200 Best Sights in USA

Many science-fiction movies set on Mars have been filmed in this area 8 miles north of Barstow. Huge slabs of red, orange, white, and green stone tilt at crazy angles like ships about to capsize, and traces of ancient beasts such as mastodons and bear-dogs, which roamed the basin up to 16 million years ago, have been discovered in its fossil beds. The dirt road around the basin is narrow and bumpy so vehicles with higher clearance are recommended. Rain can quickly turn the road to mud so, at times, only four-wheel-drive vehicles are permitted. Owl Canyon has 22 primitive campsites.

The 290-foot red-sandstone arch is the world's largest natural bridge; it can be reached by boat or strenuous hike and can also be viewed by air. A boat tour to the monument ($126) is a great way to see not only the monument but also the enormity of the lake and its incredible, rugged beauty. The lake level is down, however, due to the prolonged drought throughout the region, so expect a 1-mile (or more) hike from the boat dock to the monument. To the Navajos this is a sacred area with deep religious and spiritual significance, so outsiders are asked not to hike underneath the arch itself.

Once a homestead, the site today contains one of the country's largest (if not the largest) colonies of black-tailed prairie dogs.

Perched at the edge of the Allegany Mountains, Rock City is believed to have the largest exposure of quartz conglomerate in the world. Some of the towering prehistoric rock formations are several stories high. Pathways lead you over top and down through narrow crevices enclosed by huge boulders. Wear athletic footwear.

Attractions here range from the awe-inspiring (the quarry resembles the Grand Canyon in miniature) to the mildly ghoulish (you can consult a directory of tombstone dealers throughout the country) to the whimsical (an outdoor granite bowling alley). At the crafts center, skilled artisans sculpt monuments and blast stone, while at the quarries themselves, workers who clearly earn their pay cut 25-ton blocks of stone from the sheer 475-foot walls. (You may recognize these walls from a chase scene in the 2009 Star Trek movie.)

Covering 1.8 million acres, this immense tract of wilderness woodland has fishing, swimming, hiking, and skiing. Motorized vehicles, boats, and equipment—even bicycles—are prohibited in the 113,849-acre Sky Lakes Wilderness, south of Crater Lake National Park. Its highest point is the 9,495-foot Mt. McLoughlin.

A scenic drive down Route 77 ends at this quiet southeastern tip of Rhode Island. People like to fish off the Army Corps of Engineers breakwater, or walk along it to enjoy views of the harbor. The 1884 Sakonnet Lighthouse on Little Cormorant Rock is picturesque, offshore, and not open to the public. 

Catch a good glimpse of plants and wildlife—from ospreys and alligators to turtles, snakes, and fish—on a 30-minute airboat ride through the Everglades. The fee covers admission to all nature exhibits as well as a visit to a model Seminole village.

Nature truly comes alive at night. Sawgrass Recreation Park offers longer nighttime airboat rides on Wednesday and Saturday at 8 pm, reservations required.

In what is technically Roxborough but feels very removed from the dense row houses, visitors can explore more than 355 acres of woods and trails in what is part nature center, part education center, and part art exhibition and performance location (usually in connection with nature). Trails are free and open dusk till dawn every day, while most events and workshops have a fee. There is also access via a trail that connects to the Schuylkill River Trail.

Jointly owned and operated by The Nature Conservancy and the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, this preserve offers a chance to slow down from the hubbub of town and experience world-class bird-watching. The 900-acre oasis makes for great strolling while on the lookout for more than 200 species, including great blue herons, sandhill cranes, and a large number of neotropical migratory songbirds, from chats to western tanagers to black-headed grosbeaks. Sightings of deer and wild turkey are fairly common, but there are also rare glimpses of more elusive mammals like beaver and river otters, not to mention mountain lions and bobcats. Always remember to respect the wildlife and keep an appropriate distance.

An information kiosk greets visitors just inside the preserve, and a boardwalk winds through the property to several viewpoints, including the Colorado River, a native fish project area, and a water control structure. If you have a little more time, take the new trail east to the Central Pond for spectacular views of the mountains and opportunities to spot waterfowl and other native species. 

The non-profit Marine Mammal Stranding Center is on call to rescue stranded dolphins, seals, sea turtles, and whales that travel up this way and into New York Harbor. The Sea Life Museum is the only part of the center that's open to the public. Its exhibits relate to ocean life and showcase bones recovered from the beach and life-size replicas of fish and marine mammals. To get here from Atlantic City, cross the Brigantine Bridge to Atlantic-Brigantine Boulevard.

The cave was discovered in 1928 on a farm just outside Cobleskill. An hour-long guided tour takes you 85 feet down, via winding stairs, and features fossils, stalagmites and stalactites, natural domes, and a 100-foot-high waterfall. The cavern temperature is usually 50°F, so dress accordingly.

With 11 miles of hiking trails, this 1,147-acre property—a mixture of forests, meadows, wetlands, ponds, and streams—provides myriad hiking opportunities. The visitor center shares its space with small hawks, an owl, and other animals in the live-animal display in the Natural History Exhibit Room.

West of Farmington, at U.S. 491 (though the odd map will still refer to this road by its old number, 666) and U.S. 64, just southwest of the town of Shiprock, 1,700-foot Shiprock Peak rises from the desert floor like a massive schooner. It's sacred to the Navajo, who call it Tse'Bit'Ai, or "Rock with Wings." No climbing or hiking is permitted. The formation—sometimes referred to as a pinnacle—is composed of igneous rock flanked by upright walls of solidified lava.

Rising from the south bank of the Willamette River, this forested enclave provides the best views of any of the city's parks; it also has the greatest historic cachet, since it was here that Eugene Skinner staked the claim that put Eugene on the map. Children can scale a replica of Skinner Butte, uncover fossils, and cool off under a rain circle. Skinner Butte Loop leads to the top of Skinner Butte, traversing sometimes difficult terrain through a mixed-conifer forest.

A quick walk from the parking lot at Skyline Arch, 16½ miles from the park entrance, gives you closer views and better photos. The short trail is less than a ½ mile round-trip and takes only a few minutes to travel. Mostly flat, this is an especially great hike for little kids or people whose mobility issues keep them from longer treks, though you should still be cautious of uneven ground.

A good place for a picnic, Slide Rock is 7 miles north of Sedona. On a hot day you can plunge down a natural rock slide into a swimming hole (bring an extra pair of jeans or a sturdy bathing suit and river shoes to wear on the slide). The site started as an early-20th-century apple orchard, and the natural beauty attracted Hollywood—a number of John Wayne and Jimmy Stewart movies were filmed here.

A few easy hikes run along the rim of the gorge. One downside is the traffic, particularly on summer weekends; you might have to wait to get into the park after midmorning. Unfortunately, the popularity of the stream has led to the occasional midsummer closing due to E. coli–bacteria infestations; the water is tested daily, and there is a water-quality hotline at  602/542--0202.

Kids love this butte that looks uncannily like the famed Peanuts beagle lying atop red rock instead of his doghouse. You can distinguish the formation from several places around town, including the mall in Uptown Sedona, but to get a clear view, venture up Schnebly Hill Road. Park by the trailhead on the left immediately before the paved road deteriorates to dirt. Margs Draw, one of several trails originating here, is worthwhile, gently meandering 100 feet down-canyon, through the tortured desert flora to Morgan Road. Backtrack to the parking lot for close to a 3-mile hike.

Sol Duc Valley is one of those magical places where all the Northwest's virtues seem at hand: lush lowland forests, sparkling river scenes, salmon runs, and serene hiking trails. Here, the popular Sol Duc Hot Springs area includes three attractive sulfuric pools ranging in temperature from 99°F to 104°F. 

In the Cuchara Valley you'll see fantastic rock formations with equally fanciful names, such as Profile Rock, Devil's Staircase, and Giant's Spoon. With a little imagination you can devise your own legends about the names' origins. There are more than 400 of these upthrusts, which radiate like the spokes of a wheel from the valley's dominating landmark, the Spanish Peaks. In Spanish they are known as Dos Hermanos, or "Two Brothers." In Ute, their name Huajatolla means "breasts of the world." The haunting formations are considered to be a unique geologic phenomenon for their sheer abundance and variety of rock types.

The junction of U.S. 180/191 and U.S. 60, just north of Springerville, is the perfect jumping-off spot for a driving tour of the Springerville Volcanic Field, which covers an area larger than the state of Rhode Island. On the southern edge of the Colorado Plateau, it's spread across a high-elevation plain similar to the Tibetan Plateau. Six miles north of Springerville on U.S. 180/191 are sweeping westward views of the double volcanoes Twin Knolls. As you travel west on U.S. 60, Green's Peak Road and various south-winding Forest Service roads make for a leisurely, hour-long drive past St. Peter's Dome, and a stop for impressive views from Green's Peak, the topographic high point of the Springerville Field. Stop by the Springerville-Eagar Regional Chamber of Commerce ( 7 W. Main St., Springerville  928/333–2123  www.springervilleeagarchamber.com) for a map and more information on the Volcanic Field.

Unlike the forests of the park's south and west sides, Douglas fir is the dominant tree in this area on the east slope of the Olympic Mountains. Fire has played an important role in creating the majestic forest here, as the Staircase Ranger Station explains in interpretive exhibits. There are trails and camping, too.

Proof of Lassen Peak's volatility becomes evident shortly after you enter the park at the southwest entrance. Sidewalks skirt boiling springs and sulfur-emitting steam vents. Sulphur Works is usually the last site to close in winter, but even when the road is closed, you can access the area via a 2-mile round-trip hike through the snow.

Sunset Crater, a cinder cone that rises 1,000 feet, was an active volcano 900 years ago. Its final eruption contained iron and sulfur, which give the rim of the crater its glow and thus its name. You can walk around the base, but you can't descend into the huge, fragile cone.

The Tunnel Fire in 2022 heavily damaged the Lava Flow Trail---a half-hour, mile-long, self-guided walk that provides a good view of the lava formations and holes in the rock where volcanic gases vented to the surface---which is now closed indefinitely. The fire also damaged and closed the Lennox Crater Trail, which climbs 280 feet to the top of Lenox Crater; should it reopen, wear sturdy, closed-toe shoes since the cinder there is soft and crumbly. Lava Flow, Bonito Vista, and A'a trails are still open despite the fire.

From O'Leary Peak, a 5-mile hike from the visitor center on Forest Route 545A, enjoy great views of the San Francisco Peaks, the Painted Desert, and beyond. The trail is an unpaved, rutted road (closed during winter), with a steep 2.5-mile hike to the top. To get to the area from Flagstaff, take Santa Fe Avenue east to U.S. 89, and head north for 12 miles; turn right onto the road marked Sunset Crater and go another 2 miles to the visitor center.

This is a karst region, a landscape where dissolving bedrock creates disappearing streams, springs, caves, and (sometimes massive) sinkholes. One such karst sinkhole is Cedar Sink, open for exploration via the Cedar Sink Trail. As a collapse feature, it acts as a window into geologic processes still going on deep beneath the earth. We see hidden streams emerge in the bottom of the sink and then hide again . . . only to form more sinkholes at Turnhole Bend farther along their route. Sinkholes of this size can form their own microclimate inside, encouraging the unseasonal growth of wildflowers.

Witness the effects of time on these cone-shape rock formations colored by iron, manganese, and other minerals.

One of the park's star attractions, Thurston Lava Tube (named "Nahuku" in Hawaiian) spans 600 feet underground. The massive cavelike tube, discovered in 1913, was formed by hot molten lava traveling through the channel. To reach the entrance of the tube, visitors descend a series of stairs surrounded by Hawaiian rain forest and the sounds of native birds. The Kilauea eruption of 2018 resulted in an almost two-year closure of the tube. During the closure, the drainage system was improved to reduce standing water on the cave’s floor, and electrical lines and lighting were replaced. Visitors should not touch the walls or delicate tree root systems that grow down through the ceiling. Parking is limited near the tube. If the lot is full, you can park at the Kilauea Iki Overlook parking lot, ½ mile away.

Many local legends attach themselves to Austin's most famous tree. At least 500 years old, this historic live oak (between 5th and 6th Streets) is the last survivor of a sacred group of trees known as the Council Oaks, used in ceremonies and meetings by Native American tribes. The tree's name derives from a legend that Stephen F. Austin negotiated the first boundary agreement between local tribes and settlers underneath its branches. In 1989, a disturbed individual attempted to poison the tree with a powerful herbicide and was later apprehended. Intensive efforts to save the tree were successful, although nearly two-thirds of the Treaty Oak died and it is now a shadow of its former self. Still, it's well worth a visit to pay your respects to this venerable survivor.