USA Travel Guide: Destinations
Every state, city, park and beach covered in this guide, in one index.
California
Golden Gate Bridge · The 1937 Art Deco suspension bridge, walked or cycled across for the classic bay views.
Alcatraz Island · The former federal prison in the bay; the audio tour is superb. Book weeks ahead.
Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39 · Sea lions, sourdough and cable-car turnarounds at the tourist waterfront.
Painted Ladies · The famous row of Victorian houses at Alamo Square, with the downtown skyline behind.
Muir Woods · Old-growth coastal redwoods half an hour north of the city.
Hollywood Sign · Hiked to from Griffith Park, with the whole LA basin spread below.
Getty Center · Free hilltop museum with a world-class art collection and gardens.
Santa Monica Pier and Venice Beach · The end of Route 66, the pier Ferris wheel, and the Venice boardwalk.
Griffith Observatory · Free observatory with planetarium shows and the best city views.
Yosemite National Park · Granite cliffs, giant waterfalls and sequoias; the crown of the Sierra Nevada.
Sequoia and Kings Canyon · The world's largest trees, including General Sherman, plus deep canyon country.
Death Valley · The hottest, driest, lowest national park: salt flats, dunes and Badwater Basin.
Joshua Tree · Desert of twisted yuccas and boulder piles, a rock-climbing and stargazing favourite.
Channel Islands · Remote island wilderness off the southern coast, reached by boat.
Big Sur (Highway 1) · The cliff-hugging coastal highway past Bixby Bridge and McWay Falls.
Monterey and Carmel · The Monterey Bay Aquarium, Cannery Row and storybook Carmel-by-the-Sea.
Napa and Sonoma Valleys · America's most famous wine country, an hour north of San Francisco.
San Diego · Balboa Park, the zoo, Gaslamp Quarter and the beaches of La Jolla.
San Francisco · San Francisco Guide
Los Angeles · Los Angeles Guide
Florida
Walt Disney World · Four theme parks plus water parks across 100 sq km; plan at least three days.
Universal Orlando Resort · Two parks including the Wizarding World of Harry Potter; the thrill-ride capital.
Kennedy Space Center · NASA's launch complex on Merritt Island, an hour east; watch a rocket launch if timing aligns.
South Beach and Ocean Drive · Art Deco hotels, white sand and the boardwalk; Miami's postcard.
Little Havana · Calle Ocho: Cuban coffee windows, cigar rollers and domino park.
Everglades National Park · Airboat rides, alligators and the Anhinga Trail; the great subtropical wilderness.
Wynwood Walls · The open-air street-art district that remade Miami's art scene.
Key West · The end of the Overseas Highway: Duval Street, Mallory Square sunsets, Hemingway's house.
Dry Tortugas National Park · Fort Jefferson and coral reefs, 110 km west of Key West by ferry or seaplane.
Siesta Key · Powder-quartz sand consistently ranked among America's best beaches.
St. Augustine · Spanish colonial streets, the 1672 Castillo de San Marcos fort.
Miami · Miami Guide
Orlando · Orlando Guide
New York
Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island · The 1886 icon and the immigration museum; crown tickets sell out months ahead.
Central Park · 843 acres of designed wilderness in the middle of Manhattan.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art · The largest art museum in the Americas; the rooftop has skyline views.
Times Square and Broadway · The neon crossroads; a Broadway show is the essential evening.
9/11 Memorial and Museum · The twin reflecting pools and the deeply moving museum.
Brooklyn Bridge · Walked at sunset from Brooklyn to Manhattan for the skyline reveal.
Niagara Falls · Maid of the Mist and Cave of the Winds put you inside the falls.
The Adirondacks · 6 million acres of mountains, lakes and the High Peaks wilderness.
Hudson Valley · Dia Beacon, Storm King, Vanderbilt mansions and Rhinebeck's small-town charm.
Finger Lakes · Wine trails, Watkins Glen gorge and the college town of Ithaca.
New York City · New York City Guide
Texas
The Alamo and San Antonio River Walk · The 1836 mission shrine and the winding river of restaurants below street level.
Austin live music · Sixth Street, the Continental Club, ACL; the self-declared live music capital of the world.
Space Center Houston · NASA's Johnson Space Center visitor complex with Mission Control tours.
Fort Worth Stockyards · Twice-daily cattle drives through the historic stockyards district.
Dallas arts and the Sixth Floor Museum · The JFK assassination museum at Dealey Plaza plus the Dallas Arts District.
Big Bend National Park · Desert mountains on the Rio Grande; some of the darkest skies in America.
Texas Hill Country · Swimming holes, German-settled towns like Fredericksburg, and 50+ wineries.
South Padre Island · The Gulf's best Texas beach town, with sea-turtle releases.
Marfa · Minimalist art in the high desert and the mysterious Marfa Lights.
Guadalupe Mountains · Texas's highest peak and the great El Capitan cliff face.
Hawaii
Waikiki Beach and Diamond Head · The famous beach and the volcanic crater hike above it.
Pearl Harbor · The USS Arizona Memorial and the battleship Missouri; book memorial tickets early.
North Shore · The surf capital in winter: Banzai Pipeline and Waimea Bay.
Iolani Palace · The only royal palace on US soil, seat of the Hawaiian monarchy.
Haleakala sunrise · Sunrise above the clouds in the 3,055 m volcanic crater; reservations required.
Road to Hana · The winding coastal highway of waterfalls, bamboo forest and black-sand beaches.
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park · Kilauea's lava fields, the Thurston lava tube and the Chain of Craters Road.
Napali Coast · Kauai's 27 km of sea cliffs, seen by boat, helicopter or the Kalalau Trail.
Waimea Canyon · Kauai's 'Grand Canyon of the Pacific', 16 km long and 900 m deep.
Honolulu · Honolulu Guide
Nevada
The Las Vegas Strip · 4 miles of casino resorts: Bellagio's fountains, the Venetian canals, the Sphere.
Fremont Street · The old downtown canopy of LED light, vintage casinos and street performers.
The Sphere · The 17,600-seat LED globe; the most talked-about venue in live entertainment.
Hoover Dam · The 1935 engineering marvel on the Arizona border, 45 minutes southeast.
Red Rock Canyon · The 13-mile scenic drive through red sandstone, 25 minutes west of the Strip.
Valley of Fire · Nevada's oldest state park: Aztec sandstone, petroglyphs and the Fire Wave.
Great Basin National Park · Wheeler Peak, 5,000-year-old bristlecones and Lehman Caves.
Reno and Lake Tahoe · The 'Biggest Little City' and the alpine lake an hour west.
Black Rock Desert · The playa that hosts Burning Man each late summer.
Las Vegas · Las Vegas Guide
Arizona
Grand Canyon South Rim · Mather Point, Yavapai and Desert View; the essential canyon experience.
Grand Canyon North Rim · Open mid-May to mid-October; a tenth of the visitors, wilder views.
Antelope Canyon · The slot canyon's light beams; Upper Canyon for beams, Lower for ladders. Navajo-guided only.
Horseshoe Bend · The Colorado River's 270-degree bend, a short walk from the Page parking lot.
Monument Valley · The great sandstone buttes of the Navajo Nation, on the Utah border.
Sedona · Red-rock formations, Cathedral Rock and the vortex sites; Arizona's spiritual centre.
Saguaro National Park · The giant cactus forests flanking Tucson, east and west districts.
Petrified Forest · Rainbow petrified wood and the Painted Desert along old Route 66.
Jerome and Bisbee · Cliffside former copper-mining towns turned art colonies.
Phoenix and Scottsdale · Desert Botanical Garden, Old Town Scottsdale, spring-training baseball.
Louisiana
French Quarter · Bourbon Street, Jackson Square, the balconies and courtyards of the Vieux Carre.
Frenchmen Street · The local music strip: jazz clubs, brass bands, night after night.
Garden District · Antebellum mansions under live oaks, reached by the St. Charles streetcar.
National WWII Museum · The country's top-rated museum by many visitor polls; allow a full day.
Cafe du Monde · The 1862 coffee stand: beignets and chicory cafe au lait, 24 hours.
Atchafalaya Basin swamps · Airboat and swamp tours through cypress bayous full of alligators.
Lafayette · The heart of Cajun country: zydeco halls, boudin shops and festivals.
River Road plantations · Oak Alley, Whitney and Laura: the great houses and their difficult histories.
Avery Island · The Tabasco factory and Jungle Gardens on the salt dome island.
New Orleans · New Orleans Guide
Washington
Space Needle · The 1962 World's Fair icon; the Loupe's revolving glass floor looks straight down.
Pike Place Market · The 1907 public market: flying fish, flower stalls and the original Starbucks.
Chihuly Garden and Glass · Dale Chihuly's glass sculptures at the foot of the Needle.
Olympic National Park · Hoh Rainforest, Hurricane Ridge and the wild Pacific beaches.
Mount Rainier · The 4,392 m volcano; Paradise's wildflower meadows in summer.
San Juan Islands · Orca watching, Friday Harbor and the ferry ride itself.
Mount St. Helens · The volcano that blew in 1980; Johnston Ridge looks into the crater.
Seattle · Seattle Guide
Massachusetts
Freedom Trail · The red-brick line through 16 revolutionary sites, ending at Bunker Hill.
Fenway Park · Baseball's oldest park (1912); the Green Monster seats are the classic ticket.
Museum of Fine Arts · One of America's great encyclopedic museums, strong on American art.
Harvard Yard · The 1636 university across the river in Cambridge.
Cape Cod · The National Seashore dunes, Provincetown and whale watching from Barnstable.
Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard · Ferries to the islands of grey-shingle cottages and whaling history.
Salem · The 1692 witch trials museums and the Peabody Essex Museum.
The Berkshires · Tanglewood summer concerts, Mass MoCA and Norman Rockwell's Stockbridge.
Boston · Boston Guide
Illinois
Millennium Park and the Bean · Cloud Gate, the Crown Fountain and the Jay Pritzker Pavilion.
Architecture river cruise · The First Lady cruise: 90 minutes through 130 years of skyscrapers.
Art Institute of Chicago · The Impressionist collection and the Chagall windows; a world top-ten museum.
Blues clubs · Kingston Mines, Buddy Guy's Legends: the living Chicago blues scene.
Navy Pier and the lakefront · The 18-mile Lakefront Trail and the pier's Centennial Wheel.
Lincoln sites, Springfield · The presidential library and museum plus Lincoln's home.
Route 66 · The Mother Road begins at Adams and Michigan in Chicago.
Starved Rock State Park · Sandstone canyons and waterfalls 90 minutes southwest of Chicago.
Chicago · Chicago Guide
Tennessee
Broadway, Nashville · The honky-tonk strip: live music in every bar, all day.
Grand Ole Opry · The 1925 radio show still broadcasting from the Opry House.
Beale Street, Memphis · The home of the blues: clubs, BBQ and the FedExForum district.
Sun Studio · Where Elvis, Cash and Jerry Lee recorded; the 'birthplace of rock and roll'.
Graceland · Elvis Presley's Memphis mansion and the second most visited home in America.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park · Clingmans Dome, Cades Cove wildlife loop, 850 miles of trails.
Jack Daniel's Distillery, Lynchburg · The 1866 distillery tour in dry Moore County.
Natchez Trace Parkway · The 715 km scenic drive from Nashville toward Natchez.
Colorado
Rocky Mountain National Park · Trail Ridge Road, Bear Lake and elk in Estes Park; timed entry in summer.
Aspen and Maroon Bells · The most photographed peaks in Colorado, 16 km from Aspen.
Red Rocks Amphitheatre · Concerts between 300-foot red sandstone fins, 25 minutes from Denver.
Great Sand Dunes · North America's tallest dunes backed by 4,000 m peaks.
Mesa Verde · The 800-year-old cliff dwellings of the Ancestral Puebloans.
Denver · LoDo breweries, the 16th Street Mall and the Denver Art Museum.
Garden of the Gods · Free red-rock park at Colorado Springs with Pikes Peak behind.
Telluride · The box-canyon ski town with the free gondola.
Utah
Arches National Park · Delicate Arch at sunset; timed entry required.
Zion National Park · Angels Landing (permit) and the Narrows wade.
Bryce Canyon · The hoodoo amphitheatre at sunrise; the Navajo Loop descent.
Canyonlands · Island in the Sky's grand overlooks and the White Rim.
Capitol Reef · The Waterpocket Fold, historic orchards and far fewer crowds.
Salt Lake City · Temple Square, the Utah State Capitol and the Great Salt Lake.
Alta and Snowbird · Legendary powder in Little Cottonwood Canyon.
Bonneville Salt Flats · The blinding white speed-racing flats near Wendover.
Monument Valley (border) · The Navajo Tribal Park's buttes, on the Arizona line.
Alaska
Denali National Park · The 6,190 m peak and the 148 km park road; wildlife bus tours.
Glacier Bay · Tidewater glaciers and humpbacks, reached by cruise or Gustavus.
Kenai Fjords · Day cruises from Seward past calving glaciers and sea lions.
Katmai (Brooks Falls) · Brown bears catching salmon at the falls; permit lottery.
Anchorage · The railbelt hub: the Alaska Native Heritage Center, summer markets.
Seward Highway · The 200 km scenic drive from Anchorage along Turnagain Arm.
Fairbanks and the aurora · Winter northern-lights viewing and the Chena hot springs.
South Carolina
Charleston historic district · Rainbow Row, the Battery, horse-drawn carriages and gas-lit streets.
Magnolia and Middleton plantations · The great gardens and the difficult history of the plantation South.
Hunting Island · The lighthouse and the state's most photographed beach.
Myrtle Beach · The Grand Strand's 100 km of family beaches and boardwalk.
Congaree National Park · The largest old-growth bottomland hardwood forest in the US.
Greenville · Falls Park on the Reedy and a genuinely lively downtown.
Virginia
Colonial Williamsburg · The world's largest living-history museum: 300 acres of 18th-century streets.
Jamestown and Yorktown · The 1607 settlement site and the 1781 battlefield.
Monticello · Jefferson's mountaintop plantation near Charlottesville.
Arlington National Cemetery · Across the Potomac from DC; the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Shenandoah National Park · Skyline Drive's 105 miles of Blue Ridge overlooks.
Luray Caverns · The great stalactite caverns with the Stalacpipe Organ.
Chincoteague and Assateague · Wild ponies on the barrier islands.
Virginia Beach · The 3-mile boardwalk and the resort strip.
North Carolina
Blue Ridge Parkway · America's favourite scenic drive: 469 miles of overlooks and tunnels.
Biltmore Estate · Vanderbilt's 250-room chateau in Asheville, with gardens and winery.
Great Smoky Mountains (NC side) · Clingmans Dome and the Oconaluftee elk valley.
Asheville · Art Deco downtown, the River Arts District and 30+ breweries.
Outer Banks · Wild horses at Corolla, the Wright Brothers memorial, Cape Hatteras lighthouse.
Wilmington · The riverwalk, the battleship North Carolina, Wrightsville Beach.
Chimney Rock · The 96 m monolith with Hickory Nut Gorge views.
Pennsylvania
Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell · The 1776 signing room and the cracked bell; free timed tickets.
Philadelphia Museum of Art · The Rocky steps and one of America's great collections.
Reading Terminal Market · The 1893 market hall: Amish pretzels, roast pork, Bassett's ice cream.
Gettysburg battlefield · The 1863 turning point; the museum and the auto tour.
Amish country, Lancaster · Farm roads, covered bridges and the Central Market.
Pittsburgh · The Duquesne Incline, the Strip District and 446 bridges.
Fallingwater · Frank Lloyd Wright's 1935 waterfall house; book months ahead.
Georgia
Savannah historic district · The squares, Forsyth Park's fountain and River Street.
Tybee Island · Savannah's beach: the lighthouse, the pier, sea-turtle season.
Cumberland Island · Ferry-only wilderness: wild horses, ruins and empty beaches.
Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park · The King Center, Ebenezer Baptist Church and his birth home.
Georgia Aquarium · One of the world's largest aquariums; whale sharks and belugas.
Stone Mountain · The carved mountainside and the summer laser shows.
Blue Ridge foothills · Amicalola Falls, Dahlonega's gold-rush square and winery trails.
Oregon
Multnomah Falls · The 189 m two-tier falls, 30 minutes from Portland; timed permits in season.
Crater Lake · The 594 m deep caldera lake; Rim Drive in summer, snowshoeing in winter.
Columbia River Gorge · The Historic Highway's waterfall alley: Latourell, Wahkeena, Horsetail.
Smith Rock · The birthplace of American sport climbing near Bend.
Cannon Beach and Haystack Rock · The 72 m sea stack and tide pools at low tide.
Powell's Books, Portland · The city block of new and used books.
Willamette Valley wine · Pinot noir country an hour southwest of Portland.
Oregon Dunes · The largest coastal dune expanse in North America.
New Mexico
Taos Pueblo · The thousand-year-old adobe community, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Santa Fe Plaza · The 1610 plaza: the Palace of the Governors, Canyon Road galleries, Georgia O'Keeffe Museum.
Bandelier · Ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings in Frijoles Canyon.
Taos Ski Valley · The steep, serious ski mountain an hour north of Taos.
White Sands · 275 sq miles of white gypsum dunes; the sunset ranger walk.
Carlsbad Caverns · The Big Room and the summer bat flight.
Albuquerque · Old Town, the Sandia tramway and the October Balloon Fiesta.
Wyoming
Yellowstone · Old Faithful, Grand Prismatic, Lamar Valley wolves; allow 3 days minimum.
Grand Teton · Jenny Lake, the Snake River overlook, moose at dawn.
Devils Tower · America's first national monument (1906); the Tower Trail loop.
Jackson · The antler arches, the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar, gateway to the Tetons.
Cody · The nightly summer rodeo and the Buffalo Bill Center of the West.
Cheyenne Frontier Days · The 10-day July rodeo and western celebration.
Michigan
Sleeping Bear Dunes · The dune climb, Pierce Stocking Drive and Lake Michigan overlooks.
Mackinac Island · No cars: bikes, horses and fudge shops; the Grand Hotel porch.
Pictured Rocks · Mineral-stained cliffs on Lake Superior; the boat cruise is the way.
Traverse City · Cherry capital, Old Mission wineries and the Sleeping Bear gateway.
Motown Museum (Hitsville USA) · The house where Motown was born; Studio A is intact.
Detroit Institute of Arts · The Rivera Court murals and a top-ten American collection.
Belle Isle · The island park: conservatory, aquarium and Detroit River views.
Maryland
Inner Harbor, Baltimore · The National Aquarium, historic ships and the waterfront promenade.
Annapolis · The Naval Academy, the 1772 State House and Ego Alley yachts.
Fort McHenry · The 1814 battle that inspired the national anthem.
Assateague Island · Wild horses on the barrier-island national seashore.
Antietam battlefield · The bloodiest single day of the Civil War; the driving tour.
New Jersey
Cape May · Victorian seaside resort: painted ladies, the lighthouse, dolphin watching.
Atlantic City boardwalk · The 1870 original boardwalk: casinos, Steel Pier, salt-water taffy.
Wildwood · Doo-wop motels and the free beaches with the widest sand.
Asbury Park · The Stone Pony's Springsteen history and the revitalized boardwalk.
Princeton · The university campus, Nassau Hall and the art museum.
Delaware Water Gap · Hiking and the river gap on the Pennsylvania line.
Minnesota
North Shore Scenic Drive · Duluth to Grand Portage: waterfalls, the Split Rock lighthouse, Superior's cliffs.
Boundary Waters · The million-acre canoe wilderness; permits required.
Itasca State Park · Walk across the Mississippi at its headwaters.
Minneapolis Institute of Art · Free world-class museum; the Period Rooms and Doryphoros.
Mall of America · The largest US mall: 500+ stores and the Nickelodeon Universe park.
St. Paul Summit Avenue · The country's longest Victorian mansion street and the cathedral.
Wisconsin
Door County · Fish boils, cherry orchards, Cave Point's limestone cliffs.
Wisconsin Dells · The Upper Dells boat tour through sandstone gorges.
Apostle Islands · Sea caves on Lake Superior; the ice caves in deep winter.
Lambeau Field, Green Bay · The 1957 stadium tour and the Packers Hall of Fame.
Harley-Davidson Museum, Milwaukee · The 1903 Serial Number One bike and a century of motorcycles.
Madison · The capitol, State Street and the Memorial Union Terrace.
Missouri
Gateway Arch · The 192 m arch; the tram to the top and the Museum of Westward Expansion.
Forest Park · The free zoo, art museum and history museum in the 1904 World's Fair park.
Anheuser-Busch brewery · The Clydesdales and the beechwood aging tour.
National WWI Museum · America's official WWI museum under the Liberty Memorial.
18th and Vine · The jazz district: the American Jazz Museum and the Blue Room.
Lake of the Ozarks · The 1,375 km shoreline lake and Ha Ha Tonka's castle ruins.
Ohio
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame · The I.M. Pei pyramid on the lakefront; the inductee exhibits.
Cedar Point · 18 roller coasters on the Sandusky peninsula; Steel Vengeance and Millennium Force.
Cuyahoga Valley · Brandywine Falls and the scenic railroad between Cleveland and Akron.
National Museum of the US Air Force, Dayton · The world's largest military aviation museum; free.
Over-the-Rhine, Cincinnati · The 19th-century brewery district, Findlay Market and chili parlours.
Columbus Short North · Galleries, the North Market and the Scioto Mile.
Indiana
Indianapolis Motor Speedway · The 2.5-mile oval; the museum and the Yard of Bricks.
Children's Museum of Indianapolis · The world's largest children's museum.
Monument Circle · The Soldiers and Sailors Monument at the city's centre.
Indiana Dunes · Lake Michigan beaches and the 3 Dune Challenge.
Parke County covered bridges · 31 covered bridges; the October festival.
French Lick · The restored 1901 resort and the Pete Dye golf course.
Kentucky
Kentucky Derby, Churchill Downs · The first Saturday in May; the museum is excellent year-round.
Bourbon Trail · Maker's Mark, Buffalo Trace, Woodford Reserve; book tours ahead.
Kentucky Horse Park, Lexington · The 1,200-acre equine park in horse-capital country.
Mammoth Cave · The world's longest cave; the Frozen Niagara and lantern tours.
Red River Gorge · Natural Bridge and the climbing mecca's arches.
Land Between the Lakes · The 185,000-acre recreation area between Kentucky and Barkley lakes.
Alabama
Birmingham Civil Rights Institute · The essential civil-rights museum, across from the 16th Street Baptist Church.
Dexter Avenue, Montgomery · Dr. King's church and the Rosa Parks Museum.
Edmund Pettus Bridge, Selma · Walk the 1965 Bloody Sunday march route.
Gulf Shores · 32 miles of white sand; the Hangout Fest each May.
US Space and Rocket Center, Huntsville · The Saturn V, the moon crater sim, Space Camp.
USS Alabama, Mobile · The WWII battleship memorial park.
Mississippi
Clarksdale juke joints · Ground Zero and Red's: the living Delta blues.
Natchez · Antebellum mansions on the bluffs; the spring and fall pilgrimages.
B.B. King Museum, Indianola · The definitive blues museum.
Vicksburg battlefield · The 1863 siege site; the driving tour and the Cairo ironclad.
Biloxi and Gulfport · Casinos, the Ohr-O'Keefe Museum, shrimp boats.
Oxford · The Square, Rowan Oak and the Double Decker festival.
Arkansas
Buffalo National River · Canoe the bluffs; elk at Boxley Valley; the Goat Trail.
Hot Springs National Park · Bathhouse Row soaks and the Mountain Tower view.
Ozark trails · The Ozark Highlands Trail and Whitaker Point's 'hawksbill crag'.
Crystal Bridges, Bentonville · Alice Walton's free museum of American art in the woods.
Little Rock Central High · The 1957 desegregation site and visitor centre.
Eureka Springs · The Victorian mountain town of winding streets.
Oklahoma
First Americans Museum · The 2021 museum of the 39 tribal nations in Oklahoma.
Oklahoma City National Memorial · The 1995 bombing memorial; the Field of Empty Chairs.
National Cowboy Museum · Western art, the End of the Trail sculpture, Prosperity Junction.
Route 66 · The Blue Whale, Pops, the Arcadia round barn.
Gathering Place, Tulsa · The 100-acre riverfront park, among America's best.
Wichita Mountains · Free-roaming bison and the Holy City of the Wichitas.
Kansas
Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve · Bison, spring burns and the 1881 ranch house.
Monument Rocks · The chalk pyramids rising from the plains.
Cheyenne Bottoms · The great migratory-bird wetland; 45% of North America's shorebirds.
Cosmosphere, Hutchinson · Apollo 13's Odyssey, a flown V-2, the planetarium.
Dodge City · Boot Hill, the Long Branch Saloon show, the rodeo.
Eisenhower Library, Abilene · The presidential library and boyhood home.
Nebraska
Sandhill crane migration · March on the Platte near Kearney; book blinds months ahead.
Chimney Rock · The Oregon Trail's most famous landmark.
Scotts Bluff · The trail landmark with the summit road.
Henry Doorly Zoo, Omaha · The Desert Dome and the Lied Jungle; America's top-ranked zoo.
Old Market, Omaha · The brick warehouse district's restaurants and galleries.
Carhenge, Alliance · The 1987 Stonehenge replica built from 39 vintage cars.
South Dakota
Mount Rushmore · The 1941 Borglum carving; the evening lighting ceremony in summer.
Badlands National Park · The Loop Road's striped formations; bighorn sheep at Roberts Prairie.
Custer State Park · The Wildlife Loop's bison herds and the Needles Highway.
Crazy Horse Memorial · The ongoing mountain carving and the Indian Museum of North America.
Wind Cave · The boxwork formations in one of the world's longest caves.
North Dakota
Theodore Roosevelt National Park · The South Unit loop, wild horses, the Maltese Cross Cabin.
Enchanted Highway · The 50 km sculpture road ending at the Geese in Flight.
Knife River Indian Villages · The reconstructed Hidatsa earthlodge village.
Fargo · Broadway's theatres, the Plains Art Museum, the woodchipper (yes, really).
Hjemkomst Center, Moorhead (MN line) · The Viking ship replica and the Hopperstad stave church.
Montana
Going-to-the-Sun Road · The 80 km alpine drive; vehicle reservations required in summer.
Many Glacier · Grinnell Glacier trail, the historic hotel, grizzly country.
Yellowstone north (Gardiner) · Mammoth Hot Springs and the Lamar Valley, the park's wildlife heart.
Little Bighorn Battlefield · The 1876 battle site with the ranger talks.
Bozeman · Main Street, the Museum of the Rockies' dinosaurs.
Virginia City · The preserved 1863 gold-rush town.
Idaho
Sawtooth Range · Redfish Lake, the Alice Lake trail, Stanley's mountain backdrop.
Shoshone Falls · The 65 m falls at peak spring flow.
Hells Canyon · Jet boats from Lewiston into North America's deepest gorge.
Craters of the Moon · Lava tubes, cinder cones and the 11 km loop road.
Boise · The Basque Block, the greenbelt, the capitol.
Sun Valley · America's first destination ski resort (1936).
Coeur d'Alene · The lake resort town and the floating boardwalk.
Maine
Acadia National Park · Cadillac Mountain sunrise, the Park Loop Road, Jordan Pond.
Portland Head Light · The 1791 lighthouse at Cape Elizabeth.
Bar Harbor · The Acadia gateway: whale watching, the Shore Path.
Camden · The harbour, Mount Battie's view, windjammer cruises.
Old Port, Portland · The waterfront's restaurants and the Portland Museum of Art.
Baxter State Park · Katahdin and the Appalachian Trail's northern end.
New Hampshire
Mount Washington · The Cog Railway or the drive; the summit weather museum.
Kancamagus Highway · The 55 km scenic byway; October is peak.
Franconia Notch · The Flume Gorge and the Cannon tramway.
Lake Winnipesaukee · The M/S Mount Washington cruise and Weirs Beach.
Portsmouth · Strawbery Banke's historic houses and the working waterfront.
Vermont
Stowe · The ski resort, the Trapp Family Lodge, the fall foliage.
Covered bridges · The most per capita of any state; the Montgomery and Stowe bridges.
Ben and Jerry's factory · The Waterbury tour and the Flavor Graveyard.
Burlington waterfront · Church Street, the lake ferry, the sunset sails.
Shelburne Museum · The 45-acre folk-art museum with the Ticonderoga steamboat.
Rhode Island
The Breakers · Vanderbilt's 1895 70-room 'cottage'; the Preservation Society tour.
Cliff Walk · The 5.6 km path between mansions and the Atlantic.
Ocean Drive · The 16 km coastal drive past the great estates.
WaterFire, Providence · The bonfire installations on the rivers, select summer evenings.
Block Island · The ferry, Mohegan Bluffs, the Southeast Light.
Connecticut
Mystic Seaport Museum · The 19th-century seaport village and the Charles W. Morgan.
Mystic Aquarium · Belugas and the Arctic Coast exhibit.
New Haven and Yale · The campus, the art galleries (both free), the pizza.
Gillette Castle · The Sherlock Holmes actor's stone castle above the Connecticut River.
Mark Twain House, Hartford · The 1874 house where Huckleberry Finn was written.
Delaware
Rehoboth Beach · The boardwalk, the dolles salt-water taffy, the Poodle Beach scene.
Winterthur · The du Pont estate's 1,000 acres of gardens and the museum.
Cape Henlopen · The state park's dunes, WWII towers and the bay beaches.
West Virginia
New River Gorge National Park · The bridge overlook, the Endless Wall Trail, Bridge Day in October.
Whitewater rafting · The New and Gauley rivers; Gauley Season each fall.
Harpers Ferry · John Brown's 1859 raid site at the rivers' meeting.
The Greenbrier · The 1778 resort and the declassified congressional bunker tour.
Iowa
Field of Dreams · The Dyersville diamond; the MLB game returned in 2022.
Bridges of Madison County · Six covered bridges around Winterset.
Effigy Mounds · The 200+ Native American mounds above the Mississippi.
Des Moines · The sculpture park, East Village, the State Fair in August.
Amana Colonies · The seven German communal villages: restaurants, wineries, woolens.
Washington DC
Washington DC · Washington DC Guide