The road less traveled—it’s an old adage, sure, but also advice worth taking when it comes to exploring U.S. national parks. After all, our beloved parks are crowded: Last year, they had a banner year, with 325 million visitors enjoying (sometimes free) time in the great outdoors. Particular park trails, though, are more crowded than others, and in 2016, 24 million people traveled the U.S. National Parks’ “most popular” trails—a more than seven percent increase from 2015.
That’s where GPS wearable TomTom comes in. In an effort to prevent overcrowding (parks like Utah’s Zion National Park are bustling even in the off-season), the company has teamed up with the National Park Foundation to develop curated digital maps of “off-the-beaten-path” trails throughout the national parks.
How to it works: Find a park near you on TomTom’s site, download a map to a lightly-traveled trail, and instead of trekking by roaring waterfalls at Yosemite’s signature Mist Trail in tandem with hordes of others, you may wind up venturing toward the Elizabeth Lake Trail, which climbs up to a puzzle-piece-shaped, glacial lake, bordered by Unicorn Peak.
At Acadia? You’ll bypass a classic path like Beehive, in lieu of quieter Pemetic West Cliff Trail, complete with high dramatic views. Right now, the program is suggesting 23 less-trekked park trails around the U.S., but TomTom plans to continue growing its suggestions.
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I am Jeff Clark, founder of Internet Brothers, producer of this blog, and passionate about hiking. I live in Western NC near the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains. Pisgah and Nantahala National Forests are just out my door, so the content will focus on these areas, but let me know what you would like to see on the site. 
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