200 Best Sights in USA

Matanuska Glacier is the largest car-accessible glacier in the country, with a four-mile wide terminus that can be seen from the road. Right off the Glenn Highway (Mile 102), the entrance is maintained through Guided Glacier Tours. The only way to visit is on a guided tour—a number of companies offer glacier these.

Over millennia, wind and water carved holes in the sandstone pillars north of Ekalaka, creating an eerie and barren landscape. Embracing the terrain's mystery, Native Americans used the site for rituals to conjure spirits centuries ago. Teddy Roosevelt was struck by the area's unique beauty when he visited in the late 19th century, calling it "as fantastically beautiful a place as I have ever seen." In 1957 the area was designated Medicine Rocks State Park. The 320-acre park is largely undeveloped: aside from a few picnic tables, a short hiking trail, and a handful of unmarked campsites, the land is exactly how it was when Native Americans first performed their ceremonies here.

These dunes, made up of minute pieces of quartz and other rock, are ever-changing products of the wind-rippled hills, with curving crests and a sun-bleached hue. Among the park's most photographed features, the dunes are at their best at sunrise and sunset. Keep your eyes open for animal tracks—you may even spot a coyote or fox. Bring plenty of water, and note where you parked your car: it's easy to become disoriented in this ocean of sand. If you lose your bearings, climb to the top of a dune, and scan the horizon for the parking lot.

A natural phenomenon in a privately owned park 43 miles east of Flagstaff, Meteor Crater is impressive if for no other reason than its sheer size. A hole in the ground 600 feet deep, nearly 1 mile across, and more than 3 miles in circumference, Meteor Crater is large enough to accommodate the Washington Monument or 20 football fields. It was created by a meteorite crash 49,000 years ago.

You can't descend into the crater because of the efforts of its owners to maintain its condition—scientists consider this to be the best-preserved crater on Earth—but guided rim tours give useful background information, and telescopes along the rim offer you a closer look. There's a restaurant on-site, and the gift shop sells specimens from the area and jewelry made from native stones.

The glacier-carved sawtooth spires of the Minarets, the remains of an ancient lava flow, are best viewed from the Minaret Vista. Pull off the road, park your car in the visitors' viewing area, and walk along the path, which has interpretive signs explaining the spectacular peaks, ridges, and valleys beyond.

At the mouth of Morro Bay stands 576-foot-high Morro Rock, one of nine small volcanic peaks, or morros, in the area. A short walk leads to a breakwater, with the harbor on one side and crashing ocean waves on the other. You may not climb the rock, where endangered falcons and other birds nest. Sea lions and otters often play in the water below the rock.

This lush, serene 7-acre grove was conceived as a living memorial to the disease's victims. Coast live oaks, Monterey pines, coast redwoods, and other trees flank the grove. There are also two stone circles, one recording the names of the dead and their loved ones, the other engraved with a poem. Free self-guided tours are available to download on any mobile device.

About 20 miles south of Lexington, this impressive limestone arch (which supports Route 11) has been gradually carved out by Cedar Creek, which rushes through 215 feet below. The Monacan Native American tribe called it the Bridge of God. Surveying the structure for Lord Halifax, George Washington carved his own initials in the stone; Thomas Jefferson bought it (and more than 150 surrounding acres) from King George III. The after-dark sound-and-light show may be overkill, but viewing and walking under the bridge itself and along the wooded pathway beyond are worth the price of admission. On the property are dizzying caverns that descend 34 stories, a wax museum, a toy museum, and an 18th-century village constructed by the Monacan Indian Nation.

At Natural Bridge State Monument the Boulder River disappears underground, creating a natural bridge, then reappears as roaring falls in the Boulder River canyon. Hiking trails and interpretive signs explain how this geologic wonder occurred. The Main Boulder Ranger Station, a few miles past the bridge, is one of the oldest in the United States and is now an interpretive center.

Considered the "mother" of all the pines on the island, this 160-foot-tall tree was planted here, at the former site of the ranch manager's house, in 1875. Almost 30 years later, George Munro, the manager, observed how, in foggy weather, water collected on and dripped off its foliage. This led Munro to supervise the planting of Cook pines along the ridge of Lanaihale and throughout the town in order to add to the island's water supply. This majestic tree is just in front of the Sensei Lanai resort.

From the 1930 Norris Ranger Station, which houses a small museum that helps to explain the basin's geothermal activity, you can stroll a network of short boardwalk trails—some of them suitable for wheelchairs—to Porcelain Basin, Back Basin, and several geysers and other interesting and constantly evolving thermal features.

This privately owned and operated park serves as the northern entrance to the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, offering live animal exhibits and orientation programs for the entire family. The park has observation areas, wilderness walkways, an outdoor museum of pioneer life, and boat tours into the swamp that reveal its unique ecology. The 90-foot-tall observation tower is an excellent place to glimpse cruising gators and birds. A 1½-mile train tour (included in the admission price) passes by a Seminole village and stops at Pioneer Island, a re-created pioneer homestead, for a 15-minute walking tour.

This 29,000-acre swath of Oregon's high desert was designated a national wilderness in 2009, following the longtime advocacy of Oregonians enamored by its harshly beautiful landscape riven by ancient lava flows and home to sage grouse, pronghorn antelope, and elk. Motorized vehicles are prohibited, but visitors can ride horses on designated trails and low-impact hikers are welcome. Bring a camera to capture the jagged rock formations, birds, and wildflowers.

Between Grants Pass and Medford, there’s a place that seems to defy all the laws of physics—where a ball rolls uphill and a person’s height appears to change as they move. Optical illusion or some strange paranormal activity? That question has made the Oregon Vortex and House of Mystery a popular diversion since the 1930s.

A stop on Park Loop Road's Ocean Drive section, Otter Cliff looms 110 feet above the North Atlantic’s crashing surf and is the literal highpoint on Ocean Path, which parallels the road and heads across the clifftop before ending at nearby Otter Point. Use caution on the cliff: rocks may be slippery. Look for rock climbers on the cliff face—one of several popular climbing areas in Acadia. Near the headland, thousands of round boulders along the shore have been smoothed into shape by thousands of years of wave action. Otter Cliff has a parking area and a seasonal Island Explorer bus stop, or you can walk here on Ocean Path from Thunder Hole or Sand Beach, its other terminus (4.4-mile round trip). Trek down to narrow Otter Cove at the path’s very end for the lovely view of Dorr and Cadillac mountains.

The fossils at the Painted Hills, a unit of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, date back about 33 million years, and reveal a climate that has become noticeably drier than that of Sheep Rock's era. The eroded buff-colored hills reveal striking red and green striations created by minerals in the clay. Come at dusk or just after it rains, when the colors are most vivid. If traveling in spring, the desert wildflowers are most intense between late April and early May. Take the steep, ¾-mile Carroll Rim Trail for a commanding view of the hills or sneak a peek from the parking lot at the trailhead, about 2 miles beyond the picnic area. A few Forest Service roads lead north toward the Spring Basin Wilderness and the town of Antelope, but these can only be managed safely by high-clearance vehicles and when dry.

Five miles south of town, this is the spot for water sports, birding, picnicking, and camping. Formed by the damming of Sonoita Creek, the 265-acre reservoir lures anglers with its largemouth bass, crappie, bluegill, and catfish; it's stocked with rainbow trout in the wintertime. You can rent rowboats, paddleboats, canoes, and kayaks at the marina. Most swimmers head for Boulder Beach. The adjoining Sonoita Creek State Natural Area is home to giant cottonwoods, willows, sycamores, and mesquites; nesting black hawks; and endangered species. From mid-October to mid-April, rangers offer guided birding and discovery tours by pontoon boat ($7) on weekends at 9, 10:15, and 11:30 (call visitor center to sign up) and free guided bird walks during the week.

Strangely eroded limestone banks give way to hollows that creep into hillsides; grassy prairie-like fields yield to woodlands; sinkholes interrupt the forested landscape. You have begun climbing into the Pennyroyal Plateau from the Sinkhole Plain, but the margin between the two is . . . complicated. The compromises made between rock and water, between grass and tree, between high and low, have resulted in a twisted patchwork landscape. It's covered over with a quilt of green, but as you look beneath, there's plenty to wonder at all the way to the visitor center. If you're entering the park from the south via Park City, be sure to observe the transitions in the geology along the roadside as you ascend. As you approach the top of the plateau, you'll see outcroppings of the Dripping Springs Escarpment. Once on top, you may spy what seem to be boggy places in the woods—spots where the sandstone and shale caprock is holding water in defiance of the sinkholes that draw all other water underground.

If you're hiking the wildflower-carpeted tundra around Kotzebue, you are entering a living museum dedicated to permafrost, the permanently frozen ground that lies just a few inches below the spongy tundra. Even Kotzebue's 6,000-foot airport runway is built on permafrost—with an insulating layer between the frozen ground and the airfield surface to ensure that landings are smooth. These days, thawing permafrost can cause problems for communities like Kotzebue: as the ice that binds frozen ground melts due to warm temperatures, the ground collapses and splits, damaging buildings, roads, and other infrastructure. For people in these communities, ice cellars may no longer keep food cold and safe, and thawing permafrost can lead to erosion, impacting sources of water. Other times, tundra lakes can disappear altogether as the surface water percolates down into the thawing soils.

Just a tiny pull-out that most visitors pass by, this memorable stop features acres upon acres of reddish-gold, petrified sand dunes. There's no trail here, so roam as you like while keeping track of where you are. If you do lose your way, heading west will take you back to the main road.

Although bits of petrified wood have been found all over the park, the densest collection is in the South Unit's west end, accessible via the Petrified Forest Loop Trail from Peaceful Valley Ranch (10 miles round-trip) or from the park's west boundary (3 miles round-trip), which is the most recommended route

The draw here is 135 acres of mostly undisturbed Florida pine flatwoods with 2½ miles of self-guided trails and demonstration landscaping, including a butterfly garden and coastal dune habitats, all with interpretive signs. School groups use the trails during the week, and there are special events like summer day camps. The Gold LEED-certified buildings on site hold the gift shop and classrooms.

Although the route will take you slightly out of the way, take I–94 on your way to Hardin and stop at Pompey’s Pillar National Monument, the only on-site physical evidence of the Lewis and Clark expedition. The site gets its name from Sacagawea’s son, whose nickname was “Pomp.” When William Clark saw this small sandstone mesa rising out of the prairie along the Yellowstone River on July 25, 1806, he climbed to the top to survey the area and then marked it with his signature and the date. His graffiti, along with other engravings by early-19th-century fur traders and homesteaders, is still visible. You can climb to the top of the mesa and view the signature year-round during daylight hours. To get to Hardin, continue east on I–94 for a few miles and then head south on Highway 47.

The glacier is a frequently visited tourist destinations. A 6-mile side road off the Seward Highway leads to Begich-Boggs Visitor Center on the shore of Portage Lake, named after two U.S. congressmen who disappeared on a small-plane journey out of Anchorage in 1972. The center is staffed by Forest Service personnel, who can help plan your trip and explain the natural history of the area. A film on glaciers is shown hourly, and icebergs sometimes drift down to the center from Portage Glacier. Due to global climate change, Portage, like most of the glaciers in Alaska, has receded greatly in recent years, and it's no longer visible from the road. However, you can view it on a scenic cruise or via a hike.

Known as "Georgia's Little Grand Canyon," Providence Canyon State Park and Outdoor Recreation Area is actually made up of 16 canyons whose earthen walls display at least 43 different colors of sand. Providence Canyon is a favorite of geologists, photographers, and hikers, who enjoy peering over the canyon's rim and traversing its 10 miles of trails. It's located about 33 miles west of Plains.

For a leg-stretching break (and restrooms) stop at this small roadside park just past mile marker 22. Here you can enjoy the short hike to a small waterfall and pool across the highway from the bathrooms. The park is one of the few places on the highway with a decent amount of parking. It also has picnic tables and friendly cats to welcome you.

Often called Sweetheart Rock, this isolated 80-foot-high islet is steeped in romantic Hawaiian lore. The rock is said to be named after Pehe, a woman so beautiful that her husband kept her hidden in a sea cave. One day, the surf surged into the cave, and she drowned. Her grief-stricken husband buried her on this rock and jumped to his death. It is also believed that the enclosure on the summit is a shrine to birds, built by bird-catchers. Protected shearwaters nest in the nearby sea cliffs July–November.

Getting here involves a 28-mile journey over a washboard dirt road, but the reward is well worth the trip. Where else in the world do rocks move on their own? This mysterious phenomenon, which baffled scientists for years, now appears to have been "settled." Research has shown that the movement merely involves a rare confluence of conditions: rain and then cold to create a layer of ice along which gusty winds can readily push the rocks—sometimes for several hundred yards. When the ice melts and the mud dries, a telltale trail remains. The trek to the Racetrack can be made in a truck or SUV with thick tires (including spares) and high clearance; other types of vehicles aren't recommended as sharp rocks can slash tires. The nearest tow companies are in Lone Pine, outside the park to the west, and they charge upward from $1,000 for service out of Death Valley.