10457 Best Sights in USA

Accessed via the western section of the beautiful Foothills Parkway, Look Rock Picnic Area is almost never crowded. A ½-mile hike takes you to the observation tower, which offers panoramic views of the Smokies. There are 51 picnic tables, restrooms, and a ranger station.

Midway on the North Rim Trail—also accessible via the one-way North Rim Drive—Lookout Point provides a view of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Follow the right-hand fork in the path to descend a steep trail, with an approximately 500-foot elevation change, for an eye-to-eye view of the falls from a ½ mile downstream. The best time to hike the trail is early morning, when sunlight reflects off the mist from the falls to create a rainbow.

Recognizable for its eerie calls and striking black-and-white coloring, the loon resides on many New Hampshire lakes but is threatened by the gradual loss of its habitat. Two trails wind from the modern visitor center through this 200-acre lakeside wildlife sanctuary, which has made great progress in helping to restore the state's loon population, which currently stands at around 750; vantage points on the Loon Nest Trail overlook the spot resident loons sometimes occupy in late spring and summer.

To see the best variety of wildlife in Big Cypress, including alligators, raccoons, and softshell turtles, follow the 24-mile Loop Road, south of US 41 and west of Shark Valley. Bring binoculars for bird-watching as there are swallow-tailed kites and red-shouldered hawks here as well. Afterward, stop at the H. P. Williams Roadside Park, west of the Oasis Visitor Center, for a picnic, taking time to walk along the boardwalk to spy gators, turtles, and garfish in the river waters of the cypress swamp.

The site of an ancient fishpond, this remote white-sand beach offers majestic views of West Maui and Kahoolawe and is a great place for a picnic. The channel's current is far too strong for swimming. Although you'll see surfers in the waters here, this spot tests the mettle of even the sport's most experienced practitioners. To get here, take Highway 440 to its eastern terminus, turn right onto a dirt road, and continue south for 7 miles. Amenities: none. Best for: solitude; sunrise; walking.

Artifacts from the region's Native American tribes and early settlers include some impressive ship and small-boat models and maps of local landmarks. You can also listen to fascinating digital recordings of early settlers discussing life on Lopez Island.

This locally owned gallery is a one-of-a-kind in the Austin art community, attracting both emerging and established international artists with a modern aesthetic. It features original drawings, sculptures, film, photography, and paintings in its main gallery space. Additionally, the "Project Room" showcases up to six installations annually.

Loretta Lynn's Ranch encompasses the entire village of Hurricane Mills 65 miles west of Nashville. The singer's personal museum is here, and you can take tours of the first floor of the coal miner's daughter's stately antebellum home, of a simulated coal mine, and of a re-creation of her simple childhood home. Camping, canoeing, paddleboats, trout fishing, and swimming are among the many recreational activities available here. See website for camping (RV, tent or cabin) rates.

A delicate Gothic church modeled after Sainte-Chapelle in Paris, Loretto was built in 1878 by the same French architects and Italian stonemasons who built St. Francis Cathedral, and is known for the "Miraculous Staircase" that leads to the choir loft. Legend has it that the chapel was almost complete when it became obvious that there wasn't room to build a staircase to the choir loft. In answer to the prayers of the cathedral's nuns, a mysterious carpenter arrived on a donkey, built a 20-foot staircase (using only a square, a saw, and a tub of water to season the non-native wood) and then disappeared as quickly as he came. Many of the faithful believed it was St. Joseph himself. The staircase contains two complete 360-degree turns with no central support; no nails were used in its construction. Adjoining the chapel are a small museum and gift shop.

A tiny stagecoach town founded in 1876, Los Alamos is a fun, Old West stopover when driving along Highway 101. Many of its original structures, including the 1880 Union Hotel, still line several blocks of Bell Street, the main drag. In recent years Los Alamos has evolved into a hip food-and-wine destination with first-rate tasting rooms and restaurants within the western-style buildings. Standouts include Bell's Restaurant, Plenty on Bell, Bob's Well Bread, and Casa Dumetz Wines.

Across the street from Ashley Pond and the Manhattan Project National Historical Park Visitor Center, this engaging museum has indoor and outdoor exhibits about the region's Ancestral Puebloan history dating back to the 14th century, the Boy Scout–influenced prep school for young men from prominent families (including Gore Vidal and William S. Burroughs) that operated here before World War II, the Manhattan Project, and more recent times. A few doors away, the mid-century modern Hans Bethe House depicts home life for the top-level scientists working on the atomic bomb, and next door you can view the exterior of J. Robert Oppenheimer's home (which remains a private residence). Be sure to visit the neighboring Fuller Lodge Art Center (free), a massive log building designed in 1928 by famed New Mexican architect John Gaw Meem as part of the prep school, before it was purchased and converted into the base of operations for the Manhattan Project. Inside there's an art gallery and shop that presents rotating exhibits throughout the year.

The nation's third-largest public library, the handsome Los Angeles Central Library was designed in 1926 by Bertram Goodhue. Restored to their pristine condition, a pyramid tower and a torch symbolizing the "light of learning" crown the building. The Cook rotunda on the second floor features murals by Dean Cornwell depicting the history of California, and the Tom Bradley Wing, named for a famed L.A. mayor, has a soaring eight-story atrium.

The library offers frequent special exhibits, and don't ignore the gift shop, which is loaded with unique items for readers and writers. Free art and architecture tours are offered Friday at 12:30, Saturday at 11, and Sunday at 2. An Art-in-the-Garden tour happens once a month on Saturday at 12:30 pm. A self-guided tour map is also available on the library's website.

Wander through a re-created tropical forest, a South African landscape, or the Australian outback at this family-friendly arboretum. One highlight is the tropical greenhouse, with carnivorous-looking orchids and a pond full of brilliantly colored goldfish. The house and stables of the eccentric real-estate pioneer Lucky Baldwin are well-preserved and worth a visit, along with the fairy-tale Queen Anne Cottage built for his 16-year-old fourth wife, which has been painstakingly renovated and is now open for docent-led tours. (It's best known as Ricardo Montalbán's Fantasy Island house.) Kids will love the many peacocks and waterfowl that roam the property, and an abandoned 1890 train station built using Baldwin's own brick yard. The most recent additions include a new forest pathway and the Garden of Quiet Reflection, filled with contemplative quotes, a sundial, and East Asian flora.

Built in 1931, the 2,200-seat Los Angeles Theatre opened with the premiere of Charlie Chaplin's classic City Lights. Full of glorious French baroque–inspired details, the six-story lobby is awe-inspiring with its dramatic staircase, enormous fountain, grandiose chandeliers, and ornate gold detailing. You can occasionally witness the old Hollywood glamour by catching a special movie screening.

The sweeping grounds of the Los Angeles Zoo are a terrific place to introduce young minds to threatened species of animals from all over the world and to encourage conservation advocacy. The zoo is home to more than 2,100 mammals, birds, amphibians, and reptiles representing more than 270 different species, of which more than 58 are endangered. While coordinating with different organizations around the world, the zoo also has its own in-house conservation programs, including innovative breeding strategies for reptiles and a successful Masai giraffe breeding program, and it participates in efforts to restore the pronghorn species population. The care of the adorable residents of this 133-acre zoo is priority number one, and every effort is made to allow animals plenty of space and the agency to roam in their enclosures, to create environments that mimic their wild habitats, and to make enrichment toys available for play. The sprawling, 6.56-acre Elephants of Asia habitat boasts more than 3 acres of outdoor space, deep bathing pools, a waterfall, sandy hills, enrichment opportunities, and care facilities for elephants of all sizes and ages. In summer, the Zoo Friday Nights program allows visitors an opportunity to witness the more nocturnal residents. The sustainable wine and dinner series (21+) features gourmet farm-to-table menus, expert wine pairings, and conversations with a curator or keeper. 

You'll need at least three hours to explore this zoo, but a full day is even better. Amenities include several restaurants, free solar-powered charging stations, water-refilling stations, and electric shuttles that can take you around the zoo for a small fee. Passionate and knowledgeable docents are also available to tell you more about the animals.

Situated at the southern end of the San Jose sprawl as the last city stop in the Bay Area before Santa Cruz and the gateway to the Santa Cruz Mountains, Los Gatos is a fun, exciting city that has also maintained its small-town vibe. The downtown area is almost L-shaped, where Santa Cruz Avenue connects with Main Street for two different thoroughfares that feel like one together. Along Santa Cruz, there’s the beautifully renovated art-deco-style Los Gatos Theatre ( 43 Santa Cruz Ave.). Excellent cocktails and seasonal eats are served at The Lexington House ( 40 Santa Cruz Ave.); standout pizzas at Oak & Rye ( 303 Santa Cruz Ave.); notable pastas are offered at The Pastaria & Market ( 27 Santa Cruz Ave.); fantastic breads and pastries from Manresa Bread ( 40 Santa Cruz Ave.); and house-made brews are showcased at Loma Brewing Company ( 130 Santa Cruz Ave.). Elsewhere in downtown on the small side streets are creative cocktails from Los Gatos Soda Works ( 21 College Ave.), the unique gluten-free Italian cooking of Polenteria ( 10 Victory La.), and modern Spanish tapas at Telefèric Barcelona ( 50 University Ave., Suite B270).

Beyond downtown, Los Gatos is a residential city with a variety of neighborhoods and parks. Vasona Lake is a beautiful reservoir within a county park ( parks.sccgov.org) that includes a children's railroad pulled by a steam engine and is a must-visit for families. At the far northern tip of the city is the headquarters of Netflix.

The Moapa Valley has one of the finest collections of ancestral Puebloan artifacts in the American Southwest. Lost City, officially known as Pueblo Grande de Nevada, was a major outpost of the ancient culture. The museum's artifacts include baskets, weapons, a restored Basketmaker pit house, reconstructed pueblo houses, and black-and-white photographs of the excavation of Lost City in the 1920s and '30s. To get to the Lost City Museum from Valley of Fire, pass the park's east entrance and head north onto Northshore Drive, which becomes state route 169, toward Overton.

Pulitzer Prize–winner Paul Green's drama was written in 1937 to mark the 350th birthday of Virginia Dare, the first English child born in the New World; in 2013 the show won a Tony Honor for Excellence in the Theatre. Except from 1942 to 1945 (when enemy German U-boats prowled the nearby Atlantic Ocean during World War II), it has played every summer since then in Fort Raleigh National Historic Site's Waterside Theatre, on the same grounds where the doomed English settlers tried to establish their new home. On a huge stage—larger than any on Broadway—and with a cast and crew of more than 130, the story of the first colonists, who settled here in 1587 and mysteriously vanished, is reenacted. Cast alumni include Andy Griffith and Lynn Redgrave.

Try to buy tickets at least a week in advance. Pre-show, hour-long backstage tours, dinner packages, and afternoon shows for children are available.

As the Phoenix metro area gives way to cactus- and creosote-dotted desert, the massive escarpment of the Superstition Mountains heaves into view and slides by to the north. The Superstitions are supposedly where the legendary Lost Dutchman Mine is, the location—not to mention the existence—of which has been hotly debated since pioneer days.

The mine, one of about 300 developed within the current park boundaries, was among Southern California's most productive, generating 10,000 ounces of gold and 16,000 ounces of silver between 1894 and 1931. The 10-stamp mill is one of the best preserved of its type in the park system. The site is accessed via a moderately strenuous 4-mile hike. Mind the signs, and note that parking, which is at end of the dirt access road, is limited.

This somewhat strenuous 4-mile round-trip hike follows a former mining road to a well-preserved mill site used in the 1890s to crush gold-encrusted rock mined from the nearby mountain. The operation was one of the area's most successful. The cyanide settling tanks and stone buildings are the area's best-preserved structures. From the mill area, a short but steep 10-minute side trip takes you to the top of a 5,278-foot peak with great views of the valley. This route can be combined with the Lost Horse Loop to create a more challenging walkabout. Moderate.

Nora Ganley-Roper and Adam Polonski crisscross the United States tasting whiskies from independent distilleries, choosing only the most interesting to bottle and sell under their Lost Lantern name. Their tiny Vergennes tasting room is the place to go to sample what they find, sometimes before it's released to the world or long after its bottles have sold out. Flights rotate seasonally, but bottles are always for sale.

Reachable by a challenging 7½-mile, round-trip hike, this oasis has more than 100 fan palms, the largest grouping of the exotic plants found in the park, and a spring that bubbles from between the rocks only to disappear into the sandy, boulder-strewn canyon. Visits are not recommended during the summer months. Parking is down the road from Cottonwood Visitor Center at Cottonwood Spring.

Allow five to six hours to complete this challenging 7.5-mile round-trip trail, which runs past sandy washes and rolling terrain to the most impressive oasis in the park. It's uphill on the way out of the canyon. You'll find more than 100 fan palms and an abundance of wildflowers here. Difficult.

Saucy Gold Rush–era actress, singer, and dancer Lotta Crabtree so excited the city's miners that they were known to shower her with gold nuggets and silver dollars after her performances. This peculiar, rather clunky gold-colored fountain adorned with regal lions was her way of saying thanks to her fans. Given to the city in 1875, the fountain became a meeting place for survivors after the 1906 earthquake; each April 18, the anniversary of the quake, San Franciscans gather here. An image of redheaded Lotta herself, in a very pink, rather risqué dress, appears in one of the Anton Refregier murals in Rincon Center.

Built in 1858, this grand house in Downtown Franklin was home to a family of German immigrants during the years surrounding the Civil War. Even those who don’t care for Civil War history will enjoy touring this house. It contains one of the best antique collections in Tennessee, as well as the art of Matilda Lotz, who became a world-renowned painter of animals after the war.

On the other side of the Purgatoire River, this museum at Trinidad State Junior College takes viewers back millions of years to examine the true origins of the region, including early geological formations, plant and marine-animal fossils, and prehistoric artifacts.

For the last 28 years of his life, the famed jazz musician lived in this modest three-story house with his wife, Lucille. Take a 40-minute guided tour (reservations required in advance; departs on the hour, last tour at 3 pm), which are limited to 10 guests per tour. Note the difference between the rooms vividly decorated by Lucille in charming mid-century style and Louis's dark den, cluttered with phonographs and reel-to-reel tape recorders.

With its huge, lighted gateway and its paths meandering through 32 acres of grassy knolls, lagoons, and historic landmarks, Louis Armstrong Park is a fitting tribute to the famed jazz musician's legacy. Elizabeth Catlett's famous statue of Louis Armstrong is joined by other artistic landmarks, such as the bust of Sidney Bechet, and the park now houses the New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park.

Inside the park and to the left is Congo Square, marked by an inlaid-stone space, where enslaved people in the 18th and early 19th centuries gathered on Sunday, the only time they were permitted to play their music openly. The weekly meetings held here have been immortalized in the travelogues of visitors, leaving invaluable insight into the earliest stages of free musical practices by Africans and African Americans. Neighborhood musicians still congregate here at times for percussion jams, and it is difficult not to think of the musical spirit of ancestors hovering over them. Marie Laveau, the greatly feared and respected voodoo queen of antebellum New Orleans, had her home a block away on St. Ann Street and is reported to have held rituals here regularly.

Behind Congo Square is a large gray building, the Morris F.X. Jeff Municipal Auditorium; to the right, behind the auditorium, is the beautifully renovated Mahalia Jackson Center for the Performing Arts, which is home to the New Orleans Opera and hosts an excellent year-round calendar of events—everything from readings to rock concerts. The St. Philip Street side of the park houses the Jazz National Historical Park, anchored by Perseverance Hall, the oldest Masonic temple in the state. However, be aware that the park is often nearly deserted, and bordered by some rough stretches of neighborhood; it's patrolled by a security detail, but be very careful when wandering and don't visit after dark. The park is open from 7 am to 7 pm year-round.

A 100-point score for its Lot No. 1 Cabernet Sauvignon and a snappy renovation of the original 1933 winery added 21st-century luster to this operation whose namesake was a founding Napa Valley Vintners member. Established well before the valley's preoccupation with Cabernet Sauvignon took hold, Martini, owned for more than two decades by E&J Gallo, also makes Sauvignon Blanc, Bordeaux-style red blends, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec, Muscat, Petite Sirah, Zinfandel, and dessert wines. A basic tasting includes a few of these. The more comprehensive Heritage Tasting of small-lot wines is highly recommended, with or without the optional food pairing. Fun fact: 10 of the St. Helena AVA acres the winery occupies cost Louis M. $3,000 (total) in 1933.