2155 Best Sights in USA

This neon-and-incandescent sign in a median of Las Vegas Boulevard south of Mandalay Bay is one of Sin City's most enduring icons. The landmark dates back to 1959 and was approved for listing on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009. Young Electric Sign Company leases the sign to Clark County, but the design itself was never copyrighted and currently exists in the public domain. (This, of course, explains why you see so many likenesses all over town.) The parking lot in the median just south of the sign was expanded in 2015. If you prefer to go on foot, expect a 10-minute walk from Mandalay Bay, plus waiting time for photo ops.

The Werner Wildlife Museum, near the Casper College campus, has displays of birds and animals from Wyoming and around the world. There are more than 400 birds, fish, and animal species on display across 36 different exhibits.

Founded in 1831, Wesleyan University is one of the oldest Methodist institutions of higher education in the country. The roughly 2,800 undergraduates give Middletown a contemporary, college-town feel. Note the massive, fluted Corinthian columns of the 1828 Greek Revival Russell House at the corner of Washington Street, across from the pink Mediterranean-style Davison Art Center built 15 years later. Farther along, you'll find gingerbreads, towering brownstones, Tudors, and Queen Annes. A few hundred yards up on Church Street, which intersects High Street, is the Olin Library. This 1928 structure was designed by Henry Bacon, architect of the Lincoln Memorial.

A romantic reminder of the past, this single-lane bridge over the Housatonic River is on Route 128, just east of U.S. 7, in West Cornwall. The 172-feet-long and 15-feet-wide lattice truss bridge was built in 1841 and still carries vehicular traffic. The design incorporates strut techniques that were later copied by bridge builders around the country.

More than 200 art galleries, antiques shops, fashion outlets, and interior design stores are found here near 30 restaurants, including the famous paparazzi magnet, the Ivy. All are clustered within walking distance of each other—rare for L.A.

Directly across from the Pacific Design Center, this public library is filled with resources in a floor-to-ceiling glass multistory building. They also have an impressive children's library and LGBTQ+ book collection. Park in the nearby city parking complex.

Cultural information and local exhibits about sugar, weaving, shells, and poi-making highlight this small museum-style resource center in Waimea Town. Shop counters offer Island-made items, Niihau-shell jewelry, photographs of Kauai, children's books, and snacks. Lei-making and music sessions happen regularly on the patio, and you can get a map for a walking tour.

Crowned with a large outcrop of Arkansas novaculite, the summit of West Mountain provides views of Hot Springs, the national park, and the surrounding peaks, including Music Mountain, the park's tallest peak at 1,329 feet. This overlook is the last stop along the West Mountain Scenic Drive before heading back down the mountain. It's a nice place to stretch your legs, with access to Sunset Trail.

This 404-acre city park on the banks of the Eno River boasts a restored mill dating from 1778—one of 32 that once dotted the area. Also on-site are a 19th-century Greek revival farmhouse that was occupied by John Cabe McCown, the onetime owner of the mill, and a museum that showcases early-20th-century photographer Hugh Mangum's pictures of the surrounding area. The Festival for the Eno, held around July 4, includes musicians, artists, and craftspeople from around the region.

The library, in the heart of downtown Westerly, also serves neighboring Pawcatuck, Connecticut. The library's Hoxie Gallery holds art exhibitions. Adjacent to the library, Wilcox Park, a 14½-acre Victorian strolling park designed in 1898 by Warren Manning—an associate of Frederick Law Olmsted, co-creator of New York's Central Park—has a pond, a meadow, an arboretum, a perennials garden, sculptures, fountains, and monuments. The Runaway Bunny, a sculpture inspired by the children's book of the same name, is popular with the little ones. A garden market, arts festivals, concerts, and Shakespeare-in-the-park productions are held periodically.

You can almost hear the murmur of passengers and rhythmic, metal-on-metal clatter as you stroll past the old cabooses, railcars, and engines, such as Sante Fe Number 95, that are on display outside the historic Barstow station housing this museum. Inside, the memorabilia includes a train simulator, rail equipment, a model railroad, items from the depot’s Harvey House days, and period dining-car china from railways around the country.

Developed beginning in 1836 and landscaped by the Olmsted Brothers, this 18-acre park is one Portland's oldest preserved spaces. It offers wonderful sunset views in spots, as well as a network of wooded trails, places to sit and people-watch, and paths that pass by the neighborhood's historic homes.

A good place to start is at the head of the Western Promenade, which has benches and a nice view. From the Old Port, take Danforth Street all the way up to Vaughn Street; take a right on Vaughn and then an immediate left onto Western Promenade. Pass by the Western Cemetery, Portland's second official burial ground, laid out in 1829—inside is the ancestral plot of poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow—and look for street parking.

Wet Prong Trail follows a ridgeline to the drainage of the Wet Prong of Buffalo Creek and parallels the creek for much of the trail's length, crossing smaller tributary streams on its way. The trail can be soft and muddy in places, and growth can be dense. At 1.4 miles, Blair Springs Hollow Trail connects. At 3.7 miles McCoy Hollow Trail connects. The trail ends at a junction with Collie Ridge Trail and Buffalo Creek Trail. 4.6 miles. Moderate. Note: Wet Prong Trail forms a 19.1-mile loop with First Creek Trail and McCoy Hollow Trail that can be accessed from either First Creek Trailhead or Temple Hill Trailhead.

A handful of benches and tables near drinking water, a covered kiosk, and restrooms make this a pleasant spot for lunch in the Wetherill area.

Here in the most famous whale-watching town in Oregon, this helpful little information center perched on a oceanfront bluff in the heart of town is a valuable resource, whether you're looking for tips on the latest sightings during the peak winter and spring migratory seasons or you simply want to learn about these amazing creatures. The center is staffed with state park naturalists who regularly give talks and can answer your questions, and there's an observation deck that offers fantastic views—you might see some of the roughly 20,000 gray whales that migrate up and down the coast each year, plus humpbacks, orcas, and a wide variety of seabirds and other sea mammals.

On upper Whatcom Creek, Whatcom Falls Park (reached via Lakeway, east from I–5) features a creek with a number of pretty waterfalls; one has a popular local swimming hole, although the water is very cold. Trails lead down creek and up the creek to Scudder Pond and Bloedel Donovan Park.

For those who want the quintessential Gulch photo op, head to artist Kelsey Montague's Instagram-famous mural right off 11th Avenue South. The sprawling 20-foot white wings are filled with little design nods to the Music City like guitars, along with dreamy abstractions that add to the ethereal feeling. There's even a smaller set of wings that are perfect for kids or pets, so everyone can get their perfect shot. The line can get long, especially during the weekends, so this is a great way to kill some time while you're waiting for a restaurant table nearby. 

Now a 75-acre park and living history museum with numerous historic structures and a country store selling snacks, toys, and farm-related gifts, this verdant oasis and still-working farm on Little Cottonwood Creek in suburban Murray was settled in 1898 and is one of the only pioneer-era farmsteads left in the metro area. Activities here include cow-milking, observing the farm animals, tours of the impressive Victorian homestead (which is packed with farming implements and artifacts), and wagon rides and easy hikes on an extensive trail network. A very popular farmers' market is held here on summer Sundays. There's no charge to walk around the property, but tours and various activities have small fees.

The White House Visitor Center is a fantastic way to get an orientation before visiting the White House and an excellent alternative for those who could not get tickets. Displays, artifacts, photos, videos, and interactive exhibits recount the life and times of America's most famous house, providing behind-the-scenes insight into the workings of the White House. Afterward, go for a walk around the grounds of the President's park for the iconic views of the White House.

The forest this trail passes through is no ordinary woodland. To your left is the Big Woods, one of the last remaining stands of original Old Growth forest in Kentucky. The trail descends into the Green River Valley to the north side of Dennison Ferry, and the White Oak backcountry campsite.  2.5 mi. Moderate. There is no ferry, and no cross-river access to the Dennison Ferry Day-Use Area.

From the ridgetop near Mammoth Cave Campground, Whites Cave Trail makes its way down the wooded flank of Mammoth Cave ridge toward a spot where White Cave lies nestled underneath the forest floor. This small grotto with no known connection to the Mammoth Cave system isn't open to the public, but the trail passes by its entrance. 0.6 mile. Moderate.

This is a reconstruction of Waiilatpu Mission, a Presbyterian outpost established on Cayuse lands in 1836. The park preserves the foundations of the mission buildings, a short segment of the Oregon Trail, and, on a nearby hill, the graveyard where the Native American victims of an 1847 measles epidemic and subsequent uprising are buried.

You don't have to be a Democrat to enjoy this historic building, which became the headquarters for the Women's National Democratic Club in 1927. The exquisitely decorated mansion, built in the 1890s and designed by D.C. architect Harvey Page for opera singer Sarah Adams Whittemore, has housed senators and cabinet members over the years. Now it's best known for its library, where Eleanor Roosevelt did her radio broadcasts, and its full-length portraits of first ladies, painted in a whimsical style by folk artist April Newhouse.

Named for a Baptist minister who was one of Providence's first settlers, this main artery in the Fox Point district is home to antiques stores, art galleries, and trendy cafés. It also hosts the Coffee Exchange, one of the area's most popular gathering spots. Sidewalk sales are held in the spring and fall. Once home to mainly working-class Portuguese-Americans, the Wickenden Street area has become a popular area for off-campus student housing; Our Lady of the Rosary Church on adjacent Traverse Street still conducts some weekend Masses in Portuguese. Broadway impresario George M. Cohan was born at 536 Wickenden St.; look for his statue at the corner of Governor St.

This triangular little patch of green, donated to the city in 1870 by politician Charles Wicker, is a neighborhood favorite and home to softball fields, a children's water playground, a dog park, and outdoor movies. The handsome central fountain is a great spot for chilling out and people-watching in warm weather.

Dating to 1709, Wickford began as a fishing village, later a modestly busy port, and today retains its Colonial charms with street after street lined with preserved buildings dating from the 18th and 19th centuries, including a number of former sea captain's homes. One of the oldest Episcopal churches in America, the circa-1707 Old Narragansett Church, was originally located about five miles away but moved to Wickford in 1800. Wickford Harbor is a popular haven for pleasure boaters, and the calm waters also attract kayakers and standup paddleboarders. Fresh fish can still be bought off the town dock at the end of Main Street, and a pair of small bridges over tidal coves help define the pleasantly walkable shopping area on Brown Street. Several walking trails access undeveloped areas on the outskirts of town, and the town beach is a short walk or bike ride south along scenic route 1A. Wickford hosts Daffodil Days in the spring, the Wickford Art Festival in July, Wicked Week Halloween festivities late October, and the Festival of Lights in December.

This 85-acre hollow with picnic tables and a waterfall is a good place for a casual hike along a marked 1.6-mile loop trail that passes through a rare maritime oak-holly forest and winds along and over Dundery Brook. The trail passes a boulder dedicated to Queen Awashonks, who ruled the local Sakonnet tribe during the early Colonial period.