37 Best Sights in USA

Pirogue Island State Park, a 269-acre chunk of land in the middle of the Yellowstone River, is completely undeveloped; the only way to access the park is by floating down the river or (carefully) fording during low water. The old cottonwood trees are excellent habitat for waterfowl, raptors, and deer, and the geology of the island makes it prime agate-hunting ground.

Tiny green islets rise out of the surging waters of the Bering Sea in the misty, fog-bound Pribilof Islands, where seabirds and northern fur seals breed and feed. Treeless, the small land masses display rippling belts of lush grass contrasting with volcanic rock. In early summer, seals return from far off Pacific waters to mate, and the larger islands, St. Paul and St. George, are overwhelmed with frenzied activity. Although St. Paul and St. George are less than 50 miles apart, the island group itself is a 1,600-mile round-trip from Anchorage, over the massive snowy peaks of the Alaska Peninsula and north of the rocky islands of the Aleutian chain.

Few visitors go to the Pribilofs except commercial fishermen and dedicated bird and animal watchers. Yet together, St. Paul and St. George Islands are seasonal homes to hundreds of thousands of fur seals (about 80 percent of them on St. Paul) and nearly 250 species of birds, some who migrate from as far away as Argentina, while others are year-round residents. Most spectacular of all is the islands' seabird population: each summer more than 2 million seabirds gather at traditional Pribilof nesting grounds and about 90 percent of them breed on St. George.

Wild, wooded, and undeveloped, this 7½-mile-long barrier island, the southernmost part of Cape Lookout National Seashore, is made even more magical by myriad seashells along the shore and about 100 free-roaming horses. Folklore offers two reasons for the Banker ponies' presence. One tale claims they swam ashore from a long-ago Spanish shipwreck, but some locals say early settlers first put these horses to pasture on the island. The island hosted various settlements in the 1800s, but storms drove residents inland. Today, gravestones here and there are the only remaining evidence of the people who lived here. Island access is by kayak, personal watercraft, or ferry only, from Beaufort and Harkers Island, and although primitive camping is allowed (at no fee), there are no amenities aside from composting toilets.

St. George Island is home to more than 100 people and sustains an array of bird and animal life, including fur seals and millions of seabirds. The volcanic landscape features steep cliffs that rise over 1,000 feet above the shoreline. Rarely visited, the island offers bird and animal watchers a remarkable experience. The weather and limited transportation mean flexibility and planning are essential. Saint George the Great Martyr Russian Orthodox Church was built in 1935 and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

This was one of the first of the Upper Keys to be permanently settled. Early homesteaders were so successful at growing pineapples in the rocky soil that, at one time, the island yielded the country's largest annual crop. However, foreign competition and the hurricane of 1935 killed the industry. Today, life centers on fishing and tourism, and the island is filled with everything from bait shops and charter boats to eclectic galleries and fusion restaurants.

Off the west shore of Flathead Lake, the lake's largest island is an ideal day-trip to hike, swim, and watch wildlife. An extensive trail system through one of the last short-grass prairie ecosystems in Montana provides an opportunity to get some exercise and see rare plants, bald eagles, truly wild horses, and full-curl bighorn rams. The only way to reach it is with a boat rental. Big Arm Rentals and Rides (in Big Arm) rents kayaks and power boats, or you can take one of their three daily shuttles.

Originally two islets, this area was first inhabited by Native Americans, who left behind a few traces of their dwellings, and then by farmers and fishermen who built their homes here in the mid-1800s. Henry Flagler bought the land from homesteaders in 1908 for his Florida East Coast Railway, filling in the inlet between what were then called the Umbrella Keys. Today, this is where you'll find Theater of the Sea, the famous Holiday Isle (now Postcard Inn), and Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park.