10457 Best Sights in USA

Shallow, rock-wall-enclosed tide pools and an adjacent grassy picnic area make this park a favorite among Hilo families with small children. The protected pools are great places to look for Hawaiian marine life like crabs and opihi (limpets). There isn't much white sand, but access to the water is easy. The water is usually rough beyond the line of large boulders protecting the inner tide pools, so be careful if the surf is high. This beach gets crowded on weekends. Amenities: lifeguards (weekends, holidays, and summer only); parking (no fee); restrooms; showers. Best for: swimming.

Near the park's southeastern boundary, the Kobuk River makes a wide bend that creates a long, narrow peninsula. Locals call it Paatitaaq, or Onion Portage, for the wild onions that grow along the banks here. Twice a year, the western Arctic caribou herd crosses the tundra and down the slopes into the Kobuk River on their migration across the Brooks Range. The area also has an archaeological site with artifacts, campsites, and house ruins and is an Archeological District National Historic Landmark. There's easy access by boat from Ambler, and by air taxi.

The showcase of the Charlotte neighborhood, the restored park recalls its days as the "Coney Island of the North." The 1905 Dentzel Carousel ($1) has three rows of animals—pigs, giant rabbits, and giraffes as well as horses—and is one of only about six such Dentzel menagerie carousels still operating in the country. Free concerts are held on Wednesday nights in summer. To get here, take Lake Avenue all the way north until you reach Lake Ontario.

A less crowded alternative to Mammoth Cave, Onyx Cave has a variety of beautiful formations, including delicate crystalline draperies and rimstone pools. Stalactites, stalagmites, and other formations, including a 40-foot column, are highlights of this wet cave. There's a Native American burial ground, where the remains date from 680 BC. It also has a small gift shop on-site that sells rocks and fossils—you can even buy a bag of earth and pan for your own stones. Tours last 30 minutes.

The mighty Wailua River produces many dramatic waterfalls, and Opaekaa (pronounced "oh-pie-kah-ah") is one of the best, plunging hundreds of feet to the pool below. It can be easily viewed from a scenic overlook with ample parking. Opaekaa means "rolling shrimp," which refers to the tasty native crustaceans that were once so abundant they could be seen tumbling in the falls. Do not attempt to hike down to the pool. Just before reaching the parking area for the waterfall, turn left into a scenic pullout for great views of the Wailua River and its march through the valley to the sea.

This museum traces the history of Opelousas from prehistoric times to the colorful characters of recent decades. There's an exhibit on the town's brief stint as state capital during the Civil War, and a collection of more than 400 dolls; exhibits of artists' works rotate every three months. The museum is also home to the Louisiana Video Library and the Southwest Louisiana Zydeco Festival archives.

At the intersection of Interstate 49 and U.S. 190, look for the Opelousas Tourist Information Center, where you can get plenty of information, arrange for tours of historic homes, and see memorabilia pertaining to Jim Bowie, the Alamo hero who spent his early years in Opelousas.

A multicultural approach helps children enjoy the fine arts through masks and puppets, ranging from English marionettes to Indonesian shadow puppets. Performances are given at 11 am on some Saturdays from October to April. The theater also has a storytelling series. Browse masks, puppets, and traditional wooden toys in the gift shop.

If you want to catch a live show or watch an art-house film while in Shepherdstown, this historic theater is your best bet. Despite its name, the Opera House was used primarily as a movie theater in its early days. Built in 1909, it was the first in the state to screen movies with sound, and it continued to do so until it shut its doors in 1956. In 1992, it was remodeled and reopened to the public, and today it operates as both a movie theater and concert venue.

The late Harvey Fite put 37 years into the making of this 6-acre outdoor sculpture, created in the rock bed of an abandoned bluestone quarry. The architectural creation is an assemblage of curving bluestone walkways, swirling terraces, and finely fitted ramps around pools, trees, and fountains. The Quarryman's Museum contains 19th-century tools.

The Napa Valley's Robert Mondavi and France's Baron Philippe de Rothschild joined forces in the late 1970s to produce Opus One, a Bordeaux blend often credited as Napa's first ultrapremium wine. The Cabernet Sauvignon–dominant wine is made and presented at a low-slung limestone structure, much of it concealed by a crescent-shape berm of native grasses and plants. The Courtyard Experience provides a suitable introduction to winery and wine, but consider booking the Opus One Experience. Involving small gourmet bites and including a visit to the semicircular subterranean barrel room, it takes place in a sumptuous salon with views north to Mt. St. Helena.

Founded by 13 visionary women in 1962 and one of the earliest contemporary art museums in California, the OCMA opened in 2022 in its new home at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa. Designed by award-winning architect Thom Mayne, OCMA's striking 53,000-square-foot building has 25,000 square feet of free-flowing gallery space to house its extensive collection of more than 4,500 works produced in the 20th and 21st centuries by artists with ties to California. Outside, a grand staircase provides amphitheater seating and serves as a community gathering point, inspired by the steps at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. There is a bar, café, and sculpture terrace on Level 2. 

The center takes you on a journey back in time to discover how Florida's Indigenous peoples hunted and fished the land, what the Sunshine State was like when the Spaniards arrived, and how life in Florida was different when citrus was king. Exhibitions also include displays on the history of citrus growing in Central Florida and the advancement of theme parks, samples of work by the famed Highwaymen painters, a diorama showing how an infamous sinkhole ate a city block, and documentation on the Pulse nightclub tragedy. Traveling exhibits bring modern technology and art to the museum. Free audio tours are available. Ticket holders get two hours of free parking.

The Orange Show Center for Visionary Art's two installations—celebrating the work of individuals with extraordinary imaginations—are definitely two of Houston's strangest (and coolest) attractions. The Orange Show monument, located near the University of Houston at 2401 Munger St., is a handmade architectural spectacle constructed by late postman Jefferson Davis McKissack from 1956 to 1979. The outdoor 3,000-square-foot installation, which celebrates the artist's favorite fruit, includes a wishing well, a pond, a stage, a museum and a gift shop; McKissack built it with concrete, brick, found objects, wagon wheels, and statues. The Orange Show Center's other sight is the Beer Can House at 222 Malone St., near Memorial Park. The house—completely covered and decorated with aluminum beer-can "siding," and garlands of cut beer cans hanging from the roof edges—represents the meticulous beer chugging and recycling work of the late John Milkovisch; more than 50,000 cans were used.

Surrounded by Eastsound's lively shops and cafés, this museum comprises several reassembled and relocated late-19th-century pioneer cabins. An impressive collection of more than 6,000 photographs, documents, and artifacts tells the story of the island's Native American and Anglo history, and in an oral-history exhibit longtime residents of the island talk about how the community has evolved over the decades. The museum also operates the 1888 Crow Valley Schoolhouse, which is available for private tours from Memorial Day to Labor Day ($10 per person; minimum two people); call the museum for hours and directions.

This lovely boutique winery in a pastoral setting features a modern farmhouse-chic gathering space with picnic-table outdoor seating and a garden. The only winery on Orcas, it's perfect for a sunny afternoon spent sipping wine and listening to concerts.

If you're looking for a good place to start your exploration of the Lower East Side, Orchard Street, from Houston all the way down to Canal Street, is probably the densest conglomeration of restaurants, cafés, boutiques, and art galleries. It's the perfect place to wander, checking out the art, browsing for clothes and knickknacks, stopping for a coffee or a glass of wine, and having a meal. Although no one gallery really stands out—you're best off visiting whatever catches your eye—look out for Perrotin ( 130 Orchard St.) and Krause Gallery ( 149 Orchard St.).

Family fun takes an organic approach at this friendly farm. Take a stroll through the gardens and orchards and pick your own fruits and vegetables, or choose from a nice selection at the farm market, which also features a broad selection of other local products. Enjoy your bounty immediately at creek-side picnic tables. The on-site Black Bridge Winery offers $5 tastings of its Chardonnay, Riesling, Merlot, Pinot Noir, and other wines.

This 29,000-acre swath of Oregon's high desert was designated a national wilderness in 2009, following the longtime advocacy of Oregonians enamored by its harshly beautiful landscape riven by ancient lava flows and home to sage grouse, pronghorn antelope, and elk. Motorized vehicles are prohibited, but visitors can ride horses on designated trails and low-impact hikers are welcome. Bring a camera to capture the jagged rock formations, birds, and wildflowers.

Just outside the town of Silverton, a 25-minute drive from Salem, the Oregon Garden showcases the botanical diversity of the Willamette Valley and Pacific Northwest. The 80-acre garden features themed plots ranging from a conifer forest to medicinal plants. There's also a whimsical children's garden complete with a make-believe fossil dig, and another garden featuring the agricultural bounty of the area. From April to September, visitors can take a narrated tram tour through the garden.

Impressive eight-story-high trompe l'oeil murals of Lewis and Clark and the Oregon Trail invite history lovers into this Downtown museum, which goes beyond the dominant narratives of white colonists and explorers to tell the story of the state through myriad perspectives, from prehistoric times through the racist era of “black-exclusion” laws to the challenges of the present day. The state-of-the-art permanent exhibit Experience Oregon, comprises 7,000 square feet of interactive galleries displaying a pair of 9,000-year-old sagebrush sandals, an actual covered wagon, and hands-on games.

This memorial to those who perished during the Holocaust bears the names of surviving families who live in Oregon and southwest Washington. A bronzed baby shoe, a doll, broken spectacles, and other strewn possessions await notice on the cobbled courtyard. Soil and ash from six Nazi concentration camps is interred beneath the black granite wall. The memorial is operated by the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education in Old Town.

Local model makers created most of this museum's models of ships that once plied the Columbia River. Contained within the stern-wheeler steamship Portland, this small museum provides an excellent overview of Oregon's maritime history with artifacts and memorabilia. The Children's Corner has nautical items that can be touched and operated. The Portland is the last steam-powered stern-wheel tugboat operating in the United States, and volunteer-guided tours include the pilot house and engine room.  Occasional four-hour cruises on the ship are also offered, about once a month, in summer; the cost is $88.

Train-history buffs aren't the only ones who'll appreciate the three steam-driven locomotives on display here. The center, which runs mostly on donations, also plays host to diesel locomotives, historic passenger cars, and other nuggets of train days gone by. The ORHC offers hugely popular, family-oriented "Holiday Express" excursions on weekends between Thanksgiving and mid-December, departing from the station at Oaks Amusement Park.

More than 400,000 Bard lovers descend on charming downtown Ashland (85 miles from Crater Lake) for this nearly yearlong festival that presents works by Shakespeare and other past and contemporary playwrights.

It's a thrill to be on campus on game day, when students are a sea of orange and black cheering on their beloved Beavers. This 400-acre campus, west of the city center, was established as a land-grant institution in 1868. OSU has more than 27,000 students, many of them studying the university's nationally recognized programs in conservation biology, agricultural sciences, nuclear engineering, forestry, fisheries and wildlife management, community health, pharmacy, and zoology.

Trace the steps of Oregon Trail pioneers at this nature park in the Blue Mountains, where pine trees still bear the scars made by passing covered wagons more than 175 years ago. Signs along the various unpaved hiking trails highlight the history of the journey west.

Between Grants Pass and Medford, there’s a place that seems to defy all the laws of physics—where a ball rolls uphill and a person’s height appears to change as they move. Optical illusion or some strange paranormal activity? That question has made the Oregon Vortex and House of Mystery a popular diversion since the 1930s.

This animal park in the West Hills, famous for its Asian elephants, is undergoing a two-decades-long series of major improvements and expansions. New in recent years are the Polar Passage, Black Rhino, Primate Forest, Condors of the Columbia, and Elephant Lands habitats. There's also a state-of-the-art Zoo Education Center. Other major draws include the Africa Savanna with hippos, zebras, and giraffes; Steller Cove, an aquatic exhibit home to Steller sea lions and a family of sea otters; and a troop of chimpanzees. On select Friday nights in summer, the zoo stays open late and offers live music, food carts, beer and wine, zookeeper talks, and family-oriented entertainment. Take the MAX light rail to the Washington Park station.