10405 Best Sights in USA

Located halfway along the ½-mile Heritage Trail, the overlook provides views of the Green River Valley and surrounding hills, with an outdoor exhibit panel about the history of the formation of Mammoth Cave National Park. Accessible.

A series of forested switchbacks along this trail descend from Sunset Point Overlook on the Heritage Trail to the river bottom just above River Styx Spring. The trail is narrow and the footing uneven, so use caution. Taking the trail upward can be moderately strenuous. 0.3 mile. Moderate.

There are tables and bathrooms at this overlook.

You won't find many wineries situated in more unusual buildings than this early-1900s flour mill with huge grain elevators that soar over the southern end of The Dalles's downtown. Inside this dramatic old structure that once nearly fell to the wrecking ball, you'll find the tasting room for both Quenett—which produces first-rate Grenache, Viognier, Sangiovese, and others—and Oregon Mountain Estate, which is known for refined Pinot Noirs. Drive-in movies are shown many weekends.

The best place to learn about the "Dutchman" Jacob Waltz and the Lost Dutchman Mine is at Superstition Mountain Museum. Exhibits include a collection of mining tools, historical maps, and artifacts relating to the "gold" age of the Superstition Mountains.

This is a great place to cool off from the hot central Washington sunshine, with an Olympic-size pool, two 200-foot waterslides, a tube slide, a "baby octopus" slide, and diving boards.

A dozen tasting rooms of limited-production wineries occupy renovated warehouse spaces west of the beach. MJA, Sones Cellars, Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard, and Equinox are good places to start. Also here are the Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing Company and El Salchichero, popular for its homemade sausages, jams, and pickled and candied vegetables.

It takes goats to make goat cheese, and they've got plenty of both at this 42-acre farm. The owners make more than two dozen kinds of goat cheese, from the plain, creamy "Udderly Delicious" to more exotic varieties that include tropical ingredients; all are available in the dairy store, along with gift baskets and even goat-milk soaps. Thirty-minute walking tours of the dairy and farm are held throughout the day, or you can opt for the educational and fun Evening Chores and Milking Tour. Online tour reservations are recommended. 

Dubbed "the Family Beach," this small strand just south of Myrtle Beach offers up about 2 miles of white sand. Here, the hotel high-rises, bright lights, and big city of Myrtle Beach disappear, replaced by beach houses, cottages, and peaceful views. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards (May–September); parking (lots with meters at 12 out of 36 beach access areas); showers; toilets. Best for: solitude; sunrise; surfing; swimming; walking.

Nearly 10 miles round-trip, this rigorous all-day out-and-back hike starts at Lupine Meadows and switches back through steep pines and flowered meadows to Surprise Lake and the regal Amphitheater Lake, tucked away in an expansive rock basin. The trail weaves out for views of the sprawling valley, while Disappointment Peak looms above. Get to the trail early and allow six to eight hours to tackle the 3,070-foot gain. Difficult.

The Surratt House Museum, once a house and tavern, is where John Wilkes Booth sought refuge after assassinating President Lincoln. For her role in the conspiracy, Mary Surratt became the first woman to be executed by the federal government. She was said to have told one of her tenants to get the "shooting irons ready" for Booth as he was fleeing after the assassination. You can trace Booth's escape route on an electronic map at the visitor center. Costumed docents give tours of the house, talk about 19th-century life in Prince George's County, and discuss the Civil War, but they won't get into debates about Surratt's innocence or guilt. The Surratt Society sponsors a 12-hour John Wilkes Booth escape route tour in April and September that covers the 12 days Booth spent on the run in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC.

This museum celebrates the extraordinary life and legacy of Susan B. Anthony, who played a pivotal role in winning women the right to vote. In addition to viewing suffrage mementos, you can learn about the abolition and temperance movements, in which she also participated. 

The west-side street where suffragist Susan B. Anthony lived from 1866 until her death in 1906 looks much like it did in her day. The tree out has been replaced by two smaller chestnuts, but many of the neighboring houses still look the same. You can tour the three-story redbrick Victorian and picture Anthony working to get women the right to vote. The visitor center next door was the home of a sister. A park one block north has a statue of Anthony and friend Frederick Douglass having tea.

As war stories go, the most defining for Texas is, of course, the Alamo. While Davy Crockett and James Bowie are the famous names you’ll hear linked with that infamous 1836 battle, it was Susanna Dickinson who, as the brave survivor, carried the news of its fall to Sam Houston. The historic frontier woman became a renowned Texas figure and was dubbed the “Messenger of the Alamo.” Today, her "rubble rock" home, located on the historic Brushy Square Plaza, is open to the public. It showcases her personal belongings and artifacts in a permanent exhibit, with occasional traveling exhibits related to the Alamo and the Republic of Texas era.

The Susquehanna Museum, at the southern terminal of the defunct Susquehanna and Tidewater Canal, tells the history of the canal and the people who lived and worked there. From 1839 until 1890 the canal ran 45 mi north to Wrightsville, Pennsylvania. It was a thoroughfare for mule-drawn barges loaded with iron ore, coal, and crops. The museum, in a lock tender's cottage built in 1840, is partially furnished with modest mid-century antiques that recall its period of service.

Along the oceanfront, to the north of the Cliff House, lie the ruins of the once-grand glass-roof Sutro Baths. Today visitors can explore this evocative historical site and listen to the pounding surf. Adolph Sutro, eccentric onetime San Francisco mayor, built the bath complex in 1896 so that everyday folks could enjoy the benefits of swimming. Six enormous baths—freshwater and seawater—and more than 500 dressing rooms plus several restaurants covered 3 acres and accommodated 25,000 bathers. Likened to Roman baths in a European glass palace, the baths were for decades a favorite destination of San Franciscans. The complex fell into disuse after World War II, was closed in 1952, and burned down (under questionable circumstances) during demolition in 1966. To get here, park in the main Lands End parking lot and walk down toward the ruins by the ocean.

Crows and other large birds battle the heady breezes at this cliff-top park on what were once the grounds of the home of Adolph Sutro, an eccentric mining engineer and former San Francisco mayor. An extremely wealthy man, Sutro may have owned about 10% of San Francisco at one point, but he couldn't buy good taste: a few remnants of his gaudy, faux-classical statue collection still stand (including the lions at what was the main gate). Monterey cypresses and Canary Island palms dot the park, and photos on placards depict what things looked like before the house burned down in 1896.

All that remains of the main house is its foundation. Climb up for a sweeping view of the Pacific Ocean and the Cliff House below (which Sutro once owned), and try to imagine what the perspective might have been like from one of the upper floors. San Francisco City Guides ( 415/557–4266  sfcityguides.org) runs a free Saturday tour of the park that starts at 2 pm; you must reserve ahead.

Nearby office buildings tower over Sacramento's earliest Euro-American settlement, founded in 1839 by German-born Swiss immigrant John Augustus Sutter. A self-guided tour includes a blacksmith's shop, bakery, jail, living quarters, and livestock areas. Staff and docents sometimes demonstrate crafts, food preparation, and other circa-1840s activities.

Maintained by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, this main entrance to the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge offers a visitor center, café, guided boat tours, equipment rental, and outstanding access to the open areas at the core of the refuge. The Chesser, Grand, and Mizell Prairies branch off the man-made Suwannee Canal and contain small natural lakes and gator holes. Speaking of gators, with some 15,000 residing in the refuge, you are certain to see some sunning on the banks or gliding through the sleek black waters. The prairies are excellent spots for sportfishing and birding. There's also 50-foot observation tower offering breathtaking views of the wilderness. Hikers, bicyclists, and private motor vehicles are welcome on Swamp Island Drive; several interpretive walking trails may be taken along the way. Picnicking is permitted.

Located in the gold-domed Swain County Courthouse dating from 1908, this charming museum has displays on the history of settlers of this mountain area, including a one-room schoolhouse and a log cabin. It also serves as a visitor information center for both Bryson City, Swain County, and Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

At Swallow Falls State Park, paths wind along the Youghiogheny River, past shaded rocky gorges and rippling rapids, to a 53-foot waterfall. One of Maryland's hidden gems, the park is also known for its assemblage of 300-year-old hemlocks and for excellent camping, hiking, and fishing facilities.

The palms and the golden lotus-flower domes of the nearby Self-Realization Fellowship temple and ashram earned this picturesque beach, also a top surfing spot (it's one of the few spots that can hold a massive winter swell), its name. Extreme low tides expose tide pools that harbor anemones, starfish, and other sea life. The only access is by a long stairway leading down from the cliff-top Swami's Seaside Park, where there's free parking. A shower is at the base of the steps. On big winter swells, the bluffs are lined with gawkers watching the area's best surfers take on—and be taken down by—some of the county's best big waves. The beach has flat, packed sand and can accumulate seaweed and some flies, so if lying out is your main objective, you might want to head north to Moonlight Beach. Offshore, divers do their thing at North County's underwater park, Encinitas Marine Life Refuge. The small park next to the Swami's parking lot offers shade trees, picnic tables, barbecues, and clean bathrooms. Across the street is the cheerful Swami's Cafe, where surfers refuel postsurf. Amenities: lifeguards; parking (no fee); showers; toilets. Best for: snorkeling; surfing; swimming.

Originally opened in 1955, this is one of only five drive-in movie theaters operating in Georgia. You can take in a movie under the stars and fill up on corn dogs, onion rings, funnel cakes, and popcorn from the concession stand.

Home to more than 100 migratory and native birds (most notably sandhill cranes) and small critters (like the spotted frog), as well as foxes, deer, elk, moose, and coyotes, this 1,200-acre preserve is both a bird-watchers' paradise and an example of land restoration in action. Naturalist-led walks, snowshoe tours in winter, and other events are hosted here throughout the year. The EcoCenter is filled with interactive exhibits, such as a climbing wall with microphones emitting the sounds of the wetlands as climbers move through habitats. The facility serves as an exhibit in itself, given its eco-friendly construction, incorporating everything from recycled denim insulation to solar panels. More than 10 miles of hiking and biking trails and 15 wetland ponds give visitors a great place to unwind and get away from the urban life.

This estate vineyard lies on a prime sloping hillside in the heart of the Willamette Valley appellation. It also supplies grapes to several award-winning wineries. Bring a picnic and enjoy the amazing view from the lawn outside the tasting room, or take advantage of the food available for purchase. Friday-night tastings are embellished with cheese pairings and live music. They also have a second tasting room in the 5th Street Public Market.

Though technically within Saguaro West, this trail is on the eastern edge of the district (and closer to town), and affords access to Wasson Peak from the eastern side of the Tucson Mountains. After gradually climbing 3.4 miles, it ends at King Canyon Trail (which would then take you on a fairly steep 1.2-mile climb to Wasson Peak). Long and meandering, this little-used trail allows more privacy to enjoy the natural surroundings than some of the more frequently used trails. Moderate.

This isolated homestead belonged to Oscar and Emma Swett and their nine children through most of the 1900s. The U.S. Forest Service has turned the ranch into a working historical site, complete with restored and decorated houses and buildings.

The Many Glacier Hotel is perched on the shores of Swiftcurrent Lake. The views here are some of the park's prettiest, taking in the mountains that rise more than 3,000 feet immediately west of the lake. Scenic boat tours ply the waters and transport hikers to trails that lead to other lakes and glaciers in the park's Many Glacier region.