10457 Best Sights in USA

This informative museum tells the park's story from the perspective of its human inhabitants, among them Ancestral Puebloans and early Mormon settlers. Permanent exhibits illustrate how humans have dealt with wildlife, plants, and natural forces. Temporary exhibits have touched on everything from vintage park-employee photography to the history of Union Pacific Railroad hotels. Don't miss the incredible view of Towers of the Virgin from the back patio.

Two narrow tunnels as old as the park itself lie between the East Entrance and Zion Canyon on this breathtaking 12-mile stretch of Highway 9. One was once the longest man-made tunnel in the world. As you travel the (1.1-mile) passage through solid rock, five arched portals along one side provide fleeting glimpses of cliffs and canyons. When you emerge, you'll find that the landscape has changed dramatically. Large vehicles require traffic control and a $15 permit, available at either park entrance, and have restricted hours of travel. This includes nearly all RVs, trailers, dual-wheel trucks, and campers. The Canyon Overlook Trail starts from a parking area between the tunnels.

Icy Strait Point's ZipRider is a major draw, and there's really no good reason to skip this adventure while you're here. Apart from the bragging rights you'll have earned after riding the world's longest zip line—5,330 feet—the ride is an unforgettable minute and a half, and an experience that can't be re-created elsewhere. This adventure begins with an 8-mile bus ride through the village of Hoonah and up a series of bumpy logging roads to the zip line tower. There, groups of six riders are strapped into their harnesses and released into the air by Icy Strait Point staff. One advantage for the nervous: you can't see over the metal gate while you're being strapped in, so it's easy to forget how high up you are; the zip line has a vertical drop of 1,300 feet. Once in the air, nerves probably won't be an issue, as the spectacular scenery quickly commands attention. There are no age requirements, but riders must be between 90 and 270 pounds.

This zoo has more than 1,500 animals and 200 species from around the world living in naturalistic habitats. The gorillas and tigers are always a hit, as are the giant pandas named Yang Yang and Lun Lun (though they are expected to go back to China in 2024). Children can ride the Nabisco Endangered Species Carousel and meet new friends at the petting zoo, and the whole family can take a ride on the Zoo Train.

At this leafy, 735-acre retreat, hiking paths wind through the trees, paddleboats navigate Porter Lake, and hungry ducks float on a small pond. The zoo, where Theodor Geisel—better known as Dr. Seuss—found inspiration for his children's books, is home to nearly 200 animals, from camels and bobcats to lemurs and wallabies. It's manageable in size, and spotting animals in the exhibits is fairly easy, which makes this an especially good stop for families with small children. Another plus: you can purchase small cones of food from the gift shop to feed many of the animals. Leave time to explore the park after you finish the zoo.

Concise enough to see in a morning but big enough to fill a full day, this top-notch zoo is home to more than 800 animals, including elephants, giraffes, lions, and gorillas. A highlight is the sprawling gibbon exhibit with rope bridges that stretch over pedestrian paths. The petting zoo, miniature train, and splash pad are hits with kids. A permanent exhibit with 22 realistic dinosaurs opened in 2023.

Don't miss a visit to this top-notch zoo, 14 miles southwest of Coral Gables in the Miami suburbs. The only subtropical zoo in the continental United States, it has 320-plus acres that are home to more than 2,000 animals, including 40 endangered species, which roam on islands surrounded by moats. Amazon & Beyond encompasses 27 acres of simulated tropical rain forests showcasing 600 animals indigenous to the region, such as giant river otters, harpy eagles, anacondas, and jaguars. The Wings of Asia aviary has about 300 exotic birds representing 70 species flying free within the junglelike enclosure. Kids love visiting the meerkats and participating in the thrice-daily camel feedings at the Critter Connection exhibit.

Ranging over 70 acres of zoological park and botanical gardens, the zoo has inhabitants evenly divided between those native to the region, such as grizzlies, gray wolves, and bighorn sheep, and the exotic, including Amur tigers, red pandas, and a laughing kookabura. One of the most popular residents is a two-toed sloth named Winston. You’ll also find free-range peacocks and a farm and ranch area featuring a petting zoo. Because there are few zoos in the region, it can be extremely busy here in summer. In winter, the last admission is at 2 pm.

Natural-habitat exhibits such as Safari Africa, where a herd of elephants roams, make the 56-acre ZooTampa one of the country's best midsize facilities. Visit the Asia Gardens to see Komodo dragons and Indian rhinos. Stars of Primate World range from cat-size lemurs to heavyweight Bornean orangutans that love to ham for the camera. The free-flight Main Aviary features up-close looks at myriad winged creatures, as well as a resident sloth.

ZooTampa also emphasizes rehabilitation. The Florida Wilds area offers unobstructed views of panthers, black bears, owls, skunks, and other rescued animals. The David A. Straz, Jr. Manatee Critical Care Center, the world's first nonprofit manatee hospital, cares for critically injured, sick, or orphaned Florida manatees.

This museum, just a few minutes west of Maitland, is in Eatonville, the first African-American town to be incorporated after the Civil War. It showcases works by artists of African descent during five six-week-long exhibitions each year, with one reserved for up-and-comers. The museum is named after former resident Zora Neale Hurston (1891–1960), a writer, folklorist, and anthropologist best known for her novel Their Eyes Were Watching God. This is the home of ZORA!—a three-day cultural, arts, and music festival that's held in late January to celebrate Hurston's life. The museum also has a roster of other events throughout the year.

While demurely posing as a butterfly garden today, this sunken stone grotto has a racy history—tucked between the Casa de Balboa and the Fleet Center, this area showcased a nudist colony during the 1935–36 Exposition.

Near the Chile Pepper Institute, the Zuhl Museum is home to the Zuhl Geological Collection, featuring a rich abundance of petrified-wood samples (vibrant reds and yellows mark the Late Triassic pieces from the Chinle region of Arizona), fossils, minerals, and an oviraptor dinosaur nest.

This 2-mile stretch of white sand, usually dotted with tanning teenagers, has it all, from fishing and kitesurfing to swings and volleyball courts. Beachgoers looking for quiet or privacy should head elsewhere. Stay alert in the water: the surf is rough and inconsistent, and riptides can surprise even experienced swimmers. A new metered parking program limits visits to 90 minutes at a time, but there are abundant spaces. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards; parking (fee); showers; toilets. Best for: partiers; sunset; swimming; walking.

The Zuni Visitor & Arts Center, where the helpful staff will tell you what your options are for exploring Zuni (and about any special events that might be going on), is also a tribally required stop before you begin to explore this most traditional of the New Mexico pueblos. It is here that you must inquire about photography permits and guidelines (cultural and religious activities are always off-limits).

The museum raises curiosity no matter where you look. The redbrick exterior’s carved stonework, stepped facade gable, and terra-cotta roof tiles are modeled after a town hall in Hoorn, in the Netherlands—a nod to Delaware's first Dutch settlement, established in 1631. Inside, displays showcase Lewes-area maritime, military, and social history.

SeaWorld never holds back when it comes to stage shows, and this one, similar in style and feel to Cirque du Soleil, is no exception. It is framed by the story of a fisherman who falls overboard into a new world beneath the waves. The colorful, costumed inhabitants of this underwater kingdom astound the fisherman with their amazing talents on the trampoline, rocket themselves through hoops, and leap onto towering poles and stick to them like chameleons. Acrobats march into the audience with festive Chinese dragons, find wonderful new uses for hula hoops, and perform impressive feats with hanging strips of silk. You might want to see this show twice—there's so much taking place you're likely to miss some wonderful moments. For people with disabilities: Guests using wheelchairs have reserved seating at the rear of the theater. Assisted-listening devices are available. Although the auditorium seats more than 1,000 and you won't feel packed in, arrive at least 15 minutes early for a wider choice of seats. Reserved seats can be arranged through Signature Show Seating.

This intimate spa set amid gracious gardens beside the late-Victorian Madeleine Inn lives up to its name with its lush, peaceful Bali-inspired setting and sumptuous treatments, some of which—like the pumpkin-infused massage, exfoliation, and mask offered in the fall—change seasonally. Master-level massage therapists use all-organic, delectable food-grade ingredients. Among year-round treatments, the Indo-Asian hot-stone massage and Chocolate Decadence facial are highly popular. Most treatments finish with homemade snacks, and a variety of add-ons are available, including 30-minute foot massages and leisurely rose-petal baths in a massive stone tub. Cozy, low-keyed, and eco-friendly (it's certified by the nonprofit Green Spa Network), Absolute Nirvana has more limited facilities than some of Santa Fe's major resorts, but that's a big part of its charm—the price is right, too. It's $120 for a 60-minute massage and $355–$395 for a half-day spa package.

In Kapaau, browse through this longtime gallery's collections of local art, including glass, woodworks, bowls, fine art photography, and paintings. There's also a small café and gift shop a couple of doors away.

This former archaeological site includes portions of an Ancestral Puebloan (Anasazi) village occupied most likely sometime between AD 1050 and 1200, a small but informative museum with artifacts discovered on-site, and a reconstructed pueblo dwelling.

At the height of mating season, upward of 4,000 elephant seals congregate at Año Nuevo, one of the world's few approachable mainland rookeries. The seals are both vocal and spectacularly big (especially the males, which can weigh up to 2½ tons). A moderate, 3- to 4-mile round-trip walk takes you to the dunes, from which you can look down onto the animals lounging on the shoreline. During mating season (from mid-December through March), visitors may do the hike only as part of a 2½-hour guided tour, for which reservations should be made. The area's visitor center has a fascinating film about the seals and some natural-history exhibits (including a sea otter's pelt that you can touch). Dogs are not allowed.

SeaWorld's four-acre "continent" centers around an attraction that's a fun-filled Arctic trek. After walking through a realistic ice floe, you leave the preshow and board a circular vehicle that glides, track-free, on a polar journey. Choose mild (no extra motion) or wild (a low-grade virtual-reality ride) as you follow the life of Puck the penguin as he travels through blizzards, past hungry sea lions, and through an ice cave. Eventually, you leave this virtual world and arrive in a massive real-life room where Puck's relations, a colony of approximately 250 always-entertaining Adélie, gentoo, king, and rock hopper penguins, are diving, waddling, and swimming like darts. Unlike the former attraction where the penguins lived behind Plexiglas, now you can step up to a low wall and watch them cavort in their private empire. All in all, this is a thoroughly entertaining educational experience. For people with disabilities: Guests using wheelchairs must transfer into the ride vehicle; a separate line is available if you'd prefer to bypass the ride and just visit the penguin exhibit.

Just outside the Lawrence train station a large sign heralds upcoming bands—who play metal, mariachi, and much more—in a dreamy, Moorish-style ballroom that was built in 1926.

The tiny but free Arts & Crafts Museum remains the best place to see fine historic and contemporary Jicarilla baskets, beadwork, and pottery. It's also the place to inquire about tours, events, and any tourism restrictions in place because of ceremonial activities.

The view is the best part of this picnic spot opposite Balanced Rock parking area. There's no water, but there are tables. If you sit just right you might find some shade under a small juniper; otherwise, this is an exposed site. Pit toilets are nearby.

Hand puppets, rod puppets, body puppets, shadow puppets, marionettes—this museum has more than 2,500 puppets in its extraordinary collection. Many are the work of Frank Ballard, a master of puppetry who established the country's first complete undergraduate and graduate degree programs in puppetry at the University of Connecticut. If you're lucky you might even catch Oscar the Grouch from Sesame Street on display.

In early December the park hosts the Red Rock Balloon Rally; although it's smaller in scale than Albuquerque's international extravaganza, some 200 balloons ascending amid the smooth-faced sandstone cliffs makes this one special.

Affiliated with Big Bend Ranch State Park of Texas, this visitor center offers a self-guided walking tour through a 2½-acre landscaped desert garden. It's a good way to get acquainted with the Trans-Pecos region before adventuring to either the national or state park. Also on the grounds are an interpretive center, a covered picnic area, a bookstore, and a gift shop.

Sitting on 7½ acres of national park land at the base of the Golden Gate Bridge, this indoor-outdoor nonprofit children’s museum offers entertaining and enlightening hands-on exhibits for younger children. Kids can stretch their creativity and develop early STEM skills as they navigate wind tunnels, fish from a boat at the indoor wharf, configure oversized foam blocks in the Imagination Playground, and play outdoors among the tide pools, gravel pits, shipwrecks, and caves of Lookout Cove. At the multisensory Tot Spot, toddlers and preschoolers dress up in animal costumes and crawl through miniature tunnels.