10405 Best Sights in USA

Just east of Hilo, almost at the end of the road, is one of the best snorkeling sites on this side of the island, as rocky outcrops provide shelter for schools of reef fish and sea turtles. Richardson Ocean Park is also the only beach in Hilo with black and green sand. Don't get close to turtles or disturb them; they are protected from harassment by federal and state law. The shaded grassy areas are great for picnics. The surrounding area unfolds into bays, protected inlets, fishponds, and lagoons, as well as the adjacent Leleiwi Beach Park. Local kids use the small black-sand beach for body boarding. The annual Richardson Rough Water Swim event takes place in October. Amenities: lifeguards (weekends, holidays, and summer only); parking (no fee); showers; toilets. Best for: snorkeling; walking.

The spacious greenery of Richland Park is situated opposite several of Charlotte Avenue’s walkable independent shops and eateries. Covered picnic tables and a small playground share an easily accessible parking lot with a quaint public library branch and tennis courts. The Richland Park Farmer's Market operates every Saturday morning beside the playground.

Tours run from April through mid-November and depart on the hour, but hours and days vary by season.

Observe the history of Richmond's slaves when you walk from the Manchester Docks down the Slave Trade path along the James River, past former slave auction houses in cobblestoned Shockoe Bottom and Lumpkin's Jail. Free booklets for a 1.3-mile self-guided walk are available from the city park system. You can also join in the annual freedom celebration Juneteenth, held during one weekend in June.

Before heading out along this short (0.6-mile) loop pick up the accompanying map and brochure with information designed to enlighten you on the ecology of the badlands. The first few yards are steep and difficult, and there's a steep descent at the end, but otherwise the trail is even. You'll complete this trail in about a half hour. Moderate.

One of the park's two true backpacker trails, this rigorous 8.8-mile path has overnight options at three campsites along the way. You'll journey past groves of twinkling aspen trees and the eponymous spring close to the campsite. Start at either Yovimpa or Rainbow Point and be prepared for 1,500 feet of elevation change. Campers need to check in at the visitor center ahead of time to obtain a backcountry permit. Difficult.

The landmark Rika's Roadhouse, part of the 10-acre Big Delta State Historical Park, is a good detour for the free tours of the beautifully restored and meticulously maintained grounds, gardens, and historic buildings. In the past, roadhouses were erected at fairly regular intervals in the north, providing everything a traveler might need. Rika's, which operated from 1913 to 1947, is far and away the prettiest and best preserved of the survivors. There's some RV campsites available.

This covered pavilion just inside the park entrance near Riley Creek is accessible year-round and has a couple of bathrooms nearby. Be careful near the creek—the river is beautiful and shallow, but it flows very quickly much of the year depending on snowmelt and precipitation.

Employees dress in period costumes at this interactive, kid-friendly ranch. Riley's hosts school groups from September to June, and individuals can join the groups by reservation for tours on the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, the Gold Rush, homesteading, and colonial farm life. You can hop on a hayride, take part in a barn dance, pick your own apples, press some cider, or throw a tomahawk while enjoying living-history performances. The farm is also home to Colonial Chesterfield, a replica New England–style estate where costumed 18th-century reenactors offer lessons in cider pressing, candle dipping, colonial games, and etiquette. 

About a half-dozen picnic-area turnouts encircle the lake; all have good views, but they can get very windy. Most have pit toilets, and a few have fire grills, but none have running water.

The terrain on this 1-mile round-trip trail is primarily flat and exposed to the sun, with a bird's-eye view into the canyon. The trail connects the visitor center and the campground. There's an interpretive pamphlet, which corresponds to markers along the route, available at both destinations. Easy.

Stop here in summer for park information and to visit the neighboring Sinnott Memorial Overlook, which has a small museum with geology exhibits and a covered observation terrace 900 feet above the lake. Ranger talks take place several times a day, and although it's closed in winter, snowshoe walks leave from outside the visitor center on weekends.

Stop here to pick up free maps and printed materials on various aspects of the park, including maps of hiking trails and backcountry camping permits. Exhibits at the center are comprehensive, and a relief map of the park lays out the complexities of this protected landscape. Two 20-minute slide shows explain the botanical and cultural history of the region, and there is a short self-guided nature walk along the paved Cactus Garden Trail. A select variety of books and other gift items, along with energy bars, beef jerky, and refillable water bottles, are sold here.

This collection of shops was once the location of the south's first roller-skating rink. Locals browse the Garden District Book Shop, which stocks regional and antiquarian books, along with an assortment of autographed first editions by regional writers. Another favorite is Judy at the Rink, an upscale gifts and housewares boutique.

Half a dozen picnic tables are scattered under cottonwoods south of the convenience store. Half a mile away at Daniels Ranch there are two tables and a grill. Wood fires aren't allowed (charcoal and propane are).

Down by the Rio Grande, this short, ¾-mile loop trail packs a powerful wildlife punch. The village is one of the best spots in the park to see rare birds, and other wildlife isn't in short supply either. Keep a lookout for coyotes, javelinas (they look like wild pigs), and other mammals. This is a good trail for kids, so expect higher traffic. Restrooms are nearby, and the trail can be done in less than an hour. The first ¼ mile is wheelchair accessible. Easy.

At this seasonal center you take in the videos of Big Bend's geological and natural features at the minitheater and view exhibits on the Rio Grande.

Rio Grande Vineyard & Winery, just over 4 miles south of Old Mesilla, is worth a look. The comfortably appointed tasting room has a fine view of the Organ Mountains, and proprietor Gordon Steel is congenial and informed.

This artifact of Flagstaff's logging heyday is near Northern Arizona University. The centerpiece is a mansion built in 1904 for Michael and Timothy Riordan, lumber-baron brothers who married two sisters. The 13,300-square-foot, 40-room log-and-stone structure—designed by Charles Whittlesley, who was also responsible for El Tovar Hotel at the Grand Canyon—contains furniture by Gustav Stickley, father of the American Arts and Crafts design movement. One room holds "Paul Bunyan's shoes," a two-foot-long pair of boots made by Timothy in his workshop. Everything on display is original to the house. The inside of the mansion may be explored only by guided tour (hourly on the hour); reservations are suggested. You can explore the exterior on a self-guided tour.

The highlight of a visit here is the magnificent 20-acre garden filled with semitropical vegetation and the sort of vistas that, at least in south Louisiana, only a salt dome can offer. An excellent café looks over Lake Peigneur and provides a restful and picturesque spot for refreshments after exploring the gardens. Be on the lookout for the peacocks—if you're lucky, one of the males will open his feathers for you. Also on the grounds is the Joseph Jefferson Home, a highly idiosyncratic mansion that combines Steamboat Gothic, Moorish, and French-plantation styles. It was built as a country home for stage actor Joseph Jefferson in the mid-19th century and is open for 40-minute tours. There is also a peaceful bed-and-breakfast on the grounds.

Glide underwater (no need for a wet suit) through a winding tunnel exhibit that's longer than a football field, where sharks of all kinds and exotic marine creatures, including poisonous lionfish, moray eels, and an octopus, swim over and around you (or below you, if you spring for the glass-bottom boat tour). Children can examine horseshoe crabs and stingrays in touch tanks, and two of the newer residents are a pair of two-toed sloths. There are also add-ons, like the up-close 30-minute, $90 Penguin Encounter. Admission discounts are available when combined with the price of Ripley's Ocean Boulevard attractions.

This 1.4-million-gallon saltwater aquarium highlights the wonders of the underwater world. You can get up close and personal with a penguin, pet a stingray, share space with 12-foot-long sharks swimming in overhead tunnels, and stick around for the dive and feeding shows. Groups that include 10 or more children can schedule a sleepover with the sharks!

The first thing you’ll notice when visiting Branson’s branch of Ripley’s Believe it or Not is the museum’s unusual facade, with long fissures designed to look as though the whole place has been cracked in an earthquake. This unusual design is a nod to the 1812 earthquake, which supposedly caused the Mississippi to reverse its flow. From there, things only get weirder. Inside, you’ll witness a number of unbelievable oddities, ranging from a two-headed taxidermied calf to so-called shrunken heads. The replica of Rome’s Colosseum made entirely of playing cards isn’t really an oddity, but is certainly a display of some serious talent.

Gatlinburg has several "mountain coasters" (gravity-controlled, single-car coasters), including options at Anakeesta and Ober Mountain. But to experience one without a huge time commitment—and that the operators claim goes a little bit faster, thanks to banked turns—this smooth double track is a winner that loops through the forest and tops out at 35 mph. There's also a mountain glider, where riders descend while suspended from a track in a harness.

A 10-foot-square section of the Berlin Wall, a pain-and-torture chamber, two African fertility statues that women swear have helped them conceive—these and almost 200 other oddities (shrunken heads included) speak for themselves in this museum-cum-attraction in the heart of tourist territory on International Drive. The building itself is designed to appear as if it's sliding into one of Florida's notorious sinkholes. Give yourself an hour or two to soak up the weirdness, but remember: this is a looking, not touching, experience; it might drive antsy youngsters—and their parents—crazy. Buy tickets online ahead of time for discounts.

The Baltimore outpost of the museum that celebrates all things unusual has plenty of shrunken heads, lizard men, automated dinosaurs, and castles made from toothpicks—although it would be nice if more weird things from Maryland were featured. A mirror maze with LED lights is dizzying fun. The 4D Moving Theater has moving seats and digital effects. Separate admission fees for the Mirror Maze and 4D Moving Theater.

In a cottonwood grove adjacent to St. Mary Lake, this area has tables, restrooms, and drinking water in the summer.

In 1760 George Washington's brother Charles built as his home what later became the Rising Sun Tavern, a watering hole for such patriots as the Lee brothers (the only siblings to sign the Declaration of Independence); Patrick Henry, the five-term governor of Virginia who famously said, "Give me liberty or give me death"; and future presidents Washington and Jefferson. Two male indentured servants and a "wench" in period costume lead a tour without stepping out of character. Guests will learn how travelers slept and what they ate and drank at this busy institution.

Local ingredients take the spotlight at this family-owned brewery, with sprawling indoor and patio spaces and even bigger list of seasonal creations (like blueberry sour ales and Marzen-style lagers) and year-round beers like Ishmael, a malty and sweet ale. There's also wine and kombuchas on offer.

Run by the Roosevelt Island Visual Arts Association, this gallery helps to promote works by its 30 artist members through group and solo exhibitions, and other programming. Along with this gallery, the RIVAA manages another exhibition space, the Octagon Gallery within the Octagon Building, once the entrance of a hospital that's now part of an apartment complex. The latter spot features art by both RIVAA members and international guest contributors—including painters, sculptors, photographers, computer artists, graphic designers, ceramists, and installation artists.