10451 Best Sights in USA

Exhibits, including memorabilia from famed horse Seabiscuit, relate the story of Thoroughbred racing in the United States. In the Hall of Fame, video clips of races bring to life the horses and jockeys enshrined here. For an additional fee you may take a tour of the training track.

Massive granite columns rise to a pediment topped by a double row of statues at the marvelous Beaux-Arts Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House (1907), which is home to the New York branch of this Smithsonian museum (the other is in Washington, D.C.). Inside, the oval stairwell and rotunda embellished with shipping-theme murals (completed in the 1930s) is well worth a look. The permanent exhibition, Infinity of Nations, is an encyclopedic survey of Native American cultures from across the continent, with the entire museum preserving more than 825,000 art pieces and artifacts dating from ancient to modern times. The venue presents changing exhibitions, videos and films, dance, music, and storytelling programs. There's also an excellent Museum Store serving as NYC's best place to purchase authentic Native American merchandise.

The National Museum of the Army, on Fort Belvoir’s expansive property near Mount Vernon, isn’t just any military museum. It’s a state-of-the-art experience that provides a detailed, interactive approach to stories of all U.S. wars, from colonial warfare to the present day, and how they relate to society. A 4D movie details the Army’s history, and a cool kids’ education center has a fort to climb on and age-appropriate games that teach children about Army innovations, including interstate highways and satellite communications.

Members of the "Greatest Generation" formed the famous World War II squadron called the Mighty Eighth in Savannah in 1942. Within a month, they answered the call to arms and shipped out to the United Kingdom as part of the Allied Forces. Flying in Royal Air Force planes, the Mighty Eighth was the largest Army Air Force unit during World War II and played a major role in defeating the Nazis. Exhibits at this museum begin with the prelude to World War II and the rise of Adolf Hitler, and continue through Desert Storm. You can see vintage aircraft, fly a simulated bombing mission with a B-17 crew, test your skills as a waist gunner, and view interviews with courageous World War II vets. The museum also has three theaters, a chapel, an art gallery, and a 7,000-volume library.

Commemorating the more than 3,000 troops who trained on these shores during World War II, when this elite military unit got its start, there are weapons, vehicles, and equipment on view. Exhibits honor all frogmen and underwater demolition teams and depict their history. The museum houses the lifeboat from which SEALs saved the Maersk Alabama captain from Somali pirates in 2009. Kids get a thrill out of the helicopters and aircraft on the grounds.

Celebrating the Nordic cultures of Sweden, Finland, Norway, Iceland, and Denmark (of which there are many descendants in Ballard), this museum opened in its spacious new building in 2018. Exhibits trace Scandinavian art, artifacts, and heritage all the way from Viking times. Galleries give an in-depth look at how immigrants came to America and settled in the Pacific Northwest. There's also a relaxing "Sense of Place" area, where visitors can immerse themselves in the scenery and sounds of the Nordic region while getting comfortable on plush stuffed rocks. Models of boats lead to the back garden, which contains a century-old functional sauna and a Viking ship.

Surrounded by shaded walkways and trickling brooks, the National Shrine Grotto of Lourdes is a meditative spot for Catholics and non-Catholics alike, in use since 1805. The grotto itself is a re-creation (from about 1875) of the spot in France where Bernadette Soubirous saw visions of the Virgin Mary. Today it attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors annually who come to pray or ask for healing. Many leave photographs, flowers, or handwritten prayers and take spring water from the grotto. The paved paths are safe for children, the elderly, or disabled.

Driving up to the shrine, you can't help but realize that you're not in Kansas anymore. This enormous Polish spiritual center has drawn millions of pilgrims, including the late Pope John Paul II, since its opening in 1966. The complex includes a modern church with huge stained-glass panels depicting the history of Christianity in Poland and the United States. The gift shop and bookstore sell religious gifts, many imported from Poland, and the cafeteria serves hot Polish and American food on Sunday from 10 to 3:30.

Located on the campus of Mount St. Mary's College, the National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton honors the country's first native-born saint. Born to a wealthy New York family, Elizabeth Ann Seton (1774–1821) was a widow with five children when she converted to Catholicism. Charismatic and tireless, she started the nation's first parochial school and first order of nuns. Today, her legacy lives on at the numerous churches and schools, including Seton Hall University, that bear her name. A small white clapboard house at the shrine is a re-creation of the home where she lived with fellow religious sisters and relatives surrounded by near-total wilderness. St. Elizabeth's body is entombed at the magnificent on-site basilica where masses are held several times a week. Only the Basilica is open on Monday.

Dozens of sailplanes and gliders, dating from the late 19th to the late 20th century, are on display at this museum, part of Harris Hill Park. Movies and exhibits help explain and explore the heritage of gliding. You can even take a sailplane ride ($70; April–November weather permitting; reservations required).

This museum at the historic Springdale Race Course contains the largest collection of racing memorabilia in the United States. The Equicizer, a training machine used by jockeys for practice, lets you experience the race from the jockey's perspective; don't stay on too long, unless you want to feel the race all day.

The showplace of the Train Collectors Association, this museum displays both antique and modern toy trains and is a must for toy train buffs. The museum has five huge train operating layouts, with toy trains from the 1800s to the present, plus nostalgic films and hundreds of locomotives and cars in display cases.

In the years before and during the Civil War, Cincinnati was one of the major hubs along the secret road from bondage in the South to freedom in Northern states and in Canada. This $110 million facility is devoted to educating the public about the history of the underground railroad through exhibits, programs, and interactive displays. The centerpiece of the collection is an actual slave pen, a wooden cabin recovered from a nearby Kentucky farm that held captive slaves en route to auctions in the South. The exhibit also tells the story of the slave pen's owner, John W. Anderson, and reveals how he ran his slave-trading business. As the young museum has matured—it opened in 2004—it has also addressed contemporary racial reconciliation and the fight for freedom worldwide.

The Alatna, John, Kobuk, Noatak, and Tinayguk Rivers with the North Fork of the Koyukuk River make up six of the 13 National Wild and Scenic Rivers in Gates of the Arctic National Park. They have been byways for people and animals for thousands of years, and they support each summer's explosion of life. They're also navigable, with a variety of access points. Boating through the park reveals mountains, glacial valleys, and rolling tundra, plus glimpses of animals along the landscape.

Most people use rafts, inflatable canoes, packrafts, or other collapsible boats, as air taxis will not haul rigid vessels. Although the waters are generally Class I and II rapids, a few sections include Class II–IV rapids. The water is cold, and conditions constantly change, with levels fluctuating dramatically and the possibility of log jams and strainers. But when the going is good, boating can beat walking through thick tussocks and boggy ground. Many outfitters offer paddling options. If you're heading out on your own, talk to your air-taxi operator or local guides about current conditions.

At the southernmost tip of the Delmarva Peninsula, the unique Eastern Shore of Virginia and the Fisherman Island National Wildlife Refuges—including nearby Skidmore Island—established in 1984, are among the most untrammeled havens for winged wildlife, resident and migrating alike, in the region.

Each fall, between late August and early November, a vast migration of monarch butterflies and songbirds descend by the thousands on these forests and wetlands in myrtle and bayberry thickets, grasslands and croplands, on their voyage south.

On the crest of a hill at the northern edge of Penn Valley Park, north of Westport, is the National World War One Museum at Liberty Memorial. Visitors enter the nation's only official World War I museum via a glass walkway suspended over a poignant field of 9,000 faux poppies, each representing 1/1000 of the 9 million soldiers killed during the war. The facility houses a research center and interactive exhibits that examine the stages of the conflict—and the world—before, during, and after America became involved. Special features include audio alcoves, a reproduction of trench warfare, two films, and interactive tables where visitors can use laser pointers and a computerized surface to create take-home souvenirs. The museum is attached to the

Spanning multiple decades, this yo-yo collection occupies the back of a toy and novelty shop. If you've ever aspired to Walk the Dog or venture Around the World, you'll find the museum a diverting brief stop. Highlights include the 256-pound No-Jive 3-in-1 yo-yo and comedian Tom Smothers's collection.

A rough 2-mile access road from Badwater Road leads to a trailhead. From there, set off to see interesting geological features in addition to the bridge, which is a half-mile away. The one-way trail continues for a few hundred yards, but scenic returns diminish quickly, and eventually you're confronted with climbing boulders. Easy.

Thirty minutes north of downtown San Antonio, you can trek down 180 feet below the earth's surface for a half-mile walk through this beautiful, historic cavern system. Take the original Discovery Tour to explore the largest show cavern in Texas with its stalagmites, stalactites, flowstones, chandeliers, and soda-straw formations. The more adventurous (and physically fit) can take the Adventure Tour to get down and dirty (read: muddy) like a real spelunker. The Hidden Wonders tour explores new chambers discovered completely hidden underground including a natural ballroom (available for events), involving the biggest investment in the caverns' history. Listen to knowledgeable guides as they tell the story of this cavern's beauty accompanied by a sound and light show. The tour ends with the B.A.T. (Belt Assisted Transport), the only conveyor system ride out of a cavern in the world that transports visitors back up to the surface.  Caverns are cool with high humidity. Wear comfortable shoes with good traction. Trails can be wet, and climbing and descending stairs are involved. Tour prices can vary by date. Surface attractions include a four-level ropes course, seven zip rails, and climbing towers. Booking and buying ahead is recommended for cavern tours.

About 20 miles south of Lexington, this impressive limestone arch (which supports Route 11) has been gradually carved out by Cedar Creek, which rushes through 215 feet below. The Monacan Native American tribe called it the Bridge of God. Surveying the structure for Lord Halifax, George Washington carved his own initials in the stone; Thomas Jefferson bought it (and more than 150 surrounding acres) from King George III. The after-dark sound-and-light show may be overkill, but viewing and walking under the bridge itself and along the wooded pathway beyond are worth the price of admission. On the property are dizzying caverns that descend 34 stories, a wax museum, a toy museum, and an 18th-century village constructed by the Monacan Indian Nation.

At Natural Bridge State Monument the Boulder River disappears underground, creating a natural bridge, then reappears as roaring falls in the Boulder River canyon. Hiking trails and interpretive signs explain how this geologic wonder occurred. The Main Boulder Ranger Station, a few miles past the bridge, is one of the oldest in the United States and is now an interpretive center.

The 30-foot span that gives this 48-acre park its name crosses Hudson Brook, yielding appealing views of rocky chasms. The marble arch at the park's center rises in what functioned as a marble quarry from the early 1880s to the mid-1900s. Natural Bridge has picnic sites, hiking trails, and well-maintained restrooms. In winter the area is popular for cross-country skiing. Do check for trail closures due to maintenance before going.

Stunning natural bridges, ancient Native American ruins, and magnificent scenery throughout make Natural Bridges National Monument a must-see if you have time to make the trip. Sipapu is one of the largest natural bridges in the world, spanning 268 feet and standing 220 feet tall. You can take in the Sipapu, Owachomo, and Kachina Bridges via an 8.6-mile round-trip hike that meanders around and under them. A 13-site primitive campground is an optimal spot for stargazing. The national monument is 40 miles from Blanding.

At the end of West Cliff Drive lies this stretch of soft sand edged with tide pools and sea-sculpted rock bridges. From September to early January a colony of monarch butterflies roosts in the eucalyptus grove. Amenities: lifeguards; parking (fee); toilets. Best for: sunrise; sunset; surfing; swimming.

The hot ticket at this Beaux Arts–style museum completed in 1913 is the Dinosaur Hall, whose more than 300 fossils include adult, juvenile, and baby skeletons of the fearsome Tyrannosaurus rex. The Discovery Center lets kids and curious grown-ups touch real animal pelts, and the Insect Zoo gets everyone up close and personal with the white-eyed assassin bug and other creepy crawlers. A massive hall displays dioramas of animals in their natural habitats. Also look for pre-Columbian artifacts and crafts from the South Pacific, or priceless stones in the Gem and Mineral Hall. Outdoors, the 3½-acre Nature Gardens shelter native plant and insect species and contain an expansive edible garden.

Don't miss out on the Dino lab, where you can watch paleontologists unearth and clean real fossils.

Between Solana Beach and Encinitas, this is the most complex of the estuary systems in San Diego North County. A 7-mile network of trails surrounds the 979-acre reserve, where more than 700 species of plants, fish, and birds (many of them migratory) live. In 2021, Nature Collective began a $120 million restoration project that included new mudflats and tidal dredging in basins of San Elijo Lagoon Ecological Reserve. Their efforts have restored habitats for wildlife and waterfowl. Be sure to stop by the San Elijo Lagoon Nature Centre. The center, open 9 to 5 daily, offers museum-quality exhibits about the region and a viewing deck overlooking the estuary. 

At this 1,350-acre preserve, cottonwood-willow riparian habitat is protected along the Patagonia–Sonoita Creek watershed. More than 275 bird species have been sighted here, along with white-tailed deer, javelina, coatimundi (raccoon-like animals native to the region), desert tortoise, and snakes. There's a self-guided nature trail, and guided bird walks are offered from October through May. The admission fee is good for seven days.

Rangers at the Laurance S. Rockefeller Preserve Center lend a nature journal and a backpack full of activities to children ages 6 –12 before sending them out along the trails at the Rockefeller Preserve.

This town-managed beach—not to be confused with Nauset Light Beach on the National Seashore—is a 10-mile sweep of sandy ocean beach with low dunes and large waves good for bodysurfing or board surfing. Despite its size, the massive parking lot often fills up on sunny days; arrive quite early or in the late afternoon if you want to claim a spot. The beach gets extremely crowded in summer; unless you walk a bit, expect to feel very close to your neighbors on the sand. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards; parking (fee); showers; toilets. Best for: sunrise; surfing; swimming; walking.