There's a special kind of remoteness that makes our national parks so magical—the same remoteness that makes cell phones completely useless. I've stood on rim of the Grand Canyon without a single bar of signal, navigated Utah's canyonlands with nothing but GPS, and watched fellow hikers frantically try to load maps that would never arrive.
If you're planning to visit any of these parks, downloading offline maps isn't just a good idea—it's essential. Here are the ten national parks where cell coverage is notoriously unreliable and offline navigation is a must.
1 Death Valley National Park
Death Valley is the largest national park in the contiguous United States, and cell coverage is essentially non-existent outside of Furnace Creek and Stovepipe Wells. The park's immense size, extreme terrain, and sparse population mean that cell towers simply don't exist across most of the landscape.
Critical: Navigation errors in Death Valley can be life-threatening due to extreme temperatures and vast distances between services. Always download detailed maps and carry paper backups.
2 Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone's developed areas (Old Faithful, Mammoth Hot Springs, Canyon Village) have reasonable coverage, but step onto any backcountry trail and you'll lose signal immediately. The park's vast wilderness interior—where some of the best hiking exists—has zero coverage.
With over 900 miles of trails, Yellowstone's backcountry requires careful navigation. Offline maps with accurate trail data are essential for multi-day backpacking trips.
3 Grand Canyon National Park
The Grand Canyon's incredible depth works against cell coverage. While the South Rim has some connectivity around Grand Canyon Village, the canyon itself is a massive signal dead zone. Once you descend below the rim, your phone becomes little more than a camera.
For rim-to-rim hikes or any descent into the canyon, offline maps are critical. The multiple trail junctions and corridor routes require reliable navigation.
4 Olympic National Park
Olympic's combination of rainforest, mountains, and rugged coastline creates a cell signal nightmare. The dense tree canopy in the Hoh Rainforest blocks signals even where towers exist, while the remote wilderness interior has no coverage at all.
The park's diverse ecosystems—from temperate rainforest to alpine meadows to coastal tide pools—all require different maps and have equally poor connectivity.
5 Big Bend National Park
Located in one of the least populated regions of the United States, Big Bend is about as remote as it gets. The nearest major city is over 300 miles away, and cell towers are essentially non-existent. Even the main roads through the park have zero coverage.
The Chisos Mountains and desert canyons offer incredible hiking, but you'll be navigating entirely by offline maps and dead reckoning.
6 Denali National Park
Alaska's Denali is truly wild—six million acres of wilderness with only one road partially penetrating its boundaries. Cell coverage exists only at the park entrance area. Beyond that, you're in one of the most remote places in North America.
Denali has no marked trails, making detailed topographic maps even more critical. Navigation here requires reading the landscape, not following a path.
7 Canyonlands National Park
Canyonlands' dramatic terrain—hundreds of colorful canyons, mesas, and buttes carved by the Colorado River—creates countless signal shadows. The park's three districts (Island in the Sky, Needles, and the Maze) all have minimal to no coverage.
The Maze District in particular is one of the most remote areas in the Lower 48, requiring serious navigation skills and detailed offline maps.
8 North Cascades National Park
Often called the "American Alps," North Cascades has the fewest annual visitors of any contiguous U.S. national park. The dramatic mountain terrain blocks signals, and the sparse visitation means there's little infrastructure investment.
The park's challenging alpine trails require accurate navigation, especially when weather reduces visibility.
9 Glacier National Park
Glacier's rugged peaks and deep valleys create significant dead zones. The Going-to-the-Sun Road has spotty coverage, but most trails quickly lose all connectivity. The park's backcountry is completely off-grid.
With over 700 miles of trails and challenging terrain, offline maps are essential for safe navigation.
10 Kings Canyon & Sequoia National Parks
These connected Sierra Nevada parks are home to the world's largest trees—and some of the deepest canyons in North America. Kings Canyon itself is deeper than the Grand Canyon, and cell signals simply cannot penetrate the terrain.
The parks' extensive backcountry, including the famous High Sierra Trail, requires comprehensive offline map coverage.
Preparing for Off-Grid Adventures
Before visiting any of these parks, follow this preparation checklist:
- Download comprehensive offline maps. Use an app like Gaia GPS or AllTrails to download the entire park region with topo detail.
- Download an area larger than your planned route. You may need to adjust your itinerary or find alternate trails.
- Test your maps in airplane mode. Verify everything works before you leave home.
- Carry a paper map as backup. Electronics can fail; paper maps don't need batteries.
- Consider a satellite communicator. For true emergencies, devices like Garmin inReach provide two-way messaging via satellite.