10451 Best Sights in USA

The boyhood home of President Woodrow Wilson houses this museum with exhibits on the post–Civil War era, when newly freed Black families dealt with continued societal oppression. The home is an 1871 Italian villa–style house with multiple porches and lovely grounds.

Bringing together fine and decorative art collections and multimedia presentations, the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley reflects the region's cultural history. Designed by renowned architect Michael Graves, the museum's modern exterior belies the four centuries of historical artifacts, fine arts, and decorative arts on display inside its mammoth 50,000 square foot space. In contrast, the Glen Burnie House and gardens, adjacent to the museum, are a gracious walk through the 18th and 19th centuries. The 1736 Georgian country estate that was the home of Winchester's founder, Colonel James Wood, is surrounded by 25 acres of formal gardens. Collections within it include a gallery with furniture, fine arts, and decorative objects gathered by the last family member to live in the house, Julian Wood Glass Jr., who died in 1992. Another gallery assembles shadow-box rooms and miniature furnished houses.

Taking a deep dive into patterns of immigration, commerce, slave ownership, and the bonds of friendship between Jewish settlers and the non-Jewish southerners, this compact museum displays creative tableaus and some 4,000 artifacts that inform the visitor about how Jews influenced and were influenced by the south. Learn about how Jewish and southern cuisines merged, how Jews became involved in the Civil Rights Movement, and more. There’s also a beautiful collection of stained glass windows inspired by synagogues throughout the south.

The Museum of the West relates the history of the area since the 1880s, with a time line, a firearms display, and a Southwest pottery collection. The area's rich mining heritage is perfectly captured in the uranium mine that educates with interactive sound and exhibit stations, and the museum also oversees paleontological excavations. The museums of the Grand Junction area have banded together as the Museums of Western Colorado, which comprises the Museum of the West (this one), the Dinosaur Journey Museum ( 550 Jurassic Ct., Fruita), and the Cross Orchards Living History Farm ( 3073 F Rd., Grand Junction).

West Yellowstone's 1909 Union Pacific Depot has been transformed into a museum dedicated to the modes of travel—from stagecoaches to planes—people employed to get to Yellowstone before World War II. Films provide insight on topics such as the fire that devastated Yellowstone in 1988 and the way earthquakes affect the area's hydrothermal features.

This museum unflinchingly confronts bigotry and racism. One of its most affecting sections covers the Holocaust, with film footage of deportations and concentration camps. Upon entering, you are issued a "passport" bearing the name of a child whose life was dramatically changed by the Nazis; as you go through the exhibit, you learn the fate of that child. Another exhibit called Anne: The Life and Legacy of Anne Frank brings her story to life through immersive environments, multimedia presentations, and interesting artifacts, while Simon Wiesenthal's Vienna office is set exactly as the famous "Nazi hunter" had it while conducting his research that brought more than 1,000 war criminals to justice.

Interactive exhibits include The Forum where visitors can examine and debate solutions to controversial topics facing our nation today such as immigration, policing, homelessness, the pandemic, and bigotry; We the People, which looks at U.S. history from the 1600s up to the attack on the Capitol on January 6th, 2021, with an immense interactive wall; and the Point of View Experience, a four-sided glass cube that presents a different individual's perspective on a particular situation facing society. Plan to spend at least three hours touring the museum; making a reservation is especially recommended for Sunday and holiday visits.

Exhibits in a contemporary complex of galleries and a sunny courtyard plaza tell the story of Ventura County from prehistoric times to the present. A highlight is the gallery that contains Ojai artist George Stuart's historical figures, dressed in exceptionally detailed, custom-made clothing reflecting their particular eras. In the courtyard, eight panels made with 45,000 pieces of cut glass form a history time line.

Dedicated to preserving the authenticity of America's Western heritage, this museum not only showcases Western art from past and present artists, but also shares the rich and complex history of Native Americans, settlers, women of the West, mountain men, cowboys, and tradesmen in the West through educational programs. A frequent rotation of events features local wineries and collaborative workshops with artists.

Hopalong Cassidy, Barbara Stanwyck, Roy Rogers, John Wayne—even Robert Downey Jr.—are among the celebrities who have starred in the hundreds of Western films shot in the Alabama Hills and surrounding dusty terrain. This marquee-embellished, 10,000-square-foot museum relates the Hollywood-in-the-desert tale via exhibits and a rollicking 15-minute documentary.

Across from Bethel Hill Common, the society's campus comprises three buildings: the 1821 O'Neil and Betsey Straw Robinson House and the 1813 Dr. Moses and Agnes Straw Mason House, both on the National Register of Historic Places, and Twitchell Education Center, a replica of the small library Dr. Moses constructed aside his home in 1837. The O'Neil Robinson House has well-done exhibits about the region's history and a Maine Ski & Snowboard Museum display. One parlor room serves as a gift shop with a nice book selection. The Mason House has nine period rooms and many decorative items that are original to the home, whose front hall and stairway are adorned with Rufus Porter School folk art murals painted in the 1830s. Changing exhibits are in the barn gallery. Check the museum website for events such as children's programs in the library replica, also used for changing exhibits. In town when the museum is closed? Touch base as it does open by appointment.

Head out back to check out the Sunday River snow roller, pulled by a team of horses back in the day, and a giant Mt. Zircon Moon Tide Spring "Ginger Champagne" soda bottle lunch stand, a 1920s promotion for a defunct western Maine spring and soda water company. 

A whimsical creation of repurposed urban wasteland, this artist-built sculpture garden features an interactive landscape of music-making structures and houses. The space hosts seasonal musical acts, performances, and workshops. Most weekend days when there isn't an event, the space is open for the public to explore and play (check the website calendar for "Open Hours" before visiting).

In a style since dubbed "sauerbraten Gothic," this modified and modernized Gothic structure was built in 1878. A 2-ton brass-and-hand-cut-crystal chandelier crowns the main auditorium. Tours of Music Hall are available.

Sitting squarely in the Music Row roundabout (also known as Buddy Killen Circle), Musica was originally a point of controversy but now represents the artistic and cultural diversity of this thriving city. Musica is a bronze statue depicting nine dancing nude figures—including African American, Asian American, Native, and Latinx men and women—enthralled by music. At its pinnacle stands a woman holding a tambourine. The 14- and 15-foot-tall figures stand on limestone boulders, which are native to the area.

Located inside the Municipal Auditorium, the Musicians Hall of Fame is another powerful testament to the musical legacy of the city. You’ll find special exhibits on the Grammy Awards, Motown, Stax Records, Muscle Shoals, and more—and, of course, some Nashville pioneers. Beyond big-name acts, you’ll also learn about the lesser-known session musicians who played on some of the most popular recordings in history.

Sixty or so animals roam at the Musk Ox Farm, which conducts 30-minute guided tours. There's a hands-on museum and a gift shop featuring hand-knitted items made from the cashmere-like underfur (qiviut) combed from the musk ox. The scarves, caps, and more are made by Oomingmak, an Alaska Native collective.

This Italianate house was built by impressionist Edgar Degas's maternal uncle, Michel Musson—a rare Creole inhabitant of the predominantly American Garden District. Musson had moved to his Esplanade Street residence before Degas visited New Orleans, so it's unlikely the artist ever stayed at this address. A subsequent owner added the famous "lace" iron galleries.

Skulls, antique microscopes, and a cancerous tumor removed from President Grover Cleveland's mouth in 1893 form just part of the unusual medical collection in the Mütter Museum, at the College of Physicians of Philadelphia. The museum has hundreds of anatomical and pathological specimens, medical instruments, and organs removed from patients, including a piece of John Wilkes Booth's neck tissue. The collection contains 139 skulls; items that belonged to Marie Curie, Louis Pasteur, and Joseph Lister; and a 7-foot, 6-inch skeleton, the tallest on public exhibition in the United States.

Set in downtown Oklahoma City, this 17-acre botanical garden provides activities for the whole family, including a children's park with seasonal water features, a 15,000-square-foot conservatory with 2,000 varieties of plants, and a 35-foot waterfall. You can exercise your best friend in the off-leash dog park or go solo on walking and jogging paths. There's also an on-site restaurant, special classes, temporary exhibits, and plenty of space for quiet reflection and solitude. Game rentals, like remote-control sailboats, bocce ball, and corn toss, are available on weekends April 15 through October; an ice-skating rink with skate rentals is open mid-November through mid-February.

The beachfront of the city of Myrtle Beach stretches from the Springmaid Pier at the south end up to 82nd Avenue North. Expect the entire length of this popular family beach to be busy from May to October with people fishing, boogie boarding, parasailing, surfing (only allowed before 10 am and after 5 pm), and sunbathing. In the off-season (November–February) you can take horseback rides on the beach. Restaurants and shops line the boardwalk section of 2nd to 14th Avenues. A beachfront trail of workout stations lines the north end. Note that an ordinance bans tents over 7½ feet in diameter from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Amenities: lifeguards (May–September; no lifeguards in residential section of 38th–48th Avenues North); parking (free at north-end beach access areas; metered on street along Ocean Boulevard; pay by day or hour at Pavilion Parking Garage at 8th Avenue North); showers; toilets; water sports. Best for: partiers; sunrise; swimming; walking. 

The heart of Myrtle Beach is this mile-long oceanfront destination that stretches from the 14th Avenue Pier, where seafood restaurant-café Pier 14 roosts, to the newly renovated 2nd Avenue Pier and its Wicked Tuna restaurant and open-air rooftop lounge. Take a sky-high seat on the SkyWheel, one of the largest observation wheels on the East Coast at 187 feet tall, with enclosed gondolas for a smooth ride (don't miss the light show at night), then stop in for a bite to eat at the LandShark Bar & Grill located right at the entrance. You can also take the kids to play in the old-time arcade, zip across the Myrtle Beach Zipline Adventures aerial course, break for a soft-serve ice cream cone, shop for a souvenir at the world-famous Gay Dolphin, shuck oysters at Dirty Don's, pull up a stool at the Bowery (the legendary bar that gave country band Alabama its start), or just stroll or sit, taking in the beach scene. A schedule of free live concerts, performances, fireworks, and children's carnivals abounds in summer at the boardwalk's Plyler Park. Don't miss the holiday, family-friendly block parties year-round.

Bikes, pets, and skateboards are prohibited on the boards May to September.

At South Carolina's largest water park you can shoot through twisty chutes, swim in the Ocean in Motion Wave Pool, race your friends down the Turbo Twisters, or ride a boogie board on the Racin' River. Even the toddlers will enjoy splashing in Bubble Bay and Saturation Station playground. There's beach volleyball, too, for when you've had enough water. Shaded areas with lounge chairs offer respite from the sun, and private cabanas, complete with waitstaff, are available to rent for the day.

A 110-foot gallery with Wedgwood-blue cast-iron grillwork creates a lovely atmosphere for The Myrtles. The house, built around 1796, has elegant formal parlors with rich molding and faux-marble paneling. Because the upper floor is used as a bed-and-breakfast, the scope of the daytime guided tour is limited. Consider booking one of the 45-minute history tours offered several times per day; free self-guided tours are also available. If you're interested in haunted happenings, then join a popular mystery tour that is offered each evening (and multiple times on Friday and Saturday nights)---the tour sells out, so it is recommended that you book in advance.

At the foot of South Mountain lies a curious dwelling built from desert rocks by Boyce Gulley, who came to Arizona to cure his tuberculosis. Full of fascinating oddities, the castle has 18 rooms with 13 fireplaces, a downstairs grotto tavern, and a quirky collection of Southwestern antiques. The pump organ belonged to Elsie, the "Widow of Tombstone," who buried six husbands under suspicious circumstances.

Hokey tourist trap or genuine scientific enigma? Since 1940, curious throngs baffled by the Mystery Spot have made it one of the most visited attractions in Santa Cruz. The laws of gravity and physics don't appear to apply in this tiny patch of redwood forest, where balls roll uphill and people stand on a slant.  On weekends and holidays, it's wise to purchase tickets online in advance.

From the west end of Biscuit Basin boardwalk, this 2.4-mile round-trip trail climbs gently for a mile through heavily burned forest to the lava-rock base of 70-foot Mystic Falls. It then switchbacks up Madison Plateau to a lookout with the park's least-crowded view of Old Faithful and the Upper Geyser Basin. Easy–Moderate.

To enter this gentle river ride, you must first wander through the inventive landscape of Pandora, designed by Disney Imagineers to include many tropical and subtropical plants found in Florida, as well as creatively imagined alien plants, many of which light up at night. After entering the cavern and boarding a reed raft, you drift slowly past a bioluminescent rain forest with an even more diverse range of flora and fauna. The object of your quest is to find the Na’vi Shaman of Songs, the life force of Pandora, but you'll be so caught up in the stunning details of the landscape that you'll be surprised when the Audio-Animatronic Shaman shows up. For guests with disabilities: Guests must transfer from a wheelchair or ECV.

About 10 miles northwest of Yakima in one of the state's more recently trending wine-growing areas, this organic and biodynamic vineyard sits at an elevation of 1,780 feet and produces friendly priced wines, including Spanish-style Albariño and Tempranillo, and some innovative red and white blends. The tasting room has ample seating inside and sometimes hosts live music.

Forty-three public Atlantic beach access points and five sound-side access points make Nags Head the perfect place to hit the shore, no matter what your needs may be. Access points are marked with white signs clearly stating "Public beach access," and 15 of them are suitable for wheelchairs; beach wheelchairs are available at the Bonnett and Hargrove accesses, and the 8th Street access has a stability mat that makes getting a stroller or wheelchair onto the beach easy. Many other areas have lifeguards and bathhouses. The town website lists all the accesses and provides a map. No matter where you land, expect clean sand and water. Vehicles are allowed on Nags Head beaches October through April with a town-issued permit. Leashed pets (maximum 10-foot leash) are allowed on Nags Head beaches year-round. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards (late May–early September); parking (fee and no fee); showers; toilets. Best for: sunrise; sunset; swimming.