10457 Best Sights in USA

Enjoy a brief facsimile of a traditional ceremony at this venue, designed to be a turnkey wedding operation, with two chapels and an outdoor garden, as well as on-site flower shop, photography studio, and wedding coordinators. It's still Las Vegas, so an Elvis impersonator is available for all ceremonies.

You needn't be religious to be inspired by the setting and the architecture here. Built in 1956 by Marguerite Brunswig Staude, a student of Frank Lloyd Wright, this modern landmark, with a huge cross on the facade, rises between two red rock peaks. Vistas of the surrounding area with Bell Rock in the distance are spectacular. A beautiful Taizé service of prayer and song takes place on Monday at 5 pm—all are welcome for quiet meditation. On Friday, Adoration is held from noon until 3 pm, when mass begins. Confession is also held on Friday from 1 pm until 3 pm.

A small gift shop sells religious artifacts and books. A trail east of the chapel leads you—after a 20-minute walk over occasional loose-rock surfaces—to a seat surrounded by voluptuous red-limestone walls, worlds away from the bustle and commerce around the chapel.

This small log Catholic chapel sits in the pine forest with a view of Jackson Lake. It's open only for services, but you can enjoy the view anytime, and the grounds are nice for a picnic.

This tiny chapel built in 1925 on land donated by Maud Noble is still a functioning Episcopal church. Couples come here to exchange vows with the Tetons as a backdrop, and tourists snap photos of the small church with its awe-inspiring view.

Greek Revival architecture finds expression in this 1833 chapel atop a bluff facing the Hudson River. Passing sailors have long taken pleasure in the landmark, originally built to support the spiritual lives of West Point Foundry workers. Initially a Catholic church, the nondenominational chapel now hosts ecumenical services, weddings, and other events. The chapel has no set open hours, but the facade is worth a look, and the columned porch is a great place for river gazing.

This is an excellent first stop for an introduction to Ancestral Pueblo culture, as well as the area's development into a national park. Exhibits showcase original textiles and other artifacts, and a theater plays an informative film every 30 minutes. Rangers are available to answer your questions. The shop focuses on educational materials, but you can also find park-theme souvenirs. The museum sits at the south end of the park entrance road and overlooks Spruce Tree House. Nearby, you'll find park headquarters, a gift shop, a post office, a snack bar, and bathrooms.

This is the nicest and largest picnic area in the park. It has about 40 tables under shade trees and a great view into Spruce Canyon, as well as flush toilets.

This is a tough hike, but it comes with great views of the park's eastern lower valleys. It's about 3½ miles one way, including a 2,874-foot gain in elevation to the summit of Ypsilon Mountain (elevation 13,514 feet); you pass the summits of Mount Chapin and Mount Chiquita on the way. From the trailhead, the path heads downhill to Chapin Creek. For a short distance after leaving the trailhead, keep a sharp eye out to the right for a less obvious trail that heads uphill to the tree line and disappears. From here head up along the steep ridge to the summit of Mount Chapin. Chiquita and Ypsilon are to the left, and the distance between each peak is about 1 mile and involves a descent of about 400 feet to the saddle and an ascent of 1,000 feet along the ridge to Chiquita. From Ypsilon's summit you'll look down 2,000 feet at Spectacle Lakes. You may wish to bring a topo map and compass. Difficult.

During the 1920s these parks were segregated by gender—a leafy reminder of how much society has progressed in the past century: Chapman, between Madison and Main Streets, was reserved for women, and Lownsdale, between Main and Salmon Streets, was for men. The elk statue on Main Street, which separates the parks, was given to the city by David Thompson, mayor from 1879 to 1882. It recalls the elk that grazed in the area in the 1850s.

A visit to the painstakingly restored home of the DeLong family—who lived here from 1860 to 1910—gives you a glimpse of life in the 19th-century Adirondacks. Guided tours of the house are available Tuesday through Friday and Sunday 1–4 and Saturday 10–4. Changing exhibits showcase regional history, and an extensive photo collection displays the work of Seneca Ray Stoddard (1843–1917).

What is thought to be the oldest house in Damariscotta was completed in 1754 by Nathaniel Chapman. Unlike nearby structures that have been remodeled, it retains much of its original design. Each room has been restored to represent a different era in the house's nearly three-century history.

Ten well-preserved stone kilns, each 25 feet high and 30 feet wide, stand as if on parade. The kilns, built by laborers for the Modock Consolidated Mining Company in 1877, were used to burn wood from pinyon pines to turn it into charcoal. The charcoal was then transported to the Argus Range west of Panamint Valley—and later to the towns of Darwin and Lookout—where it was used to extract lead and silver from the ore mined there. Nearby is the trailhead for the difficult, 8.4-mile hike to Wildrose Peak.

Perched on a bluff overlooking its own sweeping lawn and Lake Michigan beyond, this museum is a 1920s era replica of an Italian villa. Roam the house's wings and enjoy the view of its Renaissance-style gardens from any of its balconies.

Inside a Tudor-style house built in 1911, with stained-glass windows by Milwaukee Glass Company, this museum houses a stunning international collection of paintings and objets d'art, including works by major 19th- and 20th-century French and American painters.

A historically sensitive renovation of its 1874 Redwood Cellar Building transformed the former production facility of the Napa Valley's oldest winery into an epic hospitality center. Charles Krug, a Prussian immigrant, established the winery in 1861 and ran it until his death in 1892. Italian immigrants Cesare Mondavi and his wife, Rosa, purchased Charles Krug in 1943, operating it with their sons Peter Sr. and Robert (who later opened his own winery). Still run by Peter Sr.'s family, Charles Krug specializes in small-lot Yountville and Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignons. All visits are by appointment.

Bordering the shores of Fort Peck Lake—and extending west more than 100 miles to U.S. 191—is the massive Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge, a 1.1-million-acre preserve teeming with more than 200 species of birds, including bald eagles and game birds; 45 different mammals, including elk, bighorn sheep, antelope, prairie dogs, and deer; and a variety of fish and reptiles. But this is also a refuge for history: each year scientists from around the country march into the preserve, and each year they find something new, whether it's dinosaur bones, buffalo jumps, tepee rings, or an old homesteader's shack. The refuge, one of the largest under the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service's management, is open for hiking, horseback riding, fishing, boating, and other activities. Several access roads run through the area; most of these are unpaved, aside from U.S. 191, which runs north–south through the western edge of the refuge.

Located along U.S. 191, 55 miles southwest of Malta, this 20-mile all-weather gravel road allows visitors an up-close and personal view of the inner workings of the refuge. Interpretive stops along the way provide information on the wildlife, geology, and history of this unique landscape. Keep your eyes out for a rare sighting of an endangered black-footed ferret, as this part of the refuge protects one of the largest free-ranging populations in the world. Stop at the Slippery Ann Wildlife Viewing Area to look for elk and deer; early mornings and evenings are best. Expect to spend three or more hours on the drive. But before you decide to tackle the road with a rental car (even a four-wheel drive), make sure your rental company allows this.

There are three staffed field stations in the refuge: the Sand Creek Wildlife Station, the Jordan Wildlife Station, and the Fort Peck Wildlife Station. Although they have no public facilities, they are conveniently scattered around the park, and are good sources of information, including maps, road conditions, and points of interest. If they're in, the rangers will help you with directions or problems.

This remnant of Charles Pinckney's 715-acre birthplace was winnowed down by development, but today the National Park Service uses archaeological findings to tell the story of the man who signed the U.S. Constitution and the people his family enslaved. While most structures linked to the site's history as a rice and indigo plantation no longer stand, an 1820s cabin erected after Pinckney's death is open to visitors, along with three buildings where enslaved people lived.

On the campus of Washington State University, this museum has the finest collection of stuffed birds and mammals and preserved invertebrates in the Pacific Northwest; more than 700 are on display and the entire collection of specimens numbers over 60,000.

Along Highway 212 in Joliet you'll find the Charles Ringer Studio & Gallery. Ringer's metal kinetic sculptures, from the huge and strange to the small and lovely, are in collections around the world, including that of former president Bill Clinton.

Runners, bikers, and in-line skaters crowd the Charles River Reservation at the Esplanade along Storrow Drive, the Memorial Drive Embankment in Cambridge, or any of the smaller and less-busy parks farther upriver. Here you can cheer a crew race (perhaps the famous Head of the Charles), rent a canoe or kayak, learn to sail, or simply sit and share the grassy shore with packs of hard-jogging university athletes, in-line skaters, parents with strollers, dreamy couples, and intense academics.

Although housed in a modern-day brick complex, this institution was founded in 1773 and is the country's oldest museum. The collection is especially strong in South Carolina decorative arts, from silver to snuffboxes. There's also a large gallery devoted to natural history (don't miss the giant polar bear). Children love the permanent Civil War exhibition and the interactive "Kidstory" area, where they can try on reproduction clothing in a miniature historic house. The Historic Textiles Gallery features rotating displays that showcase everything from uniforms and flags to couture gowns, antique quilts, and needlework.

One of a handful of commercial tea farms in the United States, you can ride a trolley through the vast fields of tea shrubs here on Wadmalaw Island. Free factory tours offer an up-close view of how tea is processed, trolley tours cover the extensive grounds and greenhouse, and the gift shop is an excellent place for souvenir shopping.

This lovely orientation center includes a kitchen stage for cooking demos along with helpful information about visiting Charleston. Staff at the center strongly encourage visitors to use the restrooms at the complex before hitting the streets (which have a lack of public bathroom options).

A National Park Service site since it was decommissioned in 1974, the Charlestown Navy Yard was one of six established to build warships. For 174 years, as wooden hulls and muzzle-loading cannons gave way to steel ships and sophisticated electronics, the yard evolved to meet the Navy's changing needs. Here are early-19th-century barracks, workshops, and officers' quarters; a ropewalk (an elongated building for making rope, not open to the public), designed in 1834 by the Greek Revival architect Alexander Parris and used by the Navy to turn out cordage for more than 125 years; and one of the oldest operational naval dry docks in the United States. The USS Constitution was the first to use this dry dock in 1833. In addition to the ship itself, check out the Constitution Museum, the collections of the Boston Marine Society, and the USS Cassin Young. The Charlestown Navy Yard Visitors Center has exhibits on ships and a fun souvenir shop. A 10-minute movie about the Navy Yard runs every 15 minutes in a small theater.

This secluded 3-acre park sits off the main drag in a residential area. Lava rocks here shelter you from afternoon gusts of wind, the sand is soft and smooth, and the slope into the ocean is very gradual. The usually gentle waves make for good swimming, and you can find interesting snorkeling along the rocks on the north end. From South Kihei Road, turn onto Kaiau Street, just north of Kamaole I. Amenities: parking (no fee); showers; toilets. Best for: snorkeling; swimming.

Discover the vistas that inspired Western artist Charles M. Russell on the Charlie Russell Chew Choo, a vintage 1950s-era train that travels on the old Milwaukee Road tracks through some of the most beautiful and remote landscapes in the state. The 4½-hour ride, which departs from Kingston, about 10 miles northwest of Lewistown, goes over three trestles and through a ½-mile-long tunnel. It includes a beef brisket dinner and a cash bar as well as live entertainment and, spoiler alert: maybe even a holdup. On weekends before Christmas the Chew Choo transforms into the North Pole Adventure which takes kids to see Santa and his entourage. Tickets for that tour typically sell out the day they go live around October.

Near Indian Hot Springs Resort is a 600-foot waterfall, Bridal Veil Falls. The imposing Charlie Tayler Waterwheel—the largest in the state—was constructed in the 1890s by a miner who attributed his strong constitution to the fact that he never shaved, took baths, or kissed women.

The lighthouse stands about a mile south of Lake Ontario, giving you an idea of how the landscape has changed since the 40-foot-tall stone structure was erected in 1822. In the 1960s a group of local high school students saved the structure—the second-oldest American lighthouse on Lake Ontario—from rumored demolition.