10451 Best Sights in USA

At the mouth of Morro Bay stands 576-foot-high Morro Rock, one of nine small volcanic peaks, or morros, in the area. A short walk leads to a breakwater, with the harbor on one side and crashing ocean waves on the other. You may not climb the rock, where endangered falcons and other birds nest. Sea lions and otters often play in the water below the rock.

At this 1,700-acre outdoor oasis, you can hike some of the 16 miles of manicured trails, or drive or bike (bring your own) along 9 miles of paved roads bordered by trees, shrubs, and vines. Every season is magnificent: spring's flowering trees, summer's canopy-covered trails, fall's dazzling foliage, and winter's serene beauty. Snowshoe and cross-country ski rentals are available. If you have kids, check out the award-winning 4-acre Children's Garden, which is stroller- (as well as wheelchair-) friendly. A 1-acre maze garden will delight as you wind your way to the lookout platform.

The I. M. Pei–designed space is a place of sweeping dramatic curves, ever-changing vanishing points, and surprising views. Inside is the Herman W. and Amelia H. Lay Family Organ, a hand-built, hand-installed Fisk organ with 4,535 pipes. Free tours are offered four days a week (days vary) at 1 pm. Check the website, or call the center for current tour information and a list of upcoming performances.

Within the 1,200 acres that make up Morven Park are the Morven Park International Equestrian Institute (a private riding school), formal English gardens, and two museums. The Winmill Carriage Museum houses more than 40 historic vehicles, including one belonging to Grace Kelly and another belonging to Tom Thumb, and the Museum of Hounds and Hunting features artifacts and displays about the sport. The elegant mansion was originally a fieldstone farmhouse built in 1781. It evolved into a Greek Revival building that bears a striking resemblance to the White House (completed in 1800). Scenes from the Civil War film Gods and Generals and other movies were filmed here. In fact, the land was once a Confederate camp, remnants of which they are still finding today. Two governors have also lived here. Guided tours of the mansion are available; the Winmill Carriage Museum and Museum of Hounds and Hunting are self-guided.

A gradual uphill trail (4 miles round-trip) winds through the smoothly polished, marbleized limestone walls of this narrow canyon. There are dry falls to climb at the upper end. Moderate.

Great Sand Dunes National Park's only picnic area is shaded by cottonwood trees with easy access to the sand and seasonal creek. It has a dozen places where visitors can park a car or small RV near a picnic table and a grill.

The Moseleys make their wines in Redding and present them downtown, but the grapes come from vineyards as far afield as Napa, Sonoma, Lodi, and Oregon's Rogue Valley. There's usually a Chardonnay, and the reds include Pinot Noir, old-vine Zinfandel, and Cabernet Sauvignon. The tasting room, in an area emerging as a mini wine hub, occupies one of Redding's oldest residences.

Claw-shape, 38-foot-deep, 18-mile-long Moses Lake is filled by Crab Creek—which originates in the hills west of Spokane—with three side branches known as Parker Horn, Lewis Horn, and Pelican Horn. The city of Moses Lake sprawls over the peninsulas formed by these "horns," and can therefore be a bit difficult to get around. This is the state's second-largest lake.

Exhibits include a collection of Native American artifacts and some on local history. Regional artists are featured in the gallery, and the giant Columbian Mammoth metal sculpture is a fun photo op.

The Federal redbrick Moses Myers House, built by its namesake between 1792 and 1796, is exceptional, and not just for its elegance. The furnishings, 70% of them original, include family portraits by Gilbert Stuart and Thomas Sully. A transplanted New Yorker as well as Norfolk's first Jewish resident, Myers made his fortune in Norfolk in shipping, then served as a diplomat and a customs officer. His grandson married James Madison’s grandniece; the home passed down through several generations of the family and eventually to Norfolk mayor Barton Myers, who carried out early architectural restoration in 1892. Exhibits throughout the house feature letters and other artifacts from several generations of the Myers family.

Rick and Amber Moshin produce single-vineyard Pinot Noirs on a hillside property across Westside Road from the Russian River. Tours of their four-tier, gravity-flow winery focus on its efficient layout and Rick's penchant for harvesting grapes before many of his neighbors. Picking early preserves acidity, which he believes helps his wines pair well with food. In the tasting room and outside, guests sip Pinot Noirs along with Vermentino, Grenache, and other wines.

Dutch architect Henry Hardenbergh, who worked on the original Waldorf-Astoria and Plaza hotels in New York City, designed this house in 1903 for businessman P.B. Moss. The mansion, which Montana's paranormal society has deemed haunted, still contains many of the elaborate original furnishings, ranging in style from Moorish to art nouveau. Don't miss the gem of a gift shop in the mansion's basement. Admission prices increase by a few dollars during the holiday season.

This short hike (0.8 mile) has a little bit of everything you might be looking for in Bryce: the sound of rushing water, a small waterfall, a grotto, and hoodoos. The trailhead is on Highway 12, north and east of the main entrance, and it follows an irrigation ditch dug in the 1920s by farmers from the nearby town of Tropic looking to divert water from the Sevier River for agriculture. Since the dig predates the park, the water right-of-way belongs to the farmers. This is an especially fun hike in winter, when the waterfall transforms into a display of dazzling icicles. Easy.

The National Shrine of San Gennaro, a replica of the grotto at Lourdes, is the high point of Most Precious Blood Church's richly painted interior but otherwise the church has a very local feel. It becomes a focal point during the annual Feast of San Gennaro. Tours of the church and the nearby St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral can be booked through  www.tommysnewyork.com.

In 1787, Rev. Richard Allen, a former slave, galvanized fellow black congregants who left St. George's Methodist Church in a protest against segregated worship. Allen purchased this site in 1791, and it's believed to be the country's oldest parcel of land continuously owned by African Americans. When the African Methodist Episcopal Church, America’s first black congregation, was formed in 1816, Allen was its first bishop. The current church is an example of the 19th-century Romanesque Revival style, with broad arches, opalescent stained glass, and stunning woodwork. An earlier building on these grounds was a stop on the Underground Railroad. Allen's tomb and a small museum are on the lower level.

Adjacent to the world headquarters of the American Motorcycle Association, about 20 mi east of Downtown, the museum displays the actual machines that Hall of Fame inductees rode and celebrates the accomplishments of the more than 260 men and women recognized by the Motorcycle Hall of Fame, such as Evel Knievel and the founders of the Harley-Davidson Motor Co.

Exhibits span all periods of military history, up to the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and include all countries in which the United States has been involved. About 10 mi south of Downtown Columbus, the museum serves as the repository for the Ohio Military Hall of Fame. Unique exhibits include a replica of World War I flying ace Captain Eddie Rickenbacker's boyhood home and a M47 tank driven by Arnold Schwarzenegger when he served in the Austrian Army.

A park sits atop this humble summit of 692 feet, one of the highest points along the Atlantic seaboard. That may not seem like much, but if you choose to hike to the top, you will be rewarded with incredible views all the way to the White Mountains in New Hampshire. If you don't want to hoof it (though it's not very steep), there is parking at the top. If you bring your pup, make sure to keep them leashed.

Come here in spring, when the lilacs, azaleas, and flowering trees on the 120-acre arboretum are in bloom. You can hike through the 1,400 acres or take advantage of the 2-acre dog park on the southwest side of the park. Reservations are required for guided tours.

A 2,694-square-mile forest (it's a little bigger than Delaware), including much of the mountain and forest land around North Cascades National Park, this national forest has miles of trails, but because the snowline is quite low, the upper ridges and mountains are covered much of the year. This makes for a short hiking, climbing, and mountain-biking season, usually from mid-July to mid-September or early October—but winter brings skiing and snowmobiling. The wildflower season is also short, but it's spectacular; expect fall color by late August or early September. The 10,778-foot-high, snow-covered volcanic dome of Mt. Baker is visible from much of Whatcom County and from as far north as Vancouver and as far south as Seattle. The year-round ranger office nearest to this part of the forest is in Glacier, but there's also a summer office in Deming, known as the Heather Meadows Visitor Center, near Artist Point, at very end of the Mt. Baker Highway (Highway 542). At both centers, you can pick up trail maps and get advice on hiking and exploring the northern end of the forest.

Named for the 126-foot dune that's one of the tallest lakefront dunes on Earth, Mount Baldy Beach is at the far eastern end of the park's lakefront. Rangers guide hikes up Mount Baldy on summer weekends; access is otherwise restricted due to a restoration project. Amenities: parking (entrance fee required); toilets. Best for: swimming; walking.

One of the oldest houses in Baltimore, this elegant mansion was begun in 1754. It was the home of Charles Carroll, author of the Maryland Declaration of Independence, member of the Continental Congress, and one of Maryland's major landowners. The state's first historic museum house has been carefully restored to its Georgian elegance; more than 80% of the 18th-century furniture and artifacts, including rare pieces of Chippendale and Hepplewhite silver, crystal, and Chinese export porcelain, were owned and used by the Carroll family. Washington, Lafayette, and John Adams were all guests here. The greenhouses are famous in their own right: they provided rare trees and plants for Mount Vernon.

Local and national artists are highlighted in this lovely art center, which grew out of the annual arts festival. The center is a focal point for the community, serving as headquarters of the arts festival, a gallery, a gift shop, and a place to take art lessons. A new facility is in the works.

This longtime producer above Saratoga is widely considered the region's Pinot Noir whisperer. Its vineyards date back to 1943, when one of the most iconic names in California wine, Martin Ray, planted them at an elevation of roughly 2,000 feet. Mount Eden also produces outstanding estate Chardonnays and Cabernet Sauvignons. Weekday-only tastings (on the veranda when the weather is pleasant) include four wines and are by appointment only.

Founded in 1837, Mount Holyoke was the first women's college in the United States. Among its alumnae are poet Emily Dickinson and playwright Wendy Wasserstein. The handsome wooded campus, encompassing two lakes and lovely walking or riding trails, was landscaped by Frederick Law Olmsted, the co-designer of Manhattan's Central Park.

The 24,000 works in the college's collection include Asian, European, and American paintings, as well as sculpture and contemporary art from around the world. The coins and numismatics exhibit is definitely worth a look. 

Formed by a glacier that left undulating terrain upon its retreat, the 196 rolling acres of this cemetery are as much a park as they are the final resting place for more than 370,000 people. Among the more famous laid to rest here are suffragist Susan B. Anthony and anti-slavery leader Frederick Douglass. The cemetery, dedicated in 1838, is one of the nation's oldest. Many headstones retain Victorian symbols such as the anchor, crown, obelisk, or sheaf of wheat. The city owns the cemetery, but a caretakers group called the Friends of Mount Hope Cemetery offers tours.

Stop in at the winery's tasting room to sniff, sip, and savor the Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, and other wines produced at the northern edge of Lancaster County. Fruit wines (elderberry, plum, and others) are a specialty, and mead is another. The centerpiece of the estate is the curious Federal-Victorian mansion and its formal gardens, flanked by medieval-style crenelated towers. Also on the grounds are the winery's Swashbuckler Brewing Company, Spirits Distilling Company, and Lancaster County Cider, so most every category of adult beverage can be had here. Each summer the estate hosts the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire.

Accessible primarily by steamship, Kineo House was a thriving upscale summer resort below its hulking namesake: 700-foot cliffs on an islandlike 1,150-acre peninsula jutting into Moosehead Lake. The last of three successive hotels with this name was built here in 1884 and became America's largest inland waterfront hotel. It was torn down in 1938, but Kineo remains an outstanding day trip. Now part of Mount Kineo State Park, summit trails lead to a fire tower that rewards with a 360-degree sweep of Maine's largest lake and rugged mountains near and far. Hikers scramble on the challenging Indian Trail (about a mile), but it has amazing views, and you can descend on the easy 1.1-mile Bridle Trail through the woods. All hikes begin on the 2.2-mile Carriage Trail, a flat, shore-hugging remnant of the halcyon hotel days and part of the 6.1-mile trail network. There's no road access, but from Rockwood Town Landing you can hop 9-hole Mount Kineo Golf Course's boat shuttle (fee), which has the same operating season as the course (closed mid-Oct.–late May). One of New England's oldest courses (not part of the park), it’s surrounded by historic summer "cottages." The small clubhouse has a snack bar and welcomes hikers.