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THREE GREAT ATTRACTIONS IN EACH U.S. STATE

New Orleans mural Napa Valley sign New Mexico sign
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.

Author/Contributor: Greg Parsons

 THREE GREAT ATTRACTIONS IN EACH U.S. STATE


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

 RECOMMENDED GUIDEBOOKS


In addition to the information found on my website, I personally recommend purchasing these road trip/travel-related guidebooks. Click on any link to read reviews and/or purchase these books on Amazon.com (affiliate).

Fodor's Bucket List USA (1st edition; 2021)
Moon USA State by State (1st edition; 2021)
Your Guide to the National Parks (3rd edition; 2022)
Road Trip USA (9th edition; 2021)


As an Amazon Associates affiliate, this website contains affiliate links. If you choose to purchase any products after clicking any Amazon.com link, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. I only endorse products that I have personally used or those that come highly recommended by trusted peers.

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