10457 Best Sights in USA

There aren't many safe swimming beaches on Kauai's East Side; however, this one ranks highly with parents because there's typically a narrow lagoon-like area between the beach and the reef that is perfect for small children. In winter, watch for east and northeast swells that would make this not such a safe option. There are no beach facilities or lifeguards, so watch your babies. A shower spigot along the roadside provides cold water to rinse off the salt. Amenities: parking (no fee); showers. Best for: sunrise; swimming.

On the west end in Dana Cove Park overlooking Dana Point Harbor, Baby Beach is very popular with families. It's close to a large parking lot, it has picnic shelters, and the water is quite shallow with no wave action. Water quality can be an issue, however. This is a popular SUP area and it's near the Ocean Institute. Amenities: lifeguards; parking; showers; toilets. Best for: sunset; swimming.

On this hour-long tour, visitors trek 1,500 feet into one of the region's great silver mines. Tour guides are actual miners and they explain various mining techniques and point out remaining silver veins and other mineral deposits. Tours depart every hour, and light jackets are wise year-round, as it's chilly in the mine. Gold-panning lessons in the adjacent stream are included in the tour price. On summer weekends, come early for a tasty, inexpensive breakfast.

You can hike these two easy loops, which both leave from the Norris Ranger Station, in under two hours. The 1½-mile Back Basin loop passes Emerald Spring, Steamboat Geyser, Cistern Spring, and Echinus Geyser. The latter was long known as Norris's most dependable big geyser, but its schedule has become much more erratic. The ¾-mile Porcelain Basin loop leads past whitish geyserite stone and extremely active Whirligig and other small geysers. Easy.

The late local photographer and self-made historian Sylvester Francis created this rich collection of Mardi Gras Indian costumes and other musical artifacts tied to the street traditions of New Orleans. The museum hosts traveling and featured exhibits in addition to its permanent collection.

On the park's eastern side, these two preserved homesteads are in the heart of the 331-acre Ben Bacon Ranch Historic District, which the park acquired in 2006. A walk along the former road through this section illustrates what subsistence farming in the area looked like from 1865 to 1941, before large-scale agriculture and ranching became the norm. You reach the area by way of the gravel road that starts just east of the Pinnacles Visitor Center; it then continues north about 1.3 miles by the old homesteads.

A self-guided walk along paved and gravel trails takes you through a group of four mesa-top dwellings. The community, which covers nearly 7 acres, dates back to the year AD 650, the Basketmaker Period, and includes a primitive, semisubterranean pit house and what's left of a multistory stone pueblo. Allow about 45 minutes to see the sites. The trail is 2.25 miles round-trip.

A beautiful view of the valley and wine made without pesticides or preservatives is what you'll find here. Badger Mountain was the first wine-grape vineyard in Washington State to be certified organic. The tasting room is open daily and you can go online to book a seated tasting time for inside, outside, or by the firepit with s'mores.

A huge triceratops—whose complete skull was excavated in 1992 west of Dickinson—greets you at the entrance of this museum, which houses dozens of dinosaur bones, fossilized plants and seashells, and rocks and minerals collected from around the world. The museum, which is part of the greater 12-acre Dickinson Museum Center complex with the Joachim Regional Museum, Prairie Outpost Park, and Pioneer Machinery Hall, has North Dakota's largest dinosaur display.

The Badlands Natural History Association Bookstore sells everything from books on geology and paleontology to postcards and posters.

This stop is a great place to spend time taking in the panoramic view looking north.

One of three islands that make up the town of Harpswell, Bailey Island is connected to the mainland by the world’s only cribstone bridge, made of enormous granite pieces of granite. So while you can take a ferry here, you can also just as easily drive. Come for the miles and miles of beautiful coastline; you can catch a gorgeous sunset (after a short hike) at the south end of the island, at Land's End Beach. Or seek out one of the local chartering companies and sign up for a day sail. Don't miss the rock formation known as the Giant’s Stairs or the 7-foot-tall lobsterman sculpture by Victor Kahill.

Bailiwick Ranch and Discovery Zoo has three attractions that will entertain children: horseback rides along scenic trails, a zoological park with exotic and farm animals (including a petting zoo and feeding area), and paintball. Educational programs and special events also take place throughout the year. The ranch is open year-round (weather permitting), but the zoo is closed November through March. Members of the military receive free admission.

Accessible via an easy, 1.1-mile trail network, these two sights offer a glimpse into the agricultural history of Duneland. First settled in 1822, the Bailly Homestead is a National Historic Landmark with a striking main house, log cabins, and a family cemetery. Established by a Swedish family in 1869, Chellberg Farm is centered on an 1885 farmhouse restored to its early appearance and a barn that dates from the 1870s. Many structures at both sites are open to the public during special events and ranger-guided tours.

Twice a year (the second weekend in August and the first weekend in December), the island's artists and craftspeople put their best pieces on display for these three-day events, and you can buy anything from watercolors to furniture directly from the artists. Even if you can't make the official studio tours, check out the website, which has maps and information on studios and shops throughout the island, as well as links to artists' websites. Many of the shops have regular hours, and you can easily put together your own tour.

Under cooperative ownership and led by women, this longtime certified-organic winery five miles from the ferry landing produces around 1,200 bottles a year from entirely island-grown varietals that thrive in the Puget Sound region. The winemakers compare their offerings to those that come from the Alsace or Loire Valley in France—on the light and fruity side—and you can enjoy a tasting of five pours for $8 on the winery's lovely sun-dappled patio. Kids will want to say hi to the draft horses that help till the fields. The tasting room is open Thursday to Sunday from 12 to 5 pm.

Learn all about what plants do to survive in the Colorado Desert on this ¼-mile loop. Easy.

Though less popular than the Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive, this gravel road has beautiful views of Wheeler Peak, the Baker Creek Drainage, and Snake Valley. Vibrant wildflowers are an extra treat in spring and early summer. The road is closed in the winter, and there are no pull-outs or scenic overlooks.

Located in a stately brick building that once housed the community's swimming pool, Baker's history center has one of the most impressive rock collections in the West. Assembled over a lifetime by a local amateur geologist, the Cavin-Warfel Collection includes thunder eggs, glowing phosphorescent rocks, and a 950-pound hunk of quartz. Other exhibits highlight pioneering, ranching, gold mining, and antique furniture.

This full-day, 12-mile hike can easily be made into a two-day backpacking trip. You'll gain a total of 2,620 feet in elevation on the way to Baker Lake, a jewel-like alpine lake with a backdrop of impressive cliffs. Difficult.

You'll want to stop at Balanced Rock for photo ops, so you may as well walk the easy, partially paved trail around the famous landmark. This is one of the most accessible trails in the park and is suitable even for small children. The 15-minute stroll is only about ⅓ mile round-trip. Easy.

Adjacent to the zoo parking lot and across from the carousel, a pint-size 48-passenger train runs a ½-mile loop for a four-minute ride through four tree-filled acres of the park. The engine of this rare 1948 model train is one of only 50 left in the world. Tickets are $4.50.

This steep, dramatic road winding up to some of the parks' highest elevations accesses great hikes—Lady Bird Johnson Grove and Lyons Ranch among them—as well as the spur road to Tall Trees Grove. But it's wondrously scenic all on its own, passing through a sometimes misty redwood patch before reaching open meadows with wildflowers in spring and the chance to see Roosevelt elk and bears year-round. Do stop at Redwood Creek Overlook, a 2,100-foot elevation pullout at mile 6.6. Bald Hills Road is paved for the first 13 miles. It continues another 4 miles unpaved to RNSP's southern boundary. From here you can continue another 20 miles or so to the small village of Weitchpec and then onward inland toward Redding or Yreka.

Towering over the small town of Ketchum, the world-famous Bald Mountain ski resort (or “Baldy”) is known for its 3,400 vertical feet of consistent pitch, sunny skies, and celebrity sightings. With one of the more advanced snowmaking systems in North America, five extravagant lodges, and relatively short lines even in peak season (December and January), day passes don’t come cheap. There aren’t many runs that could be considered “green” or “easy,” but novice skiers and snowboarders can head over to the smaller Dollar Mountain, next to the Sun Valley Village, which also has a new terrain park and 22-foot half pipe.

Visitors to the 1,873-acre Bald Mountain Public Land can hike, hunt, fish, boat, snowmobile, and/or snowshoe. The popular 1-mile trail up Bald Mountain gets tougher near the summit, but hikers are richly rewarded with panoramic views that sweep across Mooselookmeguntic, Rangeley, and Cupsuptic lakes and extend to Height of Land, Saddleback, and Elephant mountains, and New Hampshire's Mt. Washington. For a longer hike, start at the trailhead near Haines Landing boat launch at the edge of Oquossoc village. You'll pass remnants of an old ski area before linking with the main trail below the summit on the 2.3-mile trail network.  Maine's undeveloped Public Lands (aka Public Reserved Lands) offer rugged outdoor recreation; they aren't staffed like state parks, and any facilities are primitive.

A local favorite, this approximately 1-mile stretch of golden sand is a good place to stretch out, jog, or swim, although the waves can sometimes be choppy and the undertow strong. Don't be alarmed by those big brown blobs floating beneath the surface; they're just pieces of seaweed awash in the surf. You can find shade along the beach beneath the ironwood trees. Though there is a pavilion, it’s not the safest place to hang out. Instead, take your picnics to the tree line and enjoy visits from friendly birds and dogs. Because this is a beach park there are picnic tables, grills, and a large playing field, as well.

The long, shallow pool at the Kahului end of the beach is known as Baby Beach. Separated from the surf by a flat reef wall, this is where ocean-loving families bring their kids (and sometimes puppies) to practice a few laps. Take a relaxing stroll along the water's edge from one end of Baldwin Beach to Baby Beach and enjoy the scenery. The view of the West Maui Mountains is hauntingly beautiful. Amenities: lifeguard; parking (no fee); showers; toilets. Best for: swimming; walking.

From November to April, the Denver Nuggets play at Ball Arena (formerly Pepsi Center); from October to April, the Colorado Avalanche and the Colorado Mammoth play there, too. The 19,000-seat arena is also the primary indoor venue for large musical acts such as Bruce Springsteen, Kevin Hart, and Carrie Underwood, as well as performances such as Disney on Ice. Tours of the facilities are available several days a week.

Although not officially in Death Valley, Ballarat—a crusty, dusty town that saw its heyday between 1897 and 1917—might make an interesting stop during a visit to the park's western reaches. Situated 30 miles south of the Panamint Springs Resort, it has a small store (open afternoons and weekends only) where you can grab a cold soda before venturing out to explore the crumbling landscape. The town itself has just one full-time resident, Rocky Novak. For years Ballarat's more infamous draw was Barker Ranch, where convicted murderer Charles Manson and his "family" were captured after the 1969 Sharon Tate murder spree; the house burned down in 2009.