is lost.”—Google Maps
10. Mount Rainier National Park, Washington
This national park encompasses the 14,000-foot peak Mount Rainier, which also happens to be an active volcano. The duality of the situation is driving one visitor crazy.
⭐ “They market this place as a beautiful mountain paradise full of pastoral hikes and woodland creatures but at the same time remind you it is ready to kill you and your entire family and surrounding towns without a moment’s hesitation. Come here if you want to be gaslit by a mountain.”—Yelp
11. Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
Picture alpine lakes set beneath craggy, 13,000-foot peaks, and you’ll have an idea of the scenery within Grand Teton National Park. Meh.
⭐ “I’ve seen better in video games smh. Mother nature better step it up.”—Google Maps
12. Sequoia National Park, California
California’s jointly managed Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks are famous for their groves of giant Sequoia trees, a species that only grows on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada mountains. The drive in to reach them is irking some visitors.
⭐⭐ “A road that is truly too long and winding…I’m still recovering from the tiredness and motion sickness of the 5 hours driving around tight curves.”—TripAdvisor
13. Capitol Reef National Park, Utah
I recently decided that Capitol Reef is the country’s most underrated park for adventure. It has arches, canyons, domes, rock climbing, and gravel rides galore. One reviewer seems to be upset that the park didn’t take enough of his money.
⭐ “THIS PLACE SHOULD NOT BE A NP. It’s beyond mids and a waste of taxpayers money. Doesn’t even have a fee station to support itself…Protect the land no doubt but either charge everyone that comes through or make it a monument.”—Google Maps
14. Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
Rocky Mountain National Park is one of the most visited parks in the country, with more than 4 million people clamoring to experience it annually. The park is so popular that management deemed a timed-entry system necessary to mitigate crowds. A visitor was not psyched.
⭐ “What kind of communist came up with this system and why? I thought I lived in America, land of the free …. For all the Americans that didn’t even protest at all, thanks for nothing.”—Yelp
15. Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota
North Dakota’s Theodore Roosevelt National Park is one of the lesser-visited of our national parks, shown in the annual listings as attracting 750,862 visitors, when each in the top five attracts over 4 million (and Great Smoky Mountains NP receives over 13 million). So maybe it’s unsurprising that one visitor mixed it up with a different park.
⭐ “Maybe I missed it but I didn’t see his face in any of the cliffs or mountains. Probably erosion. Time for a touch up.”—GǴDz Maps
16. Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho
Is there a landscape more dynamic than what you find inside Yellowstone National Park, where water boils and shoots into the sky like the fountains in Las Vegas?
⭐ “Water bubbling out of the ground. Wow.”—Google Maps
⭐ “Same thing (e.g. geysers) everywhere. I got bored the second day.”—GǴDz Maps
17. Yosemite National Park, California
۴Dzٱ’s granite peaks, valleys, and mountains might have captivated Ansel Adams, but nobody ever mentions how uncomfortable nature is, do they?
⭐ “All the hikes are uphill, and you’re practically climbing cliffs. I got soaked by several incredibly large waterfalls just by standing at the bottom.”—Google Maps
18. Badlands National Park, South Dakota
Dubbed “the land of stone and light,” Badlands holds 224,000 acres of vast prairie and striking geological formations that seemingly rise out of nowhere. That didn’t satisfy this reviewer.
⭐ “Not enough mountain.” —Google
19. Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, Colorado
This national park is known for its deep, steep gorge and rugged terrain, and it has a savvy reviewer who wants it all to himself.
⭐ “JK. It’s the best spot in CO. I went one star so that everyone stays away and keeps it this way!”—GǴDz
Graham Averill is ϳԹ magazine’s national parks columnist. He has complained about many ridiculous things during his life, but never once looked at the Teton Range and thought “video games are cooler than that.” See also his recent articles on ten years’ worth of awful reviews on the revered Grand Canyon, or what makes the perfect mountain town, loving surfing and surf towns, and why he plays golf two days a week and thinks about it even more.
