10457 Best Sights in USA

A Gothic-style gem built in the early 1930s, this chapel is the centerpiece of Duke University. Modeled after England's Canterbury Cathedral, it has a 210-foot-tall bell tower. Weekly services are held here Sunday at 11 am, with tours following. The chapel is a popular wedding spot, so check the website before trying to visit on Saturday.

Career diplomat Robert Woods Bliss and his wife, Mildred, bought the property in 1920 and tamed the sprawling grounds into 10 acres of splendid gardens designed by Beatrix Farrand. In 1940, the Blisses gave the estate to Harvard University as a study center, library, museum, and garden. The museum holds a small but world-renowned collection of Byzantine and pre-Columbian art, reflecting the enormous skill and creativity developed at roughly the same time in two very different parts of the world. The Byzantine collection includes beautiful examples of both religious and secular items executed in mosaic, metal, enamel, stone, textile, and ivory. Pre-Columbian works—artifacts and textiles from Mexico and Central and South America by peoples such as the Aztec, Maya, Inca, and Olmec—are arranged in an enclosed glass pavilion. Especially beautiful in the spring but worth visiting in any season, the gardens feature an orangery and a green terrace filled with iron furniture emblazoned with astrological motifs.

This gorgeous drive through the heart of White Sands accesses virtually every part of the park that's accessible to visitors, including all of the trails and picnic areas. It's an 8-mile drive from the visitor center and entrance gate to the one-way loop at the end. The first 5 miles are paved, and as you make your way from the park entrance, the landscape becomes steadily more dominated by higher and whiter dunes, until you reach the final 3 miles, which are unpaved along smooth, hard-packed gypsum. This is where the experience starts to feel truly surreal, as it's easy to feel as though you're driving through a winter wonderland—the gypsum really does look like snow (which feels particularly odd if you're driving this route on a hot summer day). You'll come to the Primrose and Roadrunner picnic areas, on the right, as you enter the one-way loop portion of Dunes Drive, and you'll come to several larger parking areas that access some of the park's biggest dunes as the road curves back around at the Alkali Flat Trailhead. It takes only about 45 minutes to drive the entire route, round-trip, but you'll want to stop and explore the dunes on foot. Part of the fun is watching park visitors, especially kids, riding sleds down the dunes. Groups of friends and families also regularly come and set up tents and umbrellas on the dunes nearest the parking areas and bask in the sun all day. It's quite a sight. Do obey speed limits, which are 45 mph as you enter but drop to 15 mph along the unpaved loop in areas with lots of pedestrian traffic. It may look tempting to zip around, but the sand can get slippery, and the road curves in places, limiting visibility.

Anchoring 25-acre Railroad Bridge Park, a beautifully serene Audubon Society preserve bisected by the Dungeness River, this stunning nature center reopened in 2022 following a dramatic expansion and redesign that features informative natural history exhibits as well as a bookstore, a coffee bar, and a pavilion and rain garden. The center is adjacent to a lacy, 730-foot-long ironwork bridge that was once part of the coastal rail line between Port Angeles and Port Townsend and is now a popular multiuse path for hiking and biking. On warm days, the grounds are lovely for picnicking, and you can watch live performances in the amphitheater. There are free guided bird walks and other nature programs year-round.

The most entertaining way to relive the Old West is to take a ride on the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, a nine-hour round-trip journey along the 45-mile railway to Silverton. Travel in comfort in restored coaches or in the open-air cars called gondolas as you listen to the train's shrill whistle. A shorter excursion to Cascade Canyon in heated coaches is available in winter. The train departs from the Durango Depot, constructed in 1882 and beautifully restored. Next door is the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum, which is free and well worth your time.

Durant is known across the state for their flavorful olive oils and this hilltop property is also home to the first commercial olive mill in the Pacific Northwest. Stop by the gift shop to taste some of the farm’s signature oils or head out back to see an old-fashioned (and not-in-use) olive press imported from Spain. While olive oil is the big draw, there's also a tasting room where you can sample estate wines by appointment.

Sitting alongside the lagoons of Washington Park, the DuSable Museum, a Smithsonian Institution affiliate, offers an evocative exploration of the African American experience. The most moving displays are about slavery—rusted shackles used on slave ships are among the poignant and disturbing artifacts—as well as Chicago's role in the civil rights movement. The museum also has a significant art collection.

In the 1990s, winemaker Dan Goldfield teamed up with fifth-generation farmer Steve Dutton to establish this small operation devoted to cool-climate Pinot Noirs. Goldfield is less involved with day-to-day wine making than before, but the goal remains the same: to take Dutton's meticulously farmed fruit, along with sourced grapes, and "make the winemaker unnoticeable." Well, not quite. What impresses the most about these wines, which include a Pinot Blanc, two Chardonnays, a Pinot Noir rosé, and Syrah, is their sheer artistry. Dutton and Goldfield helped revive the remaining acres of the 1880s vineyard that produces grapes for the juicy, spicy Morelli Lane Zinfandel.

Excellent tide-pooling can be had along the shoreline of Duxbury Reef; it's one of the largest shale intertidal reefs in North America. Look for sea stars, barnacles, sea anemones, purple urchins, limpets, sea mussels, and the occasional abalone. But check a tide table ( tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov) if you plan to explore the reef—it's accessible only at low tide. The reef is a 30-minute drive from the Bear Valley Visitor Center. Take Highway 1 South from the center, turn right at Olema Bolinas Road (keep an eye peeled; the road is easy to miss), left on Horseshoe Hill Road, right on Mesa Road, left on Overlook Drive, and then right on Elm Road, which dead-ends at the Agate Beach County Park parking lot.   Avoid areas rich with fragile Monterey shale, which are prone to erosion from human disturbance. It is illegal to collect anything from this protected marine area. 

At more than 360,000 acres, this is the largest wilderness area in Oregon, encompassing most of the Wallowa range with 535 miles of trails for hardcore backpackers and horseback riders. Most of the popular trailheads are along Eagle Cap's northern edge, accessible from Enterprise or Joseph, but you also can find several trailheads 20 to 30 miles southeast of La Grande along Route 203. Some areas of the wilderness are accessible year-round, while the high-elevation areas are accessible only for a few months in summer. To hike into the wilderness, you also need to obtain a free permit that will alert rangers of your plans.

Five blocks east of the center of Julian you can take an hour-long tour of an authentic family-owned gold mine from 1870, and even pan for gold. Displays along the route include authentic tools and machinery, gold extraction process, and gold quartz–bearing veins. A small rock shop and gold-mining museum are also on the premises.

The wide swath of sand at the east end of Cabrillo Boulevard is a great spot for people-watching. East Beach has sand volleyball courts, summertime lifeguard and sports competitions, and arts-and-crafts shows on Sunday and holidays, plus Saturday on holiday weekends. You can use showers, a weight room, and lockers (bring your own towel) and rent umbrellas and boogie boards at the Cabrillo Bathhouse. Next door, there's an elaborate jungle-gym play area for kids. Hotels line the boulevard across from the beach. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards (in summer); parking (fee); showers; toilets; water sports. Best for: surfing; swimming; walking.

Vigorous waves, white sands, and views of Block Island on crystal-clear days account for the popularity of this 144-acre beach. Crabs, mussels, and starfish populate the rock reef that extends to the right of the strand, inspiring visitors to channel their inner marine biologist. A wind turbine provides power for the Daniel L. O'Brien Pavilion, named for a police officer killed in the line of duty while rescuing people stranded in this area during Hurricane Carol in 1954. Currents can be strong, so keep an eye on kids. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards; parking (fee); showers; toilets. Best for: swimming; walking.

At the tip of the Eastern Neck peninsula, 8 mi south of Rock Hall, and at the mouth of the Chester River, this 2,285-acre park is superb. It's a prime place to spot migratory waterfowl, wild turkeys, Delmarva fox squirrels, and southern bald eagles, undeterred by the experimental power-generating solar panels and wind turbines installed nearby. Nearly 6 mi of roads and trails and an observation tower provide excellent vantage points.

Designed by John Haviland, Eastern State was the most expensive building in America when it opened in 1829; this massive, crumbling structure, now a popular site for visitors, was built in a hub-and-spoke design that became the model for 300 prisons from China to South America. Its system of solitary confinement (to encourage penitence) and firm discipline was ultimately recognized as flawed. Before it closed in 1971, the atmospheric prison was home to Al Capone, Willie Sutton, and Pep the Dog, who allegedly killed the cat that belonged to a governor's wife. The prison's excellent audio tour is included with admission, and thoughtful permanent and changing exhibits, including art installations, examine contemporary issues relating to criminal justice and needed reforms. Some guided tours are available; reserve in advance. The site hosts many events including Halloween Nights, a crowd-favorite selection of haunted house experiences, and has some evening openings in warmer weather.  Most areas you visit are unheated, so bundle up well in winter. In summer or fall, stroll through or sit in narrow Corinthian Gardens ( fespp.com), a multiuse garden just outside the prison along Corinthian Avenue.

A Gothic Revival–style building completed in 1922, the church came to be known as the spiritual center of the civil rights movement. Members of the King family, including the slain civil rights leader, preached at the church for three generations. Sitting in the main sanctuary on a quiet day when light is shining through the stained-glass windows can be a powerful experience. The congregation itself now occupies the building across the street.

Behind what is one of the nation's foremost museums dedicated to the Ancestral Puebloan culture, an interpretive trail leads to a village that they once inhabited. Portions have been partially excavated, and visitors can climb down a ladder into a 1,000-year-old ceremonial room called a kiva. The museum displays a variety of pots, baskets, spear points, and other rare artifacts. There's even a sash made from the colorful feathers of a scarlet macaw, a bird native to Mexico or Central America, which proves the vast distances indigenous trade routes spanned. 

Apple growers since 1964, the Delfino family occupies one of El Dorado County's most idyllic sites. Joan Delfino's apple pies and fun farm events gained the clan early notice. In the 2010s, her grandchildren started a winery named for her husband, local agricultural icon Edio Delfino. They pour their superb whites and reds in a gleaming-silver contemporary space whose patio perches over apple trees surrounded by grapevines ringed by a forest. Wine tasting takes place year-round; bakery visits, apple events, and indie concerts occur seasonally.

Fort Myers's premier attraction pays homage to two of America's most ingenious inventors: Thomas A. Edison, who gave the world the stock ticker, the incandescent lamp, and the phonograph, among other inventions; and his friend and neighbor, automaker Henry Ford. Donated to the city by Edison's widow, his once 12-acre estate has been expanded into a remarkable 25 acres, with three homes, two caretaker cottages, a laboratory, botanical gardens, and a museum. The laboratory contains the same gadgets and gizmos as when Edison last stepped foot into it, and you can see many of his inventions, along with historic photographs and memorabilia, in the museum.

Edison traveled south from New Jersey and devoted much of his time here to inventing things (there are 1,093 patents to his name), experimenting with rubber for friend and frequent visitor Harvey Firestone, and planting hundreds of plant species collected around the world. Next door to Edison's two identical homes is Ford's "Mangoes," the more modest seasonal home of Edison's fellow inventor. The property's oldest building, the Edison Caretaker's House, dates from 1860. Guided tours and self-guided audio tours are available. One admission covers the homes of both men; separate museum-and-laboratory-only tickets and botanical-garden tour tickets are also available.

This 1,255-acre park includes a 1½-mile-long beachfront with some of the area's best shelling, marshland, and tidal rivers as well as a lush maritime forest with 7 miles of trails running through it. Trails are hard-packed shell sand, suitable for bikes (4 miles are ADA accessible). The park's Environmental Learning Center features animal exhibits and a touch tank, and a small ranger station has fishing poles to lend and firewood for sale. Pets on leashes are allowed. This is an excellent jumping-off point for exploring the natural history of Edisto Island and the surrounding ACE Basin. Amenities: none. Best for: sunrise, walking, sunset.

Known for having one of the world's largest and deepest springs, this very picturesque park retains the wild and exotic look it had in the mid-20th century, when two Tarzan movies and Creature from the Black Lagoon were shot here. Beyond the 1930s-era Spanish Mediterranean-style lodge (with 27 guest rooms) is the spring where Jungle Cruise boats (reservations required) set off deep into the vegetation-lined waterway to catch glimpses of alligators, snakes, and waterfowl. There's a swimming area and an observation tower that offers the daring a chance to plunge 20 feet into the springs' heart-stopping 69-degree water. In winter, a climb to the top of the tower also affords a great opportunity to see visiting manatees. In the dining room, you can enjoy spring views and a shake at the classic soda fountain.

Famous for its views of Denali, the Eielson Visitor Center is at Mile 66 of the park road. Rangers are present throughout the day, either leading presentations or hikes such as the leisurely Eielson Stroll. While there is a small gallery of Denali-inspired art here, this visitor center is all about the view, dominated—with a little luck—by the mountain itself. Historically, the center opens on June 1 and closes on the second Thursday after Labor Day; it's open daily 9–5:30. It's accessible by any of the shuttle buses that pass Mile 66, excluding the Kantishna Experience tour. For backpackers, the bathrooms remain unlocked 24-hours a day during the summer. The visitor center is currently closed due to the Pretty Rocks Landslide; it's expected to reopen when the road is repaired, by summer 2027.

When you see the imposing 200-foot-high sandstone bluff that served as a rest stop for Indians, explorers, soldiers, and pioneers, you can understand how El Morro ("the Headland") got its name. The bluff is the famous Inscription Rock, where wayfarers stopped to partake of a waterhole at its base and left behind messages, signatures, and petroglyphs carved into the soft sandstone. The paved Inscription Trail makes a quick ½-mi round-trip from the visitor center and passes that historic water source and numerous inscriptions. Although El Morro is justly renowned for Inscription Rock, try to allow an extra 90 minutes or so to venture along the spectacular, moderately strenuous 2-mi (round-trip) Headland Trail, which meanders past the excavated edge of an extensive field of late-13th-century pueblo ruins, cuts along the precarious rim of a deep box canyon, and affords panoramic views across the Zuni Mountains and El Malpais. The monument's compact museum chronicles 700 years of human history in this region.

The oldest section of the city, known as El Pueblo de Los Angeles, represents the rich Mexican heritage of L.A. It had a close shave with disintegration in the early 20th century, but key buildings were preserved, and eventually Olvera Street, the district's heart, was transformed into a Mexican American marketplace. Today vendors still sell puppets, leather goods, sandals, and woolen shawls from stalls lining the narrow street. You can find everything from salt and pepper shakers shaped like donkeys to gorgeous glassware and pottery.

At the beginning of Olvera Street is the Plaza, a Mexican-style park with plenty of benches and walkways shaded by a huge Moreton Bay fig tree. On weekends, mariachi bands and folkloric dance groups perform. Nearby places worth investigating include the historic Avila Adobe, the Chinese American Museum, the Plaza Firehouse Museum, and the America Tropical Interpretive Center. Exhibits at the Italian American Museum of Los Angeles chronicle the area's formerly heavy Italian presence.

This small, frontier, adobe church has a fantastically carved and painted reredos (altar screen) and is built on the site where, believers say, a mysterious light came from the ground on Good Friday in 1810 leading to the discovery of a large wooden crucifix beneath the earth. The chapel sits above a sacred pozito (a small hole), the dirt from which is believed to have miraculous healing properties. Dozens of abandoned crutches and braces placed in the anteroom—along with many notes, letters, and photos—testify to this. The Santuario draws a steady stream of worshippers year-round—Chimayó is considered the Lourdes of the Southwest. During Holy Week as many as 30,000 pilgrims come here. The shrine is is surrounded by small adobe shops selling every kind of religious curio imaginable and some very fine traditional Hispanic work from local artists. A smaller chapel, Santo Niño de Atocha, was built in 1857 and lies 200 yards away. As at the more famous Santuario, the dirt in this place of worship is said to have healing properties.

In the same spot since 1976, this outdoor flea market has grown from a dozen or so vendors to more than 500 on a typical Sunday, along with food trucks offering everything from a snack to full meals. You'll never know what usual and unusual treasures you'll find spread out on the field, as every Sunday brings out a different collection of vendors selling all manner of antiques, collectibles, housewares, and merchandise, along with, simply, "things." Serious buyers arrive by 5:30 am and pay $20 admission for the privilege; other "early birds" prepay $10 online to enter at 7 am; the rest of us are happy to browse from 8 am to 2 pm and pay just $3.

This alley is the oldest continuously occupied residential street in America, dating back to 1702. Much of Colonial Philadelphia resembled this area, with its cobblestone streets and narrow two- or three-story brick houses. These were modest row homes rented by craftsmen, such as cabinetmakers, silversmiths, pewterers, and those who made their living in the shipping industry. The earliest houses have pent eaves; taller houses, built after the Revolution, show the influence of the Federal style. The Elfreth's Alley Museum includes two homes that have been restored by the Elfreth's Alley Association: No. 124, home of a Windsor chair maker, and No. 126, a Colonial dressmaker's home, with authentic furnishings and a Colonial kitchen. In early June residents celebrate Fete Day, when some of the 30 homes are open to the public for tours hosted by guides in Colonial garb. In December, residents again welcome visitors for “Deck the Alley,” a holiday-themed celebration. Both of these special events require advance tickets. You can stop at the museum and purchase an audio tour or simply stroll down the street anytime. 

What began as a logging town in the early years of the 20th century evolved into a summer colony for wealthy families from Knoxville. Many prominent east Tennessee families built vacation homes here or visited the Wonderland Hotel via train service from Knoxville to Elkmont. After the national park was established, parts of the community were placed on the National Registry of Historic Places. Today, Elkmont is primarily a campground, and most of the 74 cottages have been removed. The last families lost their leases to their cabins in the 1990s. You can see the ruins of the biggest homes along Millionaires Row, where stone chimneys stand like ghostly sentinels in the wood. In recent years, the Park Service has restored several homes along Jakes Creek that are now open to the public. The Appalachian Clubhouse, built for a hunting and fishing club, is restored to its 1930s appearance, complete with rocking chairs on the porch. There's a short loop nature trail here, or you can take an easy flat walk along the Little River Trail.