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Nature is a master at transforming water, woods, stone and even ice into awe-inspiring landscapes. Yet manmade creations also count among America’s most stunning spaces.
And when the two converge — those rare places where human civilization actually complements what nature created — it’s absolute magic.
While beauty is often subjective, there are certain places in the United States that leave even the most jaded travelers at a loss for words. So from sea to shining sea, here are 25 of the nation’s most beautiful places.
Down East, Maine
Stretching between Bar Harbor and Lubec, Maine’s Down East Coast is the first place in the US to see the sunrise each morning.
Acadia National Park is the region’s star attraction. But the entire coast is spangled with photogenic fishing villages with fresh-off-the-boat seafood, vintage lighthouses and rocky shorelines.
Offshore island nature reserves are home to puffins, bald eagles and many other feathered friends, while seals, whales and dolphins frequent the Gulf Stream-fed waters.
White Mountains, New Hampshire
On a clear day you can see five states and a Canadian province from the summit of Mt. Washington, the highest peak in the White Mountains and the ultimate summit of a popular Presidential Range hike that rambles across seven peaks named for American presidents.
The iconic Old Man of the Mountain rock formation may have crumbled in 2003, but there are still plenty of picturesque places you’ll want to photograph, including the colorful cog railway that chugs to the top of Mt. Washington. There’s also the boardwalk trail through narrow, moss-covered Flume Gorge.
The Kancamagus Highway that meanders along the southern edge of the range, meanwhile, is considered one of the best places in the nation to catch fall colors.
Hudson Valley, New York
America’s first homegrown art movement — the 19th-century Hudson River School of landscape painting — was inspired by the gorgeous valley that stretches between Albany and New York City.
Parts of the Hudson Valley seem little changed from bygone days, including charming riverfront burgs like Tarrytown and Kingston, and the sweeping view from hilltop Olana estate, the longtime home of painter Frederic Church, one of the leading lights of the Hudson River School.
Yet not everything is antique. Storm King Art Center in New Windsor, New York, adds large-scale modern sculptures to the landscape, while nearby Dia Beacon, which lies across the Hudson River, has morphed from a former Nabisco factory into a cutting edge stage for Andy Warhol, Richard Serra and other artists from the modern era.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
No other American city has rebounded as well from the economic decline of the Rust Belt as the metropolis at the confluence of three mighty rivers in western Pennsylvania.
The view looking down on Pittsburgh from Duquesne Heights is stunning, especially at night when the many bridges and skyscrapers are illuminated.
From the beloved Tenth South Street Bridge and the Gothic Revival Cathedral of Learning at the University of Pittsburgh to Frank Lloyd Wright’s iconic Fallingwater house on the city’s outskirts, Pittsburgh’s architecture is also outstanding.
National Mall, Washington DC
Conceived by Pierre Charles L’Enfant when he drew up the masterplan for the US federal capital in the 1790s, the National Mall has evolved from a cattle pasture into an urban space that features many of the nation’s most important monuments and museums.
Every which way you turn is an extraordinary view — the US Capitol, the White House, the Washington Monument, and the Lincoln Memorial, as well as spring cherry blossoms along the Tidal Basin, the Smithsonian campus, and the futuristic National Museum of African American History & Culture.
Shenandoah Valley, Virginia and West Virginia
The epitome of rural Americana, the long north-south Shenandoah Valley is a patchwork quilt of farms, forests and vintage towns.
Flanked on one side by Shenandoah National Park and on the other by George Washington National Forest, the valley offers a variety of outdoor activities, from winery visits to whitewater rafting on its namesake river.
General Stonewall Jackson and abolitionist John Brown are among the larger-than-life figures who feature in the valley’s many Civil War sites.
Savannah, Georgia
Centuries ahead of his time, British aristocrat James Oglethorpe included geometric green spaces that all residents could enjoy when he planned the new colony of Savannah in the 1730s.
Of the original 24 squares envisioned by Oglethorpe, 23 squares remain. They function as public parks surrounded by exquisite antebellum mansions, historic churches and other structures that reflect three centuries of American architecture. Live oaks hung with Spanish moss, antique fountains and flowerbeds compliment the city’s bygone aura.
An unexpected beauty spot is the city’s Bonaventure Cemetery, a lush green space with its ornate tombs and moss-hung trees.
Dry Tortugas, Florida
Anyone craving a tropical desert island vibe need travel no farther than the southern end of Florida, because Dry Tortugas is about as close as it gets off the American mainland.
Perched at the far western end of the Florida Keys, the remote archipelago features tiny islands with white-sand beaches and wildlife, rich coral reefs engulfed in warm turquoise water. Rising above the main isle is Civil War-era Fort Jefferson, the largest brick masonry structure in the western hemisphere.
Unless you have your own boat, the only way to reach Dry Tortugas, a US national park, is by seaplane or the daily ferry from Key West.
Natchez Trace, Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee
Stretching 444 miles from Nashville to the Mississippi River, Natchez Trace is a woodsy ramble through the heartland of the American South. The name was conferred during pioneer days when “trace” was a common term for a trail blazed by animals or people.
Along the way are numerous rivers and lakes, campgrounds and picnic areas, Civil War battlefields and Native American archaeology sites, plus plenty of places to hike, bike and swim.
It’s also a drive through American musical history, from the country tunes of Nashville and Mississippi’s Delta blues to Tupelo, the city that spawned Elvis Presley.
Caddo Lake, Texas and Louisiana
It’s not hard to see why Caddo Lake is shrouded in mystery and legend. It’s the flooded bald cypress forest, moody on even the best of days, but especially creepy when mist hovers above the water.
The waterway is best explored via the 8.8-mile Hell’s Half Acre Paddling Trail or one of the nine other canoe and kayak routes on Caddo Lake and the labyrinth of bayous that surround it.
Keep a lookout for gators and bizarre-looking paddlefish, as well as the mythological monsters and ghostly apparitions that are said to haunt Caddo.
Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Michigan
This natural canvas along Lake Superior’s southern shore draws its name from 15 miles of multicolored sandstone cliffs streaked by various mineral colors. The hues at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore range from orange and ocher to blue, green and black.
Topped by thick boreal forest, the multicolored sandstone cliffs feature natural arches, half-sunken caves, sea stacks, blowholes, waterfalls and vertiginous viewpoints like Lover’s Leap.
Bookending the cliffs are sandy shores like Twelvemile Beach and the 300-foot-high Grand Sable Dunes where those who dare can take a dip in chilly Lake Superior.
Door Peninsula, Wisconsin
Bordered by Green Bay on one side and Lake Michigan on the other, Door Peninsula is a bucolic peninsula ringed by state and county parks with beaches and waterfront camping.
Throwback towns like Sturgeon Bay, Ephraim and Egg Harbor (which may have derived its name from a legendary frontier-era egg fight between rival fur traders) could have been models for a Norman Rockwell painting. Strung along the shore are 11 historic lighthouses, each a picture-perfect postcard.
Black Hills, South Dakota
The highest mountains between the Rockies and the Appalachians, the Black Hills region is a striking blend of woods, water, prairie and rocky outcrops, as well as home to super-sized versions – rendered in stone – of four US presidents and a legendary Lakota leader.
Here, too, is where one of the nation’s largest herds of free roaming bison live, and the annual bison roundup in Custer State Park is one of the most exciting rituals of the modern American West.
There’s beauty underground, too — the delicate frostwork formations of Wind Cave and the calcite crystals that give Jewel Cave its name.
White Sands National Park, New Mexico
One of the world’s most unearthly landscapes, the giant gypsum dune field of southern New Mexico makes it feel like you’ve been teleported to an alien planet.
It’s mesmerizing — the contrast between the bright white sand and the deep blue sky at White Sands National Park. And loads of fun for those who bring their own plastic sled or saucer or rent one from the visitor center shop to glide down dunes that could be mistaken for snow banks if it wasn’t so hot.
The only way to spend the night in the park is primitive camping along a trail that meanders through the dunes — an experience that’s especially magical beneath the Milky Way.
Grand Mesa, Colorado
The world’s largest flat-topped mountain rises high above the desert terrain of western Colorado.
Covering more than 500 square miles, the moist highland climate of the Grand Mesa nourishes more than 300 lakes, flower-filled alpine meadows and forests that mix evergreens with aspens and cottonwoods that explode with autumn color.
Land’s End viewpoint offers a panorama all the way across the Grand Valley to the red-rock cliffs of Colorado National Monument, while Powderhorn Mountain Resort offers winter skiing and snowboarding, and a summer mountain bike park.
Teton Range, Wyoming
Whether you’re peering down from one of the 12,000-foot-high peaks or studying their reflection in a mirror-like lake along the base of the range, the Teton Range is breathtaking.
Their jagged form — especially those shark-fin-shaped peaks — means these are very young mountains, born around nine million years ago as the great tectonic plates collided to form the Earth that we know today.
Among the best spots to view the Tetons are the eastern shore of Jenny Lake and Snake River Overlook on US Highway 26. It’s a panorama that photographer Ansel Adams immortalized in 1942.
Bryce Canyon, Utah
Long before Scottish pioneer Ebenezer Bryce attached his name to this geological oddity, the local Paiute people called it Angka-Ku-Wass-A-Wits (“Red-Painted Faces”).
Nowadays these rock formations shaped by erosion in Bryce Canyon are called hoodoos, and many of the tall, thin spires that fill the canyon’s deeply eroded amphitheaters really do look like ancient giants that turned to stone.
Scenic trails lead across the rim while others dive into red-rock warrens like the Queen’s Garden and Silent City.
Glacier National Park, Montana
Like the Misty Mountains of “Lord of the Rings,” Montana’s celebrated national park resembles a landscape conjured for a fairytale rather than a real-life landscape.
The inland equivalent of coastal fjords, Glacier National Park’s snowcapped peaks, granite walls and copious glaciers reflect in elongated lakes framed by dark evergreen forest.
The classic route across the park is called Going-To-The-Sun Road. But you can also hike the northernmost stretch of the Continental Divide Trail through the roadless heart of the park. Or simply sit on the edge of a lake and admire nature’s perfection.
Lake Powell Navajo Tribal Park, Arizona
Part of the Navajo Nation, this remarkable desert wilderness hugs the south shore of Lake Powell near Paige, Arizona, and the Glen Canyon Dam.
The most celebrated feature of Lake Powell Navajo Tribal Park is Antelope Canyon, a deep gorge that feels like a cathedral rendered in red-rock stone. But there are plenty of other wonders, like Cardiac Canyon with its 350-foot-high walls. Navajo guides are mandatory for exploring the canyons.
The park also manages the overland trail to Utah’s Rainbow Bridge National Monument, one of the world’s largest natural stone arches.
Yosemite, California
Yosemite Valley might be the star of this big California national park, but there are plenty of attractions in an iconic park that traces its origins to an executive order signed by President Lincoln during the Civil War.
Like the high country meadow on a summer evening with pink alpenglow coloring the High Sierra. A snowy winter interlude in the Mariposa Grove redwoods and cross country skiing to Glacier Point. Or rafting the swift-flowing Tuolumne River on a hot summer day.
Baker Beach, California
Forget the Marin Headlands or the Marina District — the most dramatic view of the Golden Gate Bridge is from Baker Beach on the Pacific Ocean side of San Francisco.
Beachgoers can scramble over the wave-washed boulders closer to the bridge, surf-fish the sandy portions farther south or picnic in an oceanside meadow surrounded by wind-sculpted trees.
There’s history, too. Once part of the Presidio army base, Baker also boasts a coastal defense battery with a vintage “disappearing” cannon.
Crater Lake, Oregon
Formed around 7,700 years ago by the eruption of a colossal volcano, Crater Lake has been blowing minds since long before it became the nation’s fifth national park.
During an 1880s visit, a government geologist described people “who had ridden a hundred miles in freight-wagons to behold it, vainly striving to keep back tears as they poured forth their exclamations of wonder and joy akin to pain.”
If the setting alone isn’t enough to impress, consider the fact that the very tall One World Trade Center in New York could be completely submerged in the nation’s deepest lake (1,949 feet), with several hundred feet to spare.
Hoh Rain Forest, Washington State
Nurtured by around 140 inches of rain each year, this emerald old growth forest on the Olympic Peninsula is an outstanding example of the temperate rainforest that once covered the entire Pacific Coast from the Columbia River to the Alaska panhandle.
A montage of Sitka spruce, Douglas fir and western hemlock, Hoh Rain Forest also harbors more than 130 types of moss and lichen, including strands of the climbing vine known as “old man’s beard” hanging from the branches.
If you hear rustling in the underbrush, it’s probably the resident herd of Roosevelt elk grazing their way through the forest.
Nā Pali Coast, Hawaii
Kauai’s north shore is dominated by towering rust-colored cliffs riven with waterfalls, jungle canyons and remote white-sand beaches.
Catamaran excursions and helicopter flightseeing are the quickest way to see the Nā Pali Coast. But the ultimate experience is hiking the 11-mile Kalalau Trail via lush Hanakāpī‘ai Beach and a vertigo-inducing section called Crawler’s Ledge, with its 300-foot drop into the ocean.
Icy Bay, Alaska
Located along the coast of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve, Icy Bay is one of the nation’s most remote natural wonders.
Filled with icebergs and surrounded by massive fjords and tidewater glaciers, the bay stretches more than 30 miles inland from the Gulf of Alaska.
It’s not easy to reach but several outfitters offer guided kayaking camping trips that entail a charter flight from Yakutat over Malaspina Glacier (the world’s largest piedmont glacier) and then a landing on the gravel beach at Kageet Point.
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