Not Yosemite Or Yellowstone: The Overlooked National Park With The Most Wi-Fi Access Points

These days it's hard for most of us to unplug, even when we're spending time outdoors. So, for many modern-day campers, booking the perfect campsite includes finding one with Wi-Fi access. In fact, most of us have come to expect we will have access to a signal wherever we park an RV or pitch a tent, unless we're in the middle of nowhere. To that end, visitors often assume bucket list national parks in the U.S., such as Yosemite or Yellowstone, are blanketed with Wi-Fi access points. The reality is that some parks are and some aren't. Popularity of the park isn't the only determinant — some overlooked national parks offer a surprisingly high number of Wi-Fi access points. One such destination is Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado. 

Wi-Fi is actually provided in national parks in two different ways. One involves free access points maintained by the National Park Service. The other involves access provided by approved concessionaires within the parks. In some instances, the concessionaire-provided Wi-Fi is free, while other situations involve a fee. But the amount of available access points or hotspots isn't always directly related to the traffic a park receives. For example, both Yellowstone and Yosemite draw in excess of 4 million visitors annually. By contrast, Mesa Verde averages about an eighth of that each year. Nonetheless, the level of Wi-Fi access in each of these parks isn't drastically different.

Everyone who visits Mesa Verde National Park, whether day visitors or overnight campers, has access to Wi-Fi. The Mesa Verde Visitor and Research Center offers free connections courtesy of the NPS. Mesa Verde Museum, some 20 miles inside the park, also offers free Wi-Fi thanks to the Mesa Verde Association Park Store. Additionally, connections are provided by concessionaires at four locations: Far View Lodge and Rooms, Far View Terrace, Morefield Campground and Store, and Spruce Tree Terrace.

For comparison, Yellowstone has Wi-Fi at the Albright Visitor Center and a half-dozen hotels and lodges in the park. However, not all of the hotels and lodges offer Wi-Fi in individual rooms. Additionally, the park advises that bandwidth is extremely limited. As a result, service can be slow and the number of devices visitors are allowed to use is limited. In Yosemite, the Ahwahnee, Yosemite Valley Lodge, Curry Village, and Wawona Hotel each provide Wi-Fi access to registered guests only. Otherwise, visitors need to visit the public library branches at Yosemite Valley or Wawona, Degnan's Kitchen in Yosemite Village, or the El Portal Market. So in some ways, Mesa Verde is better equipped to serve its visitors than these national park behemoths.

In addition to Mesa Verde, there are a number of other overlooked national parks which provide ample wi-fi access, including Crater Lake in Oregon and Glacier in Montana. Of course, it's best to know what you can expect for Wi-Fi access before you show up at the park. That is easy enough, as Wi-Fi access points aren't secrets only park rangers know about — you can actually find this information online. The NPS publishes a list of parks and facilities with public Wi-Fi, as well as a list of concession facilities with Wi-Fi.