239 Best Sights in USA

This well-organized hospitality center operated by the Visitors Bureau will help you customize an itinerary to make the best use of your time and money in the Gatlinburg area, including info on the best hikes for your fitness level and hours available. Pick up a trolley map, buy a National Park parking pass, and browse the "Made in Gatlinburg" store.

Maps and concise displays at this visitor center explain the layered ecology of the valley, which encompasses virtually every ecosystem in the Northwest. Rangers offer guidance on hiking, camping, and other activities and arrange bike tours. The center also has an arts-and-crafts gallery and audiovisual and children's programs. Campers can pick up free backcountry permits. Note that access to Stehekin is by boat or trail only.  The visitor center was closed throughout 2024 due to budget constraints; confirm whether it has reopened while planning your trip.

This small visitor center is named for the Verkamp family, who operated a curios shop on the South Rim for more than a hundred years. The building serves as an official visitor center, ranger station (get your Junior Ranger badges here), bookstore, and museum, with compelling exhibits on the Verkamps and other pioneers in this region.

Here you can get information about activities and tours and buy a national park pass, which enables you to skip past some of the crowds and access the park by special entry lanes. Nevertheless, the biggest draw is the six-story IMAX screen that features the short movie Grand Canyon: Rivers of Time. You can learn about the geologic and natural history of the canyon, soar above stunning rock formations, and ride the rapids through the rocky gorge. The film is shown every hour on the half hour; the adjoining gift store is huge and well stocked.

The park's main orientation center provides pamphlets and resources to help plan your visit. It also holds engaging interpretive exhibits on the park. Rangers are on hand to answer questions and aid in planning canyon excursions. A daily schedule of ranger-led hikes and evening lectures is available, and a 20-minute film about the history, geology, and wildlife of the canyon plays every 30 minutes in the theater. The bicycle rental office, a small café, and a huge gift store are also in this complex. It's a five-minute walk from here to Mather Point, or a short ride on the shuttle bus, which can take you into Grand Canyon Village. The visitor center is also accessible from the village via a leisurely 2-mile walk on the Greenway Trail, a paved pathway that meanders through the forest.

Exhibits at each visitor center describe a small piece of Yellowstone's history—the ones here provide details about the 1988 fire that burned more than a third of the park's total acreage and forced multiple federal agencies to reevaluate their fire-control policies. Watch an informative video, and learn about the 25,000 firefighters from across the United States who battled the blaze. Bathrooms and a backcountry office are here.

Located about 5 miles from the park just outside of the town of Baker, the center has exhibits on the flora, fauna, and geology of the park. Books, videos, and souvenirs are for sale. Water is available.

View exhibits and artwork, browse in the bookstore, and watch a 20-minute film with an overview of the dunes. Facilities include restrooms and a vending machine, but no other food.

This station is manned with friendly rangers and has dozens of recreational maps.

The best place to start exploring Everglades National Park's watery western side is at this visitor center just south of Everglades City (5 miles south of U.S./Highway 41/Tamiami Trail), where rangers can give you the park lowdown and provide you with informational brochures and backcountry permits. The Gulf Coast Visitor Center serves as the gateway for exploring the Ten Thousand Islands, a maze of mangrove islands and waterways that extends to Flamingo and Florida Bay and are accessible only by boat in this region. Naturalist-led boat trips are handled by Everglades Florida Adventures of Guest Services, Inc., the concessioner that also rents canoes and kayaks.

The visitor center is at the crater summit, about a 30-minute drive south of the park headquarters and the Summit District entrance. Inside, you'll find exhibits, and there's also a trail leading to Pa Kaoao (White Hill), which offers excellent views of the valley and is a short, easy walk. The center is generally open daily year-round, although the hours may vary depending on the season.

Only experienced and intrepid visitors will likely ever visit this remote outpost—on a dirt road 46 miles east of Highway 24 in Hanksville. The office is a trove of books, maps, and other documents about the unforgiving Maze District of Canyonlands, but rangers will strongly dissuade any inexperienced off-road drivers and backpackers from proceeding into this truly rugged wilderness. There's a vault toilet, but no water, food, or services of any kind. If you're headed for the backcountry, permits cost $36 for groups of up to five people, plus $5 per person for up to 14 days. Rangers offer guided hikes in Horseshoe Canyon on most weekends in spring and fall.

Call the ranger station for road conditions leading to Horseshoe Canyon/Hans Flat as rain can make travel difficult.

This family-focused center has a rotating selection of art classes for all ages, plus kid-friendly activities and hands-on exhibits that teach tykes and their parents about the park's ecosystem. Books, toys, and T-shirts are stocked in the small gift shop.

Situated near the center of the park, Byrd Visitor Center is a stone's throw from Big Meadows Lodge and Big Meadows Campground. On the way in, admire the "Iron Mike" statue dedicated to the Civilian Conservation Corps, the men who created much of the park during the Great Depression. Inside, a U-shape exhibit hall tells the story of the park's establishment and development through historic photos and artifacts. Watch Shenandoah: The Gift, a 14-minute video on the creation of this national park. You'll also find restrooms and a park bookstore. From the back porch, take in the sweeping views across Big Meadows.

Nearly all of the park's trails, including the Boardwalk Trail, begin and end at this small but thoughtful visitor center. Inside, you'll find a gift shop; exhibits about the park's animals, trees, and flora; and a theater with a short video on the park's history. Volunteer docents staff the trailhead to provide updated info on conditions and recent wildlife sightings.

 Stop into the gift shop before your hike for critical supplies like bug spray or water.

The High Falls Visitor Center has a museum, with interactive exhibits, that give an overview of Rochester history.

This small center at Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park has exhibits about the area's flora and fauna. A starting point for ranger programs (daily in summer, some weekends the rest of the year), the center has restrooms and a picnic area.

The Historical Association of Lewiston, Inc. has information about events and attractions.

Pick up park maps and pamphlets, permits, and activities lists in this busy, woodsy chalet, which also has a shop and exhibits on natural history. Several short interpretive trails and longer wilderness treks start from here.

Originally built as the Foreign Arts Building for the Panama-California Exposition in 1915, it was later torn down and then rebuilt using the original building as a model. Now the House of Hospitality, it's an excellent resource for planning your visit to Balboa Park. Check the website before you go or spend a few minutes at the visitor's center when you arrive. They also offer a free Balboa Park mobile app with information on sites, special events, and useful tips to help maximize your time.

This is a great spot to get your bearings—and take a breather after climbing the 52 wide granite stairs from the parking lot to the entrance. (If you need the accessible entrance, follow signs to drive there.) A large 3D relief map of Mount Desert Island gives you the lay of the land, while Artist-in-Residence works catch the eye. There are free park and carriage road maps, and rangers are on hand to answer questions and offer suggestions. Learn about ranger-led activities like guided walks and carriage road bike rides, Junior Ranger programs, campfire talks at campground amphitheaters (open to all visitors), and night sky talks at Sand Beach. Along with souvenir items, walking sticks, and Acadia sweatshirts and the like, the gift shop sells hiking maps and guidebooks and is well-stocked with books about Acadia. Look for signs with a QR code to buy a park audio tour ( 2orguide.com/looptour  $9.95).

About 50 yards from the Ohio and Erie Canal Towpath Trail, the visitor center offers child-friendly nature exhibits as well as puppets, coloring books, and other toys. It’s also a convenient rest stop for bikers and hikers along the Towpath Trail, given its proximity. It's staffed only on occasion with park volunteers as it's not the park's main visitor center, but it is open daily during the summer.

The park's main visitor center, also known as the Dorothy Buell Visitor Center, is open daily (8 am to 6 pm in summer and 8:30 am to 4:30 pm the rest of the year). It has displays, an activity room, a bookstore, art exhibits, and video presentations.

The gateway to the world-famous White Rim Trail, this visitor center 22 miles from U.S. 191 draws a mix of mountain bikers, hikers, and tourists happy to see the area by car. Enjoy the orientation film, then browse the bookstore for information about the region. Exhibits explain animal adaptations as well as some of the history of the park. This is a great stop to use the restroom, stock up on water, and buy maps and books for the journey ahead. Check the website or with the center for a daily schedule of ranger-led programs.

There is not a lot to do in town, but to learn about its history, stop by this center operated by the Crisfield Heritage Foundation. Guided tours of Crisfield are run from here; from May through October the tours include a visit to a crab processing plant.

High on the mountain's southern flank, this center houses exhibits on geology, mountaineering, glaciology, and alpine ecology. Multimedia programs are staged in the theater; there's also a snack bar and gift shop. This is the park's most popular visitor destination, and it can be quite crowded in summer.

For more information on Jackson, call the Jackson/Madison County Convention & Visitors Bureau, open weekdays 8:30–4:30.