10405 Best Sights in USA

Whether you're staying in Grand Lake or merely stopping on your way to another destination, the 80-mile (one way) Colorado River Headwaters Scenic and Historic Byway between Grand Lake and State Bridge is worth a side trip. The route takes you along the Colorado River, past hot springs, ranches, and reservoirs, through wide spaces with views of mountains, along deep canyons, and through a seemingly incongruous sage-covered desert. Along the turnouts within Gore Canyon, you can get a good look at the roaring Colorado River and train tracks below. Stop by the viewing platform at the Gore Canyon Whitewater Park at Pumphouse to see paddlers and boarders playing in the waves.

Now located in Bullhead City Community Park, the Colorado River Museum displays the rich past of the tristate region where Nevada, Arizona, and California converge. Earnest volunteers guide you through the haphazard array of artifacts from the Mojave tribe and the gold rush era in nearby Oatman. There are also exhibits on the building of Davis Dam, 18th-century explorer Father Francisco Garcés, and the experimental use of camels in the area by a pre–Civil War U.S. Army.

On the other side of the river from Fort Yuma, the Civil War–period quartermaster depot resupplied army posts to the north and east and served as a distribution point for steamboat freight headed overland to Arizona forts. The 1853 home of riverboat captain G. A. Johnson is the depot's earliest building and the centerpiece of this park. The residence also served as a weather bureau and home for customs agents, among other functions, and the self-guided tour through the house provides a complete history. Also on display are antique surreys and more "modern" modes of transportation like a 1931 Model A Ford pickup. You can visit a re-creation of the Commanding Officer's Quarters, complete with period furnishings. A popular Italian restaurant, Autentico Sapore, is also here.

This walk to the ghost town of Lulu City on the west side of the park is excellent for looking for the bighorn sheep, elk, and moose that reside in the area. Part of the former stagecoach route that went from Granby to Walden, the 3.7-mile trail parallels the infant Colorado River to the meadow where Lulu City once stood. The elevation gain is 350 feet. Moderate.

The Colorado Snowsports Museum and Hall of Fame traces the development of skiing and snowboarding throughout the world, with an emphasis on Colorado's contributions. Six galleries include old skis and tows, Olympic displays, ski and snowboard history, and an exhibit on the 10th Mountain Division, an army division that trained nearby during World War II.

This regional museum has a fine permanent collection of modern art and excellent rotating exhibits. Some highlight the cultural contributions of regional artists; others focus on famous artists such as the glassmaker Dale Chihuly and American pop artist Andy Warhol. Enjoy the view of Pikes Peak and the mountains from the patio in the summer.

Looking for something other than colonial history? This museum was created to tell the herstory of Black girls through personal objects used and cherished in everyday life. Established in 2015, the unique museum embraces the value of intimate spaces and the experiences of Black girls and their home life, with the aim to also be a research facility, exhibition space, gathering place, and think tank. The space hosts special exhibitions, and currently only Saturday tours are available via online reservation.

This limestone grotto 20 miles southeast of Tucson is the largest dry cavern in the world. Guides discuss the fascinating crystal formations and relate the many romantic tales surrounding the cave, including the legend that an enormous sum of money stolen in a stagecoach robbery is hidden here.

Forty-five-minute cave tours begin every hour on the hour and require a ½-mile walk and a climb of 363 steps. The park includes a ranch area with horseback rides through saguaro forests offered October–May (from $40), a gemstone-sluicing area, a petting zoo, a gift shop, and a café. You can also picnic, hike, and mountain-bike in the surrounding 2,400-acre wilderness park; campsites ($10) are on a first-come first-served basis.

At this useful center near the shore of Jackson Lake, a small display shows off items from the park's collection of Native American artifacts. In summer, rangers lead daily hikes, including to Swan Lake, from here. Nightly ranger talks on various topics are also offered, and the center frequently hosts Native American storytellers and artists from around the country who display and sell their works.

A convention of delegates met here in 1849 to draft the first state constitution. The stone building, which has served as a school, a courthouse, and the county seat, is a city-run museum furnished as it was during the constitutional convention. The extensive grounds outside the hall surround the Old Monterey Jail.

The building that houses the museum and the offices of the Columbia County Historical Society was a Masonic temple and dates from 1916. You can trace your roots with the help of staff and extensive genealogical archives, peruse period postcards, and see fine examples of period furniture.

A visit to Columbia Glacier, which flows from the surrounding Chugach Mountains, should definitely be on your Valdez agenda. Its deep aquamarine face is 5 miles across, and it calves icebergs with resounding cannonades. This glacier is one of the largest and most readily accessible of Alaska's coastal glaciers. The state ferry travels past its face, and scheduled tours of the glaciers and the rest of the sound are available by boat and aircraft from Valdez, Cordova, and Whittier.

Exhibits and artwork at this expansive, contemporary museum just off Interstate 84 as you approach The Dalles from the west highlight the geological history of the Columbia Gorge, back 40 million years when volcanoes, landslides, and floods carved out the area. History exhibits focus on 10,000 years of Native American life and exploration of the region by white settlers, from Lewis and Clark to the early-20th-century engineers who developed the Historic Columbia River Highway. The paved, multi-use Dalles Riverfront Trail connects the museum to downtown and the Dalles Dam, 10 miles upriver.

A petroglyph whose eyes seem to look straight at you, "She Who Watches" or "Tsagaglalal" is the logo for this museum. Sitting among the dramatic basaltic cliffs on the north bank of the Columbia River Gorge, the museum explores the life of the Gorge: its history, Native culture, architecture, legends, and much more. Younger guests enjoy the the 37-foot-high fish wheel, a device like a mill wheel equipped with baskets for catching fish, from the 19th century. Historians appreciate studying the water route of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. There's also an eye-opening exhibit that examines current environmental impacts on the area.

A great number of birds are attracted to this reserve: hawks, falcons, golden eagles, ducks, sandhill cranes, herons, American avocets, black-necked stilts, and yellow-headed and red-winged blackbirds. The refuge is also home to beavers, muskrats, badgers, and coyotes.

Dioramas of Long Beach towns illustrate the history of southwestern Washington, and other displays cover Native Americans; the influx of traders, missionaries, and pioneers; and the contemporary workers of the fishing, agriculture, and forest industries. The original Ilwaco Freight Depot and a Pullman car from the Clamshell Railroad highlight rail history. Also on display is a 26-foot surf boat used by the Klipsan Beach Lifesaving Service Station.

Adjacent to the Columbia River, this is one of Washington's great parks. Its 4½-mile-long riverfront has boat ramps, a golf course, picnic areas, playgrounds (including an aquatic one), train ride, skate park, and family fishing pond. In summer, hydroplane races are held here.

This shaded picnic area near the sequoias is relatively level. Tables, restrooms, drinking water, and grills are available.

The smell of its bread baking is so good that Columbus Baking Co. could charge admission. On a side street in Syracuse's Little Italy section, the bakery has just one product and makes it 10 paces from where customers buy it.

Part antiques store, part museum, this eclectic site boasts the world’s largest collection of lunch boxes and other pop-culture treasures. There are seven “museums” or displays within the collective: The Lunch Box Museum, The Georgia Radio Museum, The Royal Crown Cola Museum, The Chero-Cola Museum, The Nehi Drink Museum, The Tom Huston Peanut Museum and The Car Museum. Evoking nostalgia while showcasing the industrial history of his hometown is key to founder and curator Allen Woodall, Jr.’s vision. The soft drink brands and Tom’s Snacks originated in Columbus in the early 20th century.

The park system includes 14 parks, totaling more 23,000 acres throughout seven Central Ohio counties. Facilities vary across the system and include bridle and bike trails, Indian mounds, a botanical park, pioneer cemetery, historic farm depicting a 19th-century homestead, wetlands, and a prairie. Clear Creek is the most remote and primitive.

The state's largest art and history museum invites visitors to celebrate creativity and culture through the experience of American art, regional history, tranquil gardens, and more. The museum reopened in May 2024 following a transformative renovation including a new children's gallery and garden, history galleries, orientation spaces, courtyard, and grab-and-go café. The art galleries have been reimagined and historic features in the Bradley Olmsted Garden have undergone repair. Art enthusiasts, history buffs, nature lovers, and learners both young and old will find something of interest here.

People-watching and/or eating takeout lunch are the things to do in this park. Swing by in the morning, and you'll see men and women practicing tai chi; the afternoons bring intense games of cards and mah-jongg. In the 1880s, a neighborhood-improvement campaign brought about the creation of the park, which was, in the mid-19th century, the site of the infamous area—ruled by dangerous Irish gangs—known as the Five Points because it was the intersection of Mulberry Street, Anthony (now Worth) Street, Cross (now Park) Street, Orange (now Baxter) Street, and Little Water Street (no longer in existence).

Highway 155 passes through the Colville Indian Reservation, one of the largest reservations in Washington, with about 7,700 enrolled members of the Colville Confederated Tribes. This was the final home for Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce, who fought a series of fierce battles with the U.S. Army in the 1870s after the U.S. government enforced a treaty that many present-day historians agree was fraudulent. Chief Joseph lived on the Colville reservation until his death in 1904. There's a memorial to him off Highway 155 east of the town of Nespelem, 17 miles north of the dam; four blocks away (two east and two north) is his grave. You can drive through the reservation's undeveloped landscape, and except for a few highway signs you'll feel like you've time-traveled to pioneer days. The Colville Tribal Museum ( 512 Mead Way, Coulee Dam  509/633–0751  Closed Sun.–Tues. and Oct.-Mar.) is worth a visit.

Located about 3 miles northwest of Wolf Trap, this operating gristmill dates from the first decade of the 19th century, although the country store was added in the early 20th century. In addition to the restored gristmill, there are two exhibit rooms inside the miller's home. It offers tours every hour on the hour, with the last tour leaving at 3; educational programs; special events; and occasional outdoor concerts. You can picnic on the grounds, feed the ducks, and learn about America's technological roots. The Colvin Run Mill General Store originally served the local community and today offers penny candy, freshly ground cornmeal and wheat flour, and various old-fashioned goods. The mill itself usually operates Sunday afternoon from April to October. Call ahead to see if conditions permit grinding.

The newest museum addition to Balboa Park celebrates San Diego's popular Comic-Con convention and all things related. Rotating exhibits explore topics such as the history of animation, cosplay design and the evolution of Pac-Man, as well as tracing the growth of Comic-Con itself from a small gathering of enthusiasts 50 years ago to the international showcase it is today. Interactive exhibits offer visitors chances to tinker, animate, and game, while daily scavenger hunts offer prizes. The gift shop is worth a browse with its interesting selection of collectibles and books.

Among those buried in this graveyard, which dates back to 1665, are several governors, a Declaration of Independence signatory, famous lighthouse keeper Ida Lewis, and Desire Tripp, whose unusual February 1786 gravestone commemorates the amputation of her arm. Many tombstones were made in the stone-carving shop of John Stevens, which opened in 1705 and still operates today. The historic African American section of the cemetery, which contains the graves of slaves and freedmen alike, is known as "God's Little Acre." The Newport Historical Society sometimes offers walking tours.