I got drunk and booked a flight to the States, so I've been looking at this list of awesomesauce places and I'm trying to decide between these amazeball sights: I had no idea these places existed and it makes me wonder: what glorious sights have people outside your state never heard of? Alt Focus: What places have you traveled to within your country that are amazing and must-see?
Focus: Unfortunately my state, Alabama, doesn't have much in terms of awesome geological formations in my neck of the woods. We have a lot of flat lands with thick woods, lots of freshwater streams and river, and swamps. Venture up to Birmingham and you have a more interesting horizon to look at and places to hike. I love the trees here and wouldn't trade them for anything, but in terms of awe inspiring views: not so much. Now, if anyone wanted to know about some cool places to visit in Oahu...that is a place with a lot of natural beauty. Most people go to vacation and party on the beach but there are a lot of beautiful things away from Waikiki. Chump n a bump.
We've got a little bit of everything in the state which is pretty cool. We've got some small mountains in the upper part of the state, several nice lakes, and beaches ranging from trashy tourist ones to ones untouched development wise. The coolest natural wonder here as far as I'm concerned is the Angel Oak. Spoiler
Live oaks are amazing. They are actually protected in Alabama. I guess I am spoiled because they are common here, but a tree that big and beautiful is wonderful. This is coming from someone who has been to the Redwood National Forest. Live oaks are still amazing in their own way.
Seeing as I currently live in Illinois, not a ton outside of the greater Chicago area. Just a bunch of hicks and boring ass farmland. Growing up in Wisconsin, there is a much greater diversity of terrain. Within an hour of Milwaukee, you have a great lake, a whole bunch of smaller lake chains down near Lake Geneva, rolling hills and glacier carved trails to the West, and the requisite boring flat farmland all around if you want it. And that's not even counting the "mountainous" and heavily forested areas in the North of the state, of the bluffs along the Mississippi River on the border with Minnesota. I'm very critical of the obnoxious Sconnies that dwell everywhere outside of Milwaukee/Madison, and go to great pains to not be associated with them, but the state is really attractive when it wants to be.
Utah is amazingly scenic. Moab is must see, same with Canyonlands and Zion. Only issue is, its in Utah, and really fuck that. Colorado is pretty amazing as well. Just hanging out in Summit County is pretty awesome. Telluride is one of the more scenic cities in the country and Rocky Mountain National Park is just outside Fort Collins and is two hours from Denver. Grand Canyon is pretty amazing too, although I've only seen it from the air as I fly from Denver-San Diego This is Angles Landing in Zion.
You can't park here I am a sucker for the Rocky mountains, and the West, Alaska and the like have National Parks with vistas you just aren't going to find here in the Southeast. But, if you want to see some quaint hidden treasures, State Parks are the way to go. Whatever state you're traveling to, just check out their State Park website ahead of time. The lands worth seeing because they're worth seeing, were long ago claimed and set aside. I've taken all sorts of simple day trips to the State Parks here in Georgia. When I show pictures or describe them to friends, they're always like "I had no idea that was here." (And, many times, there's no admission fee, since bountiful tax dollars have already covered that . . .) So, go explore your own backyard! Or, in AG's case, our backyard, so to speak. Well, here's my actual backyard:
All the years I have lived here, my friend and I just discovered the natural sites. We both wondered why the fudge we didn't get out sooner. Florida beaches are typically quite lovely all on their own. Pick a town in the southern half, either coast, and they probably have a fine beach with green-blue water, with silky soft sand. The Panhandle has some as well. But the Keys are truly remarkable even if their beaches can be rocky. 200 mile long island chain with a single highway connecting them all. This is what your drive to Key West looks like. I had to remind myself to keep my eyes on the road because it is driving through a tropical wonderland. A friend and I spent the day on Bahia Honda Key role playing Blue Lagoon. Depending on what part of the island you make camp and what day, it could be nearly deserted. Spoiler The interior of the state, north of Orlando, has hundreds of natural springs. These I've only seen one, at Silver Springs. if you like swimming with fresh water fish and the occasional gator: Spoiler Spoiler
Indeed, Banff is the most people place known to manff. you'd be hard pressed to find a more picturesque place on this planet. I mean, GODDAMN...
Minnesota has some widely varying terrain from flat prairies covering the southwest part of the state to farmland hardwood forests in the center and the evergreen wilderness of northern Minnesota, with thousands of lakes and streams scattered everywhere. My favorite area is the Boundary Waters Canoe Area/Voyageurs National Park in the northeastern part of the state. Spoiler The shoreline in the distance is Canada. Imagine pristine glacial lakes and wilderness with spectacular fishing and wildlife. The number of people permitted to enter the BWCA is highly restricted, so if you can paddle and portage you can have a lake to yourself and go days and days without seeing other people too. Forget about annoying emails and motors and cell phone signals, and replace them with loons and moose and the unreal sunrises and sunsets. If you're up there, a drive along Lake Superior's North Shore is pretty much mandatory too. Spoiler
I've stayed in that hotel, and it is as amazing as it looks. The hiking trails around it are incredible too. However, the OP said he was coming to the States, not the Wannabe States.
I live in Northern Idaho, so there's a lot of big coniferous trees, wildlife everywhere and a lot of glaciation-carved lakes, like Pend Oreille and CDA Lakes. Lake CDA sunset Lake Pend Oreille Also, I've had the opportunity to be in Yellowstone, and that place deserves the name "America's Serengeti". Amazing geological wonders, wildlife aplenty and just all-around great. Yellowstone Lake's shore. Alaska is also awesome. I was in Kotzebue, so unless you went by boat up the Kobuk River, you just saw mostly stunted trees and bush-willows, and all the different kinds of grass, sedge and wildflowers of the tundra. Also, it's weird, because in summer or spring, the top of a hill can be nearly a swamp but the bottom of a hill will be dry, to not mention permafrost. Like walking on bricks or concrete in some places. A caribou on the Kotzebue tundra in late fall, which is about early September there A tundra picture in summer from yours truly
There's a camp ground between cairns and Atherton in North Queensland, or at least there used to be. It's on the side of the hills sort of and from the main cable car runs. My parents were caretakers there when I was a little kid. One of the hike trails has a waterfall that you can abseil down, but the ropes we had were never long enough to reach the water, so 8 or 9 meters up, you clip free and then kick off the face like a rope swing and drop in. The spring at the bottom is stupid deep, nobody I know ever got even near the bottom. The water is crystal clear and its surrounded by rain forest. It's my happy place.
I've only been to 6 of the 29 places on that list, but all of them were definitely worth it. Sequoia National Park in particular is one of those places pictures can never do justice. You literally feel like you've just walked into a fairy tale. That place is so amazing it doesn't even feel real. China has a lot of natural beauty that is sadly unknown here is the United States. Zhangjiajie is one of the coolest locations on Earth. The valleys and mountains in that region seem to go on forever. In addition to the above, one of my favorite sites was a monastery built into the side of one of the mountains. Phuket is the ultimate beach resort hot spot. You could be there for weeks without running out of site seeing and ocean attractions and there's a great night life to boot. Langkawi is on the less night life, more nature side. The jungle tours are awesome and the entire location is just gorgeous. I got stuck on one of those trams. It takes a little while to get down and a storm struck sooner than expected (we were evacuating and were supposed to have plenty of time). Stuck halfway down, swinging back and forth on those cables that you know were built by 3rd world slave labor is a part of the trip you might want to skip. The theme of this thread seems to be sticking close to nature, but I'll add that Florence and Rome were two most incredible places I've ever been in terms of breathtaking cultural achievement. I hope sometime in the next ten years I'll be able to put together the arrangements to spend a month in Europe and do it properly. Thus far I've only had a small taste (Italy, France, and Holland).
Ooo, the typical Chicago snobbery! There are some wonderful sights in Southern Illinois. For one you have Shawnee National Forest and the Little Grand Canyon. https://www.google.com/maps/uv?hl=e...=X&ei=vM0cVIXUJ5GAygSIhoCABg&ved=0CKUBEKIqMBA
Oh blow me. There is plenty of beauty along the Mississippi River, but if you think that invalidates my claim, you're just being an asshole. Its not snobbery, have you driven from Chicago to St Louis? Its 4 hours of absolute boredom. I have a friend from Effingham and driving to visit there one time was as bad as any drive I've ever done in terms of scenery. I don't hang out in Southern Illinois much, but most of the state is garbage.