98 Best Sights in USA

On a walking tour of this 20-acre working coffee farm (by advance reservation only), visitors can witness the workings of a small plantation, pick and pulp their own coffee beans, watch a roasting demonstration, and savor a tasting. Lee and Karen Patterson have perfected their coffee over many years, winning local cupping competitions. The gift shop carries whole beans and logo swag including bags, T-shirts, and mugs. Coffee brewing workshops and one-on-one tours with a master roaster are also offered.

The Interlock is your one-stop-shop for all things dining, entertainment, shopping and relaxation. It’s truly a go-to destination nestled within the Westside, with no shortage of restaurants, ranging from Velvet Taco Tex-Mex to the à la carte sushi eatery, Kinjo Room. Looking for entertainment? Check out Puttshack for high-tech minigolf. Afterwards, head upstairs to Rooftop L.O.A., a restaurant and pool club. After a long day of exploring, get a room at the Bellyard, a boutique hotel with its own private dining area.

This popular small-batch brewery outgrew its first location, so "The Ranch" is now its sole outpost. Housing a taproom, event space, and brewing facility in 15,000 square feet, it doesn't disappoint. Available beers include a year-round standard selection, along with seasonal brews and special selections. The taproom serves a limited menu, but you can bring your own food and food trucks are typically on-site. Tours of the brewing facility, which typically last 45 minutes, are available and are open to children at a discount and with reservations. The patio is considered one of the best in town and dogs are welcome. Weekly events include trivia nights and group jogs.

Atop Lighthouse Hill sits this replica of a tranquil Tibetan monastery so impressive, it's listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Founded by an American collector of Tibetan art, it's partly a museum comprising a temple and a garden, holding her formidable collection of Tibetan and Himalayan sculpture, paintings, and artifacts. It's also an active community center for visitors to mediate, practice yoga or tai chi, or attend other events posted on their website's calendar. Views from their terrace truly transport you to another place, far from an urban center.

This complex occupies the site where Union general William T. Sherman orchestrated the Battle of Atlanta (1864). The museum and archives detail the political career of former president Jimmy Carter. The adjacent Carter Center, which is not open to the public, focuses on conflict resolution and human-rights issues. Outside, the Japanese-style garden is a serene spot to unwind.

Shallow and easily accessible, this salt-and-pepper beach is one of the Big Island's most popular swimming and snorkeling sites, thanks to the fringing reef that helps keep the waters calm, visibility high, and reef life—especially honu (green sea turtles) and colorful fish—plentiful. Kahaluu was a favorite of the Hawaiian royal family, too. Because it is so protected, it's great for first-time snorkelers. Avoid areas marked off for coral regrowth and be sure to use reef-safe sunscreen. Outside the reef, very strong rip currents can run, so caution is advised. Listen to lifeguard instructions. Never hand-feed the unusually tame reef fish here; it upsets the balance of the reef.

Experienced surfers find good waves beyond the reef, and scuba divers like the shore dives—shallow ones inside the breakwater, deeper ones outside. Snorkel equipment and boards are available for rent nearby, and surf schools operate here. A community group has provided reef-safe sunscreen dispensers on-site. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards; parking (small fee); showers; toilets. Best for: snorkeling; surfing; swimming.

On the northernmost stretch of the park's coastline, this lovely beach fronts an absolutely beautiful bay with crystal-clear, deep aquamarine water. It's peaceful in summer, but the park's paved entrance, amenities, and parking lot make the beach very accessible and, as a result, often crowded. Fine white sand sits in stark contrast to old black lava flows, and there's little shade—bring umbrellas. Rocky shores on either side protect the beach from afternoon winds and offer some fabulous snorkeling spots. Gates open daily from 8 to 7. In winter, surf can get rough, and often the sand washes away. Amenities: parking (no fee); showers; toilets. Best for: surfing; swimming.

South of the Kobuk River, the Great Kobuk (the largest active, high-altitude dune field on Earth), Little Kobuk, and Hunt River Sand Dunes—stabilized by small trees, shrubs, and the lichen that's typical of the tundra—cover much of the southern Kobuk Valley. They formed when glaciers slowly pulverized mountain rock into sand that washed into the valley during the last ice age. Of note, a flowering herb called the Kobuk locoweed is only found on the slopes of the Great Kobuk Sand Dunes. Most outfitters and air taxis that operate in the Arctic will take visitors to the sand dunes.

If you've been driving too long and want a place to stretch your legs, unbeatable views of the Smokies, and an ecological lesson, take the ½-mile (1-mile round-trip) trail from the Kuwohi Visitor Center parking lot to the observation tower at the top of Kuwohi, the highest peak in the Smokies. The tower itself is a spiraling, concrete architectural marvel. While paved, the trail is fairly steep, and at 6,643 feet of elevation, you'll probably be gasping for air. Previously known as "Clingmans Dome," the mountain was formally renamed Kuwohi—its original Cherokee name, meaning "mulberry place"—in 2024. Many of the fir trees here are dead, killed by an alien invader—the balsam woolly adelgid. There's a small visitor information station on the trail. In the parking lot, often full in season, there are restrooms. Moderate. If the paved trail isn't appealing, you can use the Kuwohi Bypass Trail and the Appalachian Trail as an alternative, or make it a loop.

This 5.1-mile loop (if Cucumber Gap and Jakes Creek trails are included) offers a little of everything—historical buildings, a waterfall, and wildflowers. The first part of the trail wanders up the Little River, past remnants of old logging operations and cottages that were once the summer homes of wealthy Tennesseans. You'll see several inviting swimming holes, beautiful cascades, and perhaps a person or two fly-fishing. Huskey Branch Falls appears at about 2 miles. The Little River Trail passes a junction with three other trails, offering the possibility for even longer hikes—Cucumber Gap at 2.3 miles, Huskey Gap at 2.7 miles, and Goshen Prong Trail at 3.7 miles. The trail is normally open even in winter. This is the habitat of the synchronous fireflies, which put on their light show on late May and June evenings. Moderate.

The visitor center, perched on the ridgetop just above the cave's renowned Historic Entrance, is the hub of all park activity. All cave tours begin and end here, as well as all other ranger-led activities. This is where you purchase and pick up tickets and backcountry camping permits, shop for books and souvenirs at the bookstore and gift areas, and find the restrooms. The visitor center is connected by a short footbridge to the food service areas at the Lodge at Mammoth Cave. The information desk is centrally located, with tour schedules prominently posted, and maps available. This is also the place where young people start and complete the Junior Ranger Program. The visitor center includes a large museum space with exhibits that enrich visitors with an understanding of the park's complex nature, culture, and communities—a visit here is recommended before you tour the cave. The visitor center is also the embarkation point for many of the 14 miles of trails in the area.

Spring through fall, one of the state's few remaining drive-in theaters (family-run since 1954) shows movies (including first-run and double features) on its three big screens. There's a huge flea market held on the grounds every Sunday, rain or shine, from 8 am to 2 pm. You can bring leashed dogs to the movies—but no barking!

This family-owned apple orchard has been producing delicious apples and other fruits for more than 75 years. Apple season is typically from September to November, but even outside the season you can stop in at Mercier's huge farm market and bakery to pick up some of its famous fried apple pies and other homemade goodies. It's open every day of the week. You can also grab lunch in the deli and taste Mercier's own hard-pressed ciders in the farm winery. The orchard is especially buzzing with activity in the fall, when you can take a tractor ride and pick your own apples, and in the summer when blueberry season arrives. Call ahead to find out what fruits are in season and for the latest details on orchard events.

This coffee producer offers hourly "bean-to-cup" tours, including a tasting and access to the processing plant, which shows dry milling, sizing, coloring, sorting, and roasting. For $10, take the lava tube/nature walk in the cloud forest ecosystem. There's a small retail store where you can purchase coffee and souvenirs. Remember that afternoon rains are common at this elevation, so bring an umbrella and sturdy shoes.

Spend enough time around the Smokies and you'll see pictures of an octagonal stone building atop a mountain. This is the fire lookout atop Mt. Cammerer, and it's open to the public if you're willing to walk the 11.1-mile round trip (and 3,000 feet of elevation gain) up the Low Gap Trail from Cosby Campground. The effort is worth it for panoramic 360-degree views of the eastern half of the park. Adding to the wonder, the summit is on a windblown ridge, creating an otherworldly habitat of trees that only grow head high. For the truly adventurous, the Lower Mt. Cammerer Trail lets you turn the hike into a 16.2-mile loop. Difficult  

It's all about the ladies at this Latina-owned and female-run brewery in the Mexican-American neighborhood of Barrio Logan. Female empowerment comes through in many of the beer names, like La Jefa, Amor a La Mexicana, and La Soltera. Check their socials for themed events, and don't miss the tacos and micheladas.

This stunning destination for the international wood-art community cultivates and promotes education and creative expression of the form. Rebranded in 2023 to include the word "museum" in its name, this space features a two-floor, light-filled museum showcasing more than a thousand beautiful pieces of artwork all made from wood. The gift shop is stocked with gorgeous handmade works, some by accomplished artists whose works are on display, including those who are a part of the organization's annual Windgate Wood Arts Residency Program (WARP).

Nags Head is home to some of the Southeastern U.S. coastline's most compelling topography, and its forested ridges and valleys can be explored at this 1,200-acre preserve operated by the Nature Conservancy. Take a 3.3-mile loop hike to a seasonal pond or walk the short ADA-compliant trail through the woods. Look out for deer, 50 species of reptiles and amphibians, and more than 150 species of birds. Don't underestimate your hike—there are short but steep sandy ascents throughout this ecosystem of ancient sand dunes.

A 306,000-gallon habitat for sharks, fish, and a sea turtle—built around a replica of a German submarine (sunk nearby in 1942)—is the largest aquarium tank in the state. There's also a tank with a replica debris field of Blackbeard's flagship, the Queen Anne's Revenge, and a river otter exhibit. But the biggest standout of this location among the three major North Carolina aquariums is a 0.6-mile nature trail that winds through a wooded peninsula until its terminus on Bogue Sound, with nearly 360-degree views of the marsh and water.

Established in 1850 in the Victorian style, Atlanta's oldest cemetery was designed to serve as a public park as well as a burial ground. Some of the 70,000 permanent residents include six governors, five Confederate generals, and 6,900 Confederate soldiers. Also here are novelist Margaret Mitchell and golfing great Bobby Jones. You can bring a picnic lunch or take a tour conducted by the Historic Oakland Foundation. The King Memorial MARTA station on the east–west line also serves the cemetery.

Founded by 13 visionary women in 1962 and one of the earliest contemporary art museums in California, the OCMA opened in 2022 in its new home at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa. Designed by award-winning architect Thom Mayne, OCMA's striking 53,000-square-foot building has 25,000 square feet of free-flowing gallery space to house its extensive collection of more than 4,500 works produced in the 20th and 21st centuries by artists with ties to California. Outside, a grand staircase provides amphitheater seating and serves as a community gathering point, inspired by the steps at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. There is a bar, café, and sculpture terrace on Level 2. 

Founded to serve the sugar plantation community, this little town is reminiscent of the Wild West, with its wooden boardwalks and vintage buildings. Secondhand stores, tie-dye/hemp clothing boutiques, smoke shops, and art and antiques galleries add to the "trippy" experience. In 2014, lava flows from Kilauea almost intruded into the town, destroying a couple of farmers' sheds as residents braced for the worst when plumes billowed in the near distance and flows glowed after dark. Then it all stopped within 500 yards of Pahoa Village Road, again ensuring the town's status as a survivor—until 2018, when Pahoa became command central for disaster assistance, Hawaii County Civil Defense, and reporters covering the nearby destructive eruption of Kilauea. Today Pahoa's funky main street—with buildings dating from 1910—boasts a handful of excellent, local-style eateries. To get here, turn southeast onto Highway 130 at Keaau, drive 11 miles and follow signs to the Village. (Traffic on Highway 130 can back up during rush hour.)

Artist and film director Julian Schnabel lives here. But that's not why it's worth making a point to stand across the street and marvel at this pink structure of wonder. Plopped atop a former horse stable, this 12-floor pink Venetian-style palace rises 170 feet above the low-level skyline of the West Village. The facade is highlighted by Renaissance-style porticos and the name engraved halfway up, Palazzo Chupi—a reference to a popular brand of Spanish lollipop and the pet name for Schnabel's wife. When it was completed in 2008, there were rumors that various celebrities—Bono, Madonna, the Olsen Twins—were going to buy one of the five apartments inside. (The only famous person who actually did buy a place was actor Richard Gere.) The building immediately became a divisive flashpoint for West Villagers: some passionately hated it while others loved it. Over time, the haters have thinned out and now most locals love Palazzo Chupi.

This world-class art museum, housed in a building by famed architect E. Stewart Williams, focuses on photography, modern architecture, contemporary glass, and fine art. Outside, you're greeted by several large-scale works, including Seward Johnson's 26-foot, 34,000-pound Forever Marilyn statue, which depicts the actress in the iconic, billowing-dress Seven Year Itch pose. Inside, 28 bright, open galleries contain permanent-collection works and photos by such artists as Dale Chihuly, Allen Houser, Deborah Butterfield, Ginny Ruffner, Mark Di Suvero, Julius Shulman, and William Morris. Other highlights include enormous Native American baskets, as well as furniture handcrafted by the late actor George Montgomery.

A 433-seat theater and an 85-seat hall present plays, concerts, lectures, operas, and other cultural events while two gardens are filled with sculptures. There's a great gift shop for classier souvenirs. Free Thursday nights are accompanied by DJ performances. Note, too, that the museum operates a separate Architecture and Design Center ( 300 S. Palm Canyon Dr.), which, coincidentally, is housed within a former savings-and-loan office also built by Williams.

The Bronx certainly has a reputation of being relentlessly urban, but there are parks in abundance, including the largest city park across the five boroughs (in terms of land area): Pelham Bay Park, a sprawling landscape of marshland and woods laced with nature trails for both human and horse feet. (There's horseback riding at the Bronx Equestrian Center on Shore Road.) The Bronx's only public beach, the 1.1-mile-long Orchard Beach offers views of Long Island Sound, along with a pavilion and snack bars. The incongruous Bartow-Pell Mansion ( www.bartowpellmansionmuseum.org), built in the Greek Revival style in the 1830s, has exhibits of period furniture and historic Bronx memorabilia, plus manicured gardens and a carriage house. The park also holds two golf courses, miniature golf, sports fields, playgrounds, and miles of paved biking paths.

Petco Park is home to the city's major league baseball team, the San Diego Padres. The ballpark is strategically designed to give fans a view of San Diego Bay, the skyline, and Balboa Park. Reflecting San Diego's beauty, the stadium is clad in sandstone from India to evoke the area's cliffs and beaches; the 39,860 seats are dark blue, reminiscent of the ocean, and the exposed steel is painted white to reflect the sails of harbor boats on the bay. The family-friendly lawnlike berm, "Park at the Park," is a popular and affordable place for fans to view the game, which brings the total capacity to over 42,000. The ballpark is known for an exceptional variety of local food vendors and craft breweries, including burgers from local icon Hodad's, garlic fries from family-owned Gaglione Brothers, "Cardiff Crack" nachos from Seaside Market, and slices and brews from Pizza Port. Behind-the-scenes guided tours of Petco, including the press box and the dugout, are offered throughout the year.

Ever since the 1910s, archaeologists have been coming to this rural area to excavate rare natural treasures, including dinosaur bones, eggs, skeletons, and fossilized tracks. These are all on exhibit at Utah State University Eastern's Prehistoric Museum. For families, this museum offers a small but excellent kids' discovery area where children can experiment with excavating dino bones all on their own. A second hall is devoted to indigenous peoples, with displays of beadwork, clay figurines, a walk-in teepee, and other area artifacts. You can't miss the museum's gigantic mammoth and saber-toothed tiger replicas.

Spanning the length of Beaufort's waterfront, just across Taylor's Creek, this 2,315-acre reserve consists of islands and marshes that serve as a seasonal home to more than 200 bird species and the permanent home to a small herd of wild horses. There's a short nature trail on Carrot Island, or walk the beach on Sand Dollar Island. Access is via boat or kayak.

All the good craft cocktail bars in Maine stock Bimini Gin, the flagship spirit of this distillery located in a 150-year-old textile mill on the Saco River, because of its smooth drinkability. The distilling process achieves this by promoting the juniper berries’ floral and fruity—not its piney—flavors. Sit at the well-designed bar for a gin tasting or cocktail and snacks, or pick up a bottle of house-made spirits to go.

The Boston beer company's Jamaica Plain facility is where it conducts research and develops new products. A variety of tours (21-plus only) are available at different price points, all including samples; most tours must be booked online (though a few spots are reserved for walk-ins). Whether you take a tour or not, you can enjoy a beer in the taproom, which is open daily, or the beer garden, in nice weather. Parking is limited, so consider taking the T to Stony Brook.