10457 Best Sights in USA

Contrasting views of the Hill Country and the downtown skyline make it worth the winding country road trip to this gorgeous nature preserve just west of town. Wander among the 227 acres on a network of walking trails or take a guided tour offered on weekends (by reservation only). The cool folks at the on-site research center (partnered with local St. Edward's University) offer numerous outdoor-oriented classes, nighttime stargazing sessions, and even live concerts by local and touring musicians. Reservations to hike the basin trails are not required on weekdays but highly recommended on weekends. Staff closes the gates whenever the parking area is full.

Formerly Wild Blueberry Land and built to resemble a giant blueberry, this museum's deep-blue geodesic dome is a can't-miss landmark along U.S. 1. Exhibits focus on the native plant’s ecosystem; the canning of the fruit during the Civil War to help feed soldiers; local blueberry farmers; and research efforts to improve management of the wild crop. The gift shop sells items like candles and socks with a blueberry theme or design; books about Maine wild blueberries and the culture it feeds; and foods made with the fruit, such as blueberry jam, vinegar, pie, and chocolate truffles. Outside, look for the wild blueberry patch in the native pollinator garden. 

Part of the Wild Horse Pass resort, this place includes 500 slots, live poker, blackjack, and keno.

The mystique of wolves is powerful and Wild Spirit is one of the few places where you can see them up close, in large enough enclosures that allow them to behave somewhat naturally. The staff at Wild Spirit are focused on educating the public about the dangers of trying to keep these animals, even hybrid wolf dogs, as pets. Camping is allowed on the premises, if you have a hankering to listen to wolf howls, but it's primitive. Guided tours are offered at noon and 3  pm. The gift shop also sells snacks; it closes after the last tour. The on-site Howling Wolf Grill offers hot food on limited days.

With a long list of craft ciders, many seasonal, this casual spot is a great place to try out WildCraft’s locally celebrated wild-ferment ciders, many of which highlight the diversity of the Willamette Valley's apple bounty. Local favorites include the botanical Wild Rose cider (made with locally harvested rose petals) and "perries," unpasteurized pear ciders stored in wax-sealed bottles. WildCraft also has its own event space with regular live music.

In this park's cultural preserve you can visit the homes, barns, workshops, and bunkhouse of a 19th-century dairy farm. Nature has reclaimed most of the ranch land, and native plants and wildlife have returned to the 7,000 acres of forest, grassland, canyons, estuaries, and beaches. Hike, bike, or ride horseback on miles of ocean-view trails. Dogs aren't allowed at Wilder Ranch.

Also called the Bus Depot, this center just inside the park entrance is where you can reserve campgrounds and bus trips into the park. If you arrive after 7 pm, campground reservations are made at the Riley Creek Mercantile until 11 pm. There's also a coffee stand—your last chance for a cup of joe unless you bring the makings for campsite coffee with you.

The main stop to secure backcountry and climbing permits for North Cascades National Park and the Lake Chelan and Ross Lake recreational areas, this office has maps, a bookshop, and nature exhibits. If you arrive after hours or during winter, there's a self-register permit stop outside.

Located behind Olympic National Park Visitor Center, this facility provides all the information you'll need for a trip in the park, including trail conditions, safety tips, and weather bulletins. The office also issues camping permits, takes campground reservations, and loans bear-proof food canisters.

What is now the Wilderness Road Regional Museum was once lodging for settlers making their way west on a Native American route that went from Pennsylvania through the Cumberland Gap. The man who founded the town of Newbern built this house in the same year, and the structure has since served as a private home, a tavern, a post office, and a store. Today the house contains antique dolls, swords and rifles, an old loom, and other artifacts of everyday life. A self-tour map of Newbern, the only Virginia town entirely within a National Register of Historic Places district, is available at the museum.

One of the longest—and smoothest—mountain coasters in the South, this exhilarating ride extends 3,160 feet and reaches 27 mph in one continuous drop. There's also a high ropes adventure course.

The grand, Queen Anne–style Victorian home with a dramatic five-story circular tower was owned by the Suckley family for more than 140 years. The last family member to occupy the estate was Margaret "Daisy" Suckley, a distant cousin and close confidant of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. (The movie Hyde Park on Hudson was based on their relationship). The main floor interiors were designed by New York City decorator Joseph Burr Tiffany, a cousin of the famed stained glass artist. Noted landscape architect Calvert Vaux designed the grounds, which have Hudson River views. There are weekend house tours around Christmas.

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.

Although wildlife-viewing is a possibility on any excursion, several tours are geared specifically toward this purpose, including the Spasski River Valley Wildlife and Bear Search, which entails a bus trip to a nearby meadow, and the Whale and Marine Mammals Cruise to Point Adolphus. Bears are sighted about 70 percent of the time, according to staff, and with whales, that figure climbs to 100 percent (if they don't spot any, you get a refund). Both excursions take about 2½ hours. If you've got more time, the 5-hour Whales, Wildlife and Brown Bear Search allows you to do both tours back-to-back.

An 8.4-mile round-trip trail leads from the Charcoal Kilns (enormous stone structures that were used to create the charcoal needed to extract lead and silver from ore mined in the area) through pinyon pine and juniper woodlands up to Wildrose Peak, a 2,200-foot ascent from the trailhead. Various Death Valley views unfold along the way, and the sweeping vistas from the 9,064-foot peak include Panamint Valley and, on clear days, Mt. Whitney. Difficult

This producer of mostly Spanish varietals, including a homegrown Syrah and Tempranillo, offers tastings on weekends from 11 am to 4 pm and by appointment.

The museum showcases the life and work of Austrian physician, scientist, and writer Wilhelm Reich (1897–1957), who believed that all living matter and the atmosphere contain a force called orgone energy. The hilltop Orgone Energy Observatory exhibits biographical materials, inventions, and equipment used in his experiments, whose results were disputed by the Food and Drug Administration and other government agencies. Stone faces the exterior of the boxy 1949 structure, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A mid-century gem inside and out, Reich's second-floor study, library, and laboratory look as they did in his day, with original sleek modern furniture. The observatory deck has magnificent countryside views. Trails lace the largely forested 175-acre property, known as Orgonon, which has a year-round waterside vacation rental cottage. Reich's tomb sits next to one of his inventions, a cloud accumulator.

Near Fort Worth's museums, this partially restored coliseum–and–stock pen complex was named after the humorist and Fort Worth booster, who described the city as "where the West begins" (and Dallas as "where the East peters out"). The center boasts an equestrian arena that's used for horse and livestock shows. Will Rogers is host to the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo every January.

This clean, sandy, 3-mile beach, with a dozen volleyball nets, gymnastics equipment, and a playground for kids, is an all-around favorite. The surf is gentle, perfect for swimmers and beginning surfers, and crowds are frequently smaller than in other spots along the shore. However, it's best to avoid the beach after a storm, when untreated water flows from storm drains into the sea. Amenities: parking; lifeguards; toilets; food and drink; showers. Best for: sunset; swimming; walking.

A humorist, actor, and rambling cowboy, Will Rogers lived on this site in the 1920s and 1930s. His ranch house, a folksy blend of Navajo rugs and Mission-style furniture, has become a museum of Rogers memorabilia. A short film shown in the visitor center highlights Rogers's roping technique and homey words of wisdom. Open for docent-led tours Thursday through Sunday, the ranch house features Rogers's stuffed practice calf and the high ceiling he raised so he could practice his famed roping style indoors.

Rogers was a polo enthusiast, and in the 1930s his front-yard polo field attracted such friends as Douglas Fairbanks Sr. for weekend games. Today the park's broad lawns are excellent for picnicking, and there are miles of eucalyptus-lined trails for hiking, as well as a horseback riding concession. Free non-holiday weekend games are scheduled from May through October, weather permitting.

Also part of the park is Inspiration Point Trail. Who knows how many of Will Rogers's famed witticisms came to him while he and his wife hiked or rode horses along this trail from their ranch? The point is on a detour off the lovely 2-mile loop, which you can join near the riding stables beyond the parking lot. The panorama is one of L.A.'s widest and most wow-inducing, from the peaks of the San Gabriel Mountains in the east and the Oz-like cluster of Downtown skyscrapers to Catalina Island looming off the coast to the southwest. If you're looking for a longer trip, the top of the loop meets up with the 65-mile Backbone Trail, which connects to Topanga State Park.

Take a trip back in time to experience the story of Oregon's early pioneers and the industrial revolution. The Thomas Kay Woolen Mill Museum complex (circa 1889), complete with working waterwheels and millstream, looks as if the workers have just stepped away for a lunch break. Teasel gigging, napper flock bins, and the patented Furber double-acting napper are but a few of the machines and processes on display. The Jason Lee House, the John D. Boon Home, and the Methodist Parsonage are also part of the village. There is nothing grandiose about these early pioneer homes, the oldest frame structures in the Northwest, but they reveal a great deal about domestic life in the wilds of Oregon in the 1840s.

Along pastoral lowlands by the Willamette River, this serene park holds the largest black cottonwood tree in the United States. A thick-barked behemoth by a small pond, the 275-year-old tree has upraised arms that bring to mind J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional Ents. Site of Reverend Jason Lee's 1834 pioneer mission, the park also offers quiet strolling and picnicking in an old orchard and along the river. The Wheatland Ferry, at the north end of the park, began carrying covered wagons across the Willamette in 1844 and is still in operation today.

Behind the Capitol, across State Street but half a world away, are the brick buildings and grounds of Willamette University, the oldest college in the West. Founded in 1842, Willamette has long been a breeding ground for aspiring politicians. Hatfield Library, built in 1986 on the banks of Mill Stream, is a handsome brick-and-glass building with a striking campanile; tall, prim Waller Hall, built in 1867, is one of the oldest buildings in the Pacific Northwest. It's also home to the Hallie Ford Museum of Art, the third-largest art museum in the state.

A 4-acre beach that swarms on hot summer days with residents and visitors, Willard Beach offers easy swimming and boating, as well as views of Fort Gorges. Convenient and free parking, lifeguards, a snack shack, and restrooms all add to its popularity. Dogs are permitted after sundown in the summer or all day in the off-season. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards; parking (no fee); showers; toilets; water sports. Best for: sunsets; swimming; walking; windsurfing.

Fourteen brilliant stained-glass windows are the centerpiece of the chapel interior, a Louis Comfort Tiffany creation with mosaic-inlay floors and nine leaded-glass chandeliers. It's the only known Tiffany-designed chapel interior still intact. A lunchtime music series is held here in July and August.

If you visit in winter, you can see some of the more than 10,000 sandhill cranes that roost at the Willcox Playa, a 37,000-acre area resembling a dry lake bed 10 miles south of town. They migrate in late fall and head north to nesting sites in February, and bird-watchers migrate to Willcox the third week in January for the annual Wings over Willcox bird-watching event held in their honor.