My wife and kids have traveled to many of the well-known tourist sites and destinations in the US and are looking for new ideas. I realize this question may be vague, but, what lesser-known destinations have you visited that surprised you? Ie, you went there not expecting much but it turned out to be great/interesting/recommendable?

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Exceedingly.

Look: you want recommendations that suit YOU. So give some parameters regarding your interests and then you may get recommendations on hidden gems that meet your needs instead of descriptions of fabulous quilting demonstrations in rural West Virginia or similar nonsense. Ages of the kids helps too.

Plus, if you're into outdoor activities, say that too - in most regions of the US there's something that will fit your needs; in some regions it will be fish+barrel+shotgun.

While traveling the Columbia River Gorge Highway in Oregon this summer, we stopped for a tour of Bonneville Dam. It was surprisingly interesting. Also in that area, the Timberline Lodge at Mt. Hood was fascinating, especially after watching the video about how it came to be during the Great Depression. The "Fruit Loop" of orchards in the area was also much more fun than I thought.

Not sure they all qual;ify is "lesser known", but the places that surpised me the most have been...
Lassen Nat. Park in Northern CA
Genoa, NV
St. Augustine, FL
Leavenworth, WA
Traverse City, MI
White Sands Nat. Mon., NM
Conway, NH
Saline Valley, CA
Vicksburg, MS
Georgia Mountain Wine Region

Where have you visited so far and what are your favorites?

I guess a better way to say what I said above is that the Columbia River Gorge area and Hood River, Oregon were great vacation surprises.

Goblin Valley State Park in Utah. Buffalo River in Arkansas.


You question is vague. What have you visited? Do you like National Parks, Museums, or what? For instance, over a million people visit Glacier National Park each year, but the average person has never heard of it. They would think it is in Alaska.

I could name a ton of ideas, but need to know your interests and where you might be going in the first place. The US is just to big to start naming places.

I'll try to be clearer: the SF cable cars were way overblown, IMHO. Also, Alcatraz. I guess what I"m asking is what destinations should we consider that most people over-look? I'd like to visit the South and MidWest but know nothing about those areas of the country. We've done Washington DC (the history was great), Grand Canyon, Maui, Disney (to death), Mt. Rushmore (overblown, IMO), New Mexico, and San Diego Zoo/environs, and a cruise to the Caribbean. Kids are 13 and 17 so this next family trip may be the last one for awhile with all four of us. I like laying on a beach but the kids get bored quickly.
Sorry if this is still vague, but, hope it helps.
Thank you .....

Charleston and Savannah. Two places that really exemplify the south.

You had high expectations for places "that were overblown." If you're in the mid-west here are a few we came across that were pleasant...Go to one of the big state fairs such as in Minnesota.
Mid-West:
Door County, WI
Traverse City, MI
Field Of Dreams in Dyersville,IA
Lutsen, MN
Bayfield, WI..Apostle Is.

You're from MODESTO???? That, IMO, is overblown.

Seems like you haven't done much of the northeast. NYC is great for teens and they could never possibly get bored. Boston would be terrific too, especially if you like history. Will this be a summer trip? Cape Cod or Maine are great family destinations.

Or taking a different approach, the national parks of the west are fabulous and should be seen by every American. Zion, Bryce and the other Utah parks make a great car trip. Or Yellowstone and/or Glacier NPs are terrific too.

Of course, I wouldn't call any of the places I've mentioned "little known" but they are places that my family and many others have enjoyed. I could probably list about twenty more places too, but still don't know much about your travel style. Some helpful info so we can offer better guidance...
- when will the trip be?
- how long will the trip be?
- from where are you traveling?
- what types of activities does your family enjoy? Do you hike? Ski? Surf? Skydive?
- are cultural activities important to you? Art? History? Theater? Restaurants?
- what's your family's travel style? (Do you camp? Luxury hotels? Active sightseers? Shoppers? Adventure seekers? Etc.)

Although I should have added that I think you answered your own question in your initial post: "You went there not expecting much but it turned out to be great/interesting/recommendable." It's all about expectations. If no one told you about Alcatraz, it would have been a wonderful surprise. But since you heard a lot about it, it seemed "overblown." Maybe you shouldn't follow any recommendations so you can be "surprised."

I found Alcatraz to be a fascinating piece of history. First, the criminals who were there, how they were kept... and then the Native's uprising. Alcatraz is so much more than just a boat ride!

Now, cable cars... tourists' trap unless you go to the museum first and learn how they work. All the engineering and history behind them.

Have you not been to Yellowstone or Yosemite? Have you seen Redwoods or Giant Sequoia's? I love places like Mt. Rainier, Seattle, San Juan Islands, Olympic National Park. Lots to do in Oregon too. Coast, Crater Lake, Portland, Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Hood, Columbia River Gorge, Fruit Loop.

There are so many....just take a state like Virginia or Pennsylvania and do a little research and you would be amazed at what you will find.
For example, I visited the small town of Staunton, VA...unbelievable....a wonderful Shakespeare Theater, a church with many Tiffany stained glass windows, Woodrow Wilson home and museum, beautiful homes, unusual, old hotel, good restaurants, etc...

Can you narrow this down to a region of the country?

I found Alcatraz a pleasant surprise, much better than I anticipated, so I don't think my opinions will dovetail with yours.

Also, I really don't understand your question. No one can predict what will blow you away or underwhelm you, not even on the basis of your previous travels.

If you want to see the South, start reading up on destinations there. This site and others have good overviews; if something sounds good to you, ask specific questions here. You're well-traveled--how did you figure out to go to the places you went to?

And this:
<what destinations should we consider that most people over-look?>
Again, I just don't get it! Most people overlook Moline or the Bronx because Chicago and Manhattan have more going for them. That doesn't mean you should avoid Chicago and Manhattan for fear of being underwhelmed.

Come to Kentucky. The state runs from the Appalachian Mountains in the east to the Mississippi River in the west and north to south from the Ohio River to the Tennessee border. The scenery is varied and beautiful--the Cumberland Gap through the mountains, thoroughbred horse farms in the Bluegrass, Mammoth Cave NP, reconstructed pioneer forts, good state parks, many lakes and rivers with boating and water sports, many museums in Louisville (Derby, Muhammed Ali, Slugger Bat, Science and History and more), historic homes, the Corvette Museum, local handicrafts in Berea, theater, distillery tours, and more.

If you haven't been to Alaska, try that. If that underwhelms you, well then everywhere will. I guess I just like to travel, I do enjoy the stuff that blows me away, but I also have learned the longer I stay at some of the places that underwhelm me, then sometimes I find that it takes time to appreciate them.

For example, The Grand Canyon is a great Wow/Shock and Awe place that 10 minutes you see it and then most people leave after a couple of hours. Hiking to the bottom of it or rafting really drives home the magnitude of the place.
I went to an "off the radar" national park a couple of years ago--Guadalupe National Park. This is right nearby Carlsbad Caverns(your kids would likely love the wild cave tour there). Anyway, I hiked to Guadalupe Peak and while it was ok, I didn't find it anything special. I went back 2 years later and backpacked a couple of nights and then it really began to hit me how special it was.

I am not a museum person. However, the ones I've visited more than once(even after thinking they didn't really do that much for me), I've always found them more interesting the second time.

I think Newbe hits it dead on. BTW, Alcatraz didn't blow me away, but I found it well worth doing and really good.