263 Best Sights in USA

This spectacular stretch of sand at Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park's northern end has a grassy picnic area with tables, firepits, and restrooms, and there's a stunning overlook just to the south.

A mile or so past Moro Rock, this comparatively remote picnic area has meadow views and is close to a lovely hiking trail. Tables are under the giant sequoias, off the parking area. There are restrooms. Fires are not allowed.

American crocodiles, mangrove cuckoos, white-crowned pigeons, mahogany mistletoe, wild cotton, and 100 other rare critters and plants inhabit these 2,400 acres, between Crocodile Lake National Wildlife Refuge and the waters of Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. The park is also a user-friendly place to explore the largest remaining stand of the vast West Indian tropical hardwood hammock and mangrove wetland that once covered most of the Keys.

If you love street art, take a stroll along the DC Alley Museum, funded by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities Public Art Building Communities Program. Local artists take turns creating art in the many garages surrounding Blagden Alley in Shaw. The murals take on local issues, social justice, and women's rights. The museum is open-air, and you can go whenever you choose as there are no admission charges. You can find more details about the artists and the art on the website.

No matter whether you visit on foot, bike, or bus, you'll want to utilize the Denali road system as much as possible. Personal vehicles are only allowed the first 15 miles of the 92-mile long road, and most of the best potential views and wildlife are beyond this 15-mile marker. The view from the Eielson Visitor Center and Wonder Lake are the park's most iconic and these are located at miles 66 and 85, respectively.

But amazing views of the rolling tundra, foothills, and grizzly bears can be had almost anywhere. Take your time and if possible, spend multiple days either taking bus tours, hiking, or biking through the park to give yourself the best chance of an unforgettable view or wildlife encounter.

While the park is never technically closed, much of the road is snowed in during the winter months. Depending on the snowfall, travel along the park road can be hampered in spring and fall as well. The road is generally open up to Mountain Vista (mile 13) by mid-February. Check the park's website before visiting to stay up-to-date on any road closures. 

Salmon are integral to life in Southeast Alaska, and Alaskans are proud of their healthy fisheries. A visit to the hatchery is a great introduction to the complex considerations involved in maintaining the continued vitality of this crucial resource. Watch through an underwater window as salmon fight their way up a fish ladder from mid-June to mid-October. Inside the busy hatchery, which produces almost 125 million young salmon annually, you will learn about the environmental considerations of commercial fishermen and the lives of salmon. A retail shop sells gifts and salmon products. The salmon hatchery is part of a larger nonprofit, Douglas Island Pink and Chum, Inc., and is usually referred to locally by its acronym, DIPAC.

Pineapple plantation days are nearly defunct in Hawaii, but you can still celebrate the state's famous golden fruit at this promotional center with exhibits, a huge gift shop, a snack concession, educational displays, and one of the world's largest mazes. Take the self-guided Garden Tour, or hop aboard the Pineapple Express for a 20-minute train tour to learn a bit about life on a pineapple plantation. Kids love the more than 3-acre Pineapple Garden Maze, made up of 14,000 tropical plants and trees. If you do nothing else, stop by the cafeteria in the back for a delicious pineapple soft-serve Dole Whip. This is about a 40-minute drive from Waikiki, a suitable stop on the way to or from the North Shore.

Hawks Cay Resort's Dolphin Connection offers three programs, including Dockside Dolphins, a 30-minute encounter from the dry training docks; Dolphin Discovery, an in-water program that lasts about 45 minutes and lets you kiss, touch, and feed the dolphins; and Trainer for a Day, a three-hour session with the animal training team.

The 1963 movie Flipper popularized the notion of humans interacting with dolphins, and Milton Santini, the film's creator, opened this center, which is home to a colony of dolphins and sea lions. The nonprofit center has educational sessions and programs that allow you to greet the dolphins from dry land or play with them in their watery habitat. You can even paint a T-shirt with a dolphin—you pick the paint, the dolphin "designs" your shirt.

Programs begin with a get-acquainted session beneath a tiki hut. After that, you slip into the water for some frolicking with your new dolphin pals. Options range from a shallow-water swim to a hands-on structured swim with a dolphin. You can also shadow a trainer—it's $350 for a half day or a hefty $630 for a full day.

Now found all over the world, the unique off-grid design of an Earthship home got its start in Taos. Local architect Michael Reynolds started the movement in 1969, motivated to create affordable housing that utilized waste materials such as tires, soda cans, and beer bottles that would otherwise end up in the landfill. Reynolds fought to create and establish the Sustainable Testing Site Act in the New Mexico state legislature in 2007. Learn about this fascinating architecture and its potential at the Earthship Visitor Center. The informative, self-guided tour is highly recommended. Guided tours are available for those seeking a more in-depth understanding, as are overnight stays in an Earthship rental. There is also an Earthship Academy with online and in-person educational opportunities.

This fabled attraction, run by a pair of brothers, features an indoor atrium of snakes from around the world, plus a meandering outdoor garden with sprawling habitats for snakes, turtles, and alligators. Educational programs and alligator feedings enrich the experience, and kids love the gift shop.

You don't have to be a camper to use this well-developed picnic spot, with more than 70 tables, fire grates (some of them heightened to accommodate people with disabilities), and restrooms. Some of the tables are on the prairie; others sit amid the pines.

In addition to many elk, this spot has a campground, a nature trail, and a ranger station.

This Greensboro original—a combination art museum, studio, theater, and school—brings complete sensory overload via an astounding explosion of art and artifacts collected over several decades by its former owner, Sylvia Gray, who ran it as a thrift store. Today, a colorful cast of resident artists creates new work from this treasure trove. Expect colorful plumes of fabric hanging from the walls and toys, books, jewelry, and so much more stuffed into every corner of this large space. You can't buy anything here, but you can touch it all. 

Visiting hours are eclectic and limited, but it's worth planning a trip around this absolutely one-of-kind space.

With 32 tables and 30 fire grates, this is the largest picnic area in the park. Here, you'll find aspen groves, nice views of Fall River Pass—and lovely Fan Lake a short hike away.

Each year at the Ennis National Fish Hatchery six strains of rainbow trout produce 23 million eggs used to stock streams throughout the United States.

Open year-round, with 23 sites and a restroom, Fabbri is beyond Otter Point via the one-way section of Park Loop Road and also accessible from Otter Cliff Road.

This scenic picnic area overlooks the roaring Firehole River, a place where you might see elk grazing along the river's banks. There's a pit toilet.

Just next to the pool area at the Flamingo Las Vegas, a flamboyance of live Chilean flamingos lives on islands and in streams surrounded by sparkling waterfalls and lush foliage. Other animals on-site include swans, ducks, koi, sturgeons, brown pelicans, hummingbirds, and turtles. The 4-acre habitat makes for a fun, brief stroll. Learn more during the Keeper Talks at 10 am.

Near the parking lot at the southern entrance of the park, this area has tables, drinking water, and restrooms.

The Navajo Nation manages this landmark about 65 miles southeast of Bluff and 6 miles north of Teec Nos Pos, Arizona. Primarily a photo-op spot, you'll also find Navajo and Ute artisans selling authentic jewelry and crafts, as well as traditional foods. It's the only place in the United States where four states meet at one single point. Surveyors now believe the monument—a stone and metal marker sitting at the intersection of Colorado, Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico—is roughly 1,800 feet east of the correct spot. The small entry fee of $8 per person is cash-only, so be sure to get money prior to heading out.

Just before the start of the one-way section of the loop road, this serene spot has views across to Winter Harbor and out to nearby islands. Open year-round, it has 26 picnic sites and a wheelchair-accessible pier where you can fish, launch your canoe or kayak, or simply soak up the view. In the warm months, a float dock is attached to the pier.

The Hattiesburg Visitors Center serves as the starting point for this educational driving tour commemorating 16 points of interest along the Civil Rights Trail. Maps and audio narratives, available from the Visitors Center, explain the historical significance of each site. The Visitors Center serves complimentary coffee, displays local art, operates a gift shop, and welcomes guests to use their restroom facilities. Outdoors, you'll find a picnic area and a dog park.

Alexandria's showcase firehouse dates from 1855 and is filled with typical 19th-century implements, but the resident Friendship Fire Company was established in 1774, the same year it bought its first "engine." Among early fire engines on display is a hand pumper built in Philadelphia in 1851. 

You may see elk or buffalo along the Gibbon River from one of the several tables at this picturesque spot, which has a wheelchair-accessible pit toilet.

This peaceful stop alongside the Gilahina River is framed by the Gilahina Trestle, a mammoth wooden structure that was originally 90 feet high and required ½ million board feet of timber. Even more impressive is that it was completed in just eight days in the winter of 1911. The rest area has a large pull-out and vaulted toilets.

Once a (seedy) casino, the Gold Spike was resuscitated as part of the late Tony Hsieh's $350-million Downtown Project. In this case, that means gambling is out and free gaming is in. Gaming, as in shuffleboard, giant versions of Connect Four, and, on the back patio, life-size Jenga and beer pong with soccer balls and garbage pails. There's also a small restaurant, multiple bars (check out the bar truck named Recess), hookah, and more. The place is still a haven for Zappos employees, but the hot spot that bills itself as an "adult playground" is open to the public and has become a popular place for locals, visitors, and hipsters to hang, too, especially during weekday happy hour.