10457 Best Sights in USA

One of the upsides to living in a rain forest is the lush proliferation of plants and trees. At Glacier Gardens, they've turned local flora into an art form. Spread over 50 acres of rain forest, the family-owned Glacier Gardens has ponds, waterfalls, hiking paths, a large atrium, and gardens. The roots of fallen trees, turned upside down and buried in the ground, act as bowls to hold planters that overflow with begonias, fuchsias, and petunias. Guided tours in covered golf carts lead you along the 4 miles of paved paths, and a 580-foot-high overlook provides dramatic views of the Mendenhall wetlands wildlife refuge, the Chilkat Range, and downtown Juneau. A café and gift shop are here, and the conservatory is a popular wedding spot. Admission includes a guided tour. The Juneau city bus, which departs from multiple locations downtown, stops in front of Glacier Gardens (but be prepared for a meandering journey).

Piggy-backing off the Glacier View Loop, this additional 0.6-mile hike is moderately strenuous. Moderate.

This 1-mile, wheelchair-accessible trail offers an increasingly distant but still impressive view up toward Exit Glacier. There's also a slightly longer 2-mile round-trip hike, also from the Exit Glacier Nature Center, that gets you a closer look at the glacier and entails a roughly 300-foot elevation gain. Easy.

There are four forested trails in the Glade Creek area, including the scenic Glade Creek Trail, which is noted for swimming holes, cascades, and waterfalls. It’s nearly 6 miles to reach Kates Falls, but there are plenty of spots along the creek to pause for a splash in the water.

The international roster of artists at this gallery's two large Chelsea locations includes painter Ahmed Alsoudani, sculptor Anish Kapoor, photographer Sharon Lockhart, and multimedia artists Matthew Barney and Cecilia Edefalk. The other gallery is at  530 West 21st Street, between 10th and 11th Avenues.

It's all about play here, and, with 53,000 square feet, more than a dozen themed areas, and over 170 interactive exhibits, there's plenty of opportunity for it. In areas designed to nurture imagination and strengthen confidence children and families can experience everything from flying an airplane to shopping for groceries. Kids can also create art, control the weather, navigate a mini-shipping channel, and "drive" a miniature (stationary) fire truck through Tampa. The Water's Journey Tree mimics the water cycle and lets kids climb to the second floor.

This small, two-gallery museum, the first of its kind in the United States, presents multimedia exhibits from its vast holdings covering San Francisco's queer history. In the main gallery, you might hear the audiotape Harvey Milk made for the community in the event of his assassination; explore artifacts from "Gayborhoods," lost landmarks of the city's gay past; or flip through a memory book with pictures and thoughts on some of the more than 20,000 San Franciscans lost to AIDS. Though perhaps not for everyone (those offended by sex toys and photos of lustily frolicking naked people may, well, be offended), the museum offers an inside look at these communities so integral to the fabric of San Francisco life.

This property in the center of town includes the large, antiques-filled, gambrel-roof Georgian Colonial home of Dr. Samuel Seabury—who, in 1783, was elected the first Episcopal bishop in the United States. The house, built in 1740, and its outstanding furniture collection comprise one of the earliest and most authentic house museums in the region. The garden was designed in the 1920s by renowned British horticulturist Gertrude Jekyll. Though small, it's a classic, old-fashioned, English-style garden and the only one of the three Jekyll-designed gardens in the United States that are still in existence. New England witch and cemetery tours are available in October, and the museum itself celebrated its 100th anniversary in June of 2025.

Built between 1928 and 1939, this neo-Romanesque 90-room former home of Raymond and Mildred Pitcairn, now houses the family's collection of antiques that were gathered by John and his son Raymond. The house has some fantastic details, but the best part is walking into old bedrooms that now serve as galleries for ancient Greek, Roman, Egyptian, African, Native American, and Sumerian artworks as well as a fantastic basement gallery full of 13th-century European stained glass and sculpture. The view from the observation deck, 149 feet up, is worth the tight elevator ride up there.

Just outside Hammondsport, this museum honors Curtiss and his early aviation experiments. The Hammondsport native made the first public preannounced flight when he flew his June Bug plane more than 5,000 feet outside the village on July 4, 1908. Exhibits include aircraft, engines, a collection of antique motorcycles, and hands-on models for kids. A restoration shop is open to the public and staff is available to answer questions.

It took the Colorado River a half-billion years to carve the deep granite, limestone, and quartzite gullies—buff-tint walls brilliantly streaked with lavender, rose, and ivory—of this 16-mile-long canyon. Then, man stepped in, seeking a more direct route west. In 1992, the costly work on I–70 through the canyon east of Glenwood Springs was completed, with much of the expense attributable to the effort to preserve the landscape. When contractors blasted cliff faces, for example, they stained the exposed rock to simulate nature's weathering. Bike the canyon on a paved, riverside recreation path, hike to the steep (but worth it) trail to Hanging Lake or try to focus on fishing or rafting the river with views of the canyon walls towering above.

Glenwood Springs is home to the Historic Fairy Caves (now part of the adventure park), whose subterranean caverns, grottoes, and labyrinths are truly a marvel of nature—the area was touted as the "Eighth Wonder of the World" when it opened to the public in the 1890s. The still-amazing caves are easily accessible year-round via the Glenwood Gondola, which offers a bird's-eye view of downtown, the Colorado River, and surrounding mountains. Choose from two different 40-minute walking tours of the caves, or opt for the crawl-on-your-belly "Wild Tour" spelunking adventure. For a second helping of adrenaline, try the gravity-powered alpine coaster that winds down 3,400 feet down the mountain; sail out over 1,300 feet above Glenwood Canyon on a giant swing; or drop, roll, and twist on the Defiance roller coaster that overhangs a cliff.

With ridges cresting at 640 feet above sea level, the dunes in this complex are some of the park's tallest. They're also readily explorable via the Glenwood Dunes Trail, which has 13 trail junctions, so a map (available at the trailhead or visitor center) is a must. The loops range from 1 to 15 miles in length and are easy to moderate in difficulty, with routes for horseback riding (or, in winter, cross-country skiing) as well as hiking. Dunewood Trace connects the trails with Dunewood Campground.

Even before the heyday of the adjacent Hotel Colorado, Western notables such as gunslinger Doc Holliday came to take advantage of the area's curative spring waters. The smaller pool at Glenwood Hot Springs is 100 feet long and maintained at 104°F. The larger is four times that size and contains more than a million gallons of constantly filtered water that is completely refilled every six hours and maintained at a soothing 90–93°F. Seasonal favorites include a children's area with a splash pad, fountain, waterslides, and an on-site pizza stand and café.

Several miles north of the Catwalk on U.S. 180 is the Glenwood State Trout Hatchery. There are picnic tables and a fishing pond with Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep grazing nearby.

For a rockin' gospel concert and an inclusive, feel-good vibe, head to Glide, where engaging pastors lead a hand-clapping, shout-it-out, get-on-your-feet Sunday "celebration." The radically inclusive crowd—gay and straight, all colors of the rainbow, religious and not—is large and enthusiastic. You might recognize the church from the Will Smith film The Pursuit of Happiness.

Enjoy average summer temperatures of 72°F in the deep woods of this state park on Otsego Lake 8 mi north of the village of Cooperstown. In warm months you can swim, hike, and fish. There's a concession stand as well as 80 campsites. In winter you can snowshoe, snow-tube, cross-country ski, and ice fish.

One of the few remaining relics from the Swedes who settled in Pennsylvania before William Penn, Gloria Dei, also known as Old Swedes' Church, has been active since 1700. It’s the oldest church in Pennsylvania and second oldest in the entire country. Models of the ships that transported the first Swedish settlers hang from the ceiling in the center of the church; the baptismal font dates all the way back to 1731, while religious carvings on display are even older. Grouped around the house of worship are the parish hall, the sexton’s house, the rectory, and the church offices. Sitting in the center of a graveyard, Old Swedes' is calming in its tranquility.

Groves of beeches, tulip trees, and oaks flourish at this 183-acre park, part of the Rock Creek system, which begins just west of Georgetown and ends, nearly 2½ miles later, near Van Ness Street. Along the way, you'll experience a tree-shaded valley stream and possible bird sightings. And chances are, you'll have the trail mostly to yourself.

More than 30 artists and craftspeople are represented in this small but lovely gallery. They feature original works as well as archival giclée pieces. If you are looking for Big Island artists, a stop at Glyph is a must.

Goat Island is a wonderful spot for a quiet walk and a close-up view of the rapids. Pedestrian bridges give you access to Luna Island and the Three Sisters Islands. The Cave of the Winds tour leaves from Goat Island.

There are two main automobile entrances to the park, both off Robert Moses Parkway. The south entrance takes you over a bridge to Goat Island; the north entrance puts you near the visitor center.

Mountain goats frequent this natural salt lick on a cliff above the middle fork of the Flathead River. Watch the wildlife from an observation stand.

The crags in Gifford Pinchot National Forest, south of Mt. Rainier, are aptly named. You often see mountain goats here in this vast and unspoiled 108,000-acre wilderness, especially when you hike into the backcountry. Goat Lake is a particularly good spot for viewing these elusive creatures. See the goats without backpacking by taking Forest Road 21 to Forest Road 2140, south from U.S. 12. The goats will be on Stonewall Ridge looming up ahead of you.

Hundreds of orange, mushroom-like rocks known as "hoodoos" rise up from the desert floor about 30 miles northwest of Hanksville. Short, easy trails wind through the bizarre goblins making it a fun walk for kids and adults. Be forewarned that during busy times of the year, there may be a wait time to enter the park.

In a small canyon abuzz with songbirds, squirrels, and chipmunks, this picnic area has a south-facing, protected location. The half dozen picnic tables here are in a small meadow; there are also a few fire grills and a pit toilet.

This 1.1-mile loop trail is an easy stroll through an old-growth forest with canyon views. Its dirt path is accessible to wheelchairs with assistance. Easy.

Take a self-guided tour of this fully lighted mine shaft within a park owned by the City of Placerville. The worthwhile audio tour (included) makes clear what you're seeing. A shaded stream runs through the park, and there are picnic facilities.

Near the Rainy Lake Visitor Center is Little American Island, the focal point of a brief, turn-of-the-20th-century gold rush. There was gold here, but the granite and greenstone in which it was encased made digging it out too expensive. A few shafts and caverns, plus the odd bit of equipment, are all that remain, but the island and its surroundings nevertheless compose the Gold Mine Historic District. It is accessible only by water; tour boats can get you here.

Once a (seedy) casino, the Gold Spike was resuscitated as part of the late Tony Hsieh's $350-million Downtown Project. In this case, that means gambling is out and free gaming is in. Gaming, as in shuffleboard, giant versions of Connect Four, and, on the back patio, life-size Jenga and beer pong with soccer balls and garbage pails. There's also a small restaurant, multiple bars (check out the bar truck named Recess), hookah, and more. The place is still a haven for Zappos employees, but the hot spot that bills itself as an \"adult playground\" is open to the public and has become a popular place for locals, visitors, and hipsters to hang, too, especially during weekday happy hour.