10457 Best Sights in USA

Roller coasters and other thrill rides are the biggest draw at this theme park, which has some 4 million visitors annually. The twisting Tigris, with a 50-foot skyward surge and dramatic drops, is Florida’s tallest coaster. The Iron Gwazi, at more than 200 feet, is the tallest hybrid roller coaster in North America, as well as the fastest and steepest hybrid coaster in the world. The new-in-2023 Serengeti Flyer features back-to-back seating in gondolas that swing ever higher and faster as the ride progresses.

The park also has a world-class zoo—with more than 2,000 animals and a live entertainment venue—that provides a full day (or more) of fun for the whole family. The Jungala exhibit puts Bengal tigers center stage and at eye level—allowing you to view them from underground caves and underwater windows. In the 335-acre adventure park's habitats, you can spot some of the world's most endangered and exotic animals. For the best sightings, come early, when it's cooler. Also, to beat the crowds, start in the back of the park and work your way around clockwise.

Catering to the shorter set, the Sesame Street Safari of Fun is a 5-acre kids' playground with themed rides, shows, and water adventures. The Air Grover Rollercoaster takes kids (and parents) on minidives and twisty turns over the Sahara, while Jungle Flyers gets everyone swinging and screeching. Cool off at Congo River Rapids, Stanleyville Falls (a flume ride), or Bert and Ernie's Water Hole—complete with bubblers, geysers, water jets, and dumping buckets. Character lunches are available (but you might want to wait until after your rides).

Two blocks south of the Old Courthouse, this 46,000-seat, retro-style stadium is home to the city's beloved Major League Baseball team. The St. Louis Cardinals have won 11 World Series Championships and 19 National League pennants, so remember to wear your red! Stadium tours, which begin at Gate 3 on 8th Street, are offered year-round and include views from the Radio Broadcast Booth, Cardinals Club, and Redbird Club. See the World Series trophies in the Champions Club, and get a player's perspective from the Cardinals Dugout.

Bushwick is well known for its street art, as the Brooklyn graffiti scene endures with colorful, larger-than-life murals. It's all encouraged, supported, and curated by this urban art collective, under the helm of Joseph Ficalora. The outdoor street art gallery is omnipresent as you walk Troutman Street and the adjacent blocks of St. Nicholas Avenue and Wyckoff Avenue, the area's main drag. Fans of global street art will recognize featured artists, including Sam Lao, Robert Vargas, and Case Maclaim. Every summer, the Collective throws a block party that's a mix of DJs, hip-hop performances, food trucks, and local vendors. Check their social media for details.

More than 80 native and international butterfly species (more than 20,000 butterflies in total) live inside the first butterfly house in the United States and the largest in the world. The 3-acre site inside Coconut Creek's Tradewinds Park has aviaries, observation decks, waterfalls, ponds, and tunnels. There are lots of birds, too: kids love the lorikeet aviary, where birds alight on every limb.

This 76,000-square-foot complex houses the largest collection of original art and personal objects of legendary cowboy artist Charlie Russell (1864–1926). Russell's more than 4,000 works of art—sculptures, watercolors, oil paintings—primarily portray the vanishing era of the Old West. His log studio and home, built at the turn of the 20th century, are adjacent to the main galleries. A highlight is the bison exhibit: more than 1,000 objects are used to tell the epic story of this Western icon, and you feel the floor tremble as you experience the sensation of being in the middle of a stampede. Also here are collections of paintings by other 19th-century and modern Western artists, interactive exhibits, and a research library.

This 166-acre preserve marks the site of the first European visit to San Diego, made by 16th-century Spanish explorer Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo when he landed at this spot on September 15, 1542. Today the site, with its rugged cliffs and shores and outstanding overlooks, is one of the most frequently visited of all the national monuments. There's a good visitor center and useful interpretive stations along the cliff-side walkways. Highlights include the moderately difficult Bayside Trail, the Old Point Loma Lighthouse, and the tide pools (at low tide only). There's also a sheltered viewing station where you can watch the gray whales' yearly migration (December–February) from Baja California to Alaska (including high-powered telescopes).

This paved 8-mile drive provides a great overview of all Saguaro East has to offer. The one-way road, which circles clockwise, has several turnouts with roadside displays that make it easy to pull over and admire the scenery; you can also stop at two picnic areas and three easy nature trails. This is a good bicycling route, but watch out for snakes and javelinas crossing in front of you.

A 6,800-acre valley surrounded by high mountains, Cades Cove has more historic buildings than any other area in the park. It's also stunningly beautiful, punctuated by verdant meadows and dirt paths, all surrounded by a ring of peaks. The Park Service keeps hayfields and pastures cleared, so you can see how the valley may have looked in the 19th century. There's a campground and multiple options for day hikes to peaks and along quiet rivers. The Cherokee name for this valley is Tsiyahi, "place of otters," but today you're more likely to see bears, deer, coyotes, and wild turkeys. For hundreds of years the Cherokee people hunted in Cades Cove, but there is no evidence of major settlements. Under the terms of the Calhoun Treaty of 1819, the Cherokee lost their rights to Cades Cove, and the first white settlers came in the early 1820s. By the middle of the 19th century, well over 100 settler families were growing corn, wheat, oats, and vegetables. For a while, when government-licensed distilleries were allowed in Tennessee, corn whiskey was the major product of the valley. After the establishment of the park in the 1930s, many of the nearly 200 buildings were torn down to allow the land to revert to its natural state. More recently, the remaining farmsteads and other structures have been restored to depict life in Cades Cove as it was from around 1825 to the 1940s. Cades Cove's beauty is also its curse. To experience it in the best possible setting, without traffic, rent bicycles at the Cades Cove Campground Store and ride the loop road on a car-free Wednesday or at sunrise or sunset.

One of Acadia’s premier attractions, 1,530-foot Cadillac Mountain is the Eastern Seaboard's tallest mountain. Stunning panoramic views sweep across bays, islands, and mountains on and off Mount Desert Island. You can see Bar Harbor below on the northeast side and Eagle Lake to the west. Low-lying vegetation like pitch pine and wild blueberry plants accent granite slabs in the "subalpine-like" environment. There’s a paved summit loop trail and several hiking trails up Cadillac, named for a Frenchman who explored here in the late 1600s and later founded Detroit. From mid-May–mid-October, a vehicle reservation (done through  www.recreation.gov) is needed to drive to the summit. Sunrise slots are in high demand, as this is one of the first places in the country to experience first light. It's also the perfect spot to watch the sunset or stargaze. Bar Harbor’s light ordinance helps with the latter, but keep in mind that the access road is only open 24/7 in early spring and late fall.

The opulent entrance, fountains, Roman statuary, bas-reliefs, and roaming centurions all add up to the iconic, over-the-top Las Vegas hotel. Here you can get your picture taken with Caesar, Cleopatra, and the centurion guard; find the reproduction of Michelangelo's David; or amble along Roman streetscapes in The Forum Shops to see replicas of famous fountains in Italy. Vegas history is alive and well here, too, with the prominent main porte cochere and the old-school casino with crystal chandeliers. Several renovations and the addition of Nobu Hotel have ensured the resort remains current. Shopping here at The Forum Shops is among the best in the city. The hotel's pool complex, dubbed Garden of the Gods Pool Oasis, is arguably the nicest set-up on the Strip.

Quiet, secluded, and still wild, this 3½-mile-long barrier island is one of the best shelling beaches on the Gulf Coast. The park also has plenty of sights for birders—from common sandpipers to majestic blue herons to rare black skimmers—and miles of trails through scrub oaks, saw palmettos, and cacti (with tenants such as armadillos, rabbits, and raccoons). The landscape also features mangroves and dunes, and the gradual slope of the sea bottom makes this a good spot for novice swimmers and kids.

You have to get to Caladesi Island by private boat (there's a 108-slip marina) or through its sister park, the Honeymoon Island State Recreation Area, where you take the hourly ferry ride across to Caladesi ($14 per person). You can also paddle yourself over in a kayak. Amenities: food and drink; showers; toilets. Best for: solitude; swimming.

The park protects hundreds of the largest and rarest living things on the planet—magnificent giant sequoia redwood trees. Some are 3,000 years old, 90 feet around at the base, and 250 feet tall. There are campgrounds, cabin rentals, and picnic areas; wading, fishing, and sunbathing on the Stanislaus River are popular in summer. Enjoy the "three senses" trail, designated for the sight impaired, with interpretive signs in braille that guide visitors to touch the bark and encourage children to slow down and enjoy the forest in a more sensory way.

One of the more easily accessible and rewarding adventures in the national monument, this picturesque canyon rife with oak trees, cacti, and sandstone pictographs is reached via the 6-mile round-trip Lower Calf Creek Falls Trail, which starts at Calf Creek Campground, 15 miles east of Escalante and 12 miles south of Boulder along scenic Highway 12. The big payoff, and it's especially pleasing on warm days, is a 126-foot spring-fed waterfall. The pool at the base is a beautiful spot for a swim or picnic.

This former silver-mining boomtown was founded in 1881, and, within a few years, it had 500 mines and 22 saloons. Its reconstruction in 1951 by Walter Knott of Knott’s Berry Farm makes it more about G-rated family entertainment than the town’s gritty past, but that doesn’t detract from the fun of panning for (fool’s) gold, touring the original tunnels of Maggie Mine, or taking a leisurely ride on the Calico Odessa Railroad. Of the 33 structures, five are original buildings, such as the impressive Lane’s General Store. The town's setting among the stark beauty of the Calico Hills can make a stroll along its once-bustling Main Street downright peaceful. Camping, cabins, and a bunkhouse are all available for overnight stays. 

With its native plant–covered living roof, retractable ceiling, three-story rainforest, gigantic planetarium, living coral reef, and frolicking penguins, the California Academy of Sciences is one of the city's most spectacular treasures. Dramatically designed by Renzo Piano, it's an eco-friendly, energy-efficient adventure in biodiversity and green architecture. Moving away from a restrictive role as a museum that cataloged natural history, the academy these days is all about sustainability and the future, but the locally beloved dioramas in African Hall remain.

It's best to look at the academy's floor plan to design your visit before you arrive. Here's the quick version: head left from the entrance to the wooden walkway over otherworldly rays in the Philippine Coral Reef, then continue to the Swamp to see Claude, the famous albino alligator. Swing through African Hall and study the penguins, take the elevator up to the living roof, then return to the main floor and get in line to explore the Rainforests of the World. You'll end up below ground in the Amazonian Flooded Rainforest, where you can explore the academy's other aquarium exhibits. The popular adults-only NightLife event, held every Thursday evening, includes after-dark access to all exhibits, as well as special programming and a full bar.  Considering the hefty price of admission, start early and take advantage of in-and-out privileges to take a break. Buy tickets a few days ahead for the best rate.

Founded in 1927 by Susanna Bixby Bryant, a wealthy landowner and conservationist, the garden is dedicated to the preservation of native California plant species. You can meander here for hours enjoying the shade of an oak tree canopy or take a guided tour of the grounds, whose 86 acres of ponds and greenery shelter California wild lilacs, big berry manzanitas, four-needled piñons, and other specimens. Countless bird species also live here.  Guided tram tours are offered the third Sunday of the month (reserve by the 15th of the preceding month).

Sprawling over three floors, this museum celebrates the history of trains from their 19th-century English origins to the pre–jet age glory days of rail travel. A permanent exhibit details Chinese laborers' contributions to the transcontinental railroad's completion (Sacramento was the western terminus). Another section contains one of several gold spikes issued to commemorate the joining in Utah of the west-to-east Central Pacific and east-to-west Union Pacific lines.

Up to 21 of the museum's railroad cars and engines—among them Pullman-style cars and steam locomotives—are on exhibit, and there are interactive displays and a play area for kids. Two nearby affiliated attractions (both free) worth a peek if they're open are the re-creation of the circa-1876 Central Pacific passenger station (930 Front Street) and the Huntington, Hopkins & Company Hardware exhibit (113 I Street), a facsimile of a 19th-century hardware store.

This vineyard, one of the oldest in the region, produces some of the best wine in Arizona. Its Buena Suerte 2015 ("good luck" in Spanish) is a favorite, and Caitlin's is considered one of the top wines in the United States.

South of Pine Mountain Village lies the area's main draw: a 2,500-acre golf and tennis resort with a combination of elaborate, cultivated gardens and natural woodlands. This family-friendly destination was developed in the 1940s by textile magnate Cason J. Callaway and his wife, Virginia, as a way to breathe new life into the area's dormant cotton fields. With more than 1,000 varieties, the Day Butterfly Center is one of the largest free-flight conservatories in North America. Mountain Creek Lake is well stocked with largemouth bass and bream. Ida Cason Callaway Memorial Chapel—a favorite wedding venue—is a lovely stone chapel nestled in the woods alongside a lake and babbling stream. The Callaway Discovery Center is a popular choice for families; especially enjoyable is the daily Birds of Prey show. During the holidays, Callaway lights up with the exciting "Fantasy in Lights." 

It feels as though you've stepped back in time nearly a century upon visiting this 486-acre waterfront park on the site of a former cabin resort that thrived from the 1930s to the 1950s. Situated on the hilly, densely wooded southwestern shoreline of Camano Island, the park maintains the resort's many buildings, including about 30 well-kept cedar cabins and bungalows (available for rent) set on or near the sweeping beachfront with views to the west of Whidbey Island and the Olympic Mountains. Tasty breakfast and lunch fare is available in the cheerful Cama Beach Cafe, and you can rent kayaks, canoes, and rowboats from the park's Center for Wooden Boats. Hikers can explore more than 15 miles of woodland and beach trails, and rangers offer guided walks, campfire talks, and other interpretive programs. It's a wonderfully relaxing place to spend a few hours or a few days.

Named for its resemblance to a camel's hump, Phoenix's most popular landmark is also one of its most popular hiking destinations. Its two trails, Echo Canyon Trail and Cholla Trail, are both difficult to climb but lead to stunning panoramic views of the Valley. Even if you don't hike, you can still spot the towering peak from many restaurants and hotels in the Camelback Corridor and Paradise Valley neighborhoods. The mountain is a 15-minute drive from Downtown Phoenix. Dogs are not allowed on the trails. For more information on hiking, see Activities.

An ambitious exhibition schedule of historical and contemporary significance, plus a plethora of public educational programs and a clay studio, keep this museum on the cusp of capacity and engagement. The museum's permanent collection, contained in a sleek 40,000-square-foot facility, includes originals by Mary Cassatt and a collection of Seagrove pottery. On the 10-acre grounds are a sculpture park, picnic tables, and restored Confederate defense mounds built during a battle in the waning days of the Civil War.  The museum's CAM Cafe is a local secret for lunch and weekend brunch, with reasonably priced Benedicts, quiches, and sandwiches, plus a dinner menu on Thursdays when they host live jazz. 

Established as an official National Monument in 2022, this historic site pays tribute to the 10th Mountain Division, a unique Army infantry unit from World War II that trained skiers to be soldiers. Trained for mountain conditions here, the soldiers eventually fought in Italy and Austria, facing some of the toughest terrain in the war. A self-guided tour offers 10 points of interest across the sprawling valley. The 53,804-acre site includes campgrounds and access to the Continental Divide Trail, which stretches 3,000-plus miles along the Rockies.

Gently made wines from Italian and Rhône varietals grown in Mendocino County organic, biodynamic, and sustainable vineyards are Campovida's focus. The historic 56-acre estate—previous owners include a local railroad magnate and the Fetzer wine-making clan—opens to the public on weekends, with the downtown tasting room ( Stock Farm, 13441 S. U.S. 101) an option four days a week.

Miles of grassy, windswept dunes and a virtually empty beach await you at this remarkable 57,000-acre park on a barrier island with 24 miles of undeveloped coastline spanning from New Smyrna to Titusville. The unspoiled area of hilly sand dunes, grassy marshes, and seashell-sprinkled beaches is a large part of NASA's buffer zone and is home to more than 1,000 species of plants and 300 species of birds and other animals.

Surf and lagoon fishing are available, and a hiking trail leads to the top of a Native American shell mound, Turtle Mound. A visitor center is on Route A1A at Apollo Beach. The parks can get busy on weekends or when rocket launches are scheduled during park operating hours, as the park provides a spectacular viewing area for launches from Kennedy Space Center.

Beachcombers love Cannon Beach for its often low foamy waves and the wide stretch of sand that wraps the quaint community, making it ideal for fair-weather play or for hunting down a cup of coffee and strolling in winter. This stretch can get feisty in storms, however, which also makes Cannon Beach a good place to curl up indoors and watch the show. Haystack Rock rises 235 feet over the beach on the south side of downtown, one of nearly 2,000 protected rocks that are part of the Oregon Ocean Island Wildlife Refuge, providing a nesting habitat for birds. Continue south past Tolovana Park—a playground located in the flood plain—to find the quiet side of Cannon Beach with a bevy of tide pools and few other souls. To the north of town, the beach gives way to Ecola State Park, a breathtakingly beautiful series of coves and rocky headlands where William Clark spotted a beached whale in 1806 and visitors still come to view them offshore during the twice-yearly migrations. From here, Sitka spruce and barbecues feature along the sands. There are a few excellent trails that hug the sometimes steep cliffs that rise above sand, including a 6½-mile trail first traced by Lewis and Clark, which runs from this spot past the Tillamook Head lookout and then eventually all the way to Seaside. Amenities: parking; toilets. Best for: partiers; sunset; walking.

Established in 1792, this community flourished in the 1800s and practiced equality of the sexes and races, common ownership, celibacy, and pacifism. The last member of the religious community passed away in 1992. Shakers invented such household items as the clothespin and the flat broom and were known for the simplicity and integrity of their designs. Engaging guided tours—you can also explore on your own—pass through some of the 694-acre property's nearly 30 restored buildings, many of them with original furnishings. Crafts demonstrations take place daily. An excellent shop sells handcrafted wares.

Home to Ancestral Pueblo from AD 350 to 1300, the nearly 84,000-acre Canyon de Chelly (pronounced d'shay) is one of the most spectacular natural wonders in the Southwest. On a smaller scale, it rivals the Grand Canyon for beauty. Its main gorges—the 26-mile-long Canyon de Chelly ("canyon in the rock") and the adjoining 35-mile-long Canyon del Muerto ("canyon of the dead")—comprise sheer, heavily eroded sandstone walls that rise to 1,100 feet over dramatic valleys. Ancient pictographs and petroglyphs decorate some of the cliffs, and within the canyon complex there are more than 7,000 archaeological sites. Stone walls rise hundreds of feet above streams, hogans, tilled fields, and sheep-grazing lands.

You can view prehistoric sites near the base of cliffs and perched on high, sheltering ledges, some of which you can access from the park's two main drives along the canyon rims. The dwellings and cultivated fields of the present-day Navajo lie in the flatlands between the cliffs, and those who inhabit the canyon today farm much the way their ancestors did. Most residents leave the canyon in winter but return in early spring to farm.

Canyon de Chelly's South Rim Drive (37 miles round-trip with seven overlooks) starts at the visitor center and ends at Spider Rock Overlook, where cliffs plunge nearly 1,000 feet to the canyon floor. The view here is of two pinnacles, Speaking Rock and Spider Rock. Other highlights on the South Rim Drive are Junction Overlook, where Canyon del Muerto joins Canyon de Chelly; White House Overlook, from which a 2½-mile round-trip trail leads to the White House Ruin, with remains of nearly 60 rooms and several kivas; and Sliding House Overlook, where you can see dwellings on a narrow, sloped ledge across the canyon. The carved and sometimes narrow trail down the canyon side to White House Ruin is the only access into Canyon de Chelly without a guide—if you have a fear of heights, this may not be the hike for you.

The only slightly less breathtaking North Rim Drive (34 miles round-trip with three overlooks) of Canyon del Muerto also begins at the visitor center and continues northeast on Indian Highway 64 toward the town of Tsaile. Major stops include Antelope House Overlook, a large site named for the animals painted on an adjacent cliff; Mummy Cave Overlook, where two mummies were found inside a remarkably unspoiled pueblo dwelling; and Massacre Case Overlook, which marks the spot where an estimated 115 Navajo were killed by the Spanish in 1805. (The rock walls of the cave are still pockmarked by the Spaniards' ricocheting bullets.)

The parking area just east of the Zion–Mt. Carmel Tunnel leads to this highly popular trail, which is about 1 mile round-trip and takes about an hour to finish. From the breathtaking overlook at the trail's end, you can see the West and East Temples, Towers of the Virgin, The Streaked Wall, and other Zion Canyon cliffs and peaks. The elevation change is 160 feet. There's no shuttle to this trail, and the parking area often fills up—try to come very early or late in the day to avoid crowds. Easy–Moderate.