>>900212National Parks are "parks," not "wilderness." They are heavily managed, labeled, interpreted, restricted, permits required for everything, and so forth.
I grew up in California. We used to go camping at Juniper Lake in Lassen National Park. This was around 1968 or so. Dad chose that because it was a long dirt road to get in there, so it was less visited than places like Yosemite (I haven't been to that part of Lassen since about 1976). In the late 1970s I had a friend who spent a lot of time in Yosemite National Park, and we went there a few times. Just about every year we'd go there, drive past the entrance station after dark (no ranger to take any entrance fees) then we'd park in one of the lots, pack our sleeping bags up a trail a little ways (you needed reservations for a campsite even back then), sleep until daybreak, then day-hike up to the top of Half Dome, about an 18 mile round trip. That walk usually beat us up pretty good. So we'd chill by the river, wait for it to get dark, then drive out of the park after the fee-check station was closed. We could either camp outside the park or drive home about five hours or so.
Those were the days, I guess. If you want to hike to the top of Half Dome in Yosemite nowadays, you need to get a reservation SIX MONTHS in advance! I couldn't believe it when I heard that. Apparently if you get caught on that trail without paperwork you get a hefty fine.
Tl;dr, I rarely visit US National Parks anymore because they are extremely crowded. The second worst places are designated Wilderness Areas. Once you slap these labels on a place, everyone wants to visit them.
Pic related, Yellowstone National Park. Been there, done that, never again.
