15 Best Sights in USA

Also known as "Ballard Locks," these are an important passage in the 8-mile Lake Washington Ship Canal that connects Puget Sound to freshwater Lake Washington. Every year, tens of thousands of vessels, from kayaks to yachts to commercial ships, pass through the two locks. The main reason for visiting here is to see them in operation, draining and refilling like giant bathtubs. The visitor center has displays and videos and offers free tours May through September at 2 pm on days when the center is open.

The adjacent 7-acre Carl S. English Botanical Gardens are a lovely place to picnic or just relax. Various musical performances, from jazz bands to chamber music, serenade visitors on summer weekends. And you can watch determined salmon climbing a 21-step fish ladder en route to their freshwater spawning grounds. (You won't be alone; look for seals in the water and herons in the trees, all hoping for a salmon meal.)

Some 70,000 people ride the free ferry daily to Staten Island, one of the city's five boroughs, and you, too, can join them for the city's most scenic commute. Without paying a cent, you get phenomenal views of the Lower Manhattan skyline, the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and Governors Island during the 25-minute cruise across New York Harbor. You also pass tugboats, freighters, and cruise ships—a reminder that this is very much still a working harbor. The ferry sails every 15–30 minutes (24 hours a day, 365 days a year) from Whitehall Terminal at Whitehall and South Streets, on the east side of Battery Park. You must disembark once you reach the opposite terminal, but you can loop around and reboard if you don't plan to stay. A small concession stand on each ferry sells a few snacks and beverages (including beer). If you're sightseeing, avoid the packed morning and afternoon rush hours.

You can learn all about this Victorian-era seaport, one of only three such places on the register of National Historic Sites, at this striking contemporary building on the waterfront; it's the center of operations for the Wooden Boat Foundation, which stages the annual Wooden Boat Festival each September. The center has interactive exhibits, hands-on sailing instruction, boatbuilding workshops, a wood shop, and a pilot house where you can test navigational tools. Engaging history and wildlife cruises ($22) of Port Townsend Bay are given on summer Saturdays on the Admiral Jack catamaran. You can launch a kayak or watch sloops and schooners gliding along the bay from the boardwalk, pier, and beach that front the buildings. There's also an excellent gift shop, The Chandlery, and a cheerful coffee bar, Velocity.

This beautifully preserved art deco–style ocean liner, the Queen Mary, was launched in 1936 and made 1,001 transatlantic crossings before finally berthing in Long Beach in 1967. Today, she is a unique and historic hotel, one of Long Beach's top tour attractions, and an impressive example of 20th-century cruise ship opulence.

Take one of several daily themed tours such as the informative Glory Days historical walk, a traipse into the boiler rooms on the Steam and Steel Tour, or the downright spooky Haunted Encounters tour. There's even paranormal investigation tours for enthusiasts. (Spirits have reportedly been spotted in the pool and engine room.) For the full monty, try the three-hour VIP tour. You can add on a Winston Churchill exhibit and other holiday and special events, from a haunted Halloween experience to an annual Scottish festival. The 57 Ghosts theatrical event has extremely limited seating, so book ahead. Enjoy brunch, lunch, or dinner at one of the ship's restaurants, then listen to live jazz or order a cocktail in the Observation Bar (the sumptuous original first-class lounge). Even better, plan to spend the night in one of the 347 wood-paneled cabins. The ship's neighbor, a geodesic dome originally built to house Howard Hughes's Spruce Goose aircraft, now serves as a terminal for Carnival Cruise Lines, making the Queen Mary the perfect pit stop before or after a cruise.

This is a great place to enjoy a mountain hike and the outdoors for a few hours. From the exit, it's a beautiful 10-mile drive up a forested hanging valley to the glacier trailhead. The glacier, technically a large snowfield compacted in a mountain saddle at the timberline, is thought to be the southernmost glacier in the United States. During drought years it all but vanishes; a wet winter creates a wonderful Ice Age playground throughout the following summer. Most visitors are content to make the steep ¾-mile hike on a rock-strewn path up to the base of the glacier to admire the snowfield and sparkling sapphire lake. The intrepid hiker, with the right type of gear, can climb up the rocky right-hand side of the snowfield to a plateau less than a mile above for sweeping views of the Continental Divide. Because of its proximity to Denver, St. Mary's Glacier is a popular weekend getaway for summer hikers, snowboarders, and skiers. There are two pay parking lots with about 140 spaces between them; the cost is $5 per vehicle per day (cash only), with restrooms and trash facilities available at both. Don't look for a St. Mary's Glacier sign on I–70; it reads "St. Mary's Alice," referring to the nearby ghost towns.

The world's first nuclear-powered submarine, USS Nautilus (SSN-571)—and the first submarine to complete a submerged transit of the North Pole (in 1958)—was launched and commissioned in Groton in 1954. The Nautilus spent 25 active years as a showpiece of U.S. technological know-how and is now permanently docked at the Submarine Force Museum, a couple of miles upriver from where the sub was built. Visitors are welcome to climb aboard and explore. The museum, just outside the entrance to Naval Submarine Base New London, is a repository of thousands of artifacts, documents, and photographs detailing the history of the U.S. Submarine Force component of the U.S. Navy, along with educational and interactive exhibits.

The World War II–era USS New Jersey, one of the most decorated battleships in the history of the U.S. Navy, is now a floating museum. It's docked in Camden, New Jersey, just south of the Freedom Mortgage Pavilion amphitheater. A 90-minute guided tour takes you around the upper and lower decks of the ship, or you can explore this fascinating vessel on your own. Some recently launched tours include evening small-group tours of the engine room and other specific areas; and families and groups can arrange to tour, dine, and sleep on the vessel overnight.

This waterfront museum stands as a testament and tribute to the bustle of the harbor that it overlooks. Changing maritime art exhibits, classes on boatbuilding and other nautical arts, children's programs, and an active boatbuilding shop all highlight the importance of the sea, in past and present alike. Take a harbor sail on the historic replica Crosby Catboat Sarah, and learn "dead reckoning"—real navigation without the aid of modern technology—and other seafaring skills.

Built in 1883 and formerly named Gazela Primeiro, this 177-foot square-rigger is the last of a Portuguese fleet of cod-fishing ships, retired from regular service in 1969. As the Port of Philadelphia's ambassador of goodwill, the Gazela sails from June to October to participate in harbor festivals and celebrations up and down the Atlantic coast. She’s also a ship school and a museum, and has been featured in movies like Interview with the Vampire. An all-volunteer crew works on maintenance while the vessel is in port. While here, you can also admire the tugboat, Jupiter, the oldest tugboat in existence, which was built in Philadelphia. 

The second "downtown" area of Half Moon Bay, known as Princeton-by-the-Sea, surrounds this beautiful, calm harbor. It's the center of the seafood trade for the coast, and possibly the most important Bay Area fishing wharf other than San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf. Stroll over to Barbara's Fish Trap ( 281 Capistrano Rd.) for some of that fresh catch. For pisco sours and fish in ceviche form, visit La Costanera ( 260 Capistrano Rd.), one of the leading Peruvian restaurants in the Bay Area. Besides eating fish-and-chips and sand dabs, it's a great area for walking or kayaking.

At the edge of the harbor and around a corner resides Mavericks Beach, a somewhat hidden, world-famous surfing spot. Most of the time the waves aren't that notable. However, when the time is right, the best surfers in the world gather here for one of the most prestigious big wave competitions anywhere. Don't even think about trying to surf or swim here.

A participant in the D-Day landing in Normandy during World War II, this Liberty Ship freighter is one of two such vessels still in working order. On board you can peek at the crew's living quarters and the officers' mess hall. The large display of the Normandy invasion, one of many exhibits on board, was a gift from France. To keep the 1943 ship in sailing shape, the vessel—powered by a steam engine that appears in the film Titanic—takes a trip on the bay a handful of times each year.

You can tour this 307-foot-long Balao-class submarine (with a "guppy" conversion), that was launched in 1944 and conducted search-and-destroy missions in the South Pacific. A free audio tour, available with the price of admission, tells amazing stories of what life was like for a crew of 80 men, at sea for months at a time, in these claustrophobic quarters. Then you can step through the narrow walkways, climb the ladders, and glimpse the torpedoes in their firing chambers. Tickets are available at the Independence Seaport Museum.

Commodore George Dewey's flagship at the Battle of Manila in the Spanish-American War is the oldest still-afloat steel warship in the world. Dewey entered Manila Harbor after midnight on May 1, 1898. At 5:40 am he told his captain, "You may fire when you are ready, Gridley," and by 12:30 they had destroyed the entire Spanish fleet. You can tour the entire restored ship, including the officers' staterooms, galley, gun batteries, and pilothouse. Admission is included with your ticket to the Independence Seaport Museum.

Get an intriguing, if mildly claustrophobic, glimpse into life on a submarine during World War II on this small, 80-person sub, which sank six Japanese warships and damaged four others.   With all of the fascinating history on board, make sure to bring headphones and listen to the free audio tour to learn about what you're seeing.

This 1958 Navy destroyer, berthed along the marina near the ferry docks, is open for self-guided tours. Allow between one and two hours to walk through the narrow passages to view the cafeteria, medical office, barbershop, prison cell, cramped bunk rooms, and captain's quarters. Navy veterans are often on hand to answer questions and talk about what it would have been like to sail aboard this impressive ship.