571 Best Sights in USA

You gain an exhilarating 2,200 feet on this route while hiking through a vast expanse of meadow with views of the southern Puget Sound and Mt. Adams and Mt. St. Helens. On the way up is one of the highest waterfalls in the park, Comet Falls. The 5¾-mile track provides good footing, and the average hiker can make it up and back in five hours. Moderate.

Winding a little more than 3 miles through the Circle C Ranch Metropolitan Park, this paved asphalt loop track is reserved exclusively for bicyclists and rollerbladers. Riders always travel in a one-way, clockwise direction, with designated slow and fast lanes. It's a bit off-the-beaten path, located over 10 miles from downtown, but not far from the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. The loop track is open every day, from dawn to dusk, and there are no on-site facilities. No dogs or walkers are allowed.

Hiking with a view doesn’t get much better than along the 2.5-mile (round-trip) Waihee Ridge Trail. The catch: You’ll have to work for it. This out-and-back trail is steep, climbing more than 1,500 feet before rewarding you with a panorama of the central valley and curtains of emerald vegetation. Smart hikers go early to take advantage of cooler temperatures. Don't forget to stop at the 1-mile mark and enjoy the best view of Makamakaole Falls. The trail is open 7 am to 7 pm daily.

Slightly after the town of Huelo, the Hana Highway enters the Koolau Forest Reserve. Vines wrap around street signs, and waterfalls are so abundant that you don't know which direction to look. A good start is between mile markers 9 and 10, where the Waikamoi Nature Trail sign beckons you to stretch your car-weary limbs. A short (if muddy) trail leads through tall eucalyptus trees to a coastal vantage point with a picnic table. Awapuhi, or Hawaiian shampoo ginger, sends up fragrant shoots along the trail. Signage with messages such as "Quiet, Trees at Work" and "Bamboo Picking Permit Required" keeps you, figuratively speaking, on the straight and narrow.

Boardwalks and hiking, biking, and canoe trails weave through this lovely 600-acre park lorded over by ancient cypress and tupelo trees. One of the paths traces the colonial-era Charleston-to-Savannah Stagecoach Road, where you can still see the cypress remnants of historic bridges. It's a Southern swamp that forms the headwaters of the ACE Basin's Ashepoo River, so douse yourself with insect repellent and be on alert for reptiles.

For a dramatic view of Springdale and a great introduction to the park's landscape, including lower Zion Creek Canyon and Towers of the Virgin, this moderately taxing adventure begins on a service road east of Watchman Campground. Some springs seep out of the sandstone, nourishing the hanging gardens and attracting wildlife. There are a few sheer cliff edges, so supervise children carefully. Plan on two hours to complete this nearly 3½-mile round-trip hike with a 368-foot elevation change. Moderate.

Starting at the pier, this 3-mile round-trip walk to the entrance of a 2-mile-long white-sand beach features some exceptional beachcombing. Frequent strong winds can turn this easy hike into a fairly strenuous excursion, though. You can extend your walk by following animal paths to Water Canyon, which is full of native vegetation. Easy.

A flat and easy 3-mile trail winds along this pretty city park on the banks of the Wenatchee River, down the hill from downtown Leavenworth. The trail crosses Blackbird Island and has several patches of beach that are ideal for a dip on a hot summer day. It's a wonderful park and trail for wildlife watching.

A half-mile round-trip, this is definitely a kid-friendly trail. Hop off the bus three stops from the north end of the park. The well-marked trail is shaded and has a steady incline that leads to steps as you approach the alcove. Although much of the trail is paved, the steepness and irregularity may make it difficult for strollers and wheelchairs. Amaze your kids when you tell them the water trickling down on them has taken more than 1,000 years to seep down and through Echo Canyon. Easy.

For a long, moderately strenuous trek, try this 12½-mile loop. The difficult West Ridge segment passes redwoods looming above a carpet of ferns. The slightly less taxing Friendship Ridge portion slopes down toward the coast through spruce and hemlock forests and accesses Fern Canyon. The moderate James Irvine Trail winds along a small creek amid dense redwood stands. For a less intensive experience, hike only one section. Moderate.

Wet Prong Trail follows a ridgeline to the drainage of the Wet Prong of Buffalo Creek and parallels the creek for much of the trail's length, crossing smaller tributary streams on its way. The trail can be soft and muddy in places, and growth can be dense. At 1.4 miles, Blair Springs Hollow Trail connects. At 3.7 miles McCoy Hollow Trail connects. The trail ends at a junction with Collie Ridge Trail and Buffalo Creek Trail. 4.6 miles. Moderate. Note: Wet Prong Trail forms a 19.1-mile loop with First Creek Trail and McCoy Hollow Trail that can be accessed from either First Creek Trailhead or Temple Hill Trailhead.

West of the Virginia Kendall Area, the 4.6-mile Wetmore Trail, made up of old farmers paths and logging roads, now serves as a corridor for horseback riding, hiking, and dog-walking (dogs must be kept on a leash). Part of a larger trail network that includes Tabletop Trail and Langes Run Trail, the trail is at its peak in the spring, summer, and fall. Moderate.

If you've been hankering to walk across some of that famed, pavement-smooth stuff they call slickrock, the hike to Whale Rock will make your feet happy. This 1-mile round-trip adventure, which culminates with a tough final 100-foot climb and features some potentially dangerous drop-offs, takes you to the very top of the whale's back. Once you get there, you are rewarded with great views of Upheaval Dome and Trail Canyon. Moderate.

The forest this trail passes through is no ordinary woodland. To your left is the Big Woods, one of the last remaining stands of original Old Growth forest in Kentucky. The trail descends into the Green River Valley to the north side of Dennison Ferry, and the White Oak backcountry campsite.  2.5 mi. Moderate. There is no ferry, and no cross-river access to the Dennison Ferry Day-Use Area.

From the ridgetop near Mammoth Cave Campground, Whites Cave Trail makes its way down the wooded flank of Mammoth Cave ridge toward a spot where White Cave lies nestled underneath the forest floor. This small grotto with no known connection to the Mammoth Cave system isn't open to the public, but the trail passes by its entrance. 0.6 mile. Moderate.

Round-trip, Widforss Trail is 9.6 miles, with an elevation change of only 200 feet. Allow five to six hours for the hike, which starts at 8,080 feet and passes through shady forests of pine, spruce, fir, and aspen on its way to Widforss Point, at 7,900 feet. Here you'll have good views of five temples: Zoroaster, Brahma, and Deva to the southeast, and Buddha and Manu to the southwest. You are likely to see wildflowers in summer, and this is a good trail for viewing fall foliage. It's named in honor of artist Gunnar M. Widforss, renowned for his paintings of national park landscapes. Moderate.

An 8.4-mile round-trip trail leads from the Charcoal Kilns (enormous stone structures that were used to create the charcoal needed to extract lead and silver from ore mined in the area) through pinyon pine and juniper woodlands up to Wildrose Peak, a 2,200-foot ascent from the trailhead. Various Death Valley views unfold along the way, and the sweeping vistas from the 9,064-foot peak include Panamint Valley and, on clear days, Mt. Whitney. Difficult

This easy 1.8-mile (one-way) trail follows Wind Cave Canyon to the park boundary fence. The canyon, with its steep limestone walls and dead trees, provides the best opportunity in the park for bird-watching. Be especially vigilant for cliff swallows, great horned owls, and red-headed and Lewis woodpeckers. Deer, least chipmunks, and other small animals also are attracted to the sheltered environment of the canyon. Even though you could probably do a round-trip tour of this trail in less than 1½ hours, be sure to spend more time here to observe the wildlife. Easy.

Please note that Door, Notch, and Window Trails are all accessible at the same trailhead. Window Trail is a ¼-mile round-trip trail ends at a natural hole, or window, in a rock wall. You'll see more of the distinctive badlands pinnacles and spires. Easy.

This 0.3-mile round-trip paved nature trail is wheelchair-accessible and also great for little ones. Take in the beautiful, craggy-sided Chisos and look through the V-shape rock-sided "Window" framing the desert below (you can hike to this very point via the quite rewarding, moderately difficult 5.6-mile round-trip Window Trail, which is accessed from the same trailhead). This self-guided trail, which is especially captivating at sunset, is easily accomplished in 20 minutes. Be on the lookout for wild javelina, which occasionally root through here. They're not normally aggressive, but give them a respectful distance. The trail is closed due to construction until mid-2027. Easy.

An early stop for many visitors to the park, a trek through The Windows gives you an opportunity to get out and enjoy the desert air. Here you'll see three giant openings in the rock and walk on a trail that leads right through the holes. Allow about an hour on this gently inclined, 1-mile round-trip hike. As most visitors don't follow the "primitive" trail around the backside of the two windows, take advantage if you want some desert solitude. The primitive trail adds an extra half-hour to the hike. Easy.

Family-friendly Wonderland Trail, a 1.4-mile round trip, follows an old fire road through spruce forest and leads to rocky coast with nice tide-pooling at low tide. The nearby Ship Harbor Trail also draws families. Easy.    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.

Providing a scenic opportunity to stretch your legs and breathe in fresh sea air, this 1.2-mile loop starts at the southern end of Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park. After following the California Coastal Trail for a short stretch, the path forks off toward False Klamath Cove—keep an eye out for shorebirds and migrating whales here. Just north of False Klamath Cove, there's excellent beachcombing at Wilson Creek Beach. Easy.

If it's a hot day, take a drive to the falls section of the Zapata Falls Recreation Area, about 7 miles south of Great Sand Dunes National Park (and about 10 miles north of Alamosa). From the trailhead, it's a ½-mile hike to the 40-foot waterfall and a mildly steep trail, which can include wading in a stream and walking through a narrow gorge to view the falls (depending on water levels). Air temperatures in the gorge are always cool and inviting, and the falls are beautiful, but be careful of the current (and slippery rocks) here. A picnic area and restrooms are at the entrance. The trailhead is 3½ miles off Highway 150, between mile markers 10 and 11.

California's oldest state park is the best place to see old-growth redwoods without going north of San Francisco, and it's far less crowded than Muir Woods. The parkland ranges from sea level up to 2,000 feet in elevation, which means the landscape changes often, from dark redwood groves to oak pastures that are deep green in winter and bleached nearly white in summer. The countless waterfalls are the most visible during the winter and spring rains. To get a feel for the redwoods, take the Redwood Loop Trail, an easy half-mile path, great for kids, that takes in some of the tallest trees here, including the Mother of the Forest and the Father of the Forest. Pick up the trail from the parking lot across from the visitor center, inland at park headquarters in Boulder Creek. A brochure you can pick up here points out significant trees along the way.

If you have a little more time, consider taking the Sequoia and Skyline to the Sea trails for a 4-mile loop that takes you past a pioneer family cabin to a platform overlooking Sempervirens Falls, up the slope of Slippery Rock, and then along stretches of Opal Creek (where you meet up with Skyline to the Sea).

Hikers looking for a challenge might consider the strenuous but scenic 9.5-mile trek from Rancho del Oso valley (accessed on the western portion of the park, east of Highway 1) uphill to Chalk Mountain, which meanders along a ridge with sweeping views of the park and coast before steeply descending by way of the Whitehouse Ridge Trail. Look for the Clark Connection, up Canyon Road, as your starting point.

A short walk from the highway on the Marsh Trail leads to the Rancho Del Oso Nature Center (www.ranchodeloso.org). Open on weekends from noon to 4, the center has natural-history exhibits and is the starting point for several self-guided nature walks.

Interpretive signs explain the geology of the rock layers visible on the ½-mi loop of the Cap Rock Nature Trail, which begins on Cains Coulee Road, a few miles from the park entrance. The trail affords excellent views of a natural rock bridge. Beginning at the campground, the 1.5-mi Diane Gabriel Trail loops through both badlands and prairie terrain. At the halfway point a duck-billed-dinosaur fossil is embedded in a cliff. The.5-mi Kinney Coulee Trail starts about 4 mi south of the park entrance and leads 300 feet down a canyon. The terrain here is a bit more forested than elsewhere in the park, but the rock formations are the real stars.

A vigorous but nontechnical 1½-mile scramble up the slickrock (smooth, rather than slippery, sandstone), this path leads to a nearly 360-degree view of red rock country. Follow the cairns (rock piles marking the trail) and look for the footholds in the rock. Carry plenty of water: though short, the trail offers little shade and the pitch is steep. You can see the Verde Valley and Mingus Mountain in the distance. Look for the barely discernible "J" etched on the hillside marking the former ghost town of Jerome 30 miles away.

This 4-mile stretch of sand is perfect for long walks, kite flying, and picnic lunches, though the frigid water and strong rip currents make swimming inadvisable. There are three access points (Francis, Venice, Dunes) and four beaches (Francis, Venice, Dunes, Roosevelt). One access point (Francis) is in Half Moon Bay; the others are north of town off the highway. To find them, look for road signs that have a picture of footsteps. There's a visitor center and BBQ pits at Francis and picnic areas at Francis and Roosevelt. Dogs are prohibited. Amenities: parking (fee); showers; toilets. Best for: camping; solitude; sunset; surfing; walking.