The Ten Least-Visited States in the US

Obviously, now is not the time to travel, but there's nothing wrong with using the time at home to think about future travel. As you know, our plan is to take Trevor to all fifty states before he's 18. We'd expected to knock a few more states off the to-visit list in 2020, but life is nothing if not unpredictable. Once it's completely safe to travel, we'll have to adjust our plans to visit all of the remaining 16 states.

I came across this interesting article that lists the least-visited states in the US. It actually includes the 20 least visited, but I'm going to focus on the top (bottom?) ten. Before I proceed, can you guess what state is #1?

Source

10. Oklahoma

We haven't visited Oklahoma yet, but when we do I think we'll end up spending the bulk of our time in Oklahoma City. Besides the Capitol and Oklahoma History Center, I'm most interested in seeing the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, the OKC National Memorial and Museum, and the American Banjo Museum. And I really want to take a tour on the Bricktown Water Taxi!

9. Nebraska

I'm not surprised Nebraska is #9, as so many people (even Nebraskans) were surprised we'd vacation there. But it was fantastic! We could have spent weeks in Omaha and not run out of things to do and see. Go here to read about all of our Nebraska favorites.

8. Iowa

We only spent a day and a half in Iowa, which is obviously not nearly enough time. But we were impressed with everything we saw and did. There's a lot more than corn in Iowa (although we saw that, too)! Read about our favorite things to do in Iowa.

7. West Virginia

Our time in West Virginia was short, but we made the most of it. I'd recommend going just for the (free!) West Virginia State Museum. It's one of the best museums I've ever seen. Here's everything we did in West Virginia.

6. South Dakota

We haven't visited South Dakota yet, but as of a month or so ago, we have more reason than ever to plan a trip there. Our nephew, Ian, is now stationed in Rapid City. He and his wife, Rachel, are expecting their first baby at the end of the year!

5. Vermont

We haven't been to Vermont yet, but I've mapped out the route we'll take when we do. Highlights include the Vermont State House and Ben & Jerry's factory tour and Flavor Graveyard, with a possible diversion to see the world's tallest filing cabinet.

4. Montana

This one is heartbreaking, as we were supposed to be arriving in Montana this week. We'd planned four days in Missoula, then a day in Helena, then on to two days in Yellowstone, and then Grand Teton. I hated having to cancel.

3. Delaware

We spent one day in Delaware in October 2017. We focused on the Dover area and enjoyed our visit. Read about our stops here.

2. Wyoming

As I mentioned in my Montana comments above, we had planned to be in Wyoming next week and I'm so disappointed to miss it. Fortunately, we've been to Wyoming before and absolutely loved our day in Cheyenne. We packed a ton into our time there, which you can read about here.

1. Alaska

Did you guess that Alaska would be the least-visited state in the US? I sure didn't! I suppose it makes sense, being that it is both far from the Lower 48 and has the shortest tourist season. We've been to Alaska three times as a family of three (Steve and I had both been to Alaska separately before that) and we've loved every minute. Alaska is beautiful and if you haven't been, you should make plans to go. You can read about our recommendations for places to go and things to do in Alaska here.