THREE GREAT ATTRACTIONS IN EACH U.S. STATE
It is a common goal for travelers to aim to visit all 50 U.S. states. But it can be challenging to decide where to go in each of them. My list below shares three 5-star rated destinations in each state. Before you start reading, please appreciate that every state has dozens of great attractions (even the so-called 'boring' states). Narrowing down to only three attractions per state is perhaps a bit silly, especially in attraction-packed states like California and Florida. That being said, my hope is that this list can help provide readers a good starting point as to where to go.
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THREE GREAT ATTRACTIONS IN EACH U.S. STATE
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Here are my choices for three great destinations in each of the fifty U.S. states:
ALABAMA
✮ Gulf of Mexico beaches (e.g. Orange Beach)
✮ Talladega Superspeedway
✮ U.S. Space and Rocket Center
ALASKA
✮ Denali National Park
✮ Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve
✮ Kenai Fjords National Park
ARIZONA
✮ Grand Canyon National Park
✮ Havasupai / Havasu Falls
✮ Sedona (e.g. downtown area, Bell Rock, Cathedral Rock, 4x4 driving tours, hike to Devil's Bridge, Slide Rock State Park)
ARKANSAS
✮ Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
✮ downtown Eureka Springs
✮ Ozark-St. Francis National Forest (aka 'the Ozarks')
CALIFORNIA
✮ California coast / Big Sur highway
✮ Napa Valley wineries/vineyards
✮ Yosemite National Park
COLORADO
✮ Boulder (e.g. Pearl Street Mall, Chautauqua, etc.)
✮ Rocky Mountain National Park
✮ San Juan Mountains (e.g., Telluride, Durango, Ouray)
CONNECTICUT
✮ downtown Mystic
✮ Mystic Seaport Museum
✮ Yale University Art Gallery
DELAWARE
✮ Bethany Beach
✮ Cape Henlopen State Park
✮ Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library
FLORIDA
✮ Gulf Coast beaches (e.g., Naples, Siesta Key, Sanibel, etc.)
✮ Key West (e.g. Duval Street)
✮ Orlando-area theme parks (e.g., Walt Disney World, Universal)
GEORGIA
✮ Anna Ruby Falls
✮ Georgia Aquarium
✮ Savannah's Historic District
HAWAII
✮ Haleakala National Park
✮ Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
✮ Pearl Harbor / USS Arizona Memorial
IDAHO
✮ Ketchum / Sun Valley (skiing)
✮ Sawtooth National Recreation Area
✮ Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes (paved bike path/rail trail)
ILLINOIS
✮ Casey (dozens of roadside attractions
✮ downtown Chicago (including its outstanding museums)
✮ Starved Rock State Park
INDIANA
✮ Children's Museum of Indianapolis
✮ Holiday World & Splashin' Safari
✮ Indianapolis Motor Speedway
IOWA
✮ covered bridges of Madison County
✮ Field of Dreams
✮ Maquoketa Caves State Park
KANSAS
✮ Cosmosphere (science and space museum)
✮ Mid-America Air Museum
✮ Strataca (underground salt museum)
KENTUCKY
✮ bourbon distilleries in Bardstown, Frankfort, Lexington, and/or Louisville
✮ Mammoth Cave National Park
✮ Red River Gorge Geological Area
LOUISIANA
✮ French Quarter of New Orleans
✮ National World War II Museum
✮ Oak Alley Plantation
MAINE
✮ Acadia National Park / Bar Harbor
✮ Baxter State Park
✮ Portland's Old Port District
MARYLAND
✮ Assateague Island National Seashore
✮ Great Allegheny Passage Trail (rail trail)
✮ Ocean City (e.g. beach and boardwalk)
MASSACHUSETTS
✮ Boston's Freedom Trail (historic walking path)
✮ Martha's Vineyard
✮ Nantucket
MICHIGAN
✮ Henry Ford Museum
✮ Mackinac Island
✮ Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
MINNESOTA
✮ Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness
✮ Mall of America
✮ North Shore Scenic Drive / Duluth
MISSISSIPPI
✮ Gulf Islands National Seashore
✮ Natchez Trace Parkway
✮ Vicksburg National Military Park
MISSOURI
✮ Branson (e.g. tourist attractions, theme parks, and museums)
✮ St. Louis (e.g. City Museum, Gateway Arch)
✮ Kansas City BBQ restaurants (e.g., Joe's, Q39, etc.)
MONTANA
✮ Beartooth National Scenic Byway
✮ downtown Bozeman
✮ Glacier National Park
NEBRASKA
✮ Henry Doorly Zoo
✮ Fort Robinson State Park
✮ Scotts Bluff National Monument
NEVADA
✮ Great Basin National Park
✮ Las Vegas Strip
✮ Valley of Fire State Park
NEW HAMPSHIRE
✮ downtown North Conway
✮ Santa's Village
✮ White Mountain National Forest / Mount Washington
NEW JERSEY
✮ Cape May (e.g. downtown area, Cape May Lighthouse, Cape May Point State Park, etc.)
✮ Grounds for Sculpture
✮ Ocean City (e.g. beach and boardwalk)
NEW MEXICO
✮ Carlsbad Caverns National Park
✮ Santa Fe (e.g. Canyon Road, Georgia O'Keeffe Museum, Loretto Chapel, Meow Wolf, Santa Fe Plaza, etc.)
✮ White Sands National Park
NEW YORK
✮ Adirondack Park
✮ Manhattan/NYC (e.g. Central Park, 9/11 Museum, SUMMIT One Observatory, High Line, Little Island, Times Square, etc.)
✮ Niagara Falls
NORTH CAROLINA
✮ Biltmore Estate
✮ Blue Ridge Parkway
✮ Outer Banks
NORTH DAKOTA
✮ Enchanted Highway
✮ Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center
✮ Theodore Roosevelt National Park
OHIO
✮ Cedar Point Amusement Park
✮ Hocking Hills State Park
✮ National Museum of the U.S. Air Force
OKLAHOMA
✮ National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum
✮ Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum
✮ Woolaroc Museum & Wildlife Preserve
OREGON
✮ Columbia River Gorge Natural Scenic Area
✮ Crater Lake National Park
✮ driving some or all of the Oregon coastline
PENNSYLVANIA
✮ Amish/Dutch country (e.g. Intercourse, Bird-in-Hand, etc.)
✮ Hersheypark
✮ historical sites in Philadelphia
RHODE ISLAND
✮ Block Island
✮ East Bay Bike Path (paved bike path/rail trail)
✮ Newport (e.g. historic mansion tours, Thames Street/downtown, sailing tours, Cliff Walk, etc.)
SOUTH CAROLINA
✮ Brookgreen Gardens
✮ Charleston (e.g. historic home tours, historic district, waterfront park, guided food tours, Magnolia Cemetery, etc.)
✮ Hilton Head Island
SOUTH DAKOTA
✮ Badlands National Park
✮ Custer State Park
✮ Mount Rushmore National Memorial
TENNESSEE
✮ downtown Nashville (e.g., Broadway Street)
✮ Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge
✮ Great Smoky Mountains National Park
TEXAS
✮ Austin (e.g. BBQ restaurants, Barton Springs Pool, dozens of breweries, tons of live music, Zilker Metropolitan Park, etc.)
✮ Big Bend National Park
✮ San Antonio (e.g. River Walk, the Alamo, SeaWorld, San Antonio Missions, etc.)
UTAH
✮ Arches National Park
✮ Moab (e.g. downtown, mountain biking, 4x4 driving, natural arches, gateway to two national parks, etc.)
✮ Zion National Park
VERMONT
✮ driving highway VT-100
✮ Shelburne Museum
✮ Stowe (e.g. Bingham Falls, Stowe Mountain Resort, VT-108 scenic drive through Smugglers Notch State Park, etc.)
VIRGINIA
✮ Arlington National Cemetery
✮ Shenandoah National Park / Skyline Drive
✮ Williamsburg (e.g., Colonial Williamsburg, Water Country USA, Busch Gardens, etc.)
WASHINGTON
✮ Mount Rainer National Park
✮ Olympic National Park
✮ Seattle (e.g. Pikes Place Market, Chihuly Garden and Glass, downtown area, Seattle Center/Space Needle, etc.)
WEST VIRGINIA
✮ Harpers Ferry National Historical Park
✮ New River Gorge National Park & Preserve
✮ Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum
WISCONSIN
✮ House on the Rock
✮ Madison (e.g. downtown area/State Street, Memorial Union Terrace, Olbrich Botanical Gardens, etc.)
✮ Wisconsin Dells (there are more than a dozen amusement/water parks here)
WYOMING
✮ Devil's Tower National Monument
✮ Grand Teton National Park
✮ Yellowstone National Park
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