63 Best Sights in USA

At 2,100 acres and three times the size of New York's Central Park, this is one of the largest urban forests in the country and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It's a popular horseback-riding destination, but the double-track trails are also pleasant for hiking and jogging. Make use of the maps available at the entrances because it's easy to get lost. Note that there are seven entrances to the woods; the ones with the best parking are at 2180 Dibble Road Southwest and 430 South Boundary Road.

East of Aspen, in the Williams Mountains and lining a stretch of the Roaring Fork River, is an often-forgotten section of the White River National Forest. Overshadowed by the popular Maroon Bells to the west and the Colorado Wilderness of the Holy Cross to the north, the more than 82,000 acres of the Hunter-Fryingpan Wilderness offer 65 miles of hiking trails, excellent trout fishing, and unparalleled seclusion. Elk and mule deer call the area home, and wildflowers abound in July and August.

On the outskirts of Atchison, a 15-minute drive from downtown, trees from 50 states and 38 countries were planted in honor of men and women involved in space exploration and aviation, and grow in harmony at the International Forest of Friendship. Overlooking Lake Warnock, the forest was a gift to the United States for its 1976 bicentennial from the city of Atchison, the University of Kansas Forestry Extension, and International Ninety-Nines, Inc. Access the forest through a gate marked "Allingham Drive" and travel down Memory Lane, paved with plaques that list the names of more than 1,200 pilots, astronauts, and manufacturers who have contributed to aviation. The Amelia Earhart Earthworks sculpture can be seen from the walking trail.

One of the last remaining sections of old-growth forests in Appalachia has incredible 400-year-old yellow poplars that measure as large as 20 feet in circumference, along with huge hemlocks, oaks, and sycamores. Don't expect sequoias, but you're still likely to turn a corner on the trail and gasp with amazement at the scale of these behemoths. If you haven't seen a true virgin forest, you can only imagine what America must have looked like in the early days of settlement. A two-mile trail, moderately strenuous, takes you through wildflower- and moss-carpeted areas. During June, the parking lot is an excellent spot to see the light shows of the synchronous fireflies, which blink off and on in unison.

Here you'll find a stone waterwheel house, a campground, a natural-spring swimming pool, and hiking trails. The 7-mile Juniper Springs run is a narrow, twisting, and winding canoe ride, which, although exhilarating, isn't for the novice.

Nestled in the densely wooded forest of Idaho’s northern panhandle, this scenic lake is a hot tourist attraction in the summer. The watery playground has 109 miles of shoreline, including a city beach, and offers boating, sailing, bird-watching, daily cruises, parasailing, rentable float planes, and a famous floating green on the 14th hole of the Coeur d’Alene Golf Course. Hike downtown Tub’s Hill or walk along the ¾-mile boardwalk for scenic landside views of early-morning fog on the water and bald eagle nests.

If you drive south from the Alaska SeaLife Center, after about 10 minutes you'll reach Lowell Point, a wooded stretch of land along the bay with access to beach walking, hiking, and kayaking. This is a great day-trip destination, and camping is also an option.

Of Yosemite's three sequoia groves—the others being Merced and Tuolumne, both near Crane Flat and Hetch Hetchy well to the north—Mariposa is by far the largest and easiest to walk around. Grizzly Giant, whose base measures 96 feet around, has been estimated to be one of the world's largest. Perhaps more astoundingly, it's about 1,800 years old. Park at the grove's welcome plaza, and ride the free shuttle (required most of the year). Summer weekends are crowded.

The Medicine Bow National Forest, Douglas District, southwest of Douglas in the Laramie Peak area, includes four campgrounds ($5–$10 for camping; campground closed in winter) and areas where you can fish and hike.

In summer Steamboat serves as the gateway to the magnificent Medicine Bow/Routt National Forests, with a wealth of activities from hiking and mountain biking to fishing. Among the nearby attractions are the 283-foot Fish Creek Falls and the splendidly rugged Mt. Zirkel Wilderness Area. To the north, two sparkling man-made lakes, Steamboat and Pearl, each in its own state park, are a draw for those into fishing and sailing. In winter the area is just as popular. Snowshoers and backcountry skiers are permitted to use the west side of Rabbit Ears Pass, whereas snowmobilers are confined to the east side.

The Medicine Bow–Routt National Forest, Hayden District covers 586,000 acres, including the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail and the Encampment River, Huston Park, Savage Run, and Platte River wilderness areas.

You can hike, picnic, fish, ski, snowmobile, and take photographs in the 400,000 acres of Medicine Bow–Routt National Forest, Laramie District, and that is the short list. The Laramie District has 20 developed campgrounds, although some are closed for tree removal; dispersed camping is also allowed. Although the Laramie District administrative office is in Laramie, several of the most easily accessed campgrounds are along scenic Route 130, just west of Centennial. Lodgings such as cabins, forest guard stations, and even a fire lookout tower high in the Snowy Range are available for rent in summer. Pole Mountain, located north of I–80 between Laramie and Cheyenne, is a popular area for recreation and is approximately 55,000 acres in size.

Hike 1½ miles (3 miles round-trip, 500-foot elevation drop and gain) to the small and scenic Merced Grove and its approximately two dozen mature giant sequoias. The setting here is typically uncrowded and serene. Note that you can also park here and hike about 2 miles round-trip to the Tuolumne Grove. Bring plenty of water for either outing. Strenuous.

From much of the Mission Valley and Flathead Indian Reservation you can see the Mission Mountains, on which there's a 73,877-acre wilderness area full of hiking, camping, and fishing opportunities. The area is probably best known as the location of the first formal tribal wilderness area and the 1,000-foot drops of Elizabeth and Mission falls. Glorious McDonald Peak looms at 9,280 feet; it's a favorite of grizzly bears, who gather on the snowfields to eat swarms of cutworm moths and ladybugs. Try the Mission Reservoir Trail for a relatively easy hike up a beautiful valley. Those who aren't tribal members must obtain a recreation permit to hike, fish, and camp here among the mountain lions, lynx, wolverines, black bears, and grizzlies. Recreational permits are available at local grocery and sporting-goods stores and most gas stations. Call the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes at the number below for camping permits and information on the recreation permits.

Come here in spring, when the lilacs, azaleas, and flowering trees on the 120-acre arboretum are in bloom. You can hike through the 1,400 acres or take advantage of the 2-acre dog park on the southwest side of the park. Reservations are required for guided tours.

A 2,694-square-mile forest (it's a little bigger than Delaware), including much of the mountain and forest land around North Cascades National Park, this national forest has miles of trails, but because the snowline is quite low, the upper ridges and mountains are covered much of the year. This makes for a short hiking, climbing, and mountain-biking season, usually from mid-July to mid-September or early October—but winter brings skiing and snowmobiling. The wildflower season is also short, but it's spectacular; expect fall color by late August or early September. The 10,778-foot-high, snow-covered volcanic dome of Mt. Baker is visible from much of Whatcom County and from as far north as Vancouver and as far south as Seattle. The year-round ranger office nearest to this part of the forest is in Glacier, but there's also a summer office in Deming, known as the Heather Meadows Visitor Center, near Artist Point, at very end of the Mt. Baker Highway (Highway 542). At both centers, you can pick up trail maps and get advice on hiking and exploring the northern end of the forest.

This is a region of open woods, meadows, and pastoral river valleys in the Okanogan highlands. There's lots of wildlife: deer, black bears, coyotes, badgers, bobcats, cougars, grouse, hawks, and golden eagles. Campgrounds are scattered throughout the region. There are 11 Sno-Parks with groomed trails for snowmobilers, and open areas for cross-country skiing. Ski areas are at Loup Loup Pass (Nordic and alpine) and Sitzmark (alpine only).

Beaver ponds, hardwood forests, and sun-dappled meadows abound at this preserve run by the Massachusetts Audubon Society. Recent wildlife sightings are noted on whiteboards at the entrance and the visitor center, so you'll know what to watch for on the 7 miles of trails. These include loops that range in difficulty from a half-hour stroll around a pond to a three-hour mountain hike. Trails are also open in winter for snowshoeing. At the visitor center there's a nature play area for children.

The draw here is a natural saltwater spring where Atlantic blue crabs come to spawn each summer.

As you approach Cuchara Pass, several switchbacks snake through rolling grasslands and dance in and out of spruce stands whose clearings afford views of Monument Lake. You can camp, fish, and hike throughout this tranquil part of the San Isabel National Forest, which in spring and summer is emblazoned with a color wheel of wildflowers. Four corkscrewing miles later you'll reach a dirt road that leads to Bear Lake and Blue Lake. The resort town of Cuchara is about 4 miles from the Route 12 turnoff to the lakes.

Hamilton, like Stevensville and Darby, is on the doorstep of the 1.3-million-acre Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness Area and is not far from the Anaconda-Pintler Wilderness Area to the east. Hundreds of miles of trails wend through the forests, where visitors may encounter bears, elk, moose, deer, and bighorn sheep. There are also songbirds and birds of prey such as eagles and owls.

Delicate spring wildflowers, cool summer campgrounds, and varied winter-sports opportunities—not to mention more than half of the world's giant sequoia groves—draw outdoorsy types year-round to this sprawling district surrounding the national parks. Together, the forest and monument cover nearly 1,700 square miles, south from the Kings River and east from the foothills along the San Joaquin Valley. The monument's groves are both north and south of Sequoia National Park. One of the most popular is the Converse Basin Grove, home of the Boole Tree, the forest's largest sequoia. The grove is accessible by car on an unpaved road.

The Hume Lake Forest Service District Office, at 35860 Kings Canyon Scenic Byway (Route 180), has information about the groves, along with details about recreational activities. In springtime, diversions include hiking among the wildflowers that brighten the foothills. The floral display rises with the heat as the mountain elevations warm up in summer, when hikers, campers, and picnickers become more plentiful. The abundant trout supply attracts anglers to area waters, including 87-acre Hume Lake, which is also ideal for swimming and nonmotorized boating. By fall, the turning leaves provide the visual delights, particularly in the Western Divide, Indian Basin, and the Kern Plateau. Winter activities include downhill and cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and snowmobiling.

Established in 1891 as the country's first designated national forest, this 2.4-million-acre tract of alpine woodland, sagebrush flats, and verdant meadows extends west from Cody to Yellowstone National Park (which is roughly the same size). At both the headquarters south of downtown and the Clarks Fork, Greybull, and Wapiti Ranger Districts office on the west side of Cody (E203A Yellowstone Ave., Cody), you can pick up maps, buy permits, and obtain advice on the many activities you can pursue in the forest—hiking, camping, fishing, mountain biking, horseback, snowshoeing, snowmobiling, cross-country skiing—and the best places to enjoy them. Some highlights include the well-preserved ghost town of Kirwin, about 65 miles south of Cody, and the Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone, a designated Wild and Scenic River during its 20½-mile course through the forest about 30 miles northwest of Cody.

At the end of a long and often washboard gravel road, Spotted Bear is a remote entrance into the Bob Marshall Wilderness. You'll find there a ranger station, outfitter's ranch, campground, swimming, and rafting a short distance down the South Fork of the Flathead River to the Hungry Horse Reservoir.

Since opening in 1946, this goofy but endearing roadside attraction has been doling out family fun. The kitschy thrills begin the moment you pull your car up to the 49-foot-tall talking statue of Paul Bunyan alongside Babe the Blue Ox. You can then explore a genuinely informative museum of Native American artifacts, admire intricately carved redwood figures, and browse tacky souvenirs. A six-passenger gondola glides over the redwood treetops for a majestic view of the forest canopy, which you can also experience 50–100 feet high on the Redwood Canopy Trail. At ground level, several mostly easy trails wind through the adjacent forest.

Three rugged, secluded wilderness areas attract backpackers to this 1.4-million-acre forest: the Wenaha-Tucannon, the North Fork Umatilla, and the North Fork John Day. Umatilla is derived from a word in the indigenous Shahaptian language meaning "water rippling over sand," and the forest has its share of fishable rivers and streams as well. Home to the Blue Mountain Scenic Byway and 38 campgrounds, the diverse forestland is found both east and south of Pendleton, and extends south almost as far as John Day, where it borders the Malheur National Forest. To the east it is bordered by the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest. Major thoroughfares through the forest include Interstate 84, U.S. 395, and Highways 204 and 244.

The 2.3-million-acre forest, found both east and west of Baker City, ranges in elevation from 875 feet in the Hells Canyon Wilderness to 9,845 feet in the Eagle Cap Wilderness. There are two other wilderness areas: Monument Rock and North Fork John Day.

Weetamoo Woods takes its name from a formidable female sachem of the Pocasset Wampanoag tribe. There are more than 10 miles of walking trails within this 650-acre town-owned parcel and the adjacent 230-acre Pardon Gray Preserve, which encompass a coastal oak-holly forest, an Atlantic white cedar swamp, two grassland meadows, early-American cellar holes, and the remains of a mid-19th-century village sawmill. The main entrance to Weetamoo Woods, ¼-mile east of Tiverton Four Corners, has a parking area and a kiosk with maps.