This U.S. National Park Was Just Named No. 1 for Families

Isle Royale National Park is on a car-free island in Lake Superior — with lots of free camping.

What makes a national park great? Its landscape? Its location? The number of visitors (or lack thereof)? The answer will vary based on who you’re talking to, but for most parents, the answer is fairly simple: people with kids are looking for a safe park with plenty of kid-friendly camping and relatively easy to get to. For most, a park near a good airport with a high safety rating is better than a remote, rugged park known for its grizzlies. (We're looking at you Gates of the Arctic.)

Families looking to squeeze in a last-minute fall trip — or those planning ahead to 2025 — need only look at the data pulled by InsureMyTrip, a travel insurance marketplace. Their researchers evaluated the 63 U.S. national parks on factors like airport access, visitation numbers, natural diversity, safety, weather, and campsite selection.

At the top of the list was Isle Royale National Park, an island-bound park in Lake Superior off the coast of Michigan. It’s just remote enough to be thrilling for kids — with a ferry or seaplane ride to kick off and end the journey — and can be reached from four cities in Minnesota and Michigan. The park scored 7.69 out of a possible 10 points in the survey.

“As families plan their 2025 vacations, it's clear that America's national parks offer a wealth of opportunities to create lasting memories. The hope is that this study makes planning a family vacation just a little bit easier, by narrowing down the national parks that fit the needs of every family,” Sara Boisvert, director of marketing at InsureMyTrip, said in the report shared with Travel + Leisure.

One of the biggest perks for parents is the fact that when you’re visiting Isle Royale National Park, your car stays parked on the mainland in Minnesota or Michigan. Not only does that free you up to enjoy a car-free vacation, but without a concern for busy roadways, kids can enjoy a bit more freedom. We’re guessing the car-free factor helped Isle Royale National Park get its near-perfect safety score of 9.9 out of 10 in the survey.

Isle Royale National Park is also known for its plentiful hiking and boating, with over 165 miles of hiking trails and myriad islands, bays, lakes, and waterways that can be explored by kayak or canoe. It has a whopping 36 campgrounds on the island, each offering tent sites, outhouses, and a water source. For families, the easiest campgrounds to access are the lakeshore campgrounds that can be reached via a water taxi from Rock Harbor Lodge or the Voyageur ll ferry. You can also book a room at the Rock Harbor Lodge or the Windigo Camper Cabins.

As an added perk, camping is free for groups of six people or fewer and you don’t have to reserve a campsite in advance. All campgrounds for parties of six or fewer are first-come first-served.

If the lack of overnight pre-planning worries you, keep in mind that Isle Royale National Park is one of the nation’s lesser-visited parks, with just 29,000 visitors in 2023. Isle Royale National Park is closed to all visitors between Nov. 1 and April 15.

Following Isle Royale National Park in the ranking was the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina and Tennessee, with an overall score of 7.5 out of 10.  

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