3966 Best Sights in USA

This sprawling, 85-acre industrial-turned-recreational riverside park stretches from the Manhattan Bridge in DUMBO, under the Brooklyn Bridge, and all the way south to Pier 6 at the end of Atlantic Avenue. It's a gathering spot for tourists and Brooklynites alike, who come to picnic or watch movies on the lawn in the summer, play various sports on its many courts and playing fields, or simply stroll the promenade and gawk at the most postcard perfect view of the downtown Manhattan skyline—especially at sunset. The DUMBO section has a playground and a small pebble beach, plus the wonderfully restored Jane’s Carousel ( janescarousel.com).

New York’s second-largest museum (after Manhattan’s Metropolitan Museum of Art) is also one of the largest in America, with 560,000 square feet of exhibition space. The colossal Beaux-Arts structure houses a world-class collection of Egyptian art, as well as impressive collections of African, pre-Columbian, Native American, pan-Asian, and feminist art. In addition, you'll find works by Georgia O'Keeffe, Winslow Homer, John Singer Sargent, George Bellows, Thomas Eakins, and Milton Avery. The museum is also well-known for its contemporary, cutting-edge special exhibits. The monthly First Saturday (except September and November through January) is a free-entry night that's a neighborhood party of art, music, and dancing, with food vendors and several cash bars.

The owner of this 19th-century home, wealthy textile merchant Robert Moffat Bruce, bequeathed it to the town of Greenwich in 1908 with the stipulation that it be used "as a natural history, historical, and art museum." Today this diversity remains, reflected in the museum's changing exhibitions—more than a dozen new ones each year—highlighting fine and decorative arts, natural history, and anthropology. On permanent display is a spectacular mineral collection. Kids especially enjoy the touchable meteorite and glow-in-the-dark minerals, as well as the fossilized dinosaur tracks. The gift shop is terrific, too!

Even if you're eager to hit the hoodoos, the visitor center—just to your right after the park entrance station—is the best place to start if you want to know what you're looking at and how it got there. The exhibits are well-designed, and there's an excellent 24-minute film about the park. Rangers staff a counter where you can ask questions or let them map out an itinerary of "must-sees" based on your time and physical abilities. You can also use the Wi-Fi, pick up backcountry camping permits, and browse the books, maps, and other goods sold in the Bryce Canyon Natural History Association gift shop, whose proceeds help to support park programs and conservation.

This extraordinary "five-in-one" complex, an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, contains the Buffalo Bill Museum, the Whitney Western Art Museum, the Plains Indian Museum, the Cody Firearms Museum, and the Draper Natural History Museum. All are well organized and mount superb exhibitions in their respective subject areas. The flagship Buffalo Bill Museum puts into context the life, era, and activities of its (and its town's) namesake, William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody (1846–1917), whose numerous careers included guide, scout, actor, and entrepreneur. If you want to understand how the myth of the American West developed, this is the place to come. The other four museums—there's also a research library—are equally absorbing. Plan to spend at least four hours here—and to discover that this isn't enough time to take it all in. Luckily, your admission ticket is good for two consecutive days.

The drive up Lookout Mountain to the Buffalo Bill Museum and Grave provides a sensational panoramic view of Denver that alone is worth the price of admission. It was this view that encouraged Bill Cody—Pony Express rider, cavalry scout, and tireless promoter of the West—to request Lookout Mountain as his burial site. Adjacent to the grave is a small museum with art and artifacts detailing Cody's life and times, as well as a souvenir shop. The grave is 100 yards past the gift shop on a paved walkway.

This 3-mile round-trip hike leads to arguably the park's most mesmerizing feature, a wondrous landscape of hydrothermal activity characterized by boiling springs, hissing steam vents, and roiling gray mud pots. Allow two hours to complete the loop, which involves a gradual 300-foot descent into the Bumpass Hell basin, venturing to the basin's several upper viewpoints, which provide amazing views of the entire scene. Stay on trails and boardwalks near the thermal areas, as what appears to be firm ground may be only a thin crust over scalding mud.  The trail usually opens in June (after a snowy winter in July or August) and closes in early fall. Moderate.

Founded in 1885, the Burke is Washington’s oldest museum—and also one of its newest, after moving to a new, 113,000-square-foot facility in 2019. It’s an impressive space with an ambitious goal: to exhibit highlights from a collection of more than 18 million objects, encompassing natural history, archaeology, and native Northwest art and culture. You’ll see totem poles, hand-carved canoes, mastodon bones, a whale skeleton, bats, bugs, and lots of fossils. It’s all beautifully displayed, but what’s most striking about the design is the way it “turns the museum inside-out.” Glass walls let visitors look behind the scenes at 12 labs where researchers and conservators go about their work of studying and preserving artifacts. The Burke is also good about activities for kids, with daylong classes on dinosaurs and fossils (handy for parents who want some time to themselves). The museum is affiliated with UW and located on the northwest corner of campus.

Voted the world's most beautiful theme park for 26 consecutive years and counting, Busch Gardens features more than 50 rides and attractions, including some of the world's best roller coasters. Six beautifully landscaped European "countries" re-create the look and feel of France, Germany, England, Scotland, Ireland, and Italy. Sesame Street Forest of Fun brings Elmo and his Sesame Street friends to life. Grover's Alpine Express is designed for children and parents to enjoy together, and is among Busch Gardens' most popular kids' attractions. Tempesto, the latest roller coaster, offers a thrill ride with a full inversion. Busch Gardens also hosts popular song-and-dance shows (country, Americana, Irish, German folk) in several theaters.

Roller coasters and other thrill rides are the biggest draw at this theme park, which has some 4 million visitors annually. The twisting Tigris, with a 50-foot skyward surge and dramatic drops, is Florida’s tallest coaster. The Iron Gwazi, at more than 200 feet, is the tallest hybrid roller coaster in North America, as well as the fastest and steepest hybrid coaster in the world. The new-in-2023 Serengeti Flyer features back-to-back seating in gondolas that swing ever higher and faster as the ride progresses.

The park also has a world-class zoo—with more than 2,000 animals and a live entertainment venue—that provides a full day (or more) of fun for the whole family. The Jungala exhibit puts Bengal tigers center stage and at eye level—allowing you to view them from underground caves and underwater windows. In the 335-acre adventure park's habitats, you can spot some of the world's most endangered and exotic animals. For the best sightings, come early, when it's cooler. Also, to beat the crowds, start in the back of the park and work your way around clockwise.

Catering to the shorter set, the Sesame Street Safari of Fun is a 5-acre kids' playground with themed rides, shows, and water adventures. The Air Grover Rollercoaster takes kids (and parents) on minidives and twisty turns over the Sahara, while Jungle Flyers gets everyone swinging and screeching. Cool off at Congo River Rapids, Stanleyville Falls (a flume ride), or Bert and Ernie's Water Hole—complete with bubblers, geysers, water jets, and dumping buckets. Character lunches are available (but you might want to wait until after your rides).

Two blocks south of the Old Courthouse, this 46,000-seat, retro-style stadium is home to the city's beloved Major League Baseball team. The St. Louis Cardinals have won 11 World Series Championships and 19 National League pennants, so remember to wear your red! Stadium tours, which begin at Gate 3 on 8th Street, are offered year-round and include views from the Radio Broadcast Booth, Cardinals Club, and Redbird Club. See the World Series trophies in the Champions Club, and get a player's perspective from the Cardinals Dugout.

More than 80 native and international butterfly species (more than 20,000 butterflies in total) live inside the first butterfly house in the United States and the largest in the world. The 3-acre site inside Coconut Creek's Tradewinds Park has aviaries, observation decks, waterfalls, ponds, and tunnels. There are lots of birds, too: kids love the lorikeet aviary, where birds alight on every limb.

This 166-acre preserve marks the site of the first European visit to San Diego, made by 16th-century Spanish explorer Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo when he landed at this spot on September 15, 1542. Today the site, with its rugged cliffs and shores and outstanding overlooks, is one of the most frequently visited of all the national monuments. There's a good visitor center and useful interpretive stations along the cliff-side walkways. Highlights include the moderately difficult Bayside Trail, the Old Point Loma Lighthouse, and the tide pools (at low tide only). There's also a sheltered viewing station where you can watch the gray whales' yearly migration (December–February) from Baja California to Alaska (including high-powered telescopes).

A 6,800-acre valley surrounded by high mountains, Cades Cove has more historic buildings than any other area in the park. It's also stunningly beautiful, punctuated by verdant meadows and dirt paths, all surrounded by a ring of peaks. The Park Service keeps hayfields and pastures cleared, so you can see how the valley may have looked in the 19th century. There's a campground and multiple options for day hikes to peaks and along quiet rivers. The Cherokee name for this valley is Tsiyahi, "place of otters," but today you're more likely to see bears, deer, coyotes, and wild turkeys. For hundreds of years the Cherokee people hunted in Cades Cove, but there is no evidence of major settlements. Under the terms of the Calhoun Treaty of 1819, the Cherokee lost their rights to Cades Cove, and the first white settlers came in the early 1820s. By the middle of the 19th century, well over 100 settler families were growing corn, wheat, oats, and vegetables. For a while, when government-licensed distilleries were allowed in Tennessee, corn whiskey was the major product of the valley. After the establishment of the park in the 1930s, many of the nearly 200 buildings were torn down to allow the land to revert to its natural state. More recently, the remaining farmsteads and other structures have been restored to depict life in Cades Cove as it was from around 1825 to the 1940s. Cades Cove's beauty is also its curse. To experience it in the best possible setting, without traffic, rent bicycles at the Cades Cove Campground Store and ride the loop road on a car-free Wednesday or at sunrise or sunset.

One of Acadia’s premier attractions, 1,530-foot Cadillac Mountain is the Eastern Seaboard's tallest mountain. Stunning panoramic views sweep across bays, islands, and mountains on and off Mount Desert Island. You can see Bar Harbor below on the northeast side and Eagle Lake to the west. Low-lying vegetation like pitch pine and wild blueberry plants accent granite slabs in the "subalpine-like" environment. There’s a paved summit loop trail and several hiking trails up Cadillac, named for a Frenchman who explored here in the late 1600s and later founded Detroit. From mid-May–mid-October, a vehicle reservation (done through  www.recreation.gov) is needed to drive to the summit. Sunrise slots are in high demand, as this is one of the first places in the country to experience first light. It's also the perfect spot to watch the sunset or stargaze. Bar Harbor’s light ordinance helps with the latter, but keep in mind that the access road is only open 24/7 in early spring and late fall.

The opulent entrance, fountains, Roman statuary, bas-reliefs, and roaming centurions all add up to the iconic, over-the-top Las Vegas hotel. Here you can get your picture taken with Caesar, Cleopatra, and the centurion guard; find the reproduction of Michelangelo's David; or amble along Roman streetscapes in The Forum Shops to see replicas of famous fountains in Italy. Vegas history is alive and well here, too, with the prominent main porte cochere and the old-school casino with crystal chandeliers. Several renovations and the addition of Nobu Hotel have ensured the resort remains current. Shopping here at The Forum Shops is among the best in the city. The hotel's pool complex, dubbed Garden of the Gods Pool Oasis, is arguably the nicest set-up on the Strip.

Quiet, secluded, and still wild, this 3½-mile-long barrier island is one of the best shelling beaches on the Gulf Coast. The park also has plenty of sights for birders—from common sandpipers to majestic blue herons to rare black skimmers—and miles of trails through scrub oaks, saw palmettos, and cacti (with tenants such as armadillos, rabbits, and raccoons). The landscape also features mangroves and dunes, and the gradual slope of the sea bottom makes this a good spot for novice swimmers and kids.

You have to get to Caladesi Island by private boat (there's a 108-slip marina) or through its sister park, the Honeymoon Island State Recreation Area, where you take the hourly ferry ride across to Caladesi ($14 per person). You can also paddle yourself over in a kayak. Amenities: food and drink; showers; toilets. Best for: solitude; swimming.

The park protects hundreds of the largest and rarest living things on the planet—magnificent giant sequoia redwood trees. Some are 3,000 years old, 90 feet around at the base, and 250 feet tall. There are campgrounds, cabin rentals, and picnic areas; wading, fishing, and sunbathing on the Stanislaus River are popular in summer. Enjoy the "three senses" trail, designated for the sight impaired, with interpretive signs in braille that guide visitors to touch the bark and encourage children to slow down and enjoy the forest in a more sensory way.

One of the more easily accessible and rewarding adventures in the national monument, this picturesque canyon rife with oak trees, cacti, and sandstone pictographs is reached via the 6-mile round-trip Lower Calf Creek Falls Trail, which starts at Calf Creek Campground, 15 miles east of Escalante and 12 miles south of Boulder along scenic Highway 12. The big payoff, and it's especially pleasing on warm days, is a 126-foot spring-fed waterfall. The pool at the base is a beautiful spot for a swim or picnic.

This former silver-mining boomtown was founded in 1881, and, within a few years, it had 500 mines and 22 saloons. Its reconstruction in 1951 by Walter Knott of Knott’s Berry Farm makes it more about G-rated family entertainment than the town’s gritty past, but that doesn’t detract from the fun of panning for (fool’s) gold, touring the original tunnels of Maggie Mine, or taking a leisurely ride on the Calico Odessa Railroad. Of the 33 structures, five are original buildings, such as the impressive Lane’s General Store. The town's setting among the stark beauty of the Calico Hills can make a stroll along its once-bustling Main Street downright peaceful. Camping, cabins, and a bunkhouse are all available for overnight stays. 

With its native plant–covered living roof, retractable ceiling, three-story rainforest, gigantic planetarium, living coral reef, and frolicking penguins, the California Academy of Sciences is one of the city's most spectacular treasures. Dramatically designed by Renzo Piano, it's an eco-friendly, energy-efficient adventure in biodiversity and green architecture. Moving away from a restrictive role as a museum that cataloged natural history, the academy these days is all about sustainability and the future, but the locally beloved dioramas in African Hall remain.

It's best to look at the academy's floor plan to design your visit before you arrive. Here's the quick version: head left from the entrance to the wooden walkway over otherworldly rays in the Philippine Coral Reef, then continue to the Swamp to see Claude, the famous albino alligator. Swing through African Hall and study the penguins, take the elevator up to the living roof, then return to the main floor and get in line to explore the Rainforests of the World. You'll end up below ground in the Amazonian Flooded Rainforest, where you can explore the academy's other aquarium exhibits. The popular adults-only NightLife event, held every Thursday evening, includes after-dark access to all exhibits, as well as special programming and a full bar.  Considering the hefty price of admission, start early and take advantage of in-and-out privileges to take a break. Buy tickets a few days ahead for the best rate.

Founded in 1927 by Susanna Bixby Bryant, a wealthy landowner and conservationist, the garden is dedicated to the preservation of native California plant species. You can meander here for hours enjoying the shade of an oak tree canopy or take a guided tour of the grounds, whose 86 acres of ponds and greenery shelter California wild lilacs, big berry manzanitas, four-needled piñons, and other specimens. Countless bird species also live here.  Guided tram tours are offered the third Sunday of the month (reserve by the 15th of the preceding month).

Sprawling over three floors, this museum celebrates the history of trains from their 19th-century English origins to the pre–jet age glory days of rail travel. A permanent exhibit details Chinese laborers' contributions to the transcontinental railroad's completion (Sacramento was the western terminus). Another section contains one of several gold spikes issued to commemorate the joining in Utah of the west-to-east Central Pacific and east-to-west Union Pacific lines.

Up to 21 of the museum's railroad cars and engines—among them Pullman-style cars and steam locomotives—are on exhibit, and there are interactive displays and a play area for kids. Two nearby affiliated attractions (both free) worth a peek if they're open are the re-creation of the circa-1876 Central Pacific passenger station (930 Front Street) and the Huntington, Hopkins & Company Hardware exhibit (113 I Street), a facsimile of a 19th-century hardware store.

South of Pine Mountain Village lies the area's main draw: a 2,500-acre golf and tennis resort with a combination of elaborate, cultivated gardens and natural woodlands. This family-friendly destination was developed in the 1940s by textile magnate Cason J. Callaway and his wife, Virginia, as a way to breathe new life into the area's dormant cotton fields. With more than 1,000 varieties, the Day Butterfly Center is one of the largest free-flight conservatories in North America. Mountain Creek Lake is well stocked with largemouth bass and bream. Ida Cason Callaway Memorial Chapel—a favorite wedding venue—is a lovely stone chapel nestled in the woods alongside a lake and babbling stream. The Callaway Discovery Center is a popular choice for families; especially enjoyable is the daily Birds of Prey show. During the holidays, Callaway lights up with the exciting "Fantasy in Lights." 

It feels as though you've stepped back in time nearly a century upon visiting this 486-acre waterfront park on the site of a former cabin resort that thrived from the 1930s to the 1950s. Situated on the hilly, densely wooded southwestern shoreline of Camano Island, the park maintains the resort's many buildings, including about 30 well-kept cedar cabins and bungalows (available for rent) set on or near the sweeping beachfront with views to the west of Whidbey Island and the Olympic Mountains. Tasty breakfast and lunch fare is available in the cheerful Cama Beach Cafe, and you can rent kayaks, canoes, and rowboats from the park's Center for Wooden Boats. Hikers can explore more than 15 miles of woodland and beach trails, and rangers offer guided walks, campfire talks, and other interpretive programs. It's a wonderfully relaxing place to spend a few hours or a few days.

Miles of grassy, windswept dunes and a virtually empty beach await you at this remarkable 57,000-acre park on a barrier island with 24 miles of undeveloped coastline spanning from New Smyrna to Titusville. The unspoiled area of hilly sand dunes, grassy marshes, and seashell-sprinkled beaches is a large part of NASA's buffer zone and is home to more than 1,000 species of plants and 300 species of birds and other animals.

Surf and lagoon fishing are available, and a hiking trail leads to the top of a Native American shell mound, Turtle Mound. A visitor center is on Route A1A at Apollo Beach. The parks can get busy on weekends or when rocket launches are scheduled during park operating hours, as the park provides a spectacular viewing area for launches from Kennedy Space Center.

Beachcombers love Cannon Beach for its often low foamy waves and the wide stretch of sand that wraps the quaint community, making it ideal for fair-weather play or for hunting down a cup of coffee and strolling in winter. This stretch can get feisty in storms, however, which also makes Cannon Beach a good place to curl up indoors and watch the show. Haystack Rock rises 235 feet over the beach on the south side of downtown, one of nearly 2,000 protected rocks that are part of the Oregon Ocean Island Wildlife Refuge, providing a nesting habitat for birds. Continue south past Tolovana Park—a playground located in the flood plain—to find the quiet side of Cannon Beach with a bevy of tide pools and few other souls. To the north of town, the beach gives way to Ecola State Park, a breathtakingly beautiful series of coves and rocky headlands where William Clark spotted a beached whale in 1806 and visitors still come to view them offshore during the twice-yearly migrations. From here, Sitka spruce and barbecues feature along the sands. There are a few excellent trails that hug the sometimes steep cliffs that rise above sand, including a 6½-mile trail first traced by Lewis and Clark, which runs from this spot past the Tillamook Head lookout and then eventually all the way to Seaside. Amenities: parking; toilets. Best for: partiers; sunset; walking.

Established in 1792, this community flourished in the 1800s and practiced equality of the sexes and races, common ownership, celibacy, and pacifism. The last member of the religious community passed away in 1992. Shakers invented such household items as the clothespin and the flat broom and were known for the simplicity and integrity of their designs. Engaging guided tours—you can also explore on your own—pass through some of the 694-acre property's nearly 30 restored buildings, many of them with original furnishings. Crafts demonstrations take place daily. An excellent shop sells handcrafted wares.

The parking area just east of the Zion–Mt. Carmel Tunnel leads to this highly popular trail, which is about 1 mile round-trip and takes about an hour to finish. From the breathtaking overlook at the trail's end, you can see the West and East Temples, Towers of the Virgin, The Streaked Wall, and other Zion Canyon cliffs and peaks. The elevation change is 160 feet. There's no shuttle to this trail, and the parking area often fills up—try to come very early or late in the day to avoid crowds. Easy–Moderate.

A short drive west from the heart of Brewster, this spacious museum and its pristine grounds include a shop, a natural-history library, and exhibits such as a working beehive and an aquarium with live specimens from local waters. Walking trails wind through 80 acres of forest, marshland, and ponds, all rich in birds and other wildlife. A pollinator path lined with blooming plants leads to a seasonal (June-Sept.) Butterfly House. The exhibit hall upstairs has a wall display of aerial photographs documenting the process by which the famous Chatham sandbar was split in two. In summer there are family field walks, nature programs, forest bathing, and nature classes for kids age 3--12.