10457 Best Sights in USA

Uniforms, vehicles, and other artifacts at this museum illustrate the contributions of those on the home front to the U.S. World War II effort.

The gleaming white landmark—designed by Graham, Anderson, Probst & White and the former headquarters of the chewing-gum company—was instrumental in transforming Michigan Avenue from an area of warehouses to one of the most desirable spots in the city. Its two structures were built several years apart and later connected, and its clock tower was inspired by the bell tower of the Giralda Tower in Seville, Spain. Be sure to check it out at night, when lamps bounce light off the 1920s terracotta facade.

In a city that keeps raising the bar for sheer luxury, Wynn Las Vegas—monolithic in both name and appearance—offers a discreet turn for the tasteful. The resort is a best-of-everything experience—a playground for jet-setters, high rollers, or anyone who wants to feel like one. This excellence starts with the gardens near the front entrance; though smaller than Bellagio's, they are just as exquisite. It continues with the waterfall that pours from (man-made) rocks into a interior lake, both visible from the Overlook Lounge. Instead of booking another Cirque du Soleil show, Wynn created Awakening, in a 360-degree theater designed for the show. On-site restaurants are just as appealing, with Wing Lei holding firm as one of the best Chinese restaurants in the entire city. High-end shopping options at The Shops at Wynn include Alexander McQueen, Bulgari, and Chanel, and the Wynn Plaza includes Breitling, Hermes, and Cipriani restaurant, whose forerunner in Venice was the birthplace of the Bellini.

Between Northeast 25th and 26th Streets on Northwest 2nd Avenue, the Wynwood Walls are a cutting-edge enclave of modern urban murals, reflecting diversity in graffiti and street art. More than 50 well-known and lesser-known artists have transformed 80,000 square feet of warehouse walls into an outdoor museum of sorts (bring your camera). The popularity of the walls spawned the neighboring Wynwood Doors and Garden, an industrial space replete with metal roll-down gates also used as blank canvases, complemented by a garden with singular pieces of art and an eye-popping indoor gallery.

Among the nearly 60 dinosaur skeletons displayed at this nonprofit museum and research center is the winged "Thermopolis Specimen," the only Archaeopteryx exhibited outside of Europe, and "Stan," one of the most complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeletons in the world, measuring 35 feet long and weighing in at nearly 6 tons. Special full-day programs allow kids and adults to try their hand at paleontology by digging in one of the several active dinosaur sites nearby (some 10,000 dinosaur bones have been excavated in the vicinity since 1993). Tours of the dig site are also offered daily in summer.

Drive this 1-mile loop just across the Yachats River from downtown Yachats, and discover one of the most scenic viewpoints on the Oregon Coast. Park along Yachats Ocean Road and scamper out along the broad swath of sand where the Yachats River meets the Pacific Ocean. There's fun to be had playing on the beach, poking around tide pools, and watching blowholes, summer sunsets, and whales spouting.

Featuring the largest collection of British art outside Britain, the center surveys the development of English art, life, and thought from the Elizabethan period to the present. The skylighted galleries, one of architect Louis I. Kahn's final works, contain artwork by John Constable, William Hogarth, Thomas Gainsborough, Joshua Reynolds, and J. M. W. Turner, to name but a few. You'll also find rare books and paintings documenting English history. Explore on your own or take a free guided tour, offered Thursday and Saturday at 11 am and weekends at 2 pm.

One of the first natural history museums in America, the Peabody Museum reopened to the public after a four-year redesign in 2024. The new-look Peabody retains its renowned Hall of Dinosaurs with its Brontosaurus skeleton backed by the 110-foot-long Age of Reptiles mural still greeting visitors. It also holds more than 13 million specimens, making it one of the nation's largest natural history museums, including exhibits on Egyptian, Andean, Mesoamerican, and Pacific cultures. Visitors can explore life from ancient oceans, the new world created by the asteroid impact that spelled the end of the dinosaurs, the history of science, rocks from the moon and Mars, and a living laboratory with live animals. It is an unforgettable way to spend a day in New Haven.

New Haven's manufacturing history dates to the 19th century, but the city owes its fame to merchant Elihu Yale. In 1718, his contributions enabled the Collegiate School, founded in 1701 at Saybrook, to settle in New Haven and change its name to Yale College. In 1887, all of its schools were consolidated into Yale University. This is one of the nation's great institutions of higher learning, and its campus holds some handsome neo-Gothic buildings and noteworthy museums. Student guides conduct hour-long walking tours that include Connecticut Hall in the Old Campus, one of the oldest buildings in the state, which housed a number of illustrious students—including Nathan Hale, Noah Webster, and Eli Whitney. Tours start from the visitor center.

Since its founding in 1832, this art gallery has amassed more than 200,000 works from around the world, dating from ancient Egypt to the present day. Highlights include works by Vincent van Gogh, Edouard Manet, Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso, Winslow Homer, and Thomas Eakins, as well as Etruscan and Greek vases, Chinese ceramics and bronzes, early Italian paintings, and a collection of American decorative arts that is considered one of the world's finest. The gallery's landmark main building is also of note: Opened in 1953, it was renowned architect Louis I. Kahn's first major commission and the first modernist building on the neo-Gothic Yale campus.

The tallest lighthouse on the Oregon Coast has been blinking its beacon since its head keeper first walked up its 114 steps to light the wicks on the evening of August 20, 1873. Next to the 93-foot tower is an interpretive center. Call ahead to confirm tour times.

Dominated by the Yavapai Geology Museum and Observation Station, this point displays panoramic views of the mighty gorge through a wall of windows. Exhibits at the museum include videos of the canyon floor and the Colorado River, a scaled diorama of the canyon with national park boundaries, fossils, and rock fragments used to re-create the complex layers of the canyon walls, and a display on the natural forces used to carve the chasm. Dig even deeper into Grand Canyon geology with free daily ranger programs. This point is also a good location to watch the sunset.

Together these three cascades constitute the highest combined waterfall in North America and the fifth highest in the world. The water from the top descends a total of 2,425 feet, and when the falls run hard, you can hear them thunder across the valley. If they dry up—that sometimes happens in late summer—the valley seems naked without the wavering tower of spray. If you hike the mile-long loop trail (partially paved) to the base of the Lower Fall in spring, prepare to get wet. You can get a good full-length view of the falls from the lawn of Yosemite Chapel, off Southside Drive.

Yosemite Falls is the highest waterfall in North America. The upper fall (1,430 feet), the middle cascades (675 feet), and the lower fall (320 feet) combine for a total of 2,425 feet, and when viewed from the valley appear as a single waterfall. The ¼-mile trail leads from the parking lot to the base of the falls. Upper Yosemite Fall Trail, a strenuous 7.2-mile round-trip climb rising 2,700 feet, takes you above the top of the falls. Lower trail: Easy. Upper trail: Difficult.

Sweeping views of the Guadalupe Mountains and El Capitan give allure to this challenging but beautiful trail. Drive past Rattlesnake Springs and stop at the park boundary before reaching the Slaughter Canyon Cave parking lot (four-wheel-drive or high-clearance vehicles are recommended; check with visitor center for road conditions before setting out). Turn west along the boundary fence line to the trailhead. The 7½-mile round-trip begins at the mouth of Yucca Canyon and climbs nearly 1,500 feet up to the top of the escarpment for a panoramic view. Allow about four to five hours round-trip. Difficult.

Sister-and-brother team Lisa and Mark Mazzoni (she runs the business, he makes the wines) debuted their small winery's first vintage in 2014, but their Italian-American family's wine-making heritage stretches back more than a century. Zialena specializes in estate-grown Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon wines, some of whose lush mouthfeel derives from techniques Mark absorbed while working for the international consultant Philippe Melka. The Zin and Cab grapes, along with Sauvignon Blanc and Sangiovese for the seductive rosé, come from the 120-acre Mazzoni Vineyard, from which labels like Jordan also source fruit.

Most winery owners would love to be in Steve Zichichi's shoes: wines from his flagship vineyard, some of whose vines were planted in the 1920s during Prohibition, are largely sold out before they're bottled. As a result, customers of this northern Dry Creek Valley operation taste some wines while they're still aging in barrels and purchase "futures" available for shipping or pickup months or more later. The highlight, only sometimes available for tasting, is the Old Vine Zinfandel. Zichichi makes another Zinfandel and a Petite Sirah from his main vineyard and one of each from another Dry Creek property. There's also a 100% Cabernet from the Chalk Hill appellation. Tastings, by appointment, often take place on a porch overlooking the historic vines.

A former Native American gathering place and later a site of Franciscan missions in the 1700s, present-day Zilker Park is Austin's biggest public green space. Locals consider the 351-acre park complex their own backyard, albeit a massive one that stretches along the shores of Lady Bird Lake and includes adjacent sites like Barton Springs, botanical gardens, and various lakeside trails. Parking is increasingly difficult in recent years, so take the free Zilker Shuttle that runs May through September to avoid the congestion. In spring, the park hosts a beloved annual kite festival plus a long-running concert series at the Zilker Hillside Theater, a natural outdoor amphitheater shaded by century-old pecan trees; musicals and plays take over in the summer. The annual Austin City Limits Music Festival, along with hundreds of thousands of attendees, descend on the park for two weeks in October.

Vividly colored cliffs tower 2,000 feet above the road that meanders north from Highway 9 at Canyon Junction along the floor of Zion Canyon. As you roll through the narrow, steep canyon, you'll pass The Court of the Patriarchs, The Sentinel, and The Great White Throne, among other imposing rock formations. From roughly March through November, unless you're staying at the lodge, you can access Zion Canyon Scenic Drive only by riding the park shuttle. The rest of the year, you can drive it yourself.

Architect Gilbert Stanley Underwood, responsible for many noteworthy national park lodges, designed the original Zion Lodge, which opened in 1924 but was destroyed by fire four decades later (the neighboring guest cabins survived and are still in use today). It was hastily rebuilt in about 100 days, and then in 1990, it received a painstaking restoration that brought it back to its original rustic style, in some cases down to the very paint color. Natural beauty is on display inside and out, from the lobby's rock columns and exposed wood to the cottonwoods shading the sprawling lawn. The main building includes a gift shop, an upscale restaurant, and an outdoor café with a large patio and beer garden. One way to experience the lodge and its surroundings is through an open-air narrated tram ride (the fare is $17).

One of the most popular day hikes in the Cedar Grove area is just 1.6 miles long and takes in not only the lush meadow, but also the South Fork of the Kings River and the high granite walls above, including those of Grand Sentinel and North Dome. Easy.

Enjoy spectacular views of San Francisco and Angel Island, as well as grassy expanses that are perfect for a picnic. The marina houses three restaurants and connects to bike paths and running trails. On sunny days, the 90-acre César E. Chávez Park, at the marina's northern tip, fills with kite flyers, dog walkers, and families grilling and riding bikes.

At this combination zoo, botanical garden, and natural history museum, the emphasis is on the zoo. Within the reptile house lives every species of rattlesnake found in California. The landscaped grounds—about a 20-minute drive northeast of Bakersfield—also shelter captive bald eagles, tortoises, coyotes, black bears, and foxes. Additions in 2015 include a touch tank and jellyfish exhibit, a zip line, and a high ropes challenge course.

You can stroll among dozens of restored military aircraft at this outdoor facility. The vintage war birds include the B-25 Mitchell medium-range bomber—best known for the Jimmy Doolittle raid on Tokyo after the attack on Pearl Harbor—and the speedy SR-71 Blackbird, used for reconnaissance over Vietnam and Libya. A recently arrived star is an aircraft that from 1974 to 2006 was known as Air Force One whenever it transported the U.S president.

There are grills, water, picnic tables, and restrooms here and, depending on the time of day, some shade from junipers and rock walls. It's a good place for lunch before or after a hike.

This site at the north end of the park, a two-hour drive from Pine Springs Visitor Center, has 13 campsites with picnic tables, which you can use during the day for free. This is a lovely shaded area with an elevation of 6,300 feet where you're likely to see mule deer. Drinking water and restrooms are available.

This is clearly the premier experience at Discovery Cove, but before you picture yourself frolicking alone with these playful creatures, remember that your "swim" is largely done alongside your fellow guests and is carefully supervised and restricted for the safety of both you and the dolphins. Despite the limitations, however, the attraction offers you the unique chance to touch, feed, play with, and even kiss a bottlenose dolphin, one of the most social and communicative marine animals. Before you can get into the lagoon, you'll attend a 15-minute orientation consisting of a film plus a few words from a dolphin trainer. Following the orientation, you and up to eight other guests will spend roughly 30 minutes interacting with one of a few dozen dolphins. Although you are only knee-deep in the water most of the time, it's surprisingly chilly, so you'll be grateful for the mandatory, Discovery Cove–provided wet suit.

When in the water, trainers teach you hand signals used to communicate with the dolphins and with them you can instruct your dolphin to roll over so you can touch its belly or signal it to leap into the air. Near the end of the session you have a chance to swim out to deeper water, catch hold of the dolphin's fin, and have it pull you back to shore—and you even get a moment to pose for a picture with your newfound friend. Be prepared for the photo finish: after you leave the water and return to the orientation cabana, the skilled trainers quickly transform into a determined souvenir-photo sales team. For people with disabilities: Alert staffers to your hearing, vision, or mobility issues when you're making reservations, and they'll have someone there to offer special assistance—signing or having a modified wheelchair at the ready. Note that the pool here is "zero entry," so there are no steps to contend with. Be mindful of the appointment time on your badge. You don't want to miss the experience of a lifetime.

Thanks to the presence of Commerson's dolphins in the broad bay near the base of this attraction, this has become Aquatica's signature experience. The beginning of the ride is similar to that of other slides within the park. You whiz swiftly through an enclosed tube for about 250 feet, a long stretch that immerses you in darkness before the tube suddenly turns crystal clear. This clear shot affords a fleeting glimpse at the water that surrounds you, which happens to be the very same pool where the dolphins (which look like mini-killer whales) swim. You have to look fast to see them, though, because a split second later you're making your splashdown at the end of the line. In fact the best view of the dolphins may be from the walkway outside the ride or through an underwater pane of acrylic glass at the grotto. Keep an eye on the line, and step up when it's light—likely very early or late.

Based in a large garagelike space in Southeast Portland's trendy Buckman neighborhood, ENSO is the creation of young and talented winemaker Ryan Sharp, who sources grapes from Washington, California, and Oregon to produce superb wines that are quickly earning notice in the national wine press. Notable varietals include Petite Sirah, Malbec, Dry Riesling, and the especially popular L'American blend of Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, and Mourvedre. The high-ceilinged, industrial-chic tasting room—with exposed air ducts, a timber-beam ceiling, and a wall of windows (open on warm days)—has become one of the neighborhood's favorite wine bars, serving local Olympic Provisions charcuterie, Woodblock chocolates, Steve's Cheese Bar cheeses, and Little T Baker breads, plus local microbrews and a few wines, mostly from other Portland producers.