239 Best Sights in USA

Exhibits here explain the area's flora and fauna, and staffers provide maps and camping and hiking information. You can sign up for canoe and kayak tours of Big Bear Lake or naturalist-led tours of the Baldwin Lake Ecological Reserve in spring and summer or snowshoe excursions in winter. The center is also the starting point for Cougar Crest Trail and the paved Alpine Pedal Path Trail. 

Even if you're eager to hit the hoodoos, the visitor center—just to your right after the park entrance station—is the best place to start if you want to know what you're looking at and how it got there. The exhibits are well-designed, and there's an excellent 24-minute film about the park. Rangers staff a counter where you can ask questions or let them map out an itinerary of "must-sees" based on your time and physical abilities. You can also use the Wi-Fi, pick up backcountry camping permits, and browse the books, maps, and other goods sold in the Bryce Canyon Natural History Association gift shop, whose proceeds help to support park programs and conservation.

Within this spacious, modern facility at the top of an escarpment, a 75-seat theater offers engrossing films and ranger programs about the different types of caves. Exhibits offer a primer on bats, geology, wildlife, and the early tribes and settlers who once lived in and passed through the area. There's also an excellent exhibit on Lechuguilla, the country's deepest limestone cave, which scientists began mapping in 1986 and have located some 150 miles (it's on the park's northern border and isn't open to the general public). Friendly rangers staff an information desk, where maps are distributed and cavern tickets are sold. There's also an extensive gift shop and bookstore, and a cafeteria-style restaurant.

From the wide veranda of Biscayne National Park's mainland visitor center, you can soak up views of the mangroves and the bay before signing up for tours, snorkeling excursions, and ranger programs. The compact but very informative collection in the small museum offers insights into the park's natural, geological, and human history. Restrooms with showers, a gift shop, picnic tables, grills, and children’s activities are also found here.

Famous for its views of Denali, the Eielson Visitor Center is at Mile 66 of the park road. Rangers are present throughout the day, either leading presentations or hikes such as the leisurely Eielson Stroll. While there is a small gallery of Denali-inspired art here, this visitor center is all about the view, dominated—with a little luck—by the mountain itself. Historically, the center opens on June 1 and closes on the second Thursday after Labor Day; it's open daily 9–5:30. It's accessible by any of the shuttle buses that pass Mile 66, excluding the Kantishna Experience tour. For backpackers, the bathrooms remain unlocked 24-hours a day during the summer. The visitor center is currently closed due to the Pretty Rocks Landslide; it's expected to reopen when the road is repaired, by summer 2027.

Here, exhibits, artifacts, a 20-minute film, and live presentations on cultural and natural history provide a broad overview of how Death Valley formed. This is also the place to find out about ranger programs (available November through April) and pick up free Junior Ranger booklets—packed with games and info on the park and its critters—for the kids. In addition, you can purchase maps at the bookstore run by the Death Valley Natural History Association. There are water filling stations outside the restrooms.

A must-see on Jekyll Island, this is one of the few sea turtle centers in the country. This center aims to increase awareness of habitat and wildlife conservation challenges for endangered coastal turtles—loggerheads, green, Kemp's ridley, and diamondback terrapin—through turtle rehabilitation, research, and education programs. The center includes educational exhibits and a "hospital," where visitors can view rescued turtles and read their stories. Sea turtles lay their eggs along Jekyll Island beaches from May through August. Several hundred rehabilitated turtles have been released into the wild since the center opened.

This is the city's official visitor center as well as the gateway to Independence National Historical Park. Here, you'll find a fully staffed concierge-and-trip-planning desk, which provides information on the Park, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Philadelphia Zoo, and other attractions, as well as a reservation and ticketing service. Before you set off on a walking tour, acquaint yourself with Colonial American history by watching the Founding Fathers come to life in the 30-minute movie Independence, one of the films shown in the center's two theaters. On the mezzanine level upstairs, there's Liberty View Terrace, a great outdoor platform with views of Independence Mall. There's also a café for quick bites, accessible restrooms, and an excellent gift shop, where you can stock up on books, videos, brochures, prints, wall hangings, and souvenirs of historic figures and events. An atrium connects the visitor center to a renovated underground parking area.

Ranger-guided activities are held throughout the park, indoors and outdoors, and include slideshows, talks, and walks on cultural and natural history, including wildlife and birds. Check visitor centers and campground bulletin boards for event postings.

Located steps from one another inside historic 1920s cabins by the Jenny Lake parking area, trailhead, and shuttle boat dock, these two ranger-staffed information centers serve different functions. The visitor center is inside a building that was once used as a studio by the park's first official park photographer, Harrison Crandall. Today it's filled with exhibits on the history of art and artists in the park. It also contains a bookstore and information about daily ranger programs. The smaller ranger station occupies a 1925 cabin that once held the park's first museum and is now a one-stop for backcountry and mountaineering advice and permits as well as boat permits.

A contemporary LEED-certified structure at the southwest entrance, this year-round resource—the name means “Snow Mountain” in the indigenous Mountain Maidu language—is a good place to ask questions about safety and logistics, pick up maps, learn about kids' activities and educational programs, view an engaging film, and check out the interactive exhibits. The bookstore is excellent, and there’s a casual café.

As with visitor centers elsewhere, you can get help with everything at this multifaceted facility, from taking in local attractions to negotiating a backcountry adventure. But the highlights here are the museum-quality displays about Interior Alaska. A walk-through exhibit re-creates a fish camp, and you can walk through a full-size public-use cabin similar to ones you can rent on your own. Alaska Native artists frequently sell jewelry and other wares at the center; in addition to making a unique purchase, you can chat with them about growing up in the villages or, in some cases, at fish camps such as the one the exhibit depicts. Named for a Tanana leader who dedicated his life to building bridges between Native and non-Native cultures, the center hosts summer programs showcasing Alaska Native art, music, storytelling, and dance; it's also home to the Explore Fairbanks Visitor Center and the Public Lands Information Center. The center offers informational movies about Alaska throughout the day in summer. On the edge of the center's parking lot is Antler Arch. Made from more than 100 moose and caribou antlers, it serves as a gateway to the bike and walking path along the Chena River.

The Arch's west entrance, facing 4th Street and the Old Courthouse, is flooded with bright natural light. From this glass atrium, you can access the visitor center, the underground museum, the lobby for the Tram Ride to the Top, the Tucker Theater, the Arch Café, and the Arch Store. The museum showcases more than 200 years of history, from the founding of St. Louis by French fur traders Pierre Laclede and Auguste Chouteau in 1764 to the completion of the Arch in 1965. Huge digital maps, oversize murals, wall-size video screens, authentic soundscapes, interactive touch screens, and inclusive narratives bring all this history to life in six theme galleries: Jefferson’s Vision, Colonial St. Louis, The Riverfront Era, Manifest Destiny, Building the Arch, and New Frontiers. In the Tucker Theater, watch in awe as the last piece of the Arch is lowered into position in the 28-minute documentary, Monument to the Dream, produced by Charles E. Guggenheim and nominated for an Academy Award in 1967. The tram lobby features not only a replica tram car but also an exact 17-foot-wide replica of the Arch's top piece, the Keystone, with livestream video from the observation deck 630 feet above. Be sure to exit the visitor center via the north or south doors, so you can look up for a jaw-dropping view of the Arch towering overhead.

The park's main information center on the North Carolina side is polished and inviting after a $3 million renovation and expansion. It is 1½ miles from Cherokee and offers interactive displays, a 20-minute film, a large book and gift shop, ranger-led programs, and assistance from helpful volunteers. There are restrooms and vending machines. Adjoining the visitor center, in a large level field next to the Oconaluftee River, is the Mountain Farm Museum, a reconstruction of an early 1900s mountain farmstead. Herds of elk are often seen here.

At this impressive, contemporary, LEED-certified visitor center that's a jewel of the national park system, you can check out the interactive exhibits and children's area, read the latest geyser-eruption predictions, and find out the schedules for ranger-led walks and talks. Backcountry and fishing permits are dispensed at the ranger station adjacent to the Old Faithful Snow Lodge, across the street.

At 9,200 feet, this excellent amateur observation site is a great way to get a sense of the mountain and the observatory work without going all the way to the summit. It's open daily from 9 am to 9 pm and offers free monthly stargazing events (which require preregistration and are weather dependent). The center is also a good place to stop to acclimatize yourself to the altitude if you're heading for the summit. Peruse the gift shop and exhibits about ancient Hawaiian celestial navigation, the mountain's significance as a quarry for the best basalt in the Hawaiian Islands, and Maunakea as a revered spiritual destination. You'll also learn about modern astronomy and ongoing projects at the summit. Nights are clear 90% of the year, so the chances are good for seeing some amazing sights in the sky. Surprisingly, stargazing here is actually better than at the summit itself because of reduced oxygen there. The parking lot can get crowded.

The park's main visitor center, near the base of the Chisos Mountains, contains a bookstore and impressive exhibits on the park's mountain, river, and desert environments. An elegantly produced 22-minute film detailing the wonders of the park shows every half-hour in the theater, and there's a sprawling replica of the park's topographical folds. Nearby, a gas station offers limited groceries.

You can pick up maps, brochures, and hiking permits here at the park visitor center, just off U.S. 62/180. A slide show and a 12-minute movie provide a quick introduction to the park, half of which is protected as a designated wilderness area. Informative exhibits depict geological history, area wildlife, and flora ranging from lowland desert to forested mountaintop. You can access several trails and a lovely picnic area and campground a short ½-mile drive or stroll from the visitor center.

A massive stone fireplace anchors this small redwood lodge whose wildlife displays include a section of a tree a young elk died beside. Due to the peculiar way the redwood grew around the elk's skull, the tree appears to have antlers. You can learn about interpretive programs at the center, which has a gift shop, a picnic area, restrooms, and exhibits on flora and fauna. Roosevelt elk often roam the vast field across the parkway, and several trails begin nearby. Stretch your legs with a stroll along Revelation Trail, a short loop that starts behind the lodge.

Part of the Cape Cod National Seashore, the Province Lands stretch from High Head in Truro to the tip of Provincetown and are scattered with ponds, cranberry bogs, and scrub. More than 7 miles of bike and walking trails lace through forests of stunted pines, beech, and oak and across desertlike expanses of rolling dunes. At the visitor center you'll find short films on local geology and exhibits on the life of the dunes and the shore. You can also pick up information on guided walks, birding trips, lectures, and other programs, as well as on the Province Lands' pristine beaches, Race Point and Herring Cove, and walking, biking, and horse trails. Don't miss the awe-inspiring panoramic view of the dunes and the surrounding ocean from the observation deck. This terrain provides optimal conditions for the deer tick, which can cause Lyme disease, so use extra caution.

Rangers at RNSP's largest and best visitor center dispense brochures, advice, and free permits to drive up the access road to Tall Trees Grove. Whale-watchers find the center's deck an excellent observation point, and bird-watchers enjoy the nearby Freshwater Lagoon, a popular layover for migrating waterfowl. Many of the exhibits are hands-on and kid-friendly.

Just a few miles past the park entrance, this is an ideal stop if you have limited time to visit the Everglades. When you arrive, note the medallion attached to the building's wall, which pays tribute to members of the Florida Federation of Women’s Clubs who donated the 4,000 surrounding acres in 1916. At the small bookstore, you’ll find nature guidebooks along with a limited inventory of souvenirs and snack items, while just outside in a covered pavilion, rangers present talks on the park’s history and wildlife. The park's Pine Island Trails (Anhinga Trail, Gumbo Limbo Trail, Lone Pine Key Trails, Pineland Trail, Pahayokee Overlook, and Mahogany Hammock Trail) are also around the visitor center. As always, arm yourself with insect repellent.

Evoking rugged Maine with a timber frame design, the 11,000-square-foot Acadia Gateway Center transit hub and visitor information center opened in 2025 on the west side of Route 3 a few miles before the causeway onto Mount Desert Island. The Maine Department of Transportation facility has a park-and-ride for the free seasonal Island Explorer buses that serve Acadia National Park and nearby towns. Even if you’re not taking the bus, you can pick up visitor information about the park and state, buy park entrance passes, and use the restroom.

Stop here for information and inspiration on all of Alaska's public lands, including national and state parks, national forests, and wildlife refuges. You can plan a hiking, sea-kayaking, bear-viewing, or fishing trip; purchase state and national park passes; find out about public-use cabins; learn about Alaska's plants and animals; or head to the theater for films highlighting different parts of the state. The bookstore also sells maps and nature books. Guided walks to historic Downtown sights depart throughout the summer. The center is housed in a federal facility, meaning a security screening is required to enter.

The center's museum gallery is a good place for an orientation. Displays trace the city's history and define its neighborhoods; some include cultural artifacts. The center, downtown, has basic visitor information and often serves as a starting point for guided tours.

Bachelor quarters for U.S. Army cavalry officers from 1909 to 1918, the carefully renovated red-roof visitor center is a great source for maps, advice, permits, and free Wi-Fi. This hefty stone structure also contains a bookstore and exhibits about the park's history, flora, and fauna, including displays of bears and wolves that kids love.

At 11,796 feet above sea level, this is the highest visitor center in the National Park Service. Open only when Trail Ridge Road is navigable, the center also houses the park's only gift shop and snack bar.