10457 Best Sights in USA

Re-creating a pre–Civil War farming community, this living-history museum sits on 200 pastoral acres with soft hills and lovely meadows. The 45 historic buildings were moved to this spot from other parts of Long Island and include two general stores, nine homes, a schoolhouse, a tavern, a church, and a working farm with animals. The guides, dressed in period costume, love sharing their knowledge of local history. Special events and seasonal celebrations are held throughout the year.

Two guys who met while on Sonoma State University's rowing team opened this craft brewery, named for a rugged redwood-lined road in West Sonoma County. It's worth the 10-mile drive south from Santa Rosa to Rohnert Park, where enthusiastic staffers pour beers from kettle sours and a Czech-style pilsner to a rye IPA and an oatmeal-milk stout. Old Caz ferments smaller specialty brews at its family- and pet-friendly indoor-outdoor brewpub but makes most of its beers at a production facility nearby.  The kitchen opens for weekday lunch; diverse food trucks appear for dinner on weekdays and all day on weekends.

Once a separate, rowdier town where miners caroused, today the stretch of Colorado Avenue between 24th Street and 28th Street, west of downtown, is a quaint National Historic District whose restored buildings house galleries and boutiques as well as kitschy shops, sidewalk cafés, and restaurants.

Built in the early 1800s and part of the park service’s National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom, the 192-foot-tall, green-domed Old Courthouse is a neoclassical masterpiece situated across a 250-foot grassy pedestrian bridge from the national park visitor center. A life-size sculpture of Dred and Harriett Scott outside the courthouse entrance serves as a poignant reminder of the determination it takes to change the course of history. Inside, it's humbling to stand in the exact spot where history did, indeed, change. The courtrooms here served as center stage for two landmark 19th-century cases: when two enslaved people, Dred and Harriet Scott (Dred Scott v. Sanford), sued for their freedom and when suffragist Virginia Minor fought for women’s right to vote (Minor v. Happersett). The gorgeous, three-tiered rotunda is modeled after the dome in Rome's St. Peter’s Basilica, and four murals painted by Carl Wimar highlight significant moments in St. Louis history. In addition to visiting two of the original courtrooms, you can participate in ranger-led tours; experience trial reenactments and other special events throughout the year; and see the 17-minute film, Slavery on Trial: The Dred Scott Decision, and the 10-minute film, Lewis and Clark, Preparation for the Expedition. The Old Courthouse will reopen in 2025 after a two-year, $27.5 million renovation, which was the final piece of the $380 million CityArchRiver project that revitalized Gateway Arch National Park, the St. Louis Riverfront, and Kiener Plaza in Downtown St. Louis. Be sure to snap a photo of the courthouse framed by the Gateway Arch—a quintessential St. Louis shot.

Built as a customs house in 1771, this building once served as the commercial and social center of Charleston and was the primary site of the city's public auctions of enslaved people. It was also the site of many historic events, including the state's ratification of the Constitution in 1788 and two grand celebrations hosted for George Washington. In addition to its role in the transatlantic slave trade, it was also used by the British to house prisoners during the Revolutionary War, experiences that are both detailed in exhibits. Costumed interpreters bring history to life on guided tours.

Almost every park visitor makes it a point to view the world's most famous geyser, at least once. Yellowstone's most predictable big geyser—although neither its largest nor most regular—sometimes shoots as high as 180 feet, but it averages 130 feet. The eruptions take place every 50–120 minutes, the average is around 94 minutes. Check the park website, visitor center, or the lobbies of the Old Faithful hotels for predicted times. You can view the eruption from a bench just yards away, from the dining room at the lodge cafeteria, or the second-floor deck of the Old Faithful Inn. The 1.6-mile loop hike to Observation Point yields yet another view—from above—of the geyser and the surrounding basin.

It's hard to imagine how any work could be accomplished with snow and ice blanketing the region, but this truly iconic hotel was constructed over the course of a single winter. Completed in 1904, what's believed to be the world's largest log structure is one of the most recognizable, and impressive, buildings in the national park system. Even if you don't spend the night, walk through or take the free 45-minute guided tour to admire its massive open-beam lobby and rock fireplace. There are antique writing desks on the second-floor balcony. You can watch Old Faithful geyser from two second-floor decks.

At this impressive, contemporary, LEED-certified visitor center that's a jewel of the national park system, you can check out the interactive exhibits and children's area, read the latest geyser-eruption predictions, and find out the schedules for ranger-led walks and talks. Backcountry and fishing permits are dispensed at the ranger station adjacent to the Old Faithful Snow Lodge, across the street.

Koloa’s first sugar plantation opened in 1835, ushering in an era of sugar production throughout the Islands, with more than 100 plantations established by 1885. Many of the workers came from the Philippines, Japan, China, Korea, and Portugal, creating Hawaii’s multiethnic mélange. Today, many of Koloa’s historic buildings, beneath the shade of stately old monkeypod trees, have been converted into fun shops, galleries, and places to eat. Even the newer developments mimic quaint plantation-camp architecture. You’ll just want to stroll and take it all in. Indulge in a sweet treat like a shave ice, freshly roasted gourmet nuts, or a healthy smoothie after a food-truck lunch taken to nearby Knudsen Park. Be sure to approach Old Koloa Town via the Tree Tunnel, a romantic canopy of eucalyptus trees planted more than a century ago along a stretch of Maluhia Road.

The Reverend William Emerson, grandfather of Ralph Waldo Emerson, watched rebels and Redcoats battle from behind his home, which was within sight of the Old North Bridge. The house, built in 1770, was occupied continuously by the Emerson family for almost two centuries, except for a 3½-year period during which Nathaniel Hawthorne rented it. Furnishings date from the late 18th century. Different themed guided tours inside are available (Old Manse; Women of the Manse; Family-friendly; Attic; American Contradictions). The grounds are open year-round, from sunrise to sunset.

Dating from 1786 and widely referred to as the "Queen of Missions," this is one of the most beautiful and frequently photographed buildings in coastal California. The architecture evolved from adobe-brick buildings with thatch roofs to more permanent edifices as the mission's population burgeoned. An 1812 earthquake destroyed the third church built on the site. Its replacement, the present structure, is still a functioning Catholic church. Old Mission Santa Barbara has a splendid Spanish/Mexican colonial art collection, as well as Chumash sculptures and the only Native American–made altar and tabernacle left in the California missions.

At one end of the Paul Revere Mall is a church famous not only for being the oldest standing church building in Boston (built in 1723) but also for housing the two lanterns that glimmered from its steeple on the night of April 18, 1775, and celebrating the 250th anniversary of this famed lighting. This is Christ (or Old North) Church, where Paul Revere and the young sexton Robert Newman managed that night to signal the departure by water of the British regulars to Lexington and Concord. Newman, carrying the lanterns, ascended the steeple, while Revere began his clandestine trip by boat across the Charles.

Although William Price designed the structure after studying Christopher Wren's London churches, Old North—which still has an active Episcopal congregation (including descendants of the Reveres)—is an impressive building in its own right. Inside, note the gallery and the graceful arrangement of pews; the bust of George Washington, pronounced by the Marquis de Lafayette to be the truest likeness of the general he ever saw; the brass chandeliers, made in Amsterdam in 1700 and installed here in 1724; and the clock, the oldest still running in an American public building. 

Try to visit when changes are rung on the bells, after the 11 am Sunday service; they bear the inscription, "We are the first ring of bells cast for the British Empire in North America." The steeple itself is not the original—the tower was destroyed in a hurricane in 1804 and was replaced in 1954. 

On the Sunday closest to April 18, descendants of the patriots reenact the raising of the lanterns in the church belfry during a special ticketed evening service, which also includes readings of Longfellow’s renowned poem, “Paul Revere’s Ride,” and Revere’s first-person account of that fateful night. Visitors are welcome to drop in for a self-guided tour (with an immersive audio tour for an extra fee) or guided tours with additional explorations of the bell-ringing chamber, sanctuary gallery (where Black and Indigenous congregants once sat), and recently restored crypt. On the North Church campus, you’ll also find newly redesigned outdoor green spaces, including two large courtyards, two formal gardens, and a war memorial to soldiers fallen in Iraq and Afghanistan, the first of its kind built in the City of Boston.  This is Freedom Trail stop 13.

The hike to reach 360-degree panoramas from high atop Old Rag is wildly popular, frequently ranking among the top hikes in the world (not just in Virginia). This 10-mile loop hike begins with a switchback-laden ascent before reaching a challenging rock scramble. From here, it's a solid mile of climbing, gripping, pulling, and scrambling. Plan to navigate narrow spaces and strategize paths up, over, and around rocks and boulders to earn the spoils at the top. Hiking time is six to seven hours. No pets allowed on this trail. Note: a mandatory day-use ticket is required to hike Old Rag from March through October. Tickets cost $2 per person and can only be purchased through Recreation.gov. Difficult.

All the vintage aircraft at this museum still fly; indeed, many are used during air shows, held on weekends from mid-June to mid-October (weather permitting). The collection includes a reproduction of Charles Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis and fighter planes from World War I. For a thrill you can don a Snoopy-style cap and goggles and soar over the area in an open-cockpit biplane. Ride booths open at 10 on weekends of air shows, and the rides are $65 per person. Air shows start at 2.

Founded in 1766 as a backcountry trading center, Old Salem is one of the nation's most well-documented colonial sites. This living-history museum, a few blocks from downtown Winston-Salem, is filled with dozens of original and reconstructed buildings. Costumed guides demonstrate trades and household activities common in the late-18th- and early-19th-century Moravian communities, and an interactive audio tour tells the stories of the Native Americans, enslaved Africans, and European settlers that lived here. The preserved streets and buildings of the old town are still a functioning community that includes the campus of Salem College. Be sure to stop at Winkler Bakery, where you can buy bread, the pillowy, best-selling sugar cakes, and scrumptious Moravian ginger cookies, baked in traditional brick ovens.

Don't miss "America's largest coffee pot," a 12-foot-tall vessel built by Julius Mickey in 1858 to advertise his tinsmith shop. After surviving two separate car collisions, it was moved to its present location at the edge of Old Salem in 1959.

Concord and Lexington may legitimately lay claim to what Ralph Waldo Emerson called "the shot heard 'round the world" in 1775, but Pawtucket's Slater Mill provided the necessary economic shot in the arm in 1793. This National Historic Landmark, the first successful water-powered spinning mill in America, touched off an industrial revolution that helped secure America's sovereign independence in the early days of the republic. The museum complex explores this era with U.S. National Park Service rangers and expert interpretive guides, who demonstrate fiber-to-yarn and yarn-to-fabric processes and hand-operated and powered machinery and discuss how industrialization forever changed this nation. It's peaceful just to watch the water wheel turn and to contemplate how much we owe to "Slater the Traitor."

Used as a site for the auctioning of enslaved people (as well as a jail and morgue) until 1863, this building is now a museum that educates visitors on Charleston's role in the transatlantic slave trade. Charleston was a commercial center for the South's plantation economy, and enslaved people were forced to perform most labor within and beyond the city on the surrounding plantations. Galleries are outfitted with interactive exhibits, including push buttons that allow you to hear the historical accounts of enslaved people. The museum sits on one of the few remaining cobblestone streets in town.

Boston's second-oldest church building might well be its most famous were it not for Longfellow's celebration of Old North Church in his poem "Paul Revere's Ride." However, Old South Meeting House is just as significant having been the site of some of the fiercest town meetings that led to the Revolution, including one on December 16, 1773, called by Samuel Adams, which led to the Boston Tea Party. The Old South's "Voices of Protest" exhibit celebrates the meetinghouse as a forum for free speech from way back then right up to the present.  This is Freedom Trail stop 8.

This Colonial-era landmark has one of the most recognizable facades in Boston, with its gable adorned by a brightly gilded lion and silver unicorn, symbols of British imperial power. This was the seat of the Colonial government from 1713 until the Revolution, and after the evacuation of the British from Boston in 1776 it served the independent Commonwealth until its replacement on Beacon Hill was completed in 1798. The Declaration of Independence was first read in public in Boston from its balcony. John Hancock was inaugurated here as the first governor under the new state constitution. Today, it's an interactive museum with exhibits, artifacts, and 18th-century artwork, and tells the stories of Revolutionary Bostonians through costumed guides. This is Freedom Trail stop 9.

A re-creation of a New England village circa 1790–1840, this site contains more than 40 historic buildings moved here from other towns. There are several industrial buildings, including a working sawmill, and guides in period costumes demonstrate home-based crafts like spinning, weaving, and shoemaking. In season, take an informative stagecoach ride, or cruise the Quinebaug River while learning about river life in 19th-century New England and catching glimpses of ducks, geese, turtles, and other local wildlife. Other popular seasonal events include Christmas by Candlelight weekends in December, and the Redcoats and Rebels reenactment brigade during the first week of August. An associated inn is available for those looking to spend multiple days immersed.

In 1996, Old Town Bluffton was designated a National Register Historic District town thanks to the 80-some historic churches and cottages that still stand there today. Originally inhabited by the Yemassee people, who were driven out by the first English settlers, the town's later population of slaveholders played a key role in South Carolina's secession. By the late 1990s, though, Old Bluffton had become the quirky cousin of Hilton Head, with its well-worn bungalows populated by art galleries and antiques shops. Today, historic homes and houses of worship still flank oak-lined streets dripping with Spanish moss, but now they intermingle with newly constructed tin-roofed buildings designed and laid out to preserve the small-town vibe. Anchored by Promenade Street, the modern section hops with trendy bars, restaurants, and shops. Grab a sandwich to go from the Downtown Deli ( 1223 May River Rd.) and head to the Calhoun Street Public Dock for a picnic looking over the May River. (Instagrammers and photographers should aim for sunset.) While there, check out the beautiful grounds of the historic Church of the Cross ( 110 Calhoun St.). To buy fresh shellfish off the dock, visit Bluffton Oyster Company ( 63 Wharf St.) at the end of Wharf Street.

With the landmark 1793 San Felipe de Neri Catholic Church still presiding along the north side, tranquil Old Town Plaza is a pleasant place to sit on wrought-iron benches under a canopy of shade trees. Roughly 200 shops, restaurants, cafés, galleries, and several cultural sights in placitas (small plazas) and lanes surround the plaza. During fiestas, Old Town comes alive with mariachi bands and dancing señoritas; at Christmas it is lit with luminarias (the votive candles in paper bag lanterns known as farolitos up in Santa Fe). Mostly dating back to the late 1800s, styles from Queen Anne to Territorial and Pueblo Revival, and even Mediterranean, are apparent in the one- and two-story (almost all adobe) structures.

The six square blocks on the site of San Diego's original pueblo are the heart of Old Town. Most of the 20 historic buildings preserved or re-created by the park cluster are around Old Town Plaza, bounded by Wallace Street on the west, Calhoun Street on the north, Mason Street on the east, and San Diego Avenue on the south. The plaza is a pleasant place to rest, plan your tour of the park, and watch passersby. San Diego Avenue is closed to vehicle traffic here.

Some of Old Town's buildings were destroyed in a fire in 1872, but after the site became a state historic park in 1968, reconstruction and restoration of the remaining structures began. Five of the original adobes are still intact: La Casa de Estudillo, La Casa de Machado y Stewart, La Casa de Machado y Silvas, the Pedrorena-Altamirano House, and La Casa de Bandini (now the Cosmopolitan Hotel).

Facing Old Town Plaza, the Robinson-Rose House was the original commercial center of Old San Diego, housing railroad offices, law offices, and the first newspaper press. The largest and most elaborate of the original adobe homes, the Casa de Estudillo was occupied by members of the Estudillo family until 1887 and later gained popularity for its billing as "Ramona's Marriage Place" based on a popular novel of the time. Albert Seeley, a stagecoach entrepreneur, opened the Cosmopolitan Hotel in 1869 as a way station for travelers on the daylong trip south from Los Angeles. Next door to the Cosmopolitan Hotel, the Seeley Stable served as San Diego's stagecoach stop in 1867 and was the transportation hub of Old Town until 1887, when trains became the favored mode of travel.

Several reconstructed buildings serve as restaurants or as shops purveying wares reminiscent of those that might have been available in the original Old Town. Racine & Laramie, a painstakingly reproduced version of San Diego's first cigar store in 1868, is especially interesting.

Pamphlets available at the Robinson-Rose House give details about all the historic houses on the plaza and in its vicinity. Free 45-minute walking tours of the historic park are offered daily at 11 am and 2 pm; they depart from the Robinson-Rose House.

The covered wagon located near the intersection of Mason and Calhoun Streets provides a great photo op.

Once a hangout for cowboys, Old Town is in full swing with boutique shops, good restaurants, a children’s museum, and a theater, while retaining its Old West appearance. A walking tour put together by the Temecula Valley Historical Society, starting at the Temecula Valley Museum, covers some of the old buildings; most are identified with bronze plaques. Free maps can be downloaded from their website ( www.temeculahistoricalsociety.org). A walking tour ($5) of Old Town Temecula is given every Saturday 10–11:30, departing from the Temecula Valley Museum, located in the Sam Hicks Monument Park directly across from the weekly Farmer’s Market.

The center was built for the 1932 Olympics and renovated and expanded for the 1980 Games. During the latter, the arena here was the site of the U.S. ice-hockey team's win over the seemingly unbeatable Soviets, which led the men to a U.S. gold medal. The victory came to be known as the "Miracle on Ice." The center also houses other ice rinks, a museum, and convention space. Winter Olympics enthusiasts can purchase bobsled and luge rides with a professional on the competition track for $60 to $75. Tours of the center are available at 10, 11:30, and 1, Tuesday through Saturday for $8.50. A 50-minute audiocassette tour of the center is an option. The center hosts hockey and figure-skating tournaments and ice shows as well as other special events.

At 9,200 feet, this excellent amateur observation site is a great way to get a sense of the mountain and the observatory work without going all the way to the summit. It's open daily from 9 am to 9 pm and offers free monthly stargazing events (which require preregistration and are weather dependent). The center is also a good place to stop to acclimatize yourself to the altitude if you're heading for the summit. Peruse the gift shop and exhibits about ancient Hawaiian celestial navigation, the mountain's significance as a quarry for the best basalt in the Hawaiian Islands, and Maunakea as a revered spiritual destination. You'll also learn about modern astronomy and ongoing projects at the summit. Nights are clear 90% of the year, so the chances are good for seeing some amazing sights in the sky. Surprisingly, stargazing here is actually better than at the summit itself because of reduced oxygen there. The parking lot can get crowded.

About a mile from Alii Kula Lavender are 8 acres of organic salad greens, herbs, vegetables, coffee, cocoa, fruits, and berries—and the public is welcome to enjoy the bounty. Oo Farm is owned and operated by the restaurateurs responsible for one of Maui's finest dining establishments, PacificO, and more than 300 pounds of produce end up on diners' plates every week. Reserve a space for the breakfast or lunch tours that include an informational walk around the pastoral grounds and an alfresco meal prepared by an on-site chef. Cap off the experience with house-grown roasted and brewed coffee. Reservations are required.

Sandhill cranes make their winter home here or stop for a snack en route to the Bosque del Apache, just south in Socorro. Albuquerque is right in their flyway, and the Open Space Center provides a most hospitable setting for them. The outdoor viewing station opens onto the site’s expansive field, which faces out to the Sandia Mountains; the hush—aside from the occasional flock circling above (look for them from mid-October through February)—is restorative. Complementing the experience inside are changing art and photography exhibits, an interpretative display on the adjacent 14th- to 15th-century Piedras Marcadas Pueblo ruins, and well-informed guides. A native garden interspersed with mosaics and sculptures fills the patio at the center’s entryway; the latter theme is introduced when you make the turn-off from busy Coors Boulevard—Robert Wilson’s large-scale public art installation Flyway is at the northeast corner as you approach. Ongoing family activities, occasional live music, and educational and other special programming are on tap year-round; easy walking trails heading down to the shores of the Rio Grande start just beyond the entrance.

Comprising Coronado's business district and its village-like heart, this avenue is one of the most charming spots in Southern California. Slow-paced and very "local" (the city fights against chain stores), it's a blast from the past, although entirely up to date in other respects. The military presence—Coronado is home to the U.S. Navy Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) forces and has two Navy bases—is reflected in shops selling military gear and places like McP's Irish Pub, at No. 1107. A family-friendly stop for a good, all-American meal, it's the unofficial SEALs headquarters. Many clothing boutiques, home-furnishings stores, and upscale restaurants cater to visitors with deep pockets, but you can buy hardware supplies, too, or get a genuine military haircut at Crown Barber Shop, at No. 947. If you need a break, stop for a latte at the sidewalk café of Bay Books, one of San Diego's largest independent bookstores, at No. 1007.

Marble caves, large calcite formations, and huge underground rooms shape this rare adventure in geology. Guided cave tours take place late March through early November. The 90-minute ½-mile tour is moderately strenuous, with low passageways, twisting turns, and more than 500 stairs; children must be at least 42 inches tall to participate. Cave tours aren't given in winter. Aboveground, the surrounding valley holds an old-growth forest with some of the state's largest trees, and offers some excellent and generally uncrowded hiking.

GPS coordinates for the caves often direct drivers onto a mostly unpaved forest service road meant for four-wheel-drive vehicles. Instead, follow well-signed Highway 46 off U.S. 199 at Cave Junction, which is also narrow and twisting in parts; RVs or trailers more than 32 feet long are not advised.