Sometimes I wonder…what must it have been like to be an early explorer and “stumble upon” Niagara Falls? Or the Grand Canyon? To see it, to barely even believe it yourself, and then try to explain it to others back home?
We live in an extraordinarily beautiful country. And not just beautiful, but abounding in variety! How blessed we are that we can hop in the car and, in just a matter of hours, go from the Rocky Mountains of Colorado to the Giant Sequoias of California! There is an endless supply of opportunities to explore beautiful places with your family across our nation.
Memory Bank Road Trips has put together a list of ten beautiful places in our country that are worth visiting. This list includes some well-known and some lesser-known sites!
#10 – Florida’s Freshwater Springs
Yes, Florida’s beaches boast some of the most beautiful, clear water in the world. But did you know that there are also several natural freshwater springs that are famous for their perfectly clear blue-green water? And did we mention the cute, weird manatees that roam free in the springs? At parks such as Three Sisters Springs and Rainbow Springs State Park, visitors can snorkel with manatees in the cool, turquoise waters that stem from natural springs and kayak near waterfalls amid lush scenery. The Florida Springs feel like a secret paradise! If you can arrange it so that you visit in the late spring or early fall, you’ll miss the overcrowded summer season.
#9 – Niagara Falls
Memory Bank has a suggestion for your visit to Niagara Falls…go in the winter! The typically-bustling tourist town of Niagara Falls (think Gatlinburg) turns into your own private sanctuary during the icy winter months. You can stroll unimpeded toward the falls and get the best view from the balcony, because you could quite possibly be the only one there! It’s cold, it’s slippery, but Niagara Falls in the winter comes with some desirable perks. First, your kids are going to love “ice skating” on the sidewalks, as the mist from the falls freezes IMMEDIATELY and covers all of the walkways in a layer of ice. Also, the falls are absolutely gorgeous in the winter! Everything is covered in icicles and frost, and even the falls begin to freeze on the edges. It’s unique, and magical, and worth seeing!
#8 – Acadia National Park
Acadia National Park is one of those magical places where the mountains meet the ocean. A powerful, rugged coastline is created as granite peaks rise right out of the sea. And since Acadia is on the very eastern edge of the United States, the sunrises are unparalleled, especially if you’re perched atop Cadillac Mountain, the highest peak along the Atlantic. Acadia is also near Bar Harbor, which is a dreamy small town perched on the edge of the ocean. There is no wrong time to visit Acadia National Park, but if Memory Bank had to pick one season it would be Autumn. The dazzling fall colors are worth the trip!
#7 – White Sands National Park
Some places are gorgeous, and some places are gorgeous and weird. White Sands National Park, located in New Mexico, is the latter. First of all, the name – White Sands National Park. The magnificent white dunes that cover 275 square miles of area aren’t even made of sand! Rather, they are pure gypsum that collected after water evaporated from the area long ago. From a distance, the gypsum looks like sand. But after only a moment of being in it barefoot will the differences become starkly clear. It doesn’t stick to your skin like sand, it doesn’t get hot in the sun like sand, and it definitely doesn’t move like sand! What a beautiful and strange place! Memory Bank highly recommends staying to watch the sunset…nowhere else in America does a sunset look the way it does at White Sands National Park!
#6 – Giant Sequoias
The Giant Sequoias of California are literally some of the largest living things on the planet. Some of these ancient trees are over 250 feet high and over 25 feet in diameter! There is just something inspiring, humbling about being next to something so much bigger than you. Hiking through the forest is surreal, as you will get to see the world’s first and third largest trees: The General Sherman tree and The General Grant tree. The Giant Sequoias are very special trees…they only grow in 65-75 groves in the United States, located predominantly in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks of California.
#5 – Antelope Canyon
Antelope Canyon, located in Page, Arizona, will leave you speechless. Visiting this slot canyon gives you the opportunity to witness stunning, sun-lit sandstone formations. They have been sculpted into waves, curls, and ripples by centuries of wind and rain erosion. If you are a photographer, or even if you’re not a photographer, Antelope Canyon is the absolute dream destination for taking pictures. It’s so beautiful and the lighting is so perfect that you literally can’t mess up! Memory Bank wants to advise you that if you do plan on visiting Antelope Canyon, plan ahead! The Canyon requires a guided tour in order for you to enter, and the tours often book up months in advance.
#4 – Zion National Park
It’s not even impossible to be in the midst of the splendor of Zion National Park and be able to focus on trivial things. It’s too big and magnificent. Zion demands for jaws to be dropped and for trivial thoughts to cease. As you wind through the canyon, you literally have to stick your head out the window so that you can see up to the top of the cliffs. There are some destinations within Zion that are unmatched by anything else in the world, such as the winding, river-wading Narrows and the steep, challenging Angels Landing Trail with its panoramic views. Memory Bank advises you to immediately get out your Bucket List and put Zion National Park in your top three!
#3 – North Shore of Lake Superior
The cliffs. The crystal clear water. The gravel beaches. Lake Superior is beyond any other lake you’ve ever seen. First of all, the sheer size of the lake is hard to comprehend. It is the largest freshwater lake in the world, and hold’s 10% of the all the world’s fresh water! There is enough water in Lake Superior to submerge North and South America in one foot of water! It is so large that it generates its own climate, and it is also the coldest and clearest of all the Great Lakes. And it is magnificent. Memory Bank recommends getting as far north up the shore of the lake as you can…the dramatic cliffs and rocks on the North Shore are stunning. There is like 45 minutes of summer when you’re that far north, so make sure you go in July so that you don’t freeze!
#2 – Glacier National Park
Glacier National Park, located in Montana, is where beauty and rugged meet. You will find valleys that have been carved out by mighty glaciers, mountain lakes with turquoise water, alpine meadows filled with flowers, and an untouched wilderness teeming with raw wildlife. Words fail as you take in the unimaginable beauty of Glacier National Park. Memory Bank highly recommends that you not only explore as much of the park on foot as possible, but that you also give yourself time to experience the famous “Going To The Sun Road.” You truly have to see it to believe it. This 50-mile drive through the park is considered to be one of America’s most scenic drives.
#1 – Grand Canyon
A United States Bucket List is simply not complete without the Grand Canyon being at the top. It’s as iconic as the Statue of Liberty. Every year around 5 million people visit the Grand Canyon, with around 2 million of the visitors being international. It is larger than Rhode Island, has extreme temperature differences between the rim and the river, and is almost 300 miles long and one mile deep. The Grand Canyon, with its colorful stratification and unmatched scenic rim views, is the diadem on America’s crown of National Parks.
John Piper said it best:
“It is impossible to stand on the edge of the Grand Canyon
and contemplate your own greatness.”
Who’s ready to go somewhere?? Where do you want to go next??
Would you add another place to this list?
Share in the comments!