10457 Best Sights in USA

What is sometimes called “the Oceanside Beach” offers an excellent view of Henry Flagler’s old railroad bridge. A small rock island not far from shore is easy enough to kayak around (rentals are available elsewhere in Bahia Honda State Park), and there are plenty of snorkeling opportunities in the clear waters. This beach doesn't have  picnic pavilions, and its comparative lack of amenities makes it less crowded and more rustic than other park beaches. Amenities: parking (no fee). Best for: solitude; swimming; walking.

A winery with personality galore, Lola earns critical plaudits for owner-winemaker Seth Cripe's accessible unconventional wines. The Albariño, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Malvasia Bianca, Riesling, and other whites favor acidity and “unripeness,” a succulence two rosés and reds including Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, Charbono, and Cabernet Sauvignon also share. All the wines are from single vineyards and 100% one grape type. Cripe, who also runs a lucrative business selling bottarga (fish roe) to fine-dining restaurants, presents his wines at a redbrick 1892 former home a few blocks from the center of town. In good weather, most tastings take place on the tree-shaded back patio.

Cleveland stretches some 400 blocks east to west, and Lolly the Trolley makes it easy to take in the best the city has to offer. Take a narrated one- or two-hour jaunt through Cleveland's streets, catching highlights in many neighborhoods—North Coast Harbor, the Flats, Ohio City, Downtown, and University Circle—along the way. A wheelchair-accessible trolley is available.

Cozy and friendly, the tasting room buzzes with regulars and visitors—most here to try new brews as well as downpours of old favorites like the light and citrusy Portland Pale Ale. The mezzanine-style tasting room overlooks the production area, and well-behaved and leashed dogs are welcome.

At an elevation of over 3,000 feet, this 186-acre park offers 7½ miles of trails and breathtaking views of Kalispell, Flathead Lake, and the Whitefish Mountain Range. Features include a self-guided nature trail, a gift shop and visitor center that has exhibits detailing the local wildlife and ecology, nature interpretive programs, picnic areas and shelters, horse trails, and a horseshoe pit. Be sure to bring your camera.

A 1-mile round-trip self-guided walk takes visitors past homestead buildings and an orchard left by early Mormon missionaries.

Just as its name implies, this soft-sand beach that is half in Rockport, half in Gloucester is long, and it's also broad. It draws crowds from the houses that border it, particularly on weekends. Pay attention to the tide schedule, or you may find there's no beach to sit on. Cape Ann Motor Inn is nearby. Parking is very limited. Don't even think of parking on neighborhood streets if you don't have a town parking sticker—you will be towed. However, there is a lot on the Gloucester side. Amenities: none. Best for: swimming; walking.

The ½-mile-long wooden boardwalk runs through the dunes parallel to the beach, and is a great place for strolling, bird-watching, or just sitting and listening to the wind and the roar of the surf. It runs between Bolstad Avenue and Sid Snyder Drive.

This Wetherill Mesa cliff dwelling is the second largest in Mesa Verde. It is believed that about 150 people lived in Long House, so named because of the size of its cliff alcove. The spring at the back of the cave is still active today. The in-depth, ranger-led tour begins a short distance from the parking lot and takes about 90 minutes. You hike about 2 miles, including two 15-foot ladders.

The gallery, arboretum, sculpture gardens, and special programs at this 16-acre reserve all underscore the mission of Long House—to show that experiencing art and nature together is essential to living a whole and creative life. You can explore the grounds on your own.

Three miles long and 1 mile wide, Long Island lives up to its name in shape, and is home to 200 year-round residents (many of whom work in the fishing industry) and 1,000 summer dwellers. There are a few lovely beaches here, including South Beach, Andrews Beach, and Fowler Beach. A few country stores and a bakery can supply you with vittles for a picnic. Bike rentals are not available, so bring your own over on the ferry or rent a golf cart close to the ferry landing when you arrive.

Housed in an old airplane hangar, this is a learning laboratory with hands-on exhibits. Children ages 2 to 12 can explore a multi-sensory garden, climb into big bubbles, build Roman arches, play musical instruments, or pretend they're TV-news anchors.

A 19th-century oystering vessel and a small collection of local craft are on display at this museum 1½ miles west of Sayville village. Changing exhibits focus on boating and maritime history. Boatbuilding can be observed most days, and guided tours are available by appointment. The big draw here is the calendar of annual events, including a pirate festival, kite festival, seafood festival, and boat burning. Summer camps and educational programs are available for kids. The museum also offers seasonal sailings on its 19th-century, 60-foot fishing sloop Priscilla, departing from the Snapper Inn on Shore Drive in Oakdale.

As you cross the Long Key Channel, look beside you at the old viaduct. The second-longest bridge on the former rail line, this 2¼-mile-long structure has 222 reinforced-concrete arches. The old bridge is popular with cyclists and joggers. Anglers fish off the sides day and night.

Although barren, this easy 1.6-mile loop passes the largest concentration of wood in the park. Easy.

In the peak of summer, each day sees thousands of visitors along this swath of white sand, which stretches for more than a mile. They come to sunbathe, surf (in designated areas), play volleyball, and explore tide pools. You can rent umbrellas and rafts here, but you'll have to walk to nearby restaurants for a bite to eat. Dogs are allowed (however, between late May and late September, only before 8 am and after 6:30 pm). Amenities: lifeguards (seasonal); parking (fee); toilets. Best for: surfing; swimming; walking.

Long Shadows partners with international winemakers to create their Cabernet Sauvignons, Merlots, and red blends. Their Rieslings, called Poet's Leap, are a collaboration with German winemaker Armin Diel. Other white wines include Chardonnays and Sauvignon Blancs. The sparkling pink Julia’s Dazzle rosé, named for founder Allen Shoup's granddaughter, is as tasty as it looks and wins rave reviews for its affordability as well. You can sample them all in the beautiful tasting room, which features a chandelier by celebrated Washington glass artist Dale Chihuly.

Long Wharf starts east of Atlantic Avenue, and it serves as the launching point for many of the city's water tours, sails, and whale-watch cruises. At its far end, it's also a departure point for Boston Duck Tours, Old Town Trolley, and CityView Trolley Tours. Halfway down the wharf, you can have dinner at Chart House seafood restaurant, but note that the historic building it houses was once John Hancock's counting house. The New England Aquarium sits next door, at Central Wharf.

The giant basket 35 mi east of Columbus is not just a huge sculpture–it's a building. The seven-story structure is actually the headquarters of the Longaberger Basket Company and the brainchild of late company founder and CEO Dave Longaberger. Built in 1997, the building looks like the company's famous market basket, complete with two 75-ton, three-story-tall handles on top. Building tours are available daily, but the office is closed for major holidays and occasional events; call ahead to double-check. A few miles away in nearby Dresden, at 5th and Main streets, Longaberger also made the world's largest basket. Ten maple trees were used for this behemoth. About the size of a house, the basket measures 48 feet long, 11 feet wide, and 23 feet high.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, the poet whose stirring tales of the village blacksmith, Evangeline, Hiawatha, and Paul Revere's midnight ride thrilled 19th-century America, once lived in this elegant Georgian mansion. One of several original Tory Row homes on Brattle Street, the house was built in 1759 by John Vassall Jr., and George Washington lived (and slept!) here during the Siege of Boston from July 1775 to April 1776. Longfellow first boarded here in 1837 and later received the house as a gift from his father-in-law on his marriage to Frances Appleton, who burned to death here in an accident in 1861. For 45 years Longfellow wrote his famous verses here and filled the house with the exuberant spirit of his literary circle, which included Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Charles Sumner, an abolitionist senator. Longfellow died in 1882, but his presence in the house lives on—from the Longfellow family furniture to the wallpaper to the books on the shelves (many the poet's own).

The home, preserved and run by the National Park Service, hosts free guided tours Memorial Day through October. The formal garden is the perfect place to relax; the grounds are open year-round. Longfellow Park, across the street, is the place to stand to take photos of the house. The park was created to preserve the view immortalized in the poet's "To the River Charles." 

Shaded by giant live oaks draped with Spanish moss, this 157-acre park has picnic tables and pavilions and early Acadian structures. The on-site museum traces the history of the Acadians and their settlement along the Bayou Teche in the early 1800s. The modest bright-yellow house was built in 1815 of handmade bricks, and it contains Louisiana antiques. An hour-long tour includes many interesting details about life on the plantation.

Constructed in 1972 to resemble a traditional Tsimshian longhouse, this cedar structure serves as a gathering place for community events. Two totem poles stand in the back of the building, and a Northwest Coast design featuring the four Tsimshian clans—Raven, Eagle, Killer Whale, and Wolf—covers the front.

Glass cases inside this museum preserve the park's plants and animals, including a stuffed cougar. Historical photographs and geographical displays provide a worthwhile overview of the park's history. The adjacent visitor center has some perfunctory exhibits on the surrounding forest and its inhabitants, as well as pamphlets and information about park activities.

It’s not what you’d expect to find in Texas, but this nonprofit conservation foundation is a place where you can visit giraffes and rhinos that roam a vast fenced-in space and are extremely well tended to. The goal here is to raise awareness and funds to help wildlife conservation initiatives in Africa. Founded by a conservationist who helped design Disney’s Animal Kingdom, visitors (ages 12 and over) can also stay overnight in four villas with picture windows to maximize viewing and learn as much as they can from the animal caregivers.

Climbing this 14,259-foot mountain (one of 53 "Fourteeners" in Colorado) is an ambitious goal for almost anyone—but only those who are very fit and acclimated to the altitude should attempt it. The 16-mile round-trip climb requires a predawn start (3 am is ideal), so that you're off the summit before the typical summer afternoon thunderstorm hits. Also, the last 2 miles or so of the trail are very exposed—you have to traverse narrow ledges with vertigo-inducing drop-offs. That said, summiting Longs can be one of the most rewarding experiences you'll ever have. The Keyhole route is the most popular means of ascent, and the number of people going up it on a summer day can be astounding, given the rigors of the climb. Though just as scenic, the Loft route, between Longs and Mount Meeker from Chasm Lake, is less crowded but not as clearly marked and therefore more difficult to navigate. Difficult.

While technically in the Lakewood neighborhood, this beautiful destination is just a 12-minute walk from the Mid-City streetcar stop. Fourteen separate gardens are arranged throughout the 8 acres, embellished with fountains, architectural flourishes, and gorgeous pathways of hand-laid Mexican pebbles and rough-cut marble. This city estate, now a National Historic Landmark, was fashioned in the 1940s after the great country houses of England, and the villa-style mansion is decorated with its original furnishings of English and American antiques, priceless tapestries, modern art, and porcelain. Longue Vue is open every day, and guests can visit the house by guided tour or explore the gardens at their own leisure. Themed gardens include the formal Spanish court, modeled after a 14th-century Spanish garden, as well as a Discovery Garden, which introduces kids to the intricacies and wonders of horticulture.  While the verdant gardens are open year round, March and April see the amaryllis, daffodils, azaleas, spring snowdrops, tulips, and poppies in full bloom.

As a 16-year-old immigrant working in the New Orleans shipyards, Henry Lonsdale noticed how many damaged goods were arriving from upriver. Spotting a need for more-protective shipping materials, he developed the burlap sack and made a fortune, only to lose it all in the 1837 depression. Lonsdale turned to coffee importing, and in order to stretch his supply, he thought to cut the coffee grounds with chicory, a bitter root—and New Orleanians have been drinking the blend ever since. This house includes intricate cast-iron work and a carved marble entrance hall. The statue of Our Mother of Perpetual Help in the front yard is a remnant of the house's more than 70 years as an active Catholic chapel.

The viewpoints looking east on the western section of Foothills Parkway around Look Rock have remarkable vistas. This is also a great spot to enjoy the sunrise over the Smokies. Stargazers gather at the five overlooks south of the Look Rock exit because light pollution is especially low.