With national park visitations at a record high, finding some coveted peace and quiet while also enjoying the beauty of nature can be a challenge, writes Bill McKibben for The Guardian.

However, to get the best of both worlds, leading writers and environmentalists have shared their alternatives to the most popular spots.

Grand Canyon National Park was one of the nation’s favorite road trip stops with nearly 6.3 million visitors last year. However, most missed the canyon’s lesser-known North Rim, which has offers hiking options, in particular the North Kaibab trail into the Grand Canyon.

Acadia National Park attracted around 3.5 million visitors last year to view its stunning waterscapes. However, there also similar activities available at Acadia, with a much smaller crowd of around 237,000 coming to the Voyageurs National Park in Minnesota. Almost half of the park is water, with over 500 islands and 655 miles of undeveloped shoreline.

An Ideal alternative for the Glacier National Park in Montana that sees 3.3 million visitors annually is North Cascades National Park in Washington. With only 30,000 visitors, the American Alps is a dream for hikers, backpackers, and mountaineers alike.

Check out the 22 alternatives to popular national parks in The Guardian by clicking here.

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Top photo credit: MarcCooper_1950 Cliff via photopin (license)