10405 Best Sights in USA

Though resembling a mansion, this impressive 1934 French Eclectic–style building originally housed personnel for the U.S. Navy base that operated at the tip of Schoodic Peninsula for decades. Now part of the campus of Schoodic Institute, a park-affiliated scientific research and education nonprofit, the first floor houses the park's seasonal Rockefeller Welcome Center. You can get information, watch a video about Schoodic, and check out kid-friendly exhibits about this neck of Acadia and the old Navy base. There's also a small gift shop. An automated fee machine inside the gatehouse at the campus entrance sells Acadia weekly park passes.

Local artifacts, including mining tools, cattle brands, and rifles, make up the collection at the Campbell County–run Rockpile Museum. The museum's name comes from its location next to a natural rock-pile formation that served as a landmark for pioneers and cattle drives.

The estate of John Jacob Glessner (1843–1936), one of the founders of International Harvester, now serves as a 1,400-acre conservation and education center. The property is named for the many surface boulders on the estate when Glessner bought it—some were used to erect the rambling rock walls that flanks the estate's striking shingle-style restored buildings. The Rocks presents natural-history programs and has self-guided tours and hiking trails with excellent views of the Presidential Range. Come winter, cross-country ski trails and a select-your-own-Christmas-tree farm open up. In early spring, you can watch how maple syrup is made. 

The museum has the largest collection of Western American art in the East. Art from the 19th and 20th centuries and American Indian artifacts and works show the people, places, and ideas of the West. Kids get to use special interactive backpacks as they go through the displays. The museum occupies an 1893 building, the old city hall, in the historic Market Street district. A Southwestern restaurant is on the premises.

A former tannery set on a three-acre lot alongside the Chicago River has been repurposed as an evolving hub for neighborhood tastemakers. The lofty brick space is home to a small-batch whiskey distillery (Judson & Moore) with a stylish tasting room, a shoe boutique, and a ceramics center with some single-session classes. Toward the back, Soul & Smoke serves excellent barbecue (the brisket's a don't-miss), while the riverside patio and small marina out back double as a launch for Chicago Electric Boat Company, which rents retro-looking "donut boats" by the hour (from $152) for impromptu river cruises.     

Leaving the Rockies far behind, U.S. 50 takes you toward the eastern plains, where rolling prairies give way to hardier desert blooms and the land is stubbled with sage and stunted pinyon pines. One fertile spot—50 miles along the highway—is the town of Rocky Ford, dubbed the "Sweet Melon Capital" for its famously succulent cantaloupes.

The visitor center features natural-history displays (including hands-on displays for kids), films, art, taxidermied animals, a world-record pair of elk antlers, and an outdoor nature trail. The foundation works to preserve wild lands for elk and other wildlife; since 1984 the nonprofit organization has saved almost 8 million acres from development.

The herbarium focuses on Rocky Mountain plants, but also includes other examples of flora from the Northern Hemisphere. But don't expect any living plants here. This is a working dry plant research facility, and features 1.3 million specimens mounted on paper. Visitors are welcome to take a tour.

On a peninsula within Gloucester’s working harbor, the town's creative side thrives in this neighborhood, one of the oldest continuously working artists' colonies in the United States. Its alumni include Winslow Homer, Maurice Prendergast, Jane Peterson, and Cecilia Beaux. While some venues stay open year-round, expect many to be closed in winter; but no matter the season, it's a picturesque place.

Enjoy fantastic mountain and lake views on this family-friendly, 1.9-mile trail along the western shore of Lake McDonald. Easy.

Created by artist A. Thomas Schomberg for the 1982 film Rocky III, the life-size statue was donated by the film’s director and star, Sylvester Stallone, to the City of Philadelphia after filming. The statue has moved around, but since 2006 it has stood at the bottom of the Philadelphia Art Museum’s steps. It continues to be one of the city’s most popular destinations, with visitors lining up patiently to get their selfie with the bronze version of the “Italian Stallion.” The city celebrates Rocky Day annually on December 3, and in 2026 celebrations around town will mark the 50th anniversary of the release of the first Rocky film. Steps from the Rocky statue, the Parkway Visitor Center kiosk sells Rocky merch among its offerings and services.  

This west-facing scenic overlook allows you to savor the views of cascading mountains, one right behind the next in the more rugged South District. Rockytop Mountain is the pointy one right in the middle, flanked on either side by Lewis Mountain and Loft Mountain.

built in 1856, is north of Thurmont, just off Route 15. The smallest of the covered bridges, it's surrounded by a cooling canopy of trees on either side and there's a small picnic area where you can have a bite while enjoying the view.

One of the few 18th-century structures in Havre de Grace, Rodgers House is a two-story redbrick Georgian town house topped by a dormered attic. The town's most historically significant building, it was the home of Admiral John Rodgers, who fired the first shot in the War of 1812. Like most of the other historic houses in Havre de Grace, it's closed to the public but still worth a drive past.

The late Rodney Strong was among the first winemakers to plant Pinot Noir in the Russian River Valley. His namesake winery still makes Pinot Noirs, but it's known more for Cabernet Sauvignon. The large brand has a stylish tasting room, though from April through October many guests sit on an umbrella-shaded vineyard-view terrace sipping wines from several Sonoma County appellations. Some tastings include the Cabernet-heavy Bordeaux-style Rowen Wine blends from a hilly ranch in far northern Sonoma County.  The winery hosts summer outdoor concerts; Alanis Morissette, Blues Traveler, and Christone “Kingfish” Ingram have performed in recent years.

Cajun artist George Rodrigue began his career as a painter with moody yet stirring portraits of rural Cajun life, but he gained popular renown in 1984 when he started painting blue dogs, inspired by the spirit of his deceased pet, Tiffany. Since then, the blue dog can be found in thousands of manifestations in various settings in the cult artist's paintings. Rodrigue died in late 2013, and his principal gallery, a space rather eerily lined almost entirely with paintings of the blue dog, is now managed by his family as a gallery and event space.

The Anderson Valley is particularly hospitable to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes, the two varietals used to create Roederer's sparkling wines. The view of vineyards and rolling hills from the patio is splendid.

Taney began his law career in Frederick, but is best known as the Chief Supreme Court Justice who wrote the controversial 1857 Dred Scott decision. Taney's opinion, which said that slaves were not citizens and therefore had no Constitutional rights, helped move the country toward Civil War. The brick Federal-style home turned museum offers insight into Taney's life (his wife was the sister of his law partner, Francis Scott Key), middle-class life in the late 1800s, and the slaves he owned. A bust of Taney stands at Frederick's City Hall Plaza, a few feet from a plaque explaining the Dred Scott ruling.

Named for Jamestown native and noted naturalist Roger Tory Peterson (1908–96), who wrote the seminal Field Guide to the Birds in 1934 (which spawned today's best-selling Peterson Field Guides series), this 27-acre center seeks to educate children about nature. You may hike the wooded trails, or explore one of the natural-history exhibits. The gallery shows a selection of works by Peterson and others.

This breakwater-sheltered beach—which some locals still call Sand Hill Cove, even though the name changed decades ago—has calm, warm water and fine white sand that slopes gently into the water. It's a perennial favorite for parents with young children, thanks in part to the playground situated right in the sand. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards; playground; parking (fee); showers; toilets. Best for: classic vibe; family time; swimming; walking.

This 4½-acre park dedicated to Rhode Island's founder has a symbolic well to mark the site of the spring around which Roger Williams built Providence's original settlement in 1636. A visitor center has a five-minute film about the park's namesake. The modest park has gardens, several picnic tables, public restrooms, and 20 free parking spaces (a two-hour parking limit is strictly enforced).

One of the largest retail gardens in Southern California, Roger's showcases some of the best garden ideas and holiday decorations during Easter, Halloween, and Christmas. The on-site Farmhouse at Roger's Gardens restaurant is popular with visitors and locals during lunchtime and dinner. The chefs prepare locally sourced menu items to enjoy while overlooking the bucolic gardens.

Covering 1.8 million acres, this immense tract of wilderness woodland has fishing, swimming, hiking, and skiing. Motorized vehicles, boats, and equipment—even bicycles—are prohibited in the 113,849-acre Sky Lakes Wilderness, south of Crater Lake National Park. Its highest point is the 9,495-foot Mt. McLoughlin.

You'll find an impressive array of kids' games and recreation at this complex just off Interstate 5. Miniature golf, batting cages, a golf driving range, bumper boats, and go-karts are among the offerings, and there's also a video arcade and game room.

A Quaker family farm for nearly two centuries, this National Historic Landmark served as a safe haven for enslaved people seeking freedom during the days of the Underground Railroad. Join one of the guided house tours, explore the grounds and the historic farm buildings, or set off on the more than 50 acres of hiking trails. The mid-summer pie and ice cream social is an annual highlight.

Churchgoers staying in the South Strip area stagger into this beautiful Roman Catholic church for mass seven days a week. Among the more popular offerings are the Sunday masses, with three in English, one in Spanish and one in traditional Latin.

Famous for its Napa Valley Chardonnays, Rombauer farmed foothills Zinfandel for years, so it wasn't a total surprise when the winery acquired an existing facility here. Inside the brightly lit tasting room or at umbrella-shaded tables, you can enjoy a flight that might include Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Sierra Foothills Zinfandel or sip these wines by the glass or bottle.

"Iconic" is an adjective often associated with Rombauer Chardonnays, particularly the flagship Carneros bottling. Sometimes described simply as "buttery," the wines express, at their best, equal parts ripeness, acidity, and creaminess, with vanilla accents courtesy of oak aging. Purchased in 2023 by Gallo, the winery also makes Sauvignon Blanc, Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, sparkling, and dessert wines. Most guests book a full tasting, but it's also possible to sip by the glass or bottle in the landscaped garden.  Outside food is permitted at garden sessions (reservations recommended).

Redwoods and cedars tower over the downtown garden patio of this under-the-radar producer of Bordeaux-varietal wines. Alison Doran, whose first wine-making gig was as a harvest intern in the 1970s for André Tchelistcheff, the premier California winemaker of his era, extracts rich flavors from grapes grown in Romeo's half-century-old southern Calistoga vineyard. The Napa Valley Cabernet is a bargain for the quality; the Malbec and Petit Verdot are also strong suits, as are the Sauvignon Blanc and Petit Verdot rosé. Musicians perform on summer weekends, when pizza parties also take place.