10405 Best Sights in USA

About 5½ miles west of Tuba City, between mileposts 316 and 317 on U.S. 160, is a small sign for the Dinosaur Tracks. It's free to see these tracks that a dilophosaurus—a carnivorous bipedal reptile over 10 feet tall—left in mud that turned to sandstone, but Navajo guides will often greet you as you arrive and insist on taking you around the site. They're very friendly and helpful, but if you take them up on their offer, they expect to be tipped, usually at least $20. Ask them about guiding you to the nearby petroglyphs and freshwater springs.

You can view more than 500 fossilized dinosaur tracks along the ½-mi wooden Dinosaur Trackway at Clayton Lake State Park, making this one of the few sites of its kind in the world. The tracks, estimated to be 100 million years old, were made when the area was the shore of a prehistoric sea. Eight species of dinosaurs, vegetarian and carnivorous, lived here. The sparkling lake that gives the state park its name is ideal for camping, hiking, and fishing.

Salmon are integral to life in Southeast Alaska, and Alaskans are proud of their healthy fisheries. A visit to the hatchery is a great introduction to the complex considerations involved in maintaining the continued vitality of this crucial resource. Watch through an underwater window as salmon fight their way up a fish ladder from mid-June to mid-October. Inside the busy hatchery, which produces almost 125 million young salmon annually, you will learn about the environmental considerations of commercial fishermen and the lives of salmon. A retail shop sells gifts and salmon products. The salmon hatchery is part of a larger nonprofit, Douglas Island Pink and Chum, Inc., and is usually referred to locally by its acronym, DIPAC.

Low on greenery but high on gathering space, this 2009 addition to the city's downtown park blocks was designed as a public piazza—it hides a 700-space parking garage below. A glass canopy–light display provides cover, and a fountain dedicated to teachers cools off summer visitors. Chess players enjoy the giant (it's 16 feet square) board with 25-inch-high pieces, available on a first-come, first-served basis. There's a branch of Elephants Delicatessen—great for salads, deli sandwiches, chocolates, and wine by the glass and bottle—with both indoor and outdoor seating adjacent to the piazza.

The DISCOVERY Children's Museum is one of the most technologically sophisticated children's museums in the entire country. The facility comprises nine theme exhibition halls, all of which are designed to inspire visitors—both children and adults—to learn through play. The star of the show: a 12-story exhibit dubbed "The Summit," with education stations on every level and a lookout that peeks through the building's roof. Parents of the smallest visitors will also love "Toddler Town," an area designed for those who are still crawling or just learning how to walk. "Fantasy Festival," another exhibit, comprises a life-size pirate ship (yes, really), and ample clothes for kiddos to dress up.

The only theme park in Orlando that can be called "exclusive" offers relaxing swims and uncrowded, daylong encounters with dolphins, otters, sharks, and rays—all located right in the heart of Orlando. You can enjoy resort-style amenities amid tropical landscaping, white-sand beaches, waterfalls, and vast freshwater pools. Lockers, wet suits, parking, breakfast, lunch, drinks, and snacks are included in the regular admission price, as are snorkeling with tropical fish and rays in the Grand Reef, hand-feeding exotic birds in the Explorer's Aviary, or just floating on the Wind Away lazy river.

Add-ons—such as using a diving helmet in the Grand Reef, swimming with the sharks, or Atlantic bottlenose dolphin swim experiences—are available for an additional cost and often sell out, requiring reservations to be booked well in advance. Note that there are ticket options that get you into this park as well as SeaWorld, Aquatica, and Busch Gardens in Tampa (and varying combos of the four). Ticket prices vary wildly depending on day, the season, and the package options (there are many).

The region's premier children's museum, geared toward kids ages 2 to 10, has three floors of lively hands-on experiences. Kids can participate in a television newscast, learn about dinosaurs by seeing what it's like to be a paleontologist, tell stories through pictures or radio, climb into a Life Flight helicopter, or revel in a kid-size town with grocery store, vehicles, a house, and a construction site. The family-friendly restaurants of the surrounding Gateway Center, including the HallPass food hall, are steps from the museum.

This 12-acre greenspace across from the George R. Brown Convention Center features Wi-Fi access, a lake, a model-boat pond, an amphitheater, and The Grove, serving steaks, seafood, and acclaimed burgers.

Visitors young and old learn about science and technology through hands-on STEAM learning experiences and demonstrations that explore electricity, computers, sound, light, magnetism, and energy. Particular draws include the Hall of Space, where you can touch a real meteorite and Skylab artifacts, and Teddy Bear Triage, where little ones can apply first-aid treatments to their own stuffed animals. Don't miss the planetarium shows—some geared to young children and others to all age groups.

Bring a picnic to enjoy in adjacent Adventure Park.

You'll find a butterfly pavilion, bugs galore, nature trails, a puppet theater, and hands-on exhibits just for children at this museum. Kids can experience up-close interaction with animals, and explore the Fort Wild outdoor play area.

Allow at least two hours for the aquariums, the three-story rain forest, "Nose-to-Nose" live animal shows, and the IMAX Dome Theater. Lie on a bed of nails, conduct experiments in the interactive labs, or get in touch with your inner innovator as you create shoes from garbage. Check the schedule for special exhibits.

This overlook marks the spot at which prospectors first spied the lake in 1853. Wizard Island is just northeast, close to shore.

A full-size model of a triceratops skull welcomes you to the Discovery Station and Hagerstown Aviation Museum, the first hands-on science museum in Western Maryland. Set in a former bank building, the museum allows kids to work the controls in the cockpit of a Cessna plane, squeeze through a model of an artery, and dig in sand for dinosaur fossils. Other popular attractions include a National Institutes of Health–sponsored exhibit on the eye and a model of the solar-powered NEAR spacecraft which traveled more than 200 million miles from the sun to explore asteroids.

You could easily spend an entire day exploring this museum's aquariums and innovative exhibits that show how engineers apply science to real-life situations. The Reiman Family Aquariums follow the voyage of the S/V Denis Sullivan, a three-masted schooner that summers next to Discovery World. Don't miss the Great Lakes Future exhibit, an exact-scale model of the watershed that holds 20 percent of the world's freshwater. The technology building features interactive exhibits such as a bed of nails, a 3-D facial scanner, and the "Rockwell Automation Dream Machine," which shows how Milwaukee landmarks use automation.

The 8,000-square-foot facility includes a tasting room and patio with a menu that features ciders (all gluten-free and hand-pressed), cocktails, and food provided by Cabin Attic. Regular events include pregame parties on Nashville SC game days, outdoor movie screenings, and a monthly drag brunch (18+). The large patio has multiple firepits, and dogs are welcome.

This is one of Walt Disney World's best shows for tots and preschoolers. Throughout the show, kids are encouraged to sing and dance along with Doc McStuffins, Timon, and Vampirina as the characters cha-cha-cha their way through the fun. Special effects further inspire kids to participate. The entire event is capped off with Mickey appearing in his racing gear from Mickey and the Roadster Racers. For people with disabilities: Wheelchair and ECV accessible, equipped with preshow-area TV monitors with closed-captioning, and equipped for assisted-listening, audio-description, and video- and handheld-captioning devices. Come early, when your child is most alert and lines are shorter. Be prepared to sit on the carpet. Don't miss character meet and greets before or after the show.

Despite its location and age, visitors often overlook this memorial on the National Mall, though it's a favorite with locals for wedding and engagement photos. President Herbert Hoover dedicated this monument in 1931, and unlike the neighboring memorials on the Mall, this relatively small structure isn't a national memorial. The 47-foot-high, circular, domed, columned temple is dedicated to the 26,000 residents from Washington, D.C. who served in the Great War and the 499 men and women (military and civilian) who died in service. Unofficially referred to as the "World War I Memorial" in the District, its marble structure was restored through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and maintained by the National Park Service.

Spring Lake, as the name suggests, is a spring-fed, ½-mi-long lake running northwest to southeast inside Divine Park. You can paddle along the calm water in a rented boat or kayak. By sidewalk, Divine Park's perimeter is approximately 1⅓ mi, but two picturesque wood bridges cut across the lake. The park is nicely landscaped all around, with a large, white gazebo at the far northwest end.

Serving as the border that separates Wicker Park from Ukrainian Village to its south, Division Street has become a shopping and dining destination in its own right. Bars, boutiques, and trendy restaurants line the once-gritty thoroughfare, which lent its name to journalist Studs Terkel's 1967 book about urban life. To start your exploration, head west on the stretch of Division between Ashland and Leavitt avenues.

A relic of Mammoth Cave's geologic younger years, Dixon Cave Entrance lies at the end of an underground passage once connected to the rest of the cave. Now choked with stone, this dry hillside pit was at one time a mighty spring that fed Green River. Now, standing on the overlook just off Dixon Cave Trail, you peer down into darkness as though backward into time itself.

This forested trail ventures from the Historic Entrance to its possible predecessor, Dixon Cave, further along the ridge. Now enclosed and not open to the public—you can peer into the entrance from the nearby overlook platform—Dixon Cave is thought to have once been an opening to the Mammoth Cave system. The trail continues on toward its junction with Green River Bluffs Trail. 0.4 mile. Moderate.

About a 10-minute drive east of Chestertown is a Maryland Eastern Shore institution—with much more than just furniture (although there are literally a couple of acres of that). Hundreds of pieces, "other people's junk" and real treasures, are sold out in the open, regardless of the weather. A huge shed houses smaller items defying easy description, from atlases to zithers. The auction is held every Wednesday of the year (Christmas week excepted) beginning at 8 am.

The original Dock Street, built in 1736, was the first theater building in America. The current structure, reopened in 1935, incorporates the remains of the old Planter's Hotel (circa 1809). Green velvet curtains and wonderful woodwork give it a New Orleans French Quarter feel. The Charleston Stage company performs full seasons of family-friendly fare, and Spoleto Festival USA uses the stage for productions in May and June.

Is there a dreamier way to top off your day at the beach than a bonfire at twilight? Beach bonfires are largely illegal in L.A., but you can still live the dream along Dockweiler’s 3.7-mile stretch. Here, lighting up isn’t just permitted; it’s practically encouraged, thanks to firepits peppered throughout. That's probably why this beach is almost always a scene where young twenty- and thirtysomethings roast jumbo marshmallows on long, makeshift skewers, as they guzzle beer in red cups. (Just arrive early to have a shot at one.) Amenities: food and drink; parking; lifeguards; showers; toilets; water sports. Best for: partiers; sunset; surfing; swimming; walking.

Although the 200-foot towers look really scary, the ride itself is just kind of scary (but still pretty cool). Several sets of four chairs wrap around the tower, and you and three fellow guests are seated and strapped in just out of the sight of other riders before the disembodied voice of Dr. Doom tells you the contraption is designed to extract fear he'll collect to use and rule the world. Without warning, all the chairs are rocketed to the peak, which jump-starts a surge of adrenaline as it rises, falls, rises, and falls again in a very brief, but quite thrilling, experience.

Often it's easy enough to have a second go, as you can actually step off and get right back into line again. Guests who are pregnant or have heart, back, neck, or motion-sickness problems should sit this one out. For people with disabilities: Guests using wheelchairs must transfer to a ride vehicle. The line moves fairly fast, though it's crowded early in the day; come late or use Express Pass.

This Italian-Argentine wine-making family with a 30-acre property at the Temecula Valley's northeastern edge takes a passionate and quirky approach. Winemaker Damian Doffo and his father, Marcelo, play music for their vines, whose grapes go into small-lot wines, among them a rich Syrah and the signature Malbec, from estate grapes. Tastings of these and other wines take place inside a refurbished garage. The family's racing and vintage motorcycles, which guests can view on free self-guided walking tours, are displayed in an open-air showroom nearby.

Next to Louie's Backyard restaurant, this tiny beach—the only one in Key West where dogs are allowed unleashed—has a shore that's a mix of sand and rocks. Amenities: none. Best for: walking.

The city has a 1-mile stretch of beach dedicated to dogs. It's free and dogs can run, fetch a ball, and play with other dogs off leash. Twice a year the city hosts Corgi Beach Day, one of the largest corgi celebrations, in which up to 1,000 dogs of all different breeds and owners join in the fun.

With a helpful staff who can advise you on making the most of your time in Dog Canyon, this small ranger station acts as a gateway to the vast, dramatic high country in the remote northern section of the park.

This beach is one of Southern California's top surfing destinations, especially for beginners. There's a lot to do within the 5-acre grass area with volleyball courts, tide pools, picnic areas, and an interpretive center devoted to the wildlife of the Doheny Marine Refuge. Campgrounds are located at the southern end of the beach. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards; parking (fee); showers; toilets. Best for: partiers; sunset; swimming; walking.