10457 Best Sights in USA

Some 12 miles of trails that connect with others in Washington Park and Forest Park wind through the 189-acre arboretum, which was established in 1928 and contains more than 2,000 species of plants and one of the nation's largest collections of coniferous trees. Pick up trail maps at the visitor center. Guided 90-minute tours ($5 suggested donation) are offered at various times. Also here are the Winter Garden and a memorial to veterans of the Vietnam War.

Formerly Hualapai Ranch, this shuttle stop now celebrates the culture of the Hualapai people. Artisans demonstrate their skills Sunday through Tuesday at Walapai Trading Post, and the Hualapai Bird Singers share their songs on the weekends. Gwe Ma'jo, the restaurant here, serves traditional dishes like pinion stew and fry bread. Hualapai Point is also where you'll find zip lines and the Cabins at Grand Canyon West.

This massive, multiuse complex injected some life into the West End when it opened a few years back. It's easy to reach from anywhere in the city since it's attached to North Station. With a hotel (citizenM), cinema (AMC Causeway 13), a concert space and nightclub, dozens of dining options, and the TD Garden sports arena, there is no shortage of things to do.

Rising behind the Vermont State House and stretching 200-plus acres, this heavily forested park offers locals (and their happy, leash-free dogs) 7 miles of pretty trails and wildlife to enjoy. On its highest peak is a romantic stone tower that looks out to 360-degree views of the surrounding mountains.

Sixty-three miles west of Gallup and en route to Canyon de Chelly, Hubbell Trading Post, in operation since 1878, is still an active purveyor of food staples, clothes, and Navajo rugs, much as it was when John Lorenzo Hubbell was running it (the National Park Service runs it now). With its creaking wood floors, dim lighting, and goods hanging from the rafters, Hubbell provides a palpable sense of what a post was like back in the day; the tours of the Hubbell homestead, complete with original decor intact, offer a glimpse into period home life of a trader of means (who had access to the best Native American handwork).

Models, artifacts, and photographs illustrate the region's maritime history. Changing exhibits show tugboats and antique fishing and sailing craft. You may board the Half Moon, a replica of Henry Hudson's ship, when it's in dock. Tours to the Rondout Lighthouse (also known as the Kingston Lighthouse) leave from the museum's dock.

Upward of 50,000 people make a pilgrimage to Saugerties the last weekend of September for a celebration of the "stinking rose," otherwise known as garlic. Although you find much of the usual fair fare here—crafts booths, fried-dough stands, live musical performances—one vast section of the festival is devoted to farmers, arts-and-crafts people, and food vendors all providing tributes to garlic.

Offering a close-up view of 18th- and 19th-century medical instruments and procedures, the apothecary was established in 1761, and demonstrates the work of Dr. Mercer, a Scotsman who served as a brigadier general of the Continental Army (he was killed at the Battle of Princeton). Dr. Mercer may have been more careful than other Colonial physicians, but his methods will still make you cringe. A costumed hostess explicitly describes amputations and cataract operations before the discovery of anesthetics. You can also hear about therapeutic bleeding, see the gruesome devices used in Colonial dentistry, and watch a leeching demonstration.

Though it's officially a Jacksonville city park, this popular spot on the northern side of the St. Johns River is often grouped with Amelia's beaches. It's one of a handful of beaches on which you can drive; no special permit is required; however, four-wheel-drive vehicles are highly recommended. Families with lots of beach equipment like the option of parking close to the water, but it takes vigilance to avoid soft sand and incoming tides. The ocean side offers good surfing, bodyboarding, and surf fishing. On the northwestern side is a shallow, sheltered lagoon that's a favorite with windsurfers, paddleboarders, and parents of small children. The southeastern side offers views of the aircraft carriers and destroyers at Mayport Naval Station. Rough campsites are available. The park is also an important stop for migrating birds, so at certain times of the year, some areas are closed to vehicles. Amenities: lifeguards (seasonal); showers; toilets. Best for: surfing; swimming; windsurfing.

A National Historic Landmark, the street includes seven colonial stone houses from as early as 1705, some of the oldest in the United States. The 10-acre area includes a Visitors' Center, a reconstructed 1717 Huguenot church, exhibit and program spaces, archeological sites, and a burial ground that dates to the very first settlers of the region. Guided walking tours begin at the Visitors' Center office in the 1705 DuBois Fort, between Broadhead Avenue and North Front Street.

The grande dame of Maui's visual arts scene, "the Hui," hosts exhibits that are always satisfying. Located just outside Makawao, the center's main building is an elegant two-story Mediterranean-style villa designed in 1917 by Hawaii's architect of the era, C. W. Dickey. Explore the grounds, see locally made products, and experience community enrichment through art. Crafts, drawing, photography, and glass blowing are some of the classes offered.

On a walking tour of this 20-acre working coffee farm (by advance reservation only), visitors can witness the workings of a small plantation, pick and pulp their own coffee beans, watch a roasting demonstration, and savor a tasting. Lee and Karen Patterson have perfected their coffee over many years, winning local cupping competitions. The gift shop carries whole beans and logo swag including bags, T-shirts, and mugs. Coffee brewing workshops and one-on-one tours with a master roaster are also offered.

This is a great spot to get your bearings—and take a breather after climbing the 52 wide granite stairs from the parking lot to the entrance. (If you need the accessible entrance, follow signs to drive there.) A large 3D relief map of Mount Desert Island gives you the lay of the land, while Artist-in-Residence works catch the eye. There are free park and carriage road maps, and rangers are on hand to answer questions and offer suggestions. Learn about ranger-led activities like guided walks and carriage road bike rides, Junior Ranger programs, campfire talks at campground amphitheaters (open to all visitors), and night sky talks at Sand Beach. Along with souvenir items, walking sticks, and Acadia sweatshirts and the like, the gift shop sells hiking maps and guidebooks and is well-stocked with books about Acadia. Look for signs with a QR code to buy a park audio tour ( 2orguide.com/looptour  $9.95).

This is the locus of Eugene's cultural life. Renowned for the quality of its acoustics, the center has two theaters that are home to Eugene's symphony and opera.

Another Chicago under-the-radar gem, this park was designed by William Le Baron Jenney in the mid-1800s and his work was expanded upon several years later by Jens Jensen. The 1907 Prairie School boathouse is the park’s centerpiece, home to free cultural events and swan pedal boat rentals. The park has a formal garden, tennis courts, baseball fields, bike paths, and the city's only inland beach. In 2019 Humboldt Park temporarily became the subject of local obsession when an immature alligator---likely someone’s illegal pet---was spotted in its lagoon; rest assured Chance the Snapper (as he was lovingly dubbed) was quickly captured and relocated to a Florida gator sanctuary.

Within this tranquil 4-acre garden are a teahouse, paths of gravel and stepping-stones, stone lanterns, and a waterfall, plus various mosses and Asian plants. Guided tours, which include a tea ceremony, are usually given once a day on alternate Saturdays; call for more information.

Just south of the Driftwood Resort on Ocean Drive sits Humiston Park, one of the best beaches in town. Parking is free and plentiful, as there's a large lot on Easter Lily Lane and spots all over the surrounding business district. The shore is somewhat narrow, and there isn't much shade, but the vibrant scene and other amenities make it a great choice for people who crave lots of activity. With lifeguards on duty daily, there's a children's playground, plus a ton of hotels, restaurants, bars, and shops within walking distance. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards; showers; toilets. Best for: partiers; sunsets; swimming; walking.

The basic question here is: do you want to get scared out of your wits in four seconds flat? Three side-by-side speed slides drop 214 feet downhill at a 60-degree angle in seconds. Oh yes, and then you go through a cave. In the dark. The average speed is 30 mph, but you can really fly if you lie flat on your back, cross your ankles, wrap your arms around your chest, and arch your back. A couple caveats: the ride lasts only a few seconds—too short for us—and lines are often too long to requeue for another plunge. Also, this ride isn't appropriate for guests who are pregnant or who have heart, back, or neck problems.

Race against your friends or family.

In 1864, the Confederacy's H. L. Hunley sank the Union warship USS Housatonic and became the world's first successful combat submarine. But moments after the attack, it disappeared mysteriously into the depths of the sea. Lost for more than a century, it was found in 1995 off the coast of Sullivan's Island and raised in 2000. The Hunley is now preserved in a 75,000-gallon tank, which you can see during an informative guided tour. An exhibit area includes artifacts excavated from the sub and interactive displays, including a model that kids will enjoy crawling inside. In downtown Charleston, there's also a full-size replica of the Hunley outside the Charleston Museum.

About 50 yards from the Ohio and Erie Canal Towpath Trail, the visitor center offers child-friendly nature exhibits as well as puppets, coloring books, and other toys. It’s also a convenient rest stop for bikers and hikers along the Towpath Trail, given its proximity. It's staffed only on occasion with park volunteers as it's not the park's main visitor center, but it is open daily during the summer.

John Wesley Hunt, the first millionaire west of the Appalachians, built this Federal-style house in Lexington's Gratz Park district in the early 1800s. His grandson, John Hunt Morgan was a Confederate cavalry officer. Family furniture decorates the house, which also has a small Civil War museum.

The oldest house owned and maintained by the Preservation Society of Newport County, constructed between 1748 and 1754, Hunter House served as the Revolutionary War headquarters of French admiral Charles Louis d'Arsac de Ternay after the home's Loyalist owner fled the city. Featuring a balustraded gambrel roof and heavy stud construction, it is an excellent example of early Georgian Colonial architecture. The carved pineapple over the doorway was a symbol of welcome throughout Colonial America. A collection of Colonial furniture includes pieces crafted by Newport's famed 18th-century Townsend--Goddard family of cabinetmakers and paintings by Cosmo Alexander, Gilbert Stuart, and Samuel King. The house is named for William Hunter, a U.S. Senator and President Andrew Jackson's chargé d'affaires to Brazil.

East of Aspen, in the Williams Mountains and lining a stretch of the Roaring Fork River, is an often-forgotten section of the White River National Forest. Overshadowed by the popular Maroon Bells to the west and the Colorado Wilderness of the Holy Cross to the north, the more than 82,000 acres of the Hunter-Fryingpan Wilderness offer 65 miles of hiking trails, excellent trout fishing, and unparalleled seclusion. Elk and mule deer call the area home, and wildflowers abound in July and August.

Stretching for 3½ miles from Bolsa Chica State Beach to Huntington State Beach, Huntington City Beach is most crowded around the pier where amateur and professional surfers brave the waves daily. There are 100 fire rings, numerous concession stands, bike paths, and well-raked white sand. Surfboard rental shops make this a popular beach year-round. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards; parking (fee); showers; toilets. Best for: sunset; surfing; swimming; walking.

This peaceful state beach offers 121 sandy acres and 200 firepits, so it's popular during the day and evening. There are changing rooms, and two new concession stands---the Huntington Beach House and Sahara Sandbar. There are year-round surf lessons, lifeguards, Wi-Fi access, and ample parking. An 8½-mile bike path connects Huntington to Bolsa Chica State Beach. Picnic areas can be reserved in advance for a fee depending on location; otherwise it's first come, first served. On hot days, expect crowds at this broad, soft-sand beach. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards; parking (fee); showers; toilets. Best for: sunset; surfing; swimming; walking.

Dogwood lanes, fields of flowers, kitchen gardens, and a miniature train winding through a small-scale European village delight all ages. Maintained by volunteers, the garden includes a 9,000-square-foot natural-stone-and-steel-beam nature center that houses what's billed as the nation’s largest open-air butterfly house. Tadpoles, frogs, birds, turtles, and other creatures populate nearby Little Smith Lake. The garden is especially lovely when festooned with lights at holiday time.

The late artist Peter Hurd lived in the Hondo Valley on the Sentinel Ranch, which is still owned by his son, Michael Hurd, whose paintings are also displayed in the gallery. The Hurd–La Rinconada Gallery displays Peter's landscapes and portraits. The artist is famous for Western scenes but gained some notice when a portrait he painted of Lyndon B. Johnson displeased the president, who refused to hang it in the White House. Also on display are the works of Hurd's late wife, Henriette Wyeth (Andrew Wyeth's sister). Michael is an amiable host who has established an international reputation with a series of paintings he calls "The Road West," his vision of the lonely desert scenery surrounding his home. Michael's sister Carole Hurd Rogers and her husband, Peter Rogers, also an artist, live near the ranch as well. Paintings by Jamie Wyeth, father Andrew Wyeth, and grandfather N.¢C. Wyeth round out the impressive collection at the gallery. Signed reproductions and some original paintings are for sale.

This church was built in 1853 to replace the 1801 stone church a few doors up the street. The parsonage is next door in the 1790 Crispell House. On the second Saturday of July, the church organizes a Stone House Day celebration, when neighbors open their centuries-old stone houses to the public.

A century-old former pony barn houses the tasting room of the Anderson Valley's oldest winery. Founded in 1968, Husch prides itself on its conservation efforts in the vineyard and winery. Wines of note include Gewürztraminer, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and old-vine Zinfandel. You can picnic on the deck or at tables under grape arbors.