10457 Best Sights in USA

Heirloom-corn bourbon and the flagship malted rye are the big sellers at the distillery that Michael and Lorraine Barber and the couple’s partner Aaron Lee started in 2017. The spirits are mashed, fermented, produced, distilled, and aged from "grain to glass" inside the company's 1910 redbrick storefront using traditional methods and uncomputerized equipment. White rum, aged rum, Gravenstein apple brandy, grappa, lambanóg (a traditional Filipino spirit distilled from palm sugar), absinthe blanche, and other spirits are handcrafted in smaller batches. Amid the aromatic barrels, guests sample flights, Lorraine's finely honed cocktails, wine (the Barbers own a winery), or craft beers.

This vineyard between Charlottesville and Orange was the first in the state to grow only vinifera (old-world) grapes. The grapes were planted in 1976 on the former plantation of James Barbour, governor from 1812 to 1814. His house, designed by Thomas Jefferson, was gutted by fire in 1884; the ruins are open to visitors for self-guided tours.

A winding tree-lined road leads to this small college of liberal arts and sciences. The beautiful 540-acre campus encompasses two Hudson River estates, parklike grounds and gardens, and wooded areas.

A multibuilding complex on a 12½-acre former apple-cannery site, The Barlow celebrates Sonoma County's "maker" culture with tenants producing or selling wine, beer, artisanal prepared and packaged foods, crafts, housewares, clothing, and art. Kosta Browne, the anchor winery, receives guests by appointment, but Region Sonoma, a wine bar promoting small county producers, welcomes walk-ins. Crooked Goat Brewing makes ales, and Golden State Cider pours its apple-driven beverages and the affiliated Seismic Brewing Company's beers.

Fern Bar and Sushi Koshō are among the full restaurants. Sarmentine Artisan Boulanger bakes bread and pastries using recipes and techniques from Bordeaux—the coffee’s excellent. For comfort and lighter fare, try Acme Pizza (some gluten-free), Cock Robin (burgers), The Farmer’s Wife (soups, salads, sandwiches), Osito Style (tacos), Purple Açaí (smoothies, juices), Two Dog Night Creamery (ice cream), and William Cofield Cheesemakers (small bites).

One man's collection and now a Parkway treasure, the Barnes Foundation displays some of the most fabled paintings of impressionist, postimpressionist, and modern art—181 Renoirs, 69 Cézannes, 59 Matisses, 46 Picassos, 7 van Goghs, 6 Seurats, and plenty more—in a handsome, modern limestone-and-glass museum. Highlights include Cézanne's The Card Players, Georges Seurat's Models, van Gogh's The Postman (Joseph-Etienne Roulin), Monet's Studio Boat, Matisse's La Danse II triptych mural, Renoir's The Artist's Family, and Picasso's Acrobat and Young Harlequin. The collection was amassed after 1912 in Merion, Pennsylvania, by Dr. Albert C. Barnes (1872–1951), who made his fortune as co-inventor of an antiseptic; he conceived the foundation as an educational institution.

Barnes wanted to help people \"see as an artist saw,\" and to do this he created each gallery wall as an \"ensemble\" that reflected visual relationships: a Picasso could hang side by side with an African sculpture, and below an Old Master sketch and an iron door hinge.  Works have no labels, but a free mobile guide, accessed via smartphone, provides information. Barnes's will decreed that nothing in the displays could be changed, so when the collection moved to the Parkway in 2012, the galleries were re-created within a structure that also has rooms for special exhibitions and a high-ceilinged court with a café. The pretty, pricier Garden Restaurant, with indoor and outdoor (in season) seating, serves delicious modern American fare.

On the aptly named Gin Lane, Vermont's top distillery crafts award-winning spirits from raw honey. Stop in for a tasting and tour, but be sure to hang around for a classic Bee's Knees or G&T; Barr Hill's cocktail program was a finalist in the 2024 James Beard Awards' Outstanding Bar category, and rightfully so. 

Famous landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted once owned Barred Island Preserve. His grandniece, Carolyn Olmsted, donated it to the Nature Conservancy in 1969. The island is accessible only at low tide. The mile-long trail leading to the island offers great views of Penobscot Bay. Pick up a brochure at the Deer Isle–Stonington Chamber of Commerce for a map of the islands you can see from the area. The parking area fills quickly, so arrive early.

This 12-mile series of hike-and-bike trails follows the contour of Barton Creek and the canyon it created west along an 8-mile-long area from Zilker Park to west of Loop 360. The popular Greenbelt features even more sought-after swimming holes when the creek is full (very rain-dependent, it's usually in spring and fall). Several access points will get you on the riverside trails, including at Zilker Park, Loop 360, Twin Falls, Scottish Woods Trail Falls (near the intersection of MoPac and Loop 360), and Scottish Woods Trail (at the trail's northern border, off Loop 360).

No visit to Austin is complete without a ceremonial dip in the sacred waters of Barton Springs. A hallowed oasis within the Zilker Park area, this historic spring-fed pool maintains a constant 68°F temperature year-round, and the chilly waters attract hordes of people from all walks of life. (Admission is free from October 31 through spring break to help incentivize you during the cooler months.) The grassy slopes surrounding the pool are an idyllic place to post up for some of the best people-watching in town; unique experiences, like the free nightly and full-moon swims, are unforgettable; and the annual Polar Bear Plunge on New Year's Day attracts thousands. The pool is closed Thursdays for cleaning the delicate, protected natural habitat, and weather can affect operating hours throughout the season, so be sure to check their website in advance.

Special exhibitions join a diverse collection of international contemporary art at this museum whose original 1930s art deco building was designed by Russell Pancoast and constructed entirely of Florida keystone (material with a coral base). A years-long, $12 million expansion by noted architects Arata Isozaki and David Gauld, completed in 2017, increased internal space nearly 50% and added four new galleries. Most of the exhibitions are temporary, but works on permanent display include Chess Tables, a sculpture by Jim Drain, and Miami Mountain, a sculpture by Ugo Rondinone. Visit for free the third Thursday and last Sunday of every month.

Built in 1858 and one of Maine’s most photographed lighthouses, it's been a part of Acadia National Park since 2020. Now automated, it marks the entrance to Bass Harbor and Blue Hill Bay at the island’s southernmost point below the village of Bass Harbor. You can't go inside the lighthouse or the keeper's house, but a walkway brings you to a seaside viewing area with placards about its history. The small parking lot typically fills for sunset viewing in high season, and parking isn’t allowed on the entrance road or on Route 102A. The free Island Explorer bus doesn’t serve the lighthouse. A portion of Route 102A (Seawall Road) was temporarily closed after 2024's winter storms. While repairs should be complete, if the loop road is closed, access it from its southern terminus with Route 102 in Bass Harbor, not its northern terminus in Manset. Watch for signs.

Austin is home to the largest urban bat population in the world, with as many as 1.5 million Mexican free-tailed bats taking up residence in the capital city every year. Every night starting in late March and continuing through fall, locals and visitors congregate all along (and underneath) Congress Avenue to watch the bats take flight from under the Congress Avenue Bridge for their nightly feeding ritual. On hot nights (with no rain), right around sundown, don't miss the incredible opportunity (for photographers, families, and nature lovers alike) to witness this natural phenomenon set against the backdrop of the downtown skyline.

During the Civil War, the Confederate army mounted cannons in the Battery, at the southernmost point of Charleston's peninsula, to fortify the city against Union attack. Cannons and piles of cannonballs still line the oak-shaded park known as White Point Garden—kids can't resist climbing them. Where pirates once hung from the gallows, walkers now take in the serene setting from Charleston benches (small wood-slat benches with cast-iron sides). Stroll the waterside promenades along East Battery and Murray Boulevard to enjoy views of Charleston Harbor, the Ravenel Bridge, and Fort Sumter on one side, with some of the city's most photographed mansions on the other. You'll find locals dangling their fishing lines, waiting for a bite. There are no public bathrooms within a 10-minute walk of the Battery, so plan accordingly. A bicycle is a great way to tour South of Broad, and it allows for a quick exit to the commercial part of town.

You may be surprised that the Atlanta Braves aren’t the only draw for this multiuse complex that houses homegrown restaurants such as Superica and Antico Pizza, specialty stores like Dress Up and an Atlanta outpost of Savannah's River Street Sweets, and the 3,600-capacity Coca-Cola Roxy that plays host to pop, rock, and hip-hop acts. With plenty of walkable spaces, outdoor patios, and an on-site Omni Hotel, warm weather brings many patrons to the 1.5-million-square-foot destination whether there’s a game or not.

Across the Cape Fear River from downtown, take a self-guided tour of a ship that participated in every major naval offensive in the Pacific during World War II. Exploring the floating city, with living quarters, a post office, chapel, laundry, and even an ice cream shop, takes about two hours. A climb down into the ship's interior is not for the claustrophobic. A ½-mile timber walkway lets visitors tour the ship's exterior with no cost of admission. The ship, which is open for tours every day of the year, can be reached by car or via river taxi from the downtown waterfront.

A gift from Governor Percival Baxter, this is the jewel in the crown of northern Maine: a nearly 210,000-acre wilderness area that surrounds Mt. Katahdin, Maine's highest mountain and the terminus of the Appalachian Trail. Every year, 5,267-foot Katahdin draws thousands of hikers to make the challenging daylong summit, rewarding them with stunning views of forests, mountains, and lakes; if you're not an expert hiker, skip the hair-raising Knife Edge Trail. There are three parking-lot trailheads for Katahdin. The crowds climbing Katahdin can be formidable on clear summer days and fall weekends (factor in lessening daylight as hikes typically take 8–12 hours). So if it's solitude you crave, head for one of the many other park mountains accessible from the extensive trail network, including 11 peaks exceeding an elevation of 3,000 feet. The Brothers and Doubletop Mountain are challenging daylong hikes; the Owl takes about six hours; and South Turner can be climbed in a morning—its summit has a great view across the park's u-shaped valley. A trek around Daicey Pond, or from the pond to Big and Little Niagara Falls, are good options for families with young kids. Another option if you only have a couple hours is renting a canoe at Daicey or Togue Pond; canoes are available at all pondside campgrounds and many backcountry ponds, including some of the most remote (bring cash for the $1 per hour honor system). Biking is allowed on some park roads. Fishing is big here; hunting is mostly limited to Baxter's northwest corner. Check the website or Facebook page for activities like ranger-led walks and family programs. Camping is primitive and reservations are required; there are 10 campgrounds plus backcountry campsites. Roads are unpaved, narrow, winding, and not plowed in winter, though the adventurous visit "at your own risk" to snowshoe, ski, snowmobile (Tote Road only), fat-tire bike, ice climb, and winter camp. Baxter doesn't have gas stations or stores; cell phone service is unreliable; and dogs are not allowed.

 Reserve a Katahdin day-use parking space ($5) at the trailheads June 1–October 15. The park has a visitor center at its southern entrance, but you can get information and make parking and camping reservations at park headquarters in Millinocket (64 Balsam Drive). 

Back in 2009, the three brothers who founded Bayou Teche Brewing wanted to create beers that would complement their favorite regional eats in Cajun Country. You can find a few of this popular brewery's flagship beers in all of Louisiana's major cities, but visitors come here to try as many as 15 brews—most of which can only be tasted at this location, just 8 miles from Grand Coteau. They also feature tiki drinks for those who want an alternative to beer. Fantastic live local music on weekends attracts big crowds, and wood-fired pizza (including a great boudin topping option) is available every day the taproom is open.

For several hundred years the 848-foot rock for which this 4,458-acre park is named was a landmark for river travelers, including Native Americans, who recognized this point as the last rapids of the Columbia River. Lewis and Clark are thought to have been the first white men to see the volcanic remnant. Even most casual hikers can make the steep but safe trek up to the top of the rock—allow about 45–60 minutes round-trip. More serious hikers should head to the trailhead for Hamilton Mountain, which is reached via a beautiful, though arduous, 8-mile ramble over a roaring waterfall, through dense temperate rain forest, and finally up to the 2,400-foot summit with breathtaking views up and down the Gorge.

Perhaps the most popular hike at Pinnacles, this relatively short (2.2-mile) loop trail is fun for kids and adults. It leads to the Bear Gulch cave system, and if your timing is right, you'll pass by several seasonal waterfalls inside the caves (flashlights are required). If it's been raining, check with a ranger, as the caves can flood. The upper side of the cave is usually closed in spring and early summer to protect the Townsend's big-ear bats and their pups. Easy.

Eight miles wide and 20 miles long, Bear Lake is an unusually radiant shade of blue, thanks to limestone particles suspended in the water. The Utah half of the lake is a state park. Along the south shore of Bear Lake, Highway 30 traces an old route used by Native Americans, mountain men, and settlers following the Oregon Trail. Harsh winters persuaded most settlers to move on before the first snows, but hardy Mormon pioneers settled in the area and founded Garden City. From town you can stroll along a ¼-mile boardwalk through a small wetlands preserve to the lakeshore, and there's a large marina just to the north. The park operates a few other recreation areas along other parts of the shore, including Rendezvous Beach to the south, which has a marina and burger stand, and Cisco Beach on the lake's quieter eastern shore, where the lake bottom drops off quickly, making it a favorite spot among anglers and scuba divers. The lake is home to four species of fish found nowhere else, including the Bonneville cisco, which draws anglers during the January spawning season.

This scenic, calorie-burning hike begins with a moderately level, half-mile journey to Nymph Lake. From here, the trail gets steeper, with a 425-foot elevation gain, as it winds around for 0.6 miles to Dream Lake. The last stretch is the most arduous part of the hike, an almost all-uphill 0.7-mile trek to lovely Emerald Lake, where you can perch on a boulder and enjoy the view. All told, the hike is 3.6 miles, with an elevation gain of 605 feet. Allow two hours or more. Moderate.

Established in 1928 to conserve the Bear River habitat for migratory waterfowl and wildlife, this 80,000-acre U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service refuge is just west of Brigham City. You can observe wildlife along a 12-mile driving route and 1½ miles of walking trails, with ducks, geese, pelicans, herons, swans, shore birds, and more than 200 other kinds of birds arriving in various seasons. The Wildlife Education Center contains interactive displays and observation decks.

Named for its striking pair of massive buttes, Bears Ears National Monument stretches across more than a million acres of land sacred to several Native American tribes. Countless archaeological sites and artifacts dot this remote landscape, including cliff dwellings, petroglyphs, pictographs, and a prehistoric road system. The scenery is awe-inspiring, too, with remote canyons, vast grasslands, and the kind of towering red-rock formations southern Utah is famous for. Opportunities abound here to hike, rock climb, river raft, and embark on scenic drives, and visitor information is available at both the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service offices in Monticello. Because of the long history that surrounds you in Bears Ears, being especially respectful of your surroundings is a must. In Bluff, the Bears Ears Education Center offers further guidance on how to explore such a culturally important area. 

While entering the monument is free, permits and passes are required in the Shash Jáa Special Recreation Management Area and the Cedar Mesa Special Recreation Management Area. Depending on the time of year, these can be purchased at trailheads or at  www.recreation.gov. The hike to Moon House, an Ancestral Puebloan dwelling, is so popular that only 20 hikers are allowed per day and a separate permit is required.

Driving south from Red Lodge along the 68-mile Beartooth Highway (U.S. 212) will take you over the precipitous 11,000-foot Beartooth Pass as the road winds its way through lush alpine country to the "back door" of Yellowstone National Park. With multiple steep climbs and switchbacks, this National Scenic Byway was a feat of 1930s engineering. The highway is usually open from late May to mid-October, but snow can close it at any time of the year. You'll find trailheads for several good hikes along the route.

Just north of the Ira Trailhead on the Towpath Trail, this former junkyard-turned-boardwalk is one of the top wildlife-viewing locations in the park. Forty years ago, the area was littered with broken-down automobiles; today, it teems with more than 50 nesting bird species and other wildlife, mainly beavers, who’ve made a comfortable home of the surrounding marshlands. Designated as an Important Bird Area by the National Audubon Society, Beaver Marsh Boardwalk is an ideal spot for hikers and trail runners looking to take in the view. Waterfowl, wrens, sparrows, orioles, frogs, water snakes, and even the occasional otter make appearances here.

It's easy to lose yourself for a couple of hours, or longer if you pack a picnic lunch, as you wander along the peaceful trails and through the astoundingly gorgeous flower beds of this 30-acre former farm that's now a thriving public garden dotted with hundreds of sculptures and art installations. Features range from formal parterre and spiral gardens to more whimsical and impressionistic plantings. 

Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, and other grapes grown in heritage vineyards throughout California are the focus of this ambitious winery whose backstory involves several historical figures. General Joseph Hooker’s 1850s former home is now the tasting room, and he and General William Tecumseh Sherman were combative partners in what's now the estate Bedrock Vineyard a few miles away. The next owner, newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst's businessman-politician father, George, replanted it in the late 1880s. Bedrock co-owner and winemaker Morgan Twain-Peterson learned about Zinfandel from his dad, Ravenswood founder Joel Peterson. Twain-Peterson’s sensitively farmed field blends, containing multiple grape types grown and fermented together, are as richly textured as his winery's prehistory.

One dazzling room leads into another at this winery's Rutherford hospitality center. A courtyard and its centerpiece aqua-tile fountain crowned by two canary palms draw attention even before guests reach the brasserie-style atrium, whose natural light constantly shifts. Hosts conduct the introductory Taste of Bella here, with successively more comprehensive sessions unfolding in several salons, culminating in the Jewel Box Tasting featuring top Cabernet Sauvignons paired with small bites. Glass walls in this experience's second-floor room reveal valley-floor vistas east to the Vaca Range. Bella Union, a Far Niente brand, first distinguished itself with smooth drinkable Cabernet blends. The whites, including a delicate Pinot Blanc, show the winemaker's range.  At  4–6 pm courtyard "Social Hours," servers pour wines by the glass and bottle. 

The flowers, trees, and other plants in Bellagio's soaring atrium are fresh and alive, many of them grown in a 5-acre greenhouse. The artistic floral arrangements and ornamental landscaping here is breathtaking and in some cases monumental in scale. Displays change each season, and the holiday displays in December (for Christmas) and January (for Chinese New Year) are particularly dramatic.