2155 Best Sights in USA

The Anthropology Museum at the university takes visitors on a journey through human evolution, starting in Africa millions of years ago. Part of the museum also celebrates hunter-gatherer societies throughout world history.

Among the artworks displayed in the campus art museum are paintings, sculpture, photography, and folk art from America, Europe, Africa, and Asia.

The first ¾-mile of this 4.3-mile round-trip trail takes you along a nature trail. It then loops around the pockmarked lower-badlands coulees. There's a slow incline that takes you up 300 feet to a grassy butte and then along a ridgeline affording fantastic views. Portions of the trail are slippery. Moderate–Difficult.

Summer concerts, yoga, pop-up beer gardens---there's a lot to do on top of the Kendall Center Green Garage. To access the hidden roof garden, use the elevators in the garage and find your way up to the top for a spot of green grass and flowers (and a even a new pickleball court) in the most unlikely place.

Built in 1943, this Fletcher-class U.S. Navy destroyer survived action in Asian waters during World War II (including seven Pacific battles and two kamikaze hits). She served the Navy until 1960. Walk beside her and take in her size, explore her top deck, or go below deck for a guided tour offered by the National Park Service. She is the namesake of Captain Cassin Young, who was awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroism at the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor; he was killed in the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal in the fall of 1942. Check the website for special opening hours.

Ingraham Street bisects this island, providing two distinct experiences for visitors. The west side is taken up by the Paradise Point Resort & Spa, but you don't have to be a guest to enjoy the hotel's lushly landscaped grounds and bayfront restaurants. Boaters and Jet-Skiers congregate near the launch at Ski Beach on the east side of the island, where there's a parking lot as well as picnic areas and restrooms. Ski Beach is the site of the annual Bayfair boat races held every September. At the model yacht pond on the south side of the island, children and young-at-heart adults take part year-round in motorized miniature boat races.

A 1¼-mile hiking trail follows the bank of the Rogue, the river made famous by novelist and fisherman Zane Grey; it joins with a picturesque 4-mile stretch of the multiuse Rogue River Greenway Trail, which will eventually span 30 miles and connect Grants Pass with Gold Hill and Central Point. There's a campground along 3 miles of shoreline with full RV hookups as well as yurts (some of them pet-friendly). Day visitors appreciate the picnic tables, walking trails, playgrounds, and restrooms.

Ride the 1 train to its northernmost stop and you'll be greeted—surprisingly—by a park so sprawling and leafy, it's hard to believe you're still technically in New York City. Van Cortlandt started its life as the grounds of a 17th-century plantation built by an officer of the Dutch West India Company, and you can still visit the estate to learn about its generations of owners and the people who were enslaved there.

The park itself has plenty of hiking trails, bridle paths, and sports facilities including a cricket pitch, plus the Van Cortlandt Golf Course, the oldest public golf course in America, which includes a picturesque lake house offering rowing rentals in handmade wooden boats.

The gallery, located in a historic town house on a tree-lined street, features a vast collection of works by contemporary artists from the era of World War II up to the present. Van Doren Waxter represents Caetano de Almeida, Marsha Cottrell, and Farid Haddad, among other artists, while handling secondary market work by Georgia O'Keeffe, Lee Krasner, Roy Lichtenstein, and other revered names.

More than 300 acres of Vanderbilt University's campus is a designated arboretum, with more than 6,000 trees, that can be explored using self-guided tours available via smartphone. Numerous trees have plaques that tell visitors the story of their ecological and historical significance, while others have QR codes that visitors can scan with their phones to learn more about a specific species. Visit the website for specific tour information and start locations.

The Vedauwoo Recreation Area, in the Medicine Bow–Routt National Forest, is a particularly unusual area and a great place for a picnic. Springing out of high plains and open meadows are glacial remnants in the form of huge granite boulders piled skyward with reckless abandon. These one-of-a-kind rock formations, dreamscapes of gray stone, are great for hiking, climbing, and photography. There's also camping here.

The 50-foot-tall neon cowboy outside the Pioneer Club has been waving to Las Vegas visitors since 1947 (though, truth be told, he was actually replaced by a newer version in 1951). His neon sidekick, Vegas Vicki, went up across the street in 1980, was retired in 2017, then unretired—complete with her own lounge—in Downtown's new Circa Resort & Casino.

Winding a little more than 3 miles through the Circle C Ranch Metropolitan Park, this paved asphalt loop track is reserved exclusively for bicyclists and rollerbladers. Riders always travel in a one-way, clockwise direction, with designated slow and fast lanes. It's a bit off-the-beaten path, located over 10 miles from downtown, but not far from the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. The loop track is open every day, from dawn to dusk, and there are no on-site facilities. No dogs or walkers are allowed.

A stroll along this 1½-mile pedestrian and cycling path across from Downtown is one of the best ways to experience the Willamette River and Portland's bridges close-up. Built in 2001, the esplanade runs along the east bank of the Willamette River between the Hawthorne and Steele bridges, and features a 1,200-foot walkway that floats atop the river, a boat dock, and public art. Pedestrian crossings on both bridges link the esplanade to Tom McCall Waterfront Park, making a 3-mile loop.

Combat artist Austin Deuel created Hill-881 South, the sculpture in front of the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts that graces Veterans Memorial Plaza, dedicated to the memory of those who served in the U.S. Armed Forces. The plaza was dedicated in 1986.

Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar, among others, host this popular ABC talk show with a live studio audience every Monday to Friday at 11 am. Tickets can be requested in advance but don't always guarantee you'll get in, so be sure to get in line by 10:15 am—or earlier (see ticket instructions). Tapings last about an hour. You must be 16 or older to join.

The landmark Plaza Viña del Mar, named for Sausalito's sister city in Chile, marks the center of town. Adjacent to the parking lot and ferry pier, the plaza is flanked by two 14-foot-tall statues of elephants, which were created for the Panama–Pacific International Exposition World's Fair held in San Francisco in 1915. A picture-perfect fountain here is great for people-watching.

The city's most poignant museum is housed in the former Climax Warehouse, which stored tobacco in Richmond's Shockoe Bottom. In keeping with the museum's aim to further "tolerance through education," the museum details the experiences of Holocaust survivors from across Virginia who have recorded their stories and shared their memories. After an introductory film in which six Richmond-based survivors tell their stories, visitors receive a book for a self-guided tour; a free audio tour (in English, Spanish, German, French, or Polish) is also available. The museum's auditorium, the Chore Shul, is a replica of the beautiful 18th-century interior of the only surviving synagogue in Lithuania. Because of the nature of the exhibits, the museum is not recommended for young children.

Adjacent to Washington and Lee University, the Virginia Military Institute, founded in 1839, is the nation's oldest state-supported military college. With an enrollment of about 1,300 cadets, the institute has admitted women since 1997. After a two-year expansion and renovation effort, the Virginia Military Institute Museum now includes a 3,000-square-foot main exhibit hall in Jackson Memorial Hall, dedicated to the VMI Heritage. Displays include 15,000 artifacts, including Stonewall Jackson's stuffed and mounted horse, Little Sorrel, and the general's coat, pierced by the bullet that killed him at Chancellorsville, and on the lower level, the Henry Stewart antique firearms collection.

Thomas Jefferson designed this grand edifice in 1785, modeling it on a Roman temple—the Maison Carrée—in Nîmes, France. After an extensive renovation, the Capitol has an accessible entrance on Bank Street. Free indoor guided tours last one hour and include the Old House and Senate chambers, the Rotunda, and two restored rooms; they may also include the legislative chambers when the legislature is not in session. Alternatively, a map for self-guided tours of the public areas of the capitol is also available for those who would like to explore on their own. 

A statue called Memory overlooks a wall with thousands of names of Virginians who sacrificed their lives in World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and the Persian Gulf. A series of educational programs based on the real-life experiences of Virginians is shown in the Hall of Honor Auditorium, and touch-screen computers in the Visitors Center provide information on Virginia veterans. Displays of artifacts and memorabilia tell the story of the impact of these conflicts on Virginians and their families.

Local produce, flowers, crafts, and food products, including fresh-baked breads, pastries, coffee, pancakes, fresh coconuts with straws, and homemade Thai specialties, are available every Sunday morning from 6 to 10 at this decidedly down-home farmers' market in Volcano Village. It's best to get there early, before 7, as vendors tend to sell out of the best stuff quickly. There's also a small bookstore (paperbacks 50¢, hardcovers $1, and magazines 10¢) and a thrift store with clothes and knickknacks. The market is held in the covered Cooper Center, so it's safe from the rain.

Located on beautifully landscaped grounds dotted with intriguing sculptures, this delightful gallery and garden lend credence to Volcano Village's reputation as an artists' haven. The complex includes an eclectic gallery representing more than 100 artists, a gourmet organic café in redwood buildings built in 1908, and a cute, one-bedroom vacation cottage, available for rent. If you're lucky, you'll get to meet the award-winning owner/caretaker of this enclave, the multitalented Ira Ono, known for his mixed-media art, recycled trash creations, and friendly personality.

Running along both sides of Wabash Avenue from Ida B. Wells Drive south to 16th Street, this mile-long stretch is an outdoor gallery of murals and street art. There are nearly 40 permanent installations and an evolving set of temporary exhibitions. Chicago artists including Shepard Fairey, Hebru Brantley, and Sam Kirk have had work shown here.

At this 139-acre property across from Emery Farm and operated by the town of Durham as a public park, you can stroll along scenic trails from the farmhouse to the old farm wagon and through the woods to the picnic area overlooking the Oyster River. There's sledding and cross-country skiing in winter.

Also known as Twenty Mile Beach, this arched stretch of sand leads to one of the most popular snorkeling spots on the island. The water here, protected by the flanks of the little bay, is often so clear and shallow that even from land you can watch fish swimming among the coral heads. Watch out for traffic when you enter the highway.  This is a pleasant place to stop on the drive around the east end. Amenities: none. Best for: snorkeling; swimming.

Once an important feature to Lanai's Native Hawaiian communities, this 9-acre fishpond fell into disrepair and its springs became polluted by Upcountry runoff when the native populations rapidly declined after Western contact in 1778. In 2015, a collaborative community effort to restore the fishpond began, and you can see the progress that has been made, as well as beautiful views when pulling off the road. Portable restrooms are available here.

Hiking with a view doesn’t get much better than along the 2.5-mile (round-trip) Waihee Ridge Trail. The catch: You’ll have to work for it. This out-and-back trail is steep, climbing more than 1,500 feet before rewarding you with a panorama of the central valley and curtains of emerald vegetation. Smart hikers go early to take advantage of cooler temperatures. Don't forget to stop at the 1-mile mark and enjoy the best view of Makamakaole Falls. The trail is open 7 am to 7 pm daily.

Slightly after the town of Huelo, the Hana Highway enters the Koolau Forest Reserve. Vines wrap around street signs, and waterfalls are so abundant that you don't know which direction to look. A good start is between mile markers 9 and 10, where the Waikamoi Nature Trail sign beckons you to stretch your car-weary limbs. A short (if muddy) trail leads through tall eucalyptus trees to a coastal vantage point with a picnic table. Awapuhi, or Hawaiian shampoo ginger, sends up fragrant shoots along the trail. Signage with messages such as "Quiet, Trees at Work" and "Bamboo Picking Permit Required" keeps you, figuratively speaking, on the straight and narrow.