10457 Best Sights in USA

If you're in Pioneer Square on a Thursday between 11 am and 3 pm, this museum occupying the bottom floor of the Seattle Fire Department's headquarters includes eight historic rigs from Seattle dating from the 19th and early 20th centuries, as well as artifacts (vintage helmets and uniforms, hose nozzles, and other equipment) and photos, logs, and newspaper clippings recording historic fires.

John Oliver's weekly satirical news program on HBO tapes on Saturday, ahead of its 11 pm Sunday air time. Apply early for your preferred date: tickets are released by lottery at 3 pm the Tuesday prior, with preference given to those who have never sat in an audience before. If you miss out on tickets, get in the standby line starting at 3:15 pm. You must be 18 or older to sit in the audience.

Saturday Night Live alum Seth Meyers took the reins as host of Late Night on NBC in 2014, when former host Jimmy Fallon departed for The Tonight Show. Tickets are available online up to two months in advance. Tapings typically run from 4 to 5:15 pm, with check-in starting at 2 pm. On the day of taping, go to 30 Rockefeller Plaza, take the 50 West 50th Street entrance, and proceed up the Grand Stair to the check-in desk. Guests must be 16 or older to be in the audience.

After hosting The Late Show for 22 years, David Letterman passed the torch to former Colbert Report host Stephen Colbert in 2015. Although Colbert's fictional conservative persona did not follow him to his new gig at the Ed Sullivan Theater, his loyal audience did, so expect competition for tickets. The show is usually taped daily at 4:30 pm; check the website and the show's social media for updated details and new ticket releases. You must be 16 or older to sit in the audience.

Built in 1852 in the Italianate Revival style, this home museum, with 600 Victorian items in its collection and elaborate ironwork framing the grounds, is a reminder of both the opulence of antebellum living and its tortuous underbelly. Guided tours of the home and the quarters that housed 11 enslaved people are available. Tours begin on the hour from 10 am to 2 pm. The Lower Cape Fear Historical Society is also based here.

Architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe, who designed the U.S. Capitol, built this modest house with Arsene Latour in 1814. Its smooth lines and porticoes started a passion for Greek Revival architecture in Louisiana, as later evinced in many plantation houses upriver as well as in a significant number of buildings in New Orleans. Latrobe would die in New Orleans six years later from yellow fever. This house, believed to be the earliest example of Greek Revival in the city, is not open to the public.

Looking for a place to stroll with a view? These nine labyrinths ranging in length from 25 to 55 feet blanket a hill overlooking the casinos and the Colorado River. Watch for a small sign and parking area halfway between Bruce Woodbury and South Casino drives.

Here the surf pounds the jagged black rocks at the base of a stunning point, lending a savage beauty to the place. But be advised: this is not a safe place for swimming, so bring only cameras and picnics, not swimsuits. Still vivid in the minds of longtime area residents is the 1946 tragedy in which 21 schoolchildren and three teachers were swept out to sea by a tsunami, back in the days when there was no early warning system.

Behind a stone loading platform of the once-famous Hawaii Consolidated Railway, constructed about 1900, the former manager's house is now a museum and a reminder of the era when sugar was the local cash crop. It displays artifacts from the sugar plantation era, the 1946 tsunami, local railway history, and the rich culture of the Hamakua Coast. The museum's Wye railyard has a vintage switch engine, large standard-gauge caboose, and narrow-gauge explosives boxcar. The trains even run a few yards along the restored tracks on special occasions. Call before coming: hours may vary according to docent availability.

Telling the story of four generations of free and enslaved Creole women, this is a more intimate and better-documented presentation of Creole plantation life than most properties on River Road. The narrative of the guides is built on first-person accounts, estate records, and original artifacts from the Locoul family, who built the simple, Creole-style house in 1805. Laura Locoul, whose great-grandparents founded the estate, wrote a detailed memoir of plantation life, family fights, and the management of enslaved people. The information from Laura's memoir and the original slave cabins and other outbuildings (workers on the plantation grounds lived in the cabins into the 1980s) provide rare insights into slavery in south Louisiana. The plantation gift shop stocks a large selection of literature by and about enslaved people and slavery in south Louisiana and the United States. Senegalese enslaved people at Laura are believed to have first told folklorist Alcée Fortier the tales of Br'er Rabbit; his friend, Joel Chandler Harris, used the stories in his Uncle Remus tales. Tours take place approximately every 40 minutes, beginning from 10 am through 3:20 pm.

This immense 1,106-acre preserve devoted to conversation includes miles of trails. You can access it via the Valley Trail, 1¾ miles north of the Granite Canyon trailhead and ½ mile south of the Death Canyon turnoff. Hikers can admire the Phelps Lake shoreline from a loop trail beginning at the preserve's sleek, contemporary interpretive center, or climb a ridgeline with beautiful views of aspens, wildflowers, and regional birds.

John Notman, architect of the Athenaeum and other noted local buildings, designed Laurel Hill's eastern section in 1836; it is an important example of an early rural burial ground and the first cemetery in America designed by an architect. The striking, hilly location overlooking the Schuylkill River, rare trees, and impressive monuments and mausoleums made it a popular picnic spot in the 19th century, and today it is an accredited arboretum as well as a cemetery. The 78-acre eastern necropolis in Philadelphia has a visitor center and exhibition space at the Ridge Avenue entrance. It's a tranquil place to stroll or bike, take a guided thematic tour on history or nature (fee; see website for all programs), or download an app for a self-guided tour. Among the notables buried here or in the 200-acre western section in suburban Bala Cynwood (opened in 1869 across the river) are General George Meade and 39 other Civil War–era generals. Burials still take place, so visit respectfully.

Built around 1767, this Georgian house on a laurel-covered hill overlooking the Schuylkill River once belonged to Dr. Philip Syng Physick, who was also owner of Society Hill's Hill-Physick House. Admission includes a history-focused guided tour; the house furnishings are from a variety of periods. Women for Greater Philadelphia sponsors summer candlelight chamber music concerts here; there are other events, too, including ones planned for the 2026 celebration of America's 250th birthday. Call before visiting.

The winery, built in 1998, has an antique bar salvaged from an old hotel. Laurel Lake grows its own chardonnay grapes and obtains red grapes from other North Fork growers. The Moscato Sparkling is a standout, and their Gewürztraminer is one of the best from the region. Half-hour tours are available by appointment for parties of four or more and include tastings, and on weekend afternoons from Memorial Day through October there's live music in the backyard.

Completed in 1914 by Emanuel Mische, who trained with the iconic Olmsted Brothers landscaping design firm, resplendent Laurelhurst Park's hundred-year-old trees and winding, elegant paths are evocative of another time, and may trigger an urge to don a parasol. Laurelhurst offers plentiful trails, playgrounds, tennis courts, soccer fields, horseshoe pits, an off-leash area for dogs, and many sunny and shady picnic areas. Take a stroll around the large spring-fed pond and keep an eye out for blue heron, the city's official bird. On the south side of this 31-acre park is one of the busiest basketball courts in town. Though the park is always beautiful, it is especially so in fall.

Manicured lawns, stately trees, and a wildfowl pond make this 31-acre southeast Portland park a favorite urban hangout since 1912. Laurelhurst, one of the city's most beautiful neighborhoods, surrounds the park. It was the first city park to be named on the National Register of Historic Places.

Although Omaha’s sunny summer days are perfect for visiting this lush botanical garden on the west bank of the Missouri River, its large selection of four-season plants makes it a popular attraction even during cooler months. It’s a good place to learn about flora, and it offers a number of different adult and children’s courses throughout the year on everything from floral arranging to nature crafting. You can take a tram ride through the 100-acre park from May through October.

Infrequently visited, this area has a primitive campground and, just beyond the park boundary, two nearby reservoirs that offer the only significant fishing opportunities near the park. Lava Point Overlook, one of the park's highest viewpoints, provides vistas of Zion Canyon from the north. The higher elevation here makes it much cooler than the Zion Canyon area. Park visitors looking for a respite from crowds and heat find the campground a nice change of pace—the six sites are available by reservation only, May through September.

Subterranean lava flow formed this mile-long cave roughly 700,000 years ago. Once you descend into its boulder-strewn maw, the cave is spacious, with 40-foot ceilings, but claustrophobes take heed: about halfway through, the cave tapers to a 4-foot-high squeeze that can be a bit unnerving. A 40°F chill pervades the cave throughout the year so take warm clothing.

To reach the turnoff for the cave, go approximately 9 miles north of Flagstaff on U.S. 180, then turn west onto Forest Road (FR) 245. Turn left at the intersection of FR 171 and look for the sign to the cave. Note: these forest roads are closed from mid-November to March due to snow. The trip is approximately 45 minutes from Flagstaff. Although the cave is on Coconino National Forest Service property, there are no rangers on-site; the only thing here is an interpretive sign, so it's definitely something you tackle at your own risk. Pack a flashlight (or two).

Tree molds that rise like blackened smokestacks formed here in 1790, when a lava flow swept through the ohia forest. Some reach as high as 12 feet. A meandering trail provides close-up looks at some of Hawaii's tropical plants and trees, and there are restrooms and a couple of picnic pavilions and tables. Mosquitoes live here in abundance, so be prepared.

Along the Old National Road out of Cumberland stands the only remaining tollhouse in Maryland. Built in 1836, the historic is a unique, seven-sided, four-room building that housed the gatekeepers who collected tolls until the early 1900s.

About ¼ mile after AZ 80 intersects with AZ 92, you can pull off the highway into a gravel parking lot for a view of the Lavender Pit Mine, a huge hole left by the copper miners. Though the piles of "tailings," or waste, are lavender-hued, the pit's namesake is actually Harrison (Harry) Lavender, the engineer largely responsible for transforming Bisbee's rock into commercial copper ore. Arizona's largest pit mine yielded some 94 million tons of ore before mining activity came to a halt.

A stone building dating from 1859 houses this boutique winery's tasting room, which also sells artisanal cheeses and lavender products. Lavender Ridge's longtime owner-winemaker uses traditional French methods to craft wines from organically farmed Rhône grapes. The lineup includes Viognier, Roussanne, and Grenache Blanc whites, a Grenache rosé, and Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvèdre reds, alone and in a blend.

Spend a serene morning in Lawai Valley, a pastoral corridor that joins verdant hills to the beach where Queen Emma (1836–85) had a home. In 1904, Japanese plantation workers created a miniature version of the famed 88 temples of Shikoku so they could complete a sacred pilgrimage despite being far from home. This is the only replica of this temple route outside Japan and one of the country's oldest Buddhist sites. Ancient Hawaiians built a heiau (temple) in Lawai, and then each group of immigrants that followed––Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese, and Filipino––built their own places of worship in this area known for its healing waters.

Engulfed by vegetation for decades, this hillside dotted with knee-high shrines was excavated and restored by volunteers, who now offer bimonthly tours. After a welcome of tea and manju (Japanese cookies) and a short presentation, you can borrow a walking staff to wind your way up an orchid-lined path for a silent stroll; be sure to peek into the handmade shrines that house small statues---some are historic, and others were made during the pandemic by Hawaii's most well-known artists. Afterward, visitors may enter the 13th-century-style Hall of Compassion, built without nails under the guidance of Japanese master carpenters.  Reservations are required by phone, text, or email. Arrive 15 minutes early and wear comfortable shoes.

Up the road about ½ mile from Long Key State Park, beginning at a close-to-the-ground marker, is a free trail that leads through a tropical-hardwood forest to a rocky Florida Bay shoreline overlooking shallow grass flats. It takes about 20 minutes to walk the ¼-mile route.

Located past Oysterville at the less-developed northern end of the peninsula, this 1,732-acre woodland and beach park adjoining part of Willapa National Wildlife Refuge offers 7 miles of trails through temperate dune forests and along Willapa Bay. It's one of the better migratory bird-watching habitats on Washington's coast, and as the park receives far fewer visitors than the beaches farther south, it's also a great place to commune quietly with nature.

Still chugging along is the Leadville Railroad, which can take you on a breathtaking 2½-hour trip with views of wildflowers, fall foliage, or holiday lights depending on the time of year. Combo rides include zip-lining or rafting adventures. The train leaves from Leadville's century-old depot and travels beside the Arkansas River with views of Mt. Elbert, Colorado's highest peak.

Built in 1908, Leasburg Dam retains irrigation water for Mesilla Valley farmland and recreational water for this reservoir. Kayakers and anglers enjoy boating and fishing here, and on hot days the cool water draws dozens of swimmers.