One in three national park sites has air pollution levels that exceed health standards set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Most of the air pollution now marring the parks’ scenic views, harming plants, and risking the health of wildlife and visitors, results from the burning of fossil fuels, especially by coal-fired power plants. Worse yet, more than 100 new coal-fired power plants are in various stages of planning and development across the country, putting national parks at risk.

10 national parks most threatened by new coal-fired power plants (in alphabetical order):

• Badlands (South Dakota)
• Capitol Reef (Utah)
• Great Basin (Nevada)
• Great Smoky Mountains (Tennessee and
  North Carolina)
• Mammoth Cave (Kentucky)
• Mesa Verde (Colorado)
• Shenandoah (Virginia)
• Theodore Roosevelt (North Dakota)
• Wind Cave (South Dakota)
• Zion (Utah)

Related links:

• National Parks Conservation Association report “Dark Horizons”
• Green Right Now: Environmental groups sue over national park air quality

Perhaps that’s just as well. Trading elbows in a crowd isn’t exactly getting back to nature, now, is it?

If peace and quiet is more your speed, consider visiting some less-celebrated parks. The Travel Channel already has done most of the heavy lifting so you don’t have to.

They’re a little out of the way for most of us, but that’s the idea, right?

Here’s the list:

1. Badlands National Park, South Dakota

2. Big Bend National Park, Texas

3. Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico

4. Crater Lake National Park, Oregon

5. Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Ohio

6. Glacier National Park, Montana

7. Great Basin National Park, Nevada

8. Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

9. Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado

10. Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota

What’s so cool about them? Visit The Travel Channel to find out.