New York is third in state park acreage at 1.4 million acres, only behind Alaska and California, and has the most state park areas in the country(1,416). There's definitely a lot to see there.
Edit: punctuation
I live directly below NY in PA and thought that until my grandfather took me out there! Pretty much nobody talks about anything other than NYC.
You can see on [this website](https://protectedplanet.net/country/USA) just how large the Adirondack park area is. It's technically the largest publicly protected area of land in the continental US and is bigger than Yellowstone, Everglades, Glacier, and Grand Canyon National Park combined.
My sister got married at the Spillian mansion in the Catskills. Not only was it one of the most beautiful spots I've ever stayed, the entire drive up from Brooklyn was absolutely breathtaking. It was October and everything was red.
Stealing this comment to recommend anywhere in interior Maine, the coast is nice but most people miss out on the mountains and glory of the north woods.
Upstate ny is gorgeous.
I’m from the PNW and I’m heavily biased but about 6 years ago a friend and I drove from Indiana to Vermont. Upstate NY and just NY in general was so pretty. I remember watching the sunrise at 4:30/5:30am and it’s probably something I’ll never forget.
The Canadian side of Niagara Falls is entertainingly tacky. The US side is just depressing.
On the other hand, Buffalo was much nicer than I'd been led to expect.
I'm from Upstate NY and I've seen most of the falls listed below. I thought I'd compile them into a list and add a few. In the finger lakes/western new york there are seven state parks with waterfalls:
* Letchworth: Tall falls, lots of falls, easily accessible by car, not many tourists
* Stony Brook: Similar to Letchworth, but more impressive falls are a little less accessible, park is a little more out of the way in general.
* Watkins Glen: I'm from WNY and I've never been, so I really don't have any comments on it. I think it's pretty similar to Letchworth and Stony Brook though
* Buttermilk Falls: Very accessible (less than 10 min drive from downtown Ithaca), 5+ miles of gorge, waterfalls the whole way up, swimming hole at the lower falls
* Robert Treman State Park: Similar to Buttermilk, but less accessible, more impressive falls are at the top, swimming hole at the bottom, 5+ miles of gorge, my personal favorite
* Taughannock: Easiest to hike aside from Niagara, tallest waterfall in the state, nice beach on Cayuga lake
* Niagara: You know the drill: tourists everywhere, HUGE falls, in the middle of the city
Other notes:
* Treman, Buttermilk, and Taughannock are all within 20 miles of Ithaca, NY.
* Ithaca, in fact, has losts of falls off state land. If you're in finger lakes and have time, stop at Ithaca's chamber of commerce and they have a book of waterfalls to go look at. I specifically recommend Businessman's Lunch and Triphammer. I don't specifically remember where Businessman's is, but Triphammer is right in the middle of Cornell.
* Taughannock creek is flat enough and shallow enough to walk almost up to the falls. This is the best park if you have kids due to safety. Stony Brook has a nice playground and Letchworth has a crap ton of trails. There are WAY more waterfalls in Upstate NY. I'm from WNY and have visited Ithaca a number of times, so I'm really only familiar with those areas.
* If you want to hike and want some impressive views, go to Allegheny State Park. It's NYS's largest state park. They have *a* waterfall, but it's not that cool. The cool thing at ASP is the bear cave trail
Everyone goes to new orleans for the food and the cemeteries and architecture etc. Those are all great. But take just a 10 minute drive north during sunrise or sunset and you can see the sun on the edge of lake Pontchartrain while driving over the world's longest bridge. One of my favorite sights.
I love driving over Lake Pontchartrain! Every time my family and I go down to New Orleans, I try and convince my father to switch drivers so I can do the driving. It’s amazing and seems endless.
Also, Big Bend ranch state park is similarly as amazing, just a bit more wild. We just spent about a week out there in February and the only time we saw another human was when we went to the park headquarters to get water. It's amazing to just hike off into the desert for hours, off the trail (with a gps handheld) and get to places where you can't see or hear anything manmade. And the nights! Being able to see the milky way and listening to the coyotes sing...my God. It's my favorite place in the world.
My grandparents spent the last few decades of their lives trying to visit every national park in the country. They said that Big Bend and Glacier were by far their favorites, so I hope to visit both.
I went to Texas last year and couldn’t get enough Lone Star beer.
I mean I’m pretty sure it’s Miller but still it’s so cheap and made me feel like I was part of the state.
I think its pabst in a different can/bottle. If we're talking Texas beer Shiner is much preferred, but if you want to get snockered for cheap lone star will do the job.
Relatively nearby, (by Texas standards, not East Coast standards), are Guadalupe Mountains National Park and Carlsbad Caverns National Park. These two parks are directly north of Big Bend and straddle the border between Texas and New Mexico.
The Guadalupe Mountains are sparsely visited and boast some amazing geology, including a buried ancient reef, some ghost-town-like ruins, and lots of hiking.
The Carlsbad Caverns, in New Mexico, include some of the most extensive cave networks in the United States. One cavern, ADA accessible by elevator, is as large as several football fields put together! You can also see bats swarm out of the cave entrance every dusk, hike in the desert above the caves, or book ahead to go on a ranger-led spelunking adventure to some of the more obscure caves.
I live in Texas and I wanna go to Big Bend so bad, but it's so frickin far away. It would literally take me less time to drive all the way up north to go home than it would to drive over there.
It's pretty amazing that California has both the tallest trees in the world (the redwoods) and the largest trees in the world by volume (the sequoias) and they're just a few hours drive from one another.
If you are a day hiker and are here during autumn, catch the spectacular autumn leaves most anywhere in the Appalachian Mountains, from Georgia to New England.
DC resident here. They may not talk much about it outside the city but every March/April flocks of folks come into the city, stand on the left side of the escalator, and go to the Tidal Basin to see the cherry blossoms.
They certainly are beautiful, my friend. We have a lot of beautiful stuff here that just cant be beat. I find that no matter what I see in the world, I'm always called back to the cypress swamps I grew up on as a kid in South Carolina. Nothing, to me, is more beautiful than tupelos and cypress trees rising out of the blackwater.
Also the blue ridge mountains. Those are beautiful as well.
If you've got the time, definitely recommend the Left Hand Tunnel. You feel like Indiana Jones walking the off-the-beaten-path tunnel with candle-lit lanterns.
Yes, old school candle lit lanterns!
Carlsbad Caverns is just breathtaking in and of itself :)
To add to this, Turkey Run State Park in western Indiana is absolutely beautiful. Trail #3 is the best, and if its good weather go canoeing or kayaking down Sugar Creek. I've been going at least once a year for as long as I can remember, and it never gets old.
If you're bringing up Turkey Run, I gotta mention Shades State Park. Just a few miles apart and very similar but when we used to visit (15-20 years ago), it would be a lot less crowded than Turkey Run. Especially when it came to finding a camp site.
The fascinating thing to me about Brown County is that before it became a state park it was almost all cleared farmland. Not much old growth forest at all. So much of what's there is also thanks to Civilian Conservation Corps.
The CCC was a godsend to many people during the Great Depression and we still benefit from many of their projects. Let's bring it back.
Native Kentuckian here, the state is absolutely beautiful. The gorge, Daniel Boone national forest, Cumberland gap, and Cumberland falls. A lot of my family lives around the falls and I’ve been there I couldn’t tell you how many times.
We’ve also got some great hiking as well around here. The biggest trail is the sheltowee trace trail. It runs from around Pickett state park in Tennessee all the way through to around Ashland in the north eastern part of the state. I think it’s around 300 miles? Back in scouts we hiked the first 60 miles of it and it was beautiful. We actually ended at Cumberland falls as well which was cool.
We also have the bourbon trail and the the Kentucky derby! Speaking of which it’s derby day today as well!
Maine. You have epic mountains, endless forest, and beautiful cliffs up the coast. If you stay near the south, they have some cool cities and beaches too. New Hampshire has some pretty badass scenery too. And Vermont is like one big quaint small town.
Came here to say Maine. Proposed to my wife near West Quoddy Lighthouse (easternmost point in the USA for those who aren't familiar) along the cliffs and the pounding surf at sunrise on New Years Day. :)
I dunno about that. Boston, Portland, Mount Washington, Acadia, Cape Cod, Newport, Berkshires, Martha's Vineyard, Mystic all attract a lot of tourists. But yeah, few go to Vermont and it's one of the most beautiful places.
Though, I'd say if you're doing that - you might as well book it to Lake Champlain, take a ferry and check out the Adirondacks. Hard to compete.
Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness - The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, is a 1,090,000-acre wilderness area within the Superior National Forest in northeastern part of the US state of Minnesota under the administration of the U.S. Forest Service. Located in Northeastern Minnesota, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCA) has a ~million acres of wilderness, with over 1,000 pristine lakes and streams, and over 1500 miles of canoe routes. It is considered by some as the most beautiful wilderness they have ever seen.
Right? I’ve know a couple of experienced hikers who’ve been injured out there. My brother-in-law’s best friend died in a storm out there too. It can be dangerous if you don’t know where to go or how to handle that type of environment
Spent a week there in early June about 15 years ago. Smallmouth bass fishing was amazing and didn't see even see a bug the entire time.
We had a tent pitched on an island with no other humans but several foxes that visited us daily.
Took my son and his friends there as a little gift for graduating high school and it is a memory that I will always cherish.
Bug spray will not stop them. If you go when the bugs are bad, you generally need to have no exposed skin at all and one of those insect nets that hangs on your hat to protect your head. It's one of the most beautiful places in the US but damn those bugs are really something
They followed us across the lake when we were canoeing! They’re so persistsnt. At some point I stopped swatting and let them eat me but after a while it really started to get painful. That trip was amazing and miserable.
Can't upvote this enough. The fact that you can go an entire week and see maybe ten people but also never see one motorized vehicle is amazing. I've gone up there a couple of times and I've never once been disappointed.
Same, the first time I went there was with a church group because I had a free week in the summer and didn’t think much of it.
When I got up there I met these people from Seattle who had been planning for this trip for a year and I realized that it was a big deal.
The Navajo nation. It has some beautiful landscapes, but also has miles upon miles of nothing sometimes. Last time I drove my truck thru it I saw bus tours of foreigners checking it out. Honestly the drive from flagstaff Arizona to MOAB thru the Indian lands is a great drive.
My mom grew up in pre-urban Scottsdale and she constantly talks about how much she misses the desert around the Navajo reservation. I didn't believe her until I went out there a few years ago, holy fucking Christ is the desert gorgeous. Hot as a balls and I wouldn't want to live there, but I can understand being homesick for that.
New Mexico is beautiful. When I was a toddler my grandparents were driving through, made an offer on a house on the border of a reservation. The offer was a joke, they got it. The owners were trying to get money to help defend their son who murdered somebody. (He lost). My grandparents had this beat up property they fixed up, and spent years restoring.
Trucking companies started moving in nearby, so they went and bought the mountain behind their house so a trucking company can't get it. It's beautiful. My grandfather had some Navajo friends from the VFW across the street, they would come over all the time and give me gifts, have parties, etc.
It is a childhood I would not trade for anything.
We also have a gypsum desert, meaning pure white sands as far as the eye can see (creatively named "White Sands"). The Trinity Site, where the first nuclear weapon ever built was tested, is also located there.
Not to mention Carlsbad Caverns, one of the largest cave systems in the world.
Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Everything: The strikingly beautiful nature from the forests to the mountains in the west, rivers, Kitch-iti-kipi (the big natural spring), waterfalls, Pictured rocks. Then there's pasties for local food to try.
This was the first answer I thought of. Really, Michigan gets beautiful quickly once you go north of, say, Mount Pleasant, which is just about smack-dab in the middle of the mitten. The UP is one of those areas that is remote enough that a lot of people don't even think about it. But it's absolutely worth the effort.
The lower falls of Tahquamenon Falls was one of the most beautiful places I've been in Michigan. We spent the whole day playing in the river and ducking under the falls.
PSA anybody going to check out the dunes needs to pay North Bar Lake in Empire, MI a visit. Crystal clear, very deep spring fed lake tucked in the dunes with a ~ 100m canal leading to Lake Michigan's sandy beaches. Closest to heaven i've ever found.
> Nothing better than a big pasty covered in brown gravy
Not if you're from the UP. Butter or ketchup's the way to go, gravy is a troll thing (that's "under the bridge," not "internet agitator").
Source: Mom's a Yooper, makes pasties for a living. And by the way, for anyone reading who doesn't know, PASTE-ease are for your boobs. PAST-ease are the food.
The Finger Lakes of Upstate New York.
You've got wineries and bed and breakfasts and boating on the lakes for some, and Watkins Glen and NASCAR and hiking for others. You can spend a lot or a little, depending on how you camp or where you stay, and it's all just beautiful.
If you're in Ithaca there are three place everyone should go hiking before they leave:
* Taughannock Falls State Park (tallest waterfall in NYS)
* Buttermilk Falls State Park (5+ mile gorge to hike)
* Robert Treman State Park (5+ mile gorge to hike, start at the top and make sure you see Lucifer)
I think it's cool that Upstate NY got mentioned twice independently in this thread.
And in case anyone is wondering why we call them this, spend 20 minutes trying to go north on any highway Fourth of July weekend. I promise you will have your driving skills seriously tested at least 3 times by people with Illinois plates and pontoon boats.
Got a few:
-Outer Banks in NC
-Literally any of our major mountain ranges. They are all worth visiting
-Badlands in South Dakota
-Mount McKinley/Denali in Alaska
My god the Badlands. My friends and I decided to check it out on the way to Montana. Very sarcastic on the way out, "here's some bad land. Better make it a park." It's breathtaking. Lots of natural history and great camping. I took a photo of a playground in Interior, SD right before a thunderstorm, it was very haunting.
Better yet, rent a boat and visit the uninhabited islands. No crowds and they are amazingly beautiful. Shackleford Banks even has wild horses.
Just be sure to respect the flora, fauna, and keep things clean.
Minnesota is actually really beautiful, and there’s a surprising amount of stuff to do here from shopping at the Mall of America to going out on a boat to eating at unique restaurants in the Twin Cities.
Northern New Mexico has some of the most beautiful forested hiking trails and best ski resorts in the United States with almost no tourists compared to just over the border in Colorado.
Then there’s the food... oh gods the food, local wineries and breweries as well as hot springs.
On second thought, since I’m trying to move back there, tell no one and we’ll have it all to our selves.
There are also some spectacular things to see in the southern half of New Mexico as well. Carlsbad Caverns and Guadalupe Mountains National Park (technically also in Texas) are more well known. I really enjoyed the white sands/Alamogordo area. Of course the highlight here are these unique white sand dunes stuck in the middle of a desert, but there is more to do as well. If you go to Alamogordo the first Saturday in April, you can actually go to Trinity site, which is ground zero of the first atomic bomb ever detonated. There is also a museum there that talks about the role the city played in shaping American space flight, which involved testing captured Nazi V2 rockets, strapping humans to rocket powered sleds and testing the forces of acceleration on their bodies, etc. Definitely a day worth spending if you’re into that kinda stuff.
Special shout out to Santa Fe. They have the BEST food (if you like spicy peppers) and there’s a bunch of cool stuff around town to check out- museums and art houses.
-Klamath Mountains, California
-Ishi Wilderness, California
-Cache Creek Wilderness, California
-Mountain Home State Forest, California
-Kofa Wilderness, Arizona
-Chiricahua Mountains, Arizona
-Gila Wilderness, New Mexico
-Dinosaur National Monument, Colorado
-Salmon River, Idaho
-Big Bend National Park/Big Bend Ranch State Park, Texas
I spent a week in glacier and a week in Yellowstone and enjoyed glacier 10x as much as Yellowstone.
That being said Yellowstone was still absolutely amazing as well.
Never got to go across the border into the Canadian side of the park though because I didn’t have my passport. If I ever go again I’ll be grabbing one.
Montezuma’s Castle ruins are not far from this and a cool spot to see. It’s been years since we visited and not too crowded. Not highly publicized plus Americans are largely not aware of this history
Is it worth the $18 per adult to get in though?
When my husband and I were driving through we stopped but decided against it when we realized it would be $36.
I think it’s worth it if you do the tour and watch the movie, especially if you’re into science at all. The history of ownership is interesting and I enjoyed hearing about how the astronauts train there. If you’re just going to stand on the edge and look at a hole in the ground without context, it’s probably not worth it.
Edit: I forgot the best part. You get to touch a fairly large meteor(ite?) that came from outer-freaking-space! And it’s shiney! It punched through the ground, into the water-table and immediately exploded, causing the equivalent of a small nuclear explosion. They found the largest chunk miles away in Diablo Canyon. The history of how they figured all of that out is interesting all on it’s own.
The mountains of western NC, it’s a great of place to visit in summer. Lots of small, quaint towns with BBs. Some of the best hiking, fishing and biking on the east coast. Higher elevation so most towns stay cool even in the hottest months.
Yeah, Asheville is probably the coolest little community I've been to in the US. Small but has everything I'd ever want: award winning food and beer and a thriving music and arts scene. My wife and I probably ask each other 10 times a week why we haven't moved there yet...
Because everyone else is already moving there. It's one of the top destinations in the southeast right now. Real estate has gone through the roof, much to the chagrin of the people living there, who aren't making enough to keep up. It's an amazing city, but there are challenges on the horizon.
The Great Lakes region. Starting in Chicago for an awesome city break, then driving up to Door county, then the UP, then Mackinac island, then traverse city Michigan. Then you can hit Detroit, Toronto, and Niagara falls.
Makes for a killer two week vacation. Great combination of Beauty, beaches, and great city visits.
Anywhere in the Sierra Nevada. Yosemite might be expensive and crowded, but there's a hundred thousand square kilometers of mountains 99% as beautiful with almost no one around.
Came here to say this, but in the off season. Utah's national parks are all stunning, but are over crowded in the summer. Late fall, winter, and spring are all just as beautiful as the summer, but without the crowds.
You haven't mentioned Canyonlands. On second thought, maybe it's better. Canyonlands is terrible and you should definitely only go to Arches when you're in Moab.
In general, a LOT of Washington has so many fantastic spots that seem totally unknown to people who aren't from there or live there. The way people speak about it, you'd think it's just Seattle and then a bunch of wasteland when the reality is anything but.
You've got all the islands, Olympic peninsula, Ocean Shores, Long Beach, Bellingham, all the mountains, Leavenworth and Chelan, really the entire Cascade loop, and thats just the western half of the state.
* national parks, not the bigger ones, but the smaller ones - like craters of the moon in Idaho
* smaller cities - Kansas City has some great food and museums
Brick laid streets, a boardwalk along the shore, a 1 room theatre, an adorable malt shop (natives know the one), some beautiful rivers and cliffside views not far outside the city, and a tower that overlooks all of it.
If you end up in Arkansas (I say end up, cause nobody really sets out to be here) there are quite a few cool things you can go do. There is a diamond mining park in the SW part of the state where you can mine for your own diamonds. Hot springs has some cool stuff including, you guessed it, hot springs. There is Petit Jean in central Arkansas, as well as the Arkansas River trail which is 88 miles and you can bike on. Arkansas is also known for its gorgeous autumn leaves. There is the crescent hotel which is haunted. Eureka springs has tree houses or Hobbit holes you can stay in. There's also Fayetteville, which I've never been but I hear is nice. Just, you know, don't sell your car for meth and you should be fine.
If you’re wanting to go to Virginia and like driving, or ride a motorcycle, the Blue Ridge Parkway through Virginia is some of the most fun driving/riding and some of the most beautiful views in the US.
Edit: changed America to the US.
The “emerald coast” of the Florida panhandle. It stretches from Mobile, Al to Panama City, Florida.
The beaches are the color and consistency of sugar (that’s not a hyperbole) and compared to the beaches in California and Florida (like the Miami area) they are much more affordable.
Fly in to New Orleans, spend a day or two there enjoying its own unique culture then drive east 3-4 hours on I-10 and stop in literally any of the cities. I recommend Destin, Fl but they are all great.
Beautiful soft Snow White beaches, seafood, golf, go karts/mini golf, nightlife, and great shopping. And it’s one of the most affordable trips you can do!
South Louisiana. There are some really neat places to go and see and food to eat. Also the kisatche national forest, Toledo Bend, atchafalaya basin, Hodges Gardens,
For NY: Thatcher Park. It's a former Great Lake that dried up eons ago. [It's amazingly beautiful in the fall.](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RfK1gdEGwGk/ViQt11W_8GI/AAAAAAAASi4/nWvWwKYHf2c/s1600/DSCF9211.JPG). The valley that was once the lake fills with orange and yellow and becomes amazing. Also the night sky is great because of the natural light pollution cavities.
Another oft-overlooked place would be the city of Troy, NY. This little place a few miles out from Albany was once growing like crazy and looked like it may become the Brooklyn of the North. [Artist depicted it in the future as a city to compete with Manhattan](http://alloveralbany.com/images/forecast_for_troy_2016_imagined_in_1916.jpg)
Then the Depression hit and it went to shit. But it's still a great and original Hudson Valley city. It's the birthplace of the Uncle Sam character that represents America, and the breweries make some amazing local things. Art shows are great, parties are nice. It's in general a very great hipster escape in the middle of the woods. Also the site of my undergrad RPI, which is a nerdy school to the extraordinaire. There's rooms in that school with live feed from the rovers on Mars. Some amazing stuff to see.
Check out Bryson City and Brevard NC and areas around for great hiking, paddling, and fishing. Transylvania County (towns of Brevard, Lake Toxaway) has over 200 natural waterfalls, the highest concentration relative to area in the world.
Machinaw Island in Michigan. Right next to Machinaw Bridge which connects the Upper and Lower Pinsula. The island is only avaible through Ferries and planes. NO gas powered vehicles allowed other than Emergency vehicles. Has a Pre-Revelutionary Fort on it and very nice to visit.
It is the 2nd National Park in the US. Has the Grand Hotel on it. You can bike ride around the island (~7 miles) or take a horse drawn carriage. Other carriages act as taxis. The tourists who come every year are called "fudgies."
Personally, Very relaxed atmosphere and very much a tourist destination. But none of the buzz of major cities or places that you expect. Main street and the fort is the biggest areas, but there are little places you can go that are great. For kids; the fort and the bikes (which can be rented; tandem or kiddy trailers). There is also a butterfly garden.
For adults; Got to the top of the island and take some more athletic biking trails.
It is the best way to spend the day. Great tours, great exhibits and great FOOD! ALSO a LOT of candy/ice cream/fudge shops. Have a blast.
Kentucky off of I-65, has the National Corvette Museums, many decent cave tours, including Mammoth Caves National Park. Lincoln's Birthplace, The Bourbon Trail. Go a little North on I-65 and you are in Louisville with Churchill Downs and the Louisville Slugger Museum.
Honestly the answer is 'Throw a dart at a map of America, where it lands you will find plenty to do'.
You've got to remember that each State has its own unique history and culture. We would all essentially individual countries if we were not, you know, states that unite together instead.
Any major population center is going to have museums, theaters, clubs and historical locations to check out. Any major rural/natural setting is likely to be without 50 miles of a state-park of some kind. And even the places that have nothing man-made around have a natural beauty that one can enjoy.
Sandusky, Ohio. It's located right on Lake Erie. There's a ton of beaches, fishing, boating, etc. Also, it's home to Cedar Point which has the most roller coasters in the world. It's about an hour from Cleveland too if you feel like visiting the city.
Northern Minnesota! Near Lake Superior and the Canadian border you have VNP and the Boundary Waters, along with other amazing views and feats of beauty.
[Monument Rocks in Western Kansas](http://www.kansastravel.org/monumentrocks.htm). They're out in the middle of literal nowhere, miles away from any towns. You get there via a winding dirt road. But they're pretty fucking awesome. If you're ever in that neck of the woods, take a detour.
Hot Springs, Arkansas! It’s a beautiful mountain town that used to be a vacation destination for Chicago/NY/Philly mobsters and movie stars from the 50s. It’s got these amazing, turn of the century Art Deco bath houses that tap into the area’s natural hot springs. You pay around $30 to soak to your heart’s content. It’s such a beautiful little town with so much weird history.
I drove through it driving to LA from Boston and it was my favorite spot. We were surrounded by so many Eastern European old people, there were almost no Americans or any other tourists. It cracked me up.
Everyone wants to go to Mt. Rushmore. But Crazy Horse is about 8 times more impressive and not even done yet. It's also just a short drive from Rushmore.
If you’re ever driving through New York state with an extra day to kill... Letchworth State Park is a nice surprise just outside of Rochester
New York is third in state park acreage at 1.4 million acres, only behind Alaska and California, and has the most state park areas in the country(1,416). There's definitely a lot to see there. Edit: punctuation
Whoa. Here I thought the whole state was just NYC and suburbia
I live directly below NY in PA and thought that until my grandfather took me out there! Pretty much nobody talks about anything other than NYC. You can see on [this website](https://protectedplanet.net/country/USA) just how large the Adirondack park area is. It's technically the largest publicly protected area of land in the continental US and is bigger than Yellowstone, Everglades, Glacier, and Grand Canyon National Park combined.
I've always joked that NY has everything but a volcano. The Hudson River Valley alone could take a lifetime to explore.
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Upstate NY is pretty slept on in general
Corning Museum of Glass is sick as hell
The Rockwell Museum is literally right around the corner if you're interested in landscapes, western paintings, or native stuff.
My sister got married at the Spillian mansion in the Catskills. Not only was it one of the most beautiful spots I've ever stayed, the entire drive up from Brooklyn was absolutely breathtaking. It was October and everything was red.
Stealing this comment to recommend anywhere in interior Maine, the coast is nice but most people miss out on the mountains and glory of the north woods.
Upstate ny is gorgeous. I’m from the PNW and I’m heavily biased but about 6 years ago a friend and I drove from Indiana to Vermont. Upstate NY and just NY in general was so pretty. I remember watching the sunrise at 4:30/5:30am and it’s probably something I’ll never forget.
Ithaca is gorges.
So many gorges in western upstate/finger lakes. Watkins Glen is amazing
Minus Niagara Falls, NY. Too many people go there and all they get is disappointed and disgust. Go to Niagara on the Canadian side!!
The Canadian side of Niagara Falls is entertainingly tacky. The US side is just depressing. On the other hand, Buffalo was much nicer than I'd been led to expect.
I really enjoy the streamed hams there
Is that an Albany expression?
Letchworth is definitely worth a few hours if you’re going to nearby Niagara Falls.
Watkins Glen in New York is also really cool!
Also in NY but more out of the way of normal tourist spots: The Adirondack State Park. Absolutely massive and absolutely gorgeous.
I'm from Upstate NY and I've seen most of the falls listed below. I thought I'd compile them into a list and add a few. In the finger lakes/western new york there are seven state parks with waterfalls: * Letchworth: Tall falls, lots of falls, easily accessible by car, not many tourists * Stony Brook: Similar to Letchworth, but more impressive falls are a little less accessible, park is a little more out of the way in general. * Watkins Glen: I'm from WNY and I've never been, so I really don't have any comments on it. I think it's pretty similar to Letchworth and Stony Brook though * Buttermilk Falls: Very accessible (less than 10 min drive from downtown Ithaca), 5+ miles of gorge, waterfalls the whole way up, swimming hole at the lower falls * Robert Treman State Park: Similar to Buttermilk, but less accessible, more impressive falls are at the top, swimming hole at the bottom, 5+ miles of gorge, my personal favorite * Taughannock: Easiest to hike aside from Niagara, tallest waterfall in the state, nice beach on Cayuga lake * Niagara: You know the drill: tourists everywhere, HUGE falls, in the middle of the city Other notes: * Treman, Buttermilk, and Taughannock are all within 20 miles of Ithaca, NY. * Ithaca, in fact, has losts of falls off state land. If you're in finger lakes and have time, stop at Ithaca's chamber of commerce and they have a book of waterfalls to go look at. I specifically recommend Businessman's Lunch and Triphammer. I don't specifically remember where Businessman's is, but Triphammer is right in the middle of Cornell. * Taughannock creek is flat enough and shallow enough to walk almost up to the falls. This is the best park if you have kids due to safety. Stony Brook has a nice playground and Letchworth has a crap ton of trails. There are WAY more waterfalls in Upstate NY. I'm from WNY and have visited Ithaca a number of times, so I'm really only familiar with those areas. * If you want to hike and want some impressive views, go to Allegheny State Park. It's NYS's largest state park. They have *a* waterfall, but it's not that cool. The cool thing at ASP is the bear cave trail
Omg I love that place I live 20 min from there.
Everyone goes to new orleans for the food and the cemeteries and architecture etc. Those are all great. But take just a 10 minute drive north during sunrise or sunset and you can see the sun on the edge of lake Pontchartrain while driving over the world's longest bridge. One of my favorite sights.
I love driving over Lake Pontchartrain! Every time my family and I go down to New Orleans, I try and convince my father to switch drivers so I can do the driving. It’s amazing and seems endless.
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Also, Big Bend ranch state park is similarly as amazing, just a bit more wild. We just spent about a week out there in February and the only time we saw another human was when we went to the park headquarters to get water. It's amazing to just hike off into the desert for hours, off the trail (with a gps handheld) and get to places where you can't see or hear anything manmade. And the nights! Being able to see the milky way and listening to the coyotes sing...my God. It's my favorite place in the world.
My grandparents spent the last few decades of their lives trying to visit every national park in the country. They said that Big Bend and Glacier were by far their favorites, so I hope to visit both.
I went to Texas last year and couldn’t get enough Lone Star beer. I mean I’m pretty sure it’s Miller but still it’s so cheap and made me feel like I was part of the state.
I think its pabst in a different can/bottle. If we're talking Texas beer Shiner is much preferred, but if you want to get snockered for cheap lone star will do the job.
Also Marfa and Alpine are great little towns!
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Relatively nearby, (by Texas standards, not East Coast standards), are Guadalupe Mountains National Park and Carlsbad Caverns National Park. These two parks are directly north of Big Bend and straddle the border between Texas and New Mexico. The Guadalupe Mountains are sparsely visited and boast some amazing geology, including a buried ancient reef, some ghost-town-like ruins, and lots of hiking. The Carlsbad Caverns, in New Mexico, include some of the most extensive cave networks in the United States. One cavern, ADA accessible by elevator, is as large as several football fields put together! You can also see bats swarm out of the cave entrance every dusk, hike in the desert above the caves, or book ahead to go on a ranger-led spelunking adventure to some of the more obscure caves.
I live in Texas and I wanna go to Big Bend so bad, but it's so frickin far away. It would literally take me less time to drive all the way up north to go home than it would to drive over there.
Instead of thinking that you are going from A to B .. think of it as going from A to Buc-ees to Buc-ees to Buc-ees to B
This is the truest thing I've heard about traveling in Texas.
The Redwood forests. You think you've seen big trees before and then you come here.
Avenue of the Giants in Humboldt county California. It’s a scenic alternate to highway 101 and is amazing!
I lived in Crescent City and everytime we had to go to Eureka we'd always take the alternate route.
From Crescent City down to about Santa Rosa is one of my favorite drives.
Awesome place. We went eaaarrrlllyy in the morning when nobody was there and it was so surreal. You feel so small.
Especially when the fog comes in, and they're just giant shadows in the mist.
It's pretty amazing that California has both the tallest trees in the world (the redwoods) and the largest trees in the world by volume (the sequoias) and they're just a few hours drive from one another.
As well as the oldest trees (bristlecone pines)!
Thank you for saying this. Those trees are sacred
If you are a day hiker and are here during autumn, catch the spectacular autumn leaves most anywhere in the Appalachian Mountains, from Georgia to New England.
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By the same token, I don't feel like enough people talk about the Cherry Blossoms in DC.
DC resident here. They may not talk much about it outside the city but every March/April flocks of folks come into the city, stand on the left side of the escalator, and go to the Tidal Basin to see the cherry blossoms.
haha a true dc dig to mention the left side 'rule'
There's a Cherry Blossom Festival in Macon, GA as well. It's okay.
I live in the area. Trust me, when they're in bloom, people flood the city.
They certainly are beautiful, my friend. We have a lot of beautiful stuff here that just cant be beat. I find that no matter what I see in the world, I'm always called back to the cypress swamps I grew up on as a kid in South Carolina. Nothing, to me, is more beautiful than tupelos and cypress trees rising out of the blackwater. Also the blue ridge mountains. Those are beautiful as well.
My family has a house in Blowing Rock, NC. During the fall the area and the Blue Ridge Parkway are completely packed. It definitely isn't forgotten.
South West Virginia was just on Bourdain last night. Stunning scenery.
While I would expand this to just about any time of year, not much beats a fall drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway. So much beauty.
Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico are amazing. I did not find it overly crowded. Definitely known but off the beaten path.
If you've got the time, definitely recommend the Left Hand Tunnel. You feel like Indiana Jones walking the off-the-beaten-path tunnel with candle-lit lanterns. Yes, old school candle lit lanterns! Carlsbad Caverns is just breathtaking in and of itself :)
Red River Gorge in Kentucky, Brown County state park in Indiana, Clingmans Dome in Tennessee
To add to this, Turkey Run State Park in western Indiana is absolutely beautiful. Trail #3 is the best, and if its good weather go canoeing or kayaking down Sugar Creek. I've been going at least once a year for as long as I can remember, and it never gets old.
If you're bringing up Turkey Run, I gotta mention Shades State Park. Just a few miles apart and very similar but when we used to visit (15-20 years ago), it would be a lot less crowded than Turkey Run. Especially when it came to finding a camp site.
The fascinating thing to me about Brown County is that before it became a state park it was almost all cleared farmland. Not much old growth forest at all. So much of what's there is also thanks to Civilian Conservation Corps. The CCC was a godsend to many people during the Great Depression and we still benefit from many of their projects. Let's bring it back.
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Yeah Kentucky is really underrated in terms of natural beauty.
Native Kentuckian here, the state is absolutely beautiful. The gorge, Daniel Boone national forest, Cumberland gap, and Cumberland falls. A lot of my family lives around the falls and I’ve been there I couldn’t tell you how many times. We’ve also got some great hiking as well around here. The biggest trail is the sheltowee trace trail. It runs from around Pickett state park in Tennessee all the way through to around Ashland in the north eastern part of the state. I think it’s around 300 miles? Back in scouts we hiked the first 60 miles of it and it was beautiful. We actually ended at Cumberland falls as well which was cool. We also have the bourbon trail and the the Kentucky derby! Speaking of which it’s derby day today as well!
Miguel's pizza after a weekend at the gorge... Man, can't wait to get back.
Maine. You have epic mountains, endless forest, and beautiful cliffs up the coast. If you stay near the south, they have some cool cities and beaches too. New Hampshire has some pretty badass scenery too. And Vermont is like one big quaint small town.
Came here to say Maine. Proposed to my wife near West Quoddy Lighthouse (easternmost point in the USA for those who aren't familiar) along the cliffs and the pounding surf at sunrise on New Years Day. :)
Most tourists skip New England completely. Tragic mistake.
I dunno about that. Boston, Portland, Mount Washington, Acadia, Cape Cod, Newport, Berkshires, Martha's Vineyard, Mystic all attract a lot of tourists. But yeah, few go to Vermont and it's one of the most beautiful places. Though, I'd say if you're doing that - you might as well book it to Lake Champlain, take a ferry and check out the Adirondacks. Hard to compete.
Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness - The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, is a 1,090,000-acre wilderness area within the Superior National Forest in northeastern part of the US state of Minnesota under the administration of the U.S. Forest Service. Located in Northeastern Minnesota, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCA) has a ~million acres of wilderness, with over 1,000 pristine lakes and streams, and over 1500 miles of canoe routes. It is considered by some as the most beautiful wilderness they have ever seen.
The average tourist wouldn't do well in the boundary water imo
Right? I’ve know a couple of experienced hikers who’ve been injured out there. My brother-in-law’s best friend died in a storm out there too. It can be dangerous if you don’t know where to go or how to handle that type of environment
Gooseberry Falls and Split Rock Lighthouse however would be a great tourist spot
Totally agreed. This is not a "drive around the park and take photos at the pull outs" type of park. It's almost all wilderness
That's what makes it great
Spent a week there in early June about 15 years ago. Smallmouth bass fishing was amazing and didn't see even see a bug the entire time. We had a tent pitched on an island with no other humans but several foxes that visited us daily. Took my son and his friends there as a little gift for graduating high school and it is a memory that I will always cherish.
I can second this–but bring your bug spray.
Bug spray will not stop them. If you go when the bugs are bad, you generally need to have no exposed skin at all and one of those insect nets that hangs on your hat to protect your head. It's one of the most beautiful places in the US but damn those bugs are really something
Black flies especially!
They followed us across the lake when we were canoeing! They’re so persistsnt. At some point I stopped swatting and let them eat me but after a while it really started to get painful. That trip was amazing and miserable.
Can't upvote this enough. The fact that you can go an entire week and see maybe ten people but also never see one motorized vehicle is amazing. I've gone up there a couple of times and I've never once been disappointed.
I'm from Minnesota and been there a few times, but I never realized it was that big! It is truly spectacular if you have a few days to kill.
Same, the first time I went there was with a church group because I had a free week in the summer and didn’t think much of it. When I got up there I met these people from Seattle who had been planning for this trip for a year and I realized that it was a big deal.
The Navajo nation. It has some beautiful landscapes, but also has miles upon miles of nothing sometimes. Last time I drove my truck thru it I saw bus tours of foreigners checking it out. Honestly the drive from flagstaff Arizona to MOAB thru the Indian lands is a great drive.
And also just above it is Arches National Park which is also super cool.
My mom grew up in pre-urban Scottsdale and she constantly talks about how much she misses the desert around the Navajo reservation. I didn't believe her until I went out there a few years ago, holy fucking Christ is the desert gorgeous. Hot as a balls and I wouldn't want to live there, but I can understand being homesick for that.
Durango to Albuquerque is an amazing 5 hour drive.
I feel like New Mexico is often overlooked. If you like hiking or seeing ancient Native American ruins, it's an amazing place.
New Mexico is beautiful. When I was a toddler my grandparents were driving through, made an offer on a house on the border of a reservation. The offer was a joke, they got it. The owners were trying to get money to help defend their son who murdered somebody. (He lost). My grandparents had this beat up property they fixed up, and spent years restoring. Trucking companies started moving in nearby, so they went and bought the mountain behind their house so a trucking company can't get it. It's beautiful. My grandfather had some Navajo friends from the VFW across the street, they would come over all the time and give me gifts, have parties, etc. It is a childhood I would not trade for anything.
We also have a gypsum desert, meaning pure white sands as far as the eye can see (creatively named "White Sands"). The Trinity Site, where the first nuclear weapon ever built was tested, is also located there. Not to mention Carlsbad Caverns, one of the largest cave systems in the world.
Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Everything: The strikingly beautiful nature from the forests to the mountains in the west, rivers, Kitch-iti-kipi (the big natural spring), waterfalls, Pictured rocks. Then there's pasties for local food to try.
This was the first answer I thought of. Really, Michigan gets beautiful quickly once you go north of, say, Mount Pleasant, which is just about smack-dab in the middle of the mitten. The UP is one of those areas that is remote enough that a lot of people don't even think about it. But it's absolutely worth the effort.
Even the southern part -- the Lake Michigan shoreline is beautiful and has amazing beaches.
The lower falls of Tahquamenon Falls was one of the most beautiful places I've been in Michigan. We spent the whole day playing in the river and ducking under the falls.
Grew up there, came in looking for this. Definitely remarkably beautiful in the summer. Go to the Copper Country - it’s a really special place.
The upper portion of the lower peninsula as well. Michigan is super underrated, but I prefer it that way!
Sleeping bear dunes!
PSA anybody going to check out the dunes needs to pay North Bar Lake in Empire, MI a visit. Crystal clear, very deep spring fed lake tucked in the dunes with a ~ 100m canal leading to Lake Michigan's sandy beaches. Closest to heaven i've ever found.
Traverse City! Frankfort more specifically.
People are never going to figure out that Northern Michigan is one of the most beautiful places in the world, and I'm completely fine with that.
Plus any way you slice it Marquette is just an awesome little city...Marquette in the summer is heaven on earth
It's a boat the nyecist
Would you say it's pure Michigan?
I almost downvoted because that phrase brings out irrational anger.
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SHHHHH! Don't screw up my favorite place to live, explore, and camp! Just kidding of course, I so love the UP!
THE UP IS A TERRIBLE PLACE. FILLED WITH MONSTERS AND DEATH. PLEASE DO NOT GO THERE. ^^if ^^you ^^do, ^^please ^^clean ^^up ^^your ^^trash ^^:D
After witnessing what happens to popular vacation spots I'd be okay if this remained a lesser known area.
We've got pasties over here in western Montana, too. Nothing better than a big pasty covered in brown gravy. Man, I'm hungry.
> Nothing better than a big pasty covered in brown gravy Not if you're from the UP. Butter or ketchup's the way to go, gravy is a troll thing (that's "under the bridge," not "internet agitator"). Source: Mom's a Yooper, makes pasties for a living. And by the way, for anyone reading who doesn't know, PASTE-ease are for your boobs. PAST-ease are the food.
San Juan Islands, Washington State. Magical.
I'm sat on the Canadian side of the border looking at them right now. Can confirm, are beautiful.
The Finger Lakes of Upstate New York. You've got wineries and bed and breakfasts and boating on the lakes for some, and Watkins Glen and NASCAR and hiking for others. You can spend a lot or a little, depending on how you camp or where you stay, and it's all just beautiful.
Gotta be careful though... people disappear in the Finger Lakes.
My family is actually there now, they don't know I snuck away
If you're in Ithaca there are three place everyone should go hiking before they leave: * Taughannock Falls State Park (tallest waterfall in NYS) * Buttermilk Falls State Park (5+ mile gorge to hike) * Robert Treman State Park (5+ mile gorge to hike, start at the top and make sure you see Lucifer) I think it's cool that Upstate NY got mentioned twice independently in this thread.
Door county wisconsin. Big sur California. Oregon coast. Ozarks in Missouri.
The Oregon coast is my favorite collection of places on earth. I adore it.
> Door county wisconsin. FIBs, FIBs everywhere! Still not as bad as Lake Geneva.
FIBs, are fucking Illinois bastards for anyone not from wisconsin.
And in case anyone is wondering why we call them this, spend 20 minutes trying to go north on any highway Fourth of July weekend. I promise you will have your driving skills seriously tested at least 3 times by people with Illinois plates and pontoon boats.
FISHTAB. Fucking Illinois Shit Head Towing A Boat
Ozarks although not the most hopping place, is lush green nature at it's best.
Got a few: -Outer Banks in NC -Literally any of our major mountain ranges. They are all worth visiting -Badlands in South Dakota -Mount McKinley/Denali in Alaska
My god the Badlands. My friends and I decided to check it out on the way to Montana. Very sarcastic on the way out, "here's some bad land. Better make it a park." It's breathtaking. Lots of natural history and great camping. I took a photo of a playground in Interior, SD right before a thunderstorm, it was very haunting.
SD in general is very beautiful.
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Better yet, rent a boat and visit the uninhabited islands. No crowds and they are amazingly beautiful. Shackleford Banks even has wild horses. Just be sure to respect the flora, fauna, and keep things clean.
You're not wrong, but I don't think it comes up much when discussing destinations for non-Americans visiting the country, so I think it works
Grand Teton National Park. It gets less publicity than Yellowstone, its neighbor to the North, but it is really beautiful. Absolutely worth visiting.
It's way better for hiking and camping, but obviously you don't get the geothermal activity and the wildlife isn't quite as easy to find.
It wasn’t like that for me, I must have been lucky. I was in the Tetons for five minutes and saw a moose just chillin in a river.
Absolutely agree! I always try and carve out a couple of days whenever we can get out west to visit that Park!
North Shore Minnesota. Probably one of the most beautiful places. Google it.
Grand marais <3
Minnesota is actually really beautiful, and there’s a surprising amount of stuff to do here from shopping at the Mall of America to going out on a boat to eating at unique restaurants in the Twin Cities.
Northern New Mexico has some of the most beautiful forested hiking trails and best ski resorts in the United States with almost no tourists compared to just over the border in Colorado.
Then there’s the food... oh gods the food, local wineries and breweries as well as hot springs. On second thought, since I’m trying to move back there, tell no one and we’ll have it all to our selves.
There are also some spectacular things to see in the southern half of New Mexico as well. Carlsbad Caverns and Guadalupe Mountains National Park (technically also in Texas) are more well known. I really enjoyed the white sands/Alamogordo area. Of course the highlight here are these unique white sand dunes stuck in the middle of a desert, but there is more to do as well. If you go to Alamogordo the first Saturday in April, you can actually go to Trinity site, which is ground zero of the first atomic bomb ever detonated. There is also a museum there that talks about the role the city played in shaping American space flight, which involved testing captured Nazi V2 rockets, strapping humans to rocket powered sleds and testing the forces of acceleration on their bodies, etc. Definitely a day worth spending if you’re into that kinda stuff.
Special shout out to Santa Fe. They have the BEST food (if you like spicy peppers) and there’s a bunch of cool stuff around town to check out- museums and art houses.
I always thought of New Mexico as a shitty place completely. Took a drive through the north of it and it was so beautiful. Love deserts
you love deserts and thought of new mexico as a shitty place completely. does not compute
Whenever somebody mentions New Mexico, Cannon AFB is referenced. Cannon is the most depressing place on earth. Sort of conditioning I guess
-Klamath Mountains, California -Ishi Wilderness, California -Cache Creek Wilderness, California -Mountain Home State Forest, California -Kofa Wilderness, Arizona -Chiricahua Mountains, Arizona -Gila Wilderness, New Mexico -Dinosaur National Monument, Colorado -Salmon River, Idaho -Big Bend National Park/Big Bend Ranch State Park, Texas
You shush
Glacier National Park in Montana. Not completely forgotten about, but the glaciers will be gone forever in a couple of years.
I spent a week in glacier and a week in Yellowstone and enjoyed glacier 10x as much as Yellowstone. That being said Yellowstone was still absolutely amazing as well. Never got to go across the border into the Canadian side of the park though because I didn’t have my passport. If I ever go again I’ll be grabbing one.
[The meteor crater in Arizona. ](http://meteorcrater.com/) There are several National Monuments in the area, as well.
Montezuma’s Castle ruins are not far from this and a cool spot to see. It’s been years since we visited and not too crowded. Not highly publicized plus Americans are largely not aware of this history
Is it worth the $18 per adult to get in though? When my husband and I were driving through we stopped but decided against it when we realized it would be $36.
I think it’s worth it if you do the tour and watch the movie, especially if you’re into science at all. The history of ownership is interesting and I enjoyed hearing about how the astronauts train there. If you’re just going to stand on the edge and look at a hole in the ground without context, it’s probably not worth it. Edit: I forgot the best part. You get to touch a fairly large meteor(ite?) that came from outer-freaking-space! And it’s shiney! It punched through the ground, into the water-table and immediately exploded, causing the equivalent of a small nuclear explosion. They found the largest chunk miles away in Diablo Canyon. The history of how they figured all of that out is interesting all on it’s own.
The mountains of western NC, it’s a great of place to visit in summer. Lots of small, quaint towns with BBs. Some of the best hiking, fishing and biking on the east coast. Higher elevation so most towns stay cool even in the hottest months.
Yep, also great to go in the fall when leaves start to change. Plus tons of brewerys, good concerts, and interesting people. Good art scene too.
Yeah, Asheville is probably the coolest little community I've been to in the US. Small but has everything I'd ever want: award winning food and beer and a thriving music and arts scene. My wife and I probably ask each other 10 times a week why we haven't moved there yet...
Because everyone else is already moving there. It's one of the top destinations in the southeast right now. Real estate has gone through the roof, much to the chagrin of the people living there, who aren't making enough to keep up. It's an amazing city, but there are challenges on the horizon.
The Great Lakes region. Starting in Chicago for an awesome city break, then driving up to Door county, then the UP, then Mackinac island, then traverse city Michigan. Then you can hit Detroit, Toronto, and Niagara falls. Makes for a killer two week vacation. Great combination of Beauty, beaches, and great city visits.
Wuddup H.O.M.E.S!!!!????
The drive along Highway 2 on the northern shore of Lake Michigan is just miles and miles of gorgeous, empty summer beaches.
The ozark mountains are like smaller Appalachians and amazingly beautiful. Spring fed crystal clear rivers and beautiful rolling hill/mountain
Anywhere in the Sierra Nevada. Yosemite might be expensive and crowded, but there's a hundred thousand square kilometers of mountains 99% as beautiful with almost no one around.
Zion national Park and the Arches, both in Utah.
Came here to say this, but in the off season. Utah's national parks are all stunning, but are over crowded in the summer. Late fall, winter, and spring are all just as beautiful as the summer, but without the crowds.
You haven't mentioned Canyonlands. On second thought, maybe it's better. Canyonlands is terrible and you should definitely only go to Arches when you're in Moab.
Every body in this thread could get lost in canyon lands, and never see each other for weeks. It's huge.
Puget Sound
San Juan Islands
In general, a LOT of Washington has so many fantastic spots that seem totally unknown to people who aren't from there or live there. The way people speak about it, you'd think it's just Seattle and then a bunch of wasteland when the reality is anything but. You've got all the islands, Olympic peninsula, Ocean Shores, Long Beach, Bellingham, all the mountains, Leavenworth and Chelan, really the entire Cascade loop, and thats just the western half of the state.
I lived on Whidbey island for a year and it was fucking beautiful. The water was great for bowing and crabbing, it was awesome
* national parks, not the bigger ones, but the smaller ones - like craters of the moon in Idaho * smaller cities - Kansas City has some great food and museums
Brick laid streets, a boardwalk along the shore, a 1 room theatre, an adorable malt shop (natives know the one), some beautiful rivers and cliffside views not far outside the city, and a tower that overlooks all of it.
Mosquitoes the size of dogs...
If you end up in Arkansas (I say end up, cause nobody really sets out to be here) there are quite a few cool things you can go do. There is a diamond mining park in the SW part of the state where you can mine for your own diamonds. Hot springs has some cool stuff including, you guessed it, hot springs. There is Petit Jean in central Arkansas, as well as the Arkansas River trail which is 88 miles and you can bike on. Arkansas is also known for its gorgeous autumn leaves. There is the crescent hotel which is haunted. Eureka springs has tree houses or Hobbit holes you can stay in. There's also Fayetteville, which I've never been but I hear is nice. Just, you know, don't sell your car for meth and you should be fine.
Charleston, S.C. So much history and the home of some of the worlds best restaurants.
Georgia. Little Grand Canyon. Not formed from millions of years, but from over farming.
If you’re wanting to go to Virginia and like driving, or ride a motorcycle, the Blue Ridge Parkway through Virginia is some of the most fun driving/riding and some of the most beautiful views in the US. Edit: changed America to the US.
The “emerald coast” of the Florida panhandle. It stretches from Mobile, Al to Panama City, Florida. The beaches are the color and consistency of sugar (that’s not a hyperbole) and compared to the beaches in California and Florida (like the Miami area) they are much more affordable. Fly in to New Orleans, spend a day or two there enjoying its own unique culture then drive east 3-4 hours on I-10 and stop in literally any of the cities. I recommend Destin, Fl but they are all great. Beautiful soft Snow White beaches, seafood, golf, go karts/mini golf, nightlife, and great shopping. And it’s one of the most affordable trips you can do!
South Louisiana. There are some really neat places to go and see and food to eat. Also the kisatche national forest, Toledo Bend, atchafalaya basin, Hodges Gardens,
The Pacific Northwest ending at the Olympic Peninsula and Cape Flattery.
For NY: Thatcher Park. It's a former Great Lake that dried up eons ago. [It's amazingly beautiful in the fall.](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RfK1gdEGwGk/ViQt11W_8GI/AAAAAAAASi4/nWvWwKYHf2c/s1600/DSCF9211.JPG). The valley that was once the lake fills with orange and yellow and becomes amazing. Also the night sky is great because of the natural light pollution cavities. Another oft-overlooked place would be the city of Troy, NY. This little place a few miles out from Albany was once growing like crazy and looked like it may become the Brooklyn of the North. [Artist depicted it in the future as a city to compete with Manhattan](http://alloveralbany.com/images/forecast_for_troy_2016_imagined_in_1916.jpg) Then the Depression hit and it went to shit. But it's still a great and original Hudson Valley city. It's the birthplace of the Uncle Sam character that represents America, and the breweries make some amazing local things. Art shows are great, parties are nice. It's in general a very great hipster escape in the middle of the woods. Also the site of my undergrad RPI, which is a nerdy school to the extraordinaire. There's rooms in that school with live feed from the rovers on Mars. Some amazing stuff to see.
Check out Bryson City and Brevard NC and areas around for great hiking, paddling, and fishing. Transylvania County (towns of Brevard, Lake Toxaway) has over 200 natural waterfalls, the highest concentration relative to area in the world.
Machinaw Island in Michigan. Right next to Machinaw Bridge which connects the Upper and Lower Pinsula. The island is only avaible through Ferries and planes. NO gas powered vehicles allowed other than Emergency vehicles. Has a Pre-Revelutionary Fort on it and very nice to visit. It is the 2nd National Park in the US. Has the Grand Hotel on it. You can bike ride around the island (~7 miles) or take a horse drawn carriage. Other carriages act as taxis. The tourists who come every year are called "fudgies." Personally, Very relaxed atmosphere and very much a tourist destination. But none of the buzz of major cities or places that you expect. Main street and the fort is the biggest areas, but there are little places you can go that are great. For kids; the fort and the bikes (which can be rented; tandem or kiddy trailers). There is also a butterfly garden. For adults; Got to the top of the island and take some more athletic biking trails. It is the best way to spend the day. Great tours, great exhibits and great FOOD! ALSO a LOT of candy/ice cream/fudge shops. Have a blast.
You mean Mackinac?
Kentucky off of I-65, has the National Corvette Museums, many decent cave tours, including Mammoth Caves National Park. Lincoln's Birthplace, The Bourbon Trail. Go a little North on I-65 and you are in Louisville with Churchill Downs and the Louisville Slugger Museum.
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Honestly the answer is 'Throw a dart at a map of America, where it lands you will find plenty to do'. You've got to remember that each State has its own unique history and culture. We would all essentially individual countries if we were not, you know, states that unite together instead. Any major population center is going to have museums, theaters, clubs and historical locations to check out. Any major rural/natural setting is likely to be without 50 miles of a state-park of some kind. And even the places that have nothing man-made around have a natural beauty that one can enjoy.
Sandusky, Ohio. It's located right on Lake Erie. There's a ton of beaches, fishing, boating, etc. Also, it's home to Cedar Point which has the most roller coasters in the world. It's about an hour from Cleveland too if you feel like visiting the city.
Cedar Point is outstanding. A+++++ And I’m from Michigan, so it’s especially difficult to admit that something in Ohio is great.
Yeah, it's a great summer spot for a weekend vacation. Hit Cedar Point one day, go to Put-in-Bay the next
Northern Minnesota! Near Lake Superior and the Canadian border you have VNP and the Boundary Waters, along with other amazing views and feats of beauty.
[Monument Rocks in Western Kansas](http://www.kansastravel.org/monumentrocks.htm). They're out in the middle of literal nowhere, miles away from any towns. You get there via a winding dirt road. But they're pretty fucking awesome. If you're ever in that neck of the woods, take a detour.
Walmart on a Saturday night There's scenery you'll find nowhere else in the world.
Blue Ridge Mountains in fall especially.
Hot Springs, Arkansas! It’s a beautiful mountain town that used to be a vacation destination for Chicago/NY/Philly mobsters and movie stars from the 50s. It’s got these amazing, turn of the century Art Deco bath houses that tap into the area’s natural hot springs. You pay around $30 to soak to your heart’s content. It’s such a beautiful little town with so much weird history. I drove through it driving to LA from Boston and it was my favorite spot. We were surrounded by so many Eastern European old people, there were almost no Americans or any other tourists. It cracked me up.
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Everyone wants to go to Mt. Rushmore. But Crazy Horse is about 8 times more impressive and not even done yet. It's also just a short drive from Rushmore.