10450 Best Sights in USA

Built in 1712, this house (whose name rhymes with "fluff") is now the only local survivor of its era aside from Old North Church, which stands nearby. Picture the streets lined with houses such as this, with an occasional grander Georgian mansion and some modest wooden-frame survivors of old Boston's many fires—this is what the North End looked like when Paul Revere was young. Today, Clough House is home to two new attractions: the Printing Office of Edes & Gill, which offers visitors live Colonial-printing demonstrations, and Heritage Goods + Gifts, a shop dedicated to New England artisans and small businesses with a special focus on locally made products from BIPOC- and women-owned businesses.

A claw-foot tub overflowing with Old Hollywood Ginn bottles recalls the era of speakeasies and bootleg hooch at the storefront tasting room of Napa's first distillery since Prohibition. Engaging staffers maintain a partylike mood, dispensing boozy tidbits—like why gin is spelled "ginn"—along with cocktails and flights of fruit-based spirits. The distillery's products include rum, whiskeys, the flagship grape-based vodka, brandies, and bottled cocktails. The whiskeys and rum aren't poured here, but you can taste them down the street at the same-owned The ArBaretum cocktail bar or, when it reopens following renovations, at the distillery itself.

Though he showed very little of his work and sold even less during his lifetime, artist Clyfford Still has nonetheless been credited as a significant contributor to the abstract expressionist movement, if not one of the most instrumental in its development. The vast majority of his extensive body of work had been sealed from the public since his death in 1980, but in 2004 his second wife chose Denver as the final resting place for a carefully curated portion—a little more than a hundred works of the more than 2,400 pieces, including paintings, drawings, and sculptures. The nine galleries reveal Still's progression in chronological displays, and true to Still's wishes, it offers no restaurant. Periodically, the museum refreshes the works on display to present a new side of the artist's vision.

Half this museum set inside converted vintage downtown storefronts houses a collection of works by renowned painter John Clymer (1907–89), an Ellensburg native who was one of the most widely published illustrators of the American West, focusing many of his oils and watercolors on wildlife and indigenous culture. The other galleries mount rotating exhibitions featuring other established and emerging Western and wildlife artists.

To glimpse how the desert looked before development, head 14 miles northeast of Indio to this 20,000-acre preserve watched over by the Bureau of Land Management. It has a system of sand dunes and several palm oases formed when underground water rose up through the San Andreas Fault lines. A variety of increasingly endangered species live here including Coachella Valley fringe-toed lizards, flat-tailed horned lizards, giant red velvet mites, and giant palm-boring beetles. One section, the Thousand Palms Oasis, includes a visitor center, primitive toilets, and a mile-long trail that meanders past pools supporting the tiny endangered desert pupfish. Guided hikes and bird-walks are offered there November through April. Be aware that it's exceptionally hot in summer here.

Considered one of the Cape's prettiest beaches, Coast Guard Beach, part of the National Seashore, is a long beach backed by low grass and heathland. A handsome former Coast Guard station is here, though it's not open to the public, and the beach has a very small parking lot (restricted to residents and vehicles displaying handicapped placards from mid-June to Labor Day), so the best bet is to head to the Salt Pond Visitor Center and follow signs to the Little Creek Staging Area parking lot. From there, take the free shuttle to the beach. Shuttles run frequently and can accommodate gear and bicycles. At high tide the size of the beach shrinks considerably, so watch your blanket. Amenities: lifeguards; parking (fee); showers; toilets. Best for: sunrise; surfing; swimming; walking.

In 1890, Mrs. Herman B. Miller planted three clumps of Japanese timber bamboo near her farmhouse 15 miles south of Savannah. As the bamboo took to the warm Southern climate, it spread to what now stands today at the Bamboo Farms at the Coastal Georgia Botanical Gardens. The gardens, deeded to the University of Georgia in 1983 for research and cultivation, now boast a 4-acre bamboo maze, a children's garden, and stunning seasonal formal and shade gardens including beds of iris and daffodil bulbs and the wonderful camellia trail in late winter/early spring. The annual Christmas lights event glimmers with fun for the whole family.

A great rainy-day educational spot for families, this small natural history museum near the mouth of Grays Harbor and Oyhut Bay Seaside Village highlights the seaside environment, local history, and Native American traditions. Displays include tsunami debris, artifacts from the founding of the city, and Native American basketry. Whale bones and a vast shell collection let you examine, and in many cases touch, the shoreline wildlife up close.

Cobscook Bay is a mishmash of small coves and sub bays, as though a giant tried to claw his way inland from Lubec and Eastport. Even for Maine, the coast here is nooks and crooks, and a number of exceptional parcels on these wildly shaped waters have become part of a nonprofit, foundation-funded public park system with 20 parks and miles of shore frontage. Amenities include woodsy screened-in picnic shelters, restrooms, water fountains, and spiffy kiosks with large maps and information about the park's ecology and history. Old Farm Point Shorefront Park off Route 189 serves as an outdoor (unstaffed) visitor center for Cobscook Shores and has a few short trails. Black Duck Cove and Race Point are two of the larger parks. The park system draws bikers, paddlers, hikers, walkers, and campers.

Columbus State University's Coca-Cola Space Science Center, part of the Riverwalk, houses a multimedia planetarium with several showtimes offered daily, an observatory, a replica of an Apollo space capsule, a space shuttle, and other NASA-related exhibits, including cool flight simulators.

This is one of the Space Coast's nicest beaches—and the place where the great professional surfer Kelly Slater got his start. It has one of the East Coast's steadiest surf breaks, as well as wide stretches of hard sand that are excellent for biking, jogging, power walking, and strolling. In some places, there are dressing rooms, showers, playgrounds, picnic areas with grills, snack shops, and surfside parking lots. Beach vendors offer necessities, and lifeguards are on duty in the summer. A popular entry road, Route 520, crosses the Banana River into Cocoa Beach. At its east end, 5-acre Alan Shepard Park, named for the famous astronaut, aptly provides excellent views of launches from Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral. Facilities here include 10 picnic pavilions, shower and restroom facilities, and more than 300 parking spaces. Parking is $15 for the day. Shops and restaurants are within walking distance. Another enticing Cocoa Beach entry point is 10-acre Sidney Fischer Park, in the 2100 block of Route A1A in the central beach area. It has showers, playgrounds, changing areas, picnic areas with grills, snack shops, and plenty of well-maintained parking lots ($20 per day). Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards (seasonal); parking (fee); showers; toilets; water sports. Best for: sunrise; surfing; swimming; walking.

These hour-long tours on vintage trolley–style buses travel 22 miles and cover Cody's history dating back to the late-19th-century era of Buffalo Bill and Annie Oakley. Tours start at the fabled Irma Hotel, named for Buffalo Bill's daughter, and take in historic sites, scenery, and wildlife and other natural attractions. On summer evenings (except Sunday) at 6, stay to watch the amusing if cheesy 30-minute mock gunfights staged outside the Irma. The "Inside & Out Combo" package includes the tour and two-day admission to the Buffalo Bill Center of the West.

Coffee Station is known for its steak fingers and Texas toothpicks—fried jalapeño peppers and onions—as well as its burgers.

Among San Francisco's most distinctive skyline sights, this 210-foot tower is often considered a tribute to firefighters because of the donor's special attachment to the local fire company. As the story goes, a young Gold Rush–era girl, Lillie Hitchcock Coit (known as Miss Lil), was a fervent admirer of her local fire company—so much so that she once deserted a wedding party and chased down the street after her favorite engine, Knickerbocker No. 5, while clad in her bridesmaid finery. When Lillie died in 1929, she left the city $125,000 to "expend in an appropriate manner . . . to the beauty of San Francisco."

You can ride the elevator to the top of the tower to enjoy the 360-degree view of the Bay Bridge and the Golden Gate Bridge; due north is Alcatraz Island. Most visitors saunter past the 27 fabulous Depression-era murals inside the tower that depict California's economic and political life, but take the time to appreciate the first New Deal art project, supported by taxpayer money. It's also possible to walk up and down to the tower (if you're in shape): a highlight is the descent toward the Embarcadero via the Filbert Steps, a series of stairways that are a shaded green oasis in the middle of the city.

This entire town is a National Historic District, and it's the most significant example of a turn-of-the-20th-century coal-coke camp in Colorado. As you drive through the area, note the telltale streaks of black in the sandstone and granite bluffs fronting the Purgatoire River and its tributaries, the unsightly slag heaps, and the spooky abandoned mining camps dotting the hillsides.

Established by the famous (since the 14th century) Italian winemaker Marchesi Antinori and Washington’s oldest winery, Chateau Ste. Michelle, this dramatic if somewhat imposing postmodern winery set atop of lofty bluff overlooking the Red Mountain AVA is devoted to big, bold, and quite pricey Cabernet Sauvignons, Malbecs, and other Bordeaux reds produced in the style of Super Tuscans. Estate tours and tastings of these critically adored wines are by reservation only. 

The house, built between 1783 and 1790, contains the Hurley Heritage Society Museum. It includes a good collection of Revolutionary War materials, and has changing exhibits about local history. Walking- and driving-tour brochures are available in its front lobby.

Starting on the west side of U.S. 385, 2 miles south of the visitor center, this 1.4-mile (one-way), mildly strenuous hike runs through an active prairie-dog town, the edge of an area burned by a controlled fire in 1986, and through Cold Brook Canyon to the park boundary fence. Experienced hikers can conquer this trail and return to the trailhead in an hour or less, but more leisurely visitors will probably need more time. Moderate.

About 15 miles from Waynesville in the Shining Rock Wilderness Area of the Pisgah National Forest, this 6,030-foot rise had long stood in relative anonymity. But with the success of Charles Frazier's bestselling novel Cold Mountain, people want to see the region that Inman and Ada, the book's Civil War–era protagonists, called home. For a view of the splendid mass, stop at any of a number of overlooks off the Blue Ridge Parkway. Try the Cold Mountain Overlook, just past mile marker 411.9, or the Wagon Road Gap parking area, at mile marker 412.2. You can climb the mountain, but be prepared—the 10-mile hike to the summit is strenuous as you ascend nearly 3,000 feet in elevation.

Eight outdoor tanks at this educational center hold the largest collection of native freshwater fish, turtles, and amphibians in New York State. For a fee, visitors can try their hand at trout fishing. It's 1½ mi from downtown Cold Spring Harbor.

One of the highlights of this museum's permanent exhibits exploring Long Island's whaling industry is a fully equipped 19th-century whaleboat. Whaling implements, paintings, scrimshaw, and ship models are also on display.

At Coldfoot, more than 250 miles north of Fairbanks, the summer-only Arctic Interagency Visitor Center provides information on road and backcountry conditions, along with recent wildlife spottings. The in-house bookstore is a good place to stock up on reading material about the area. A picnic area and a large, colorful sign mark the spot where the road crosses the Arctic Circle.

Contemporary paintings and sculptures by more than 50 southern artists are displayed in this modern space. Opening receptions are held the first Saturday of every month.

The Coleman House is an impressive twin-turret, 7,000-square-foot Queen Anne mansion that was built for a Gold Rush mining and lumber baron. Don't miss the large, brilliant-purple stained-glass window on the house's north side. The house is not open to the public.

Established in the mid-19th century, this lush green space is the centerpiece of the lower Garden District. With cycling and walking trails as well as a beautiful fountain, the wedge-shape park is a great spot to stop and relax after a walk through the neighborhood. Although the area bordered by Race and Melpomene streets can be bustling with activity during the day, it's best not to wander around alone at night.

A majestic Greek revival portico, Randolph Hall—designed in 1828 by Philadelphia architect William Strickland and built by the labor of enslaved people—presides over the college's central Cistern Yard. Draping oaks envelop the lush green quad, where graduation ceremonies and concerts, notably during Spoleto Festival USA, take place. Founded in 1770, this liberal arts college's historic campus served as the backdrop for films like Cold Mountain and The Notebook.

The Wright Brothers once trained military officers to fly at College Park Airport, the world's oldest continuously operating airport, which is now affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution. The College Park Aviation Museum is a tribute to the Wright Brothers and early aviation. Children can spin propellers and dress up like aviators. In fall, the museum hosts the Hollywood Flyers film series, showing blockbusters and documentaries about flight. Screenings take place at 1 pm on Saturday, and are free with museum admission. At the Peter Pan program, preschoolers make airplanes and hear stories on the second and fourth Thursday of the month (10:30 to noon). On their Web site, the museum offers podcast audio tours in English, Spanish, and French.

This museum chronicles the history of this small Southern town, displaying everything from butter churns to the country's first anesthesia machine. Particularly charming is the small chapel complete with stained glass, pews, and century-old wedding gowns. It's also home to the Colleton Commercial Kitchen, a small business incubator for foodies who sell their fare via foodtruck, pushcart, and retail. On Saturdays, the outdoor farmers' market runs from 9 am to 1 pm and Tuesdays it’s open 4 to 7 pm.

A wide path following old roadbeds along the spine of Collie Ridge, this trail serves as an artery connecting several trails deep in the backcountry, and forms the basis for several possible hiking loops. The trail junctions with Blair Springs Hollow, Raymer Hollow, Mill Branch, Buffalo Creek, and Wet Prong Trails. Collie Ridge backcountry campsite is reached via a 0.7-mile spur extending from the end of the trail. Horses and hiking only. 3.8 mi. Moderate.

To get a feel for local history, stroll the vignettes and temporary exhibits inside this museum, as well as the parklike displays outside it. A Seminole chickee village, native plant garden, swamp buggy, reconstructed 19th-century fort, steam logging locomotive, and more capture important Naples-area developments from prehistoric times to the World War II era. You can even pack a lunch and picnic in the shady backyard.