35 of the most beautiful places in the US

Thor’s Well in Oregon. Lijuan Guo/Shutterstock Insider rounded up 35 of the most beautiful places to visit in the US based on national rankings. Notable sites include the Pacific Coast Highway, Lake Tahoe, and Central Park.

Acadia, Arches, Badlands, and Great Smoky Mountains national parks also made the list. Established in 1885, Niagara Falls State Park in Buffalo, New York, is the oldest state park in the US. Niagara Falls.

REUTERS/Mark Blinch The waterfall flows with more than 700,000 gallons of water per second. Niagara Falls was ranked #81 in Tourism Sentiment Index’s 100 Most Loved Destinations Around the World in 2023. Shoshone Falls in Twin Falls, Idaho, is even larger than Niagara Falls at 212 feet.

Shoshone Falls in Twin Falls, Idaho. Shutterstock/Png Studio PhotographyInsider named Shoshone Falls one of 11 spectacular waterfalls in the US you need to see in your lifetime. The Tallulah Gorge sits inside the gorgeous, 2,700-acre Tallulah Gorge State Park in Georgia.

Tallulah Gorge in Tallulah Falls, Georgia. Sean Pavone Photo/Getty ImagesThe gorge, which is almost 2 miles long and 1,000 feet deep, features six waterfalls and an 80-foot suspension bridge. Insider previously named it the most breathtaking natural wonder in Georgia.

Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina, is the largest privately owned house in the US. Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. Rauluminate / iStockThe Biltmore House, built in the late 1800s by George Vanderbilt, features 35 bedrooms, 43 bathrooms, and 65 fireplaces.

The gardens covering the estate’s 8,000 acres were designed by American landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted. The redwoods in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, part of California’s Redwood National and State Parks, are some of the tallest in the world. Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park in Northern California.

Rebecca L. Latson/Getty ImagesWith over 139,000 acres of trees, the Redwood National Park covers California’s northern coast. Insider named Redwood National Park one of the most beautiful natural wonders around the world.

“Good Morning America” viewers voted Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in Michigan the most beautiful place in America in 2011. Sleeping Bear Dunes. ShutterstockLocated on the coast of Lake Michigan, the park features 64 miles of beaches as well as rolling sand dunes, inland lakes, hiking trails, and water sports.

Kenai Fjords National Park in Alaska features a majestic glacier. Kenai Fjords. Sean Lema / ShutterstockGlaciers might look stationary, but their movements sculpt landscapes.

Exit Glacier is the only part accessible by road, otherwise you can navigate the park by boat, kayak, or on foot. The park is also home to Alaskan wildlife such as whales, mountain goats, bears, and moose. Hamilton Pool Preserve in Dripping Springs, Texas, is a swimming hole with a 50-foot waterfall.

Hamilton Pool Preserve. Kristine T Pham Photography/Getty ImagesCountry Living named it the most beautiful swimming hole in America in 2022. It’s so popular that reservations are required.

The Grand Prismatic Spring’s bright colors make it a standout spot in Yellowstone National Park in Teton County, Wyoming. Grand Prismatic Spring. Yongyut Kumsri/ShutterstockThe water coming from a crack in the ground running 121 feet deep gets its vibrant hues from bacteria living around the spring.

Insider named Oregon’s Oneonta Gorge one of the 11 most spectacular waterfalls in the US. Oneonta Gorge. evenfh/ShutterstockThe gorge is tucked away inside vibrant green cliffs.

Skagit Valley Tulip Fields in Washington is a stunning landscape in the spring. Skagit Valley. Shutterstock/karamyshSkagit Valley hosts an annual blink-and-you’ll-miss-it Tulip Festival when the flowers are in peak bloom.

White Sands National Monument in New Mexico consists of gleaming gypsum sand dunes. White Sands National Monument. sunsinger/ShutterstockThe sand covers 275 miles, making it the largest gypsum dunefield in the world.

They don’t call Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas “The American Spa” for nothing. Hot Springs National ParkZack Frank / ShutterstockThe water in Hot Springs National Park is a toasty 143 degrees Fahrenheit, and the park is full of hiking trails and historic bathhouses.  With its views of the Rocky Mountains and charming hubs like Pearl Street, Boulder, Colorado, is one of the prettiest cities in the US.

Boulder. littlenySTOCK/ShutterstockUS News and World Report named it the best place to live in America in 2021 for the second year in a row. Clearwater Beach in Florida is one of the top five beaches in the US, according to US News and World Report.

Clearwater Beach, Florida. kurdistan/ShutterstockClearwater Beach was ranked the fifth-best beach in the US for its plentiful water sports, pure water, and proximity to Caladesi Island State Park. Charleston has been voted the best city in the US and the world.

Charleston, South Carolina. Sean Pavone/ShutterstockTravel + Leisure named Charleston the 23rd best city in the world in 2022. In 2016, it took the No.

1 spot.  With colorful houses lining its streets and tons of beautiful settings for outdoor recreation, it’s a well-deserved honor. The Pacific Coast Highway in California is one of the best-known scenic drives in the US.

The Pacific Coast Highway. Pung / ShutterstockInsider named the Pacific Coast Highway the most scenic road to drive in California. It’s famous for its cliff-side ocean views and pit stops like the Golden Gate Bridge and redwood forests.

Acadia National Park in Maine is one of the most-visited parks in North America. Acadia National Park. Joesph Sohm/ShutterstockWith 158 miles of hiking trails and seven peaks above 1,000 feet, it’s no wonder that over 4 million people visit the park each year.

Badlands National Park in South Dakota is known as “the Grand Canyon of the Midwest. “Badlands. Natchapon L.

/ ShutterstockThe Badlands’ otherworldly rock formations and fossil beds stretch for 244,000 acres. Newport, Rhode Island, is a whimsical storybook town. Newport.

ShutterstockNewport, Rhode Island, is full of adorable cottages, enormous mansions, and miles of coastal walkways. Johnson’s Shut-Ins State Park, known as “nature’s waterpark,” is nestled in Missouri’s St. Francois Mountains.

Johnson’s Shut-Ins State Park. Sharon Day/ShutterstockThe shut-ins are a series of mild river rapids and igneous rocks leftover from volcanic activity billions of years ago. It was named the best state park for camping and RVing in 2022 by USA Today.

 The Wave in Coyote Buttes North, Arizona, is a famous computer desktop background. The Wave in Arizona. Tu Le/ShutterstockMicrosoft included an image of The Wave in their desktop wallpaper options in 2009, skyrocketing what was once a little-known local gem into a worldwide phenomenon.

Visiting The Wave requires a difficult-to-obtain permit, making it one of the most exclusive hiking trails in the US, according to Lonely Planet. Glacier National Park is a breathtaking natural wonder in Montana. Glacier National Park.

Vaclav Sebek/ShutterstockLocated in Montana’s Rocky Mountains, near the Canadian border, Glacier National Park has over 700 miles of hiking trails, and terrain ranging from glaciers and lakes to alpine meadows and forests. Insider readers dubbed the Palace of Gold the most beautiful building in the state of West Virginia. The Palace of Gold.

Bonnie Jo Mount/The Washington Post via Getty ImagesNew Vrindaban was founded in the 1960s by followers of Hare Krishna, and is sometimes referred to as “America’s Taj Mahal. ” Its lavish ornamentation includes marble, onyx, teak, and 22-karat gold leaf. Insider readers previously called it the state’s most beautiful building.

Arches National Park in Utah is nature’s sculpture garden. Arches National Park. Andrew S.

/ShutterstockThe park contains over 2,000 stone arches formed naturally, the largest one spanning 306 feet. As Insider’s Monica Humphries found when she visited in 2022, the park is often packed with tourists due to its popularity. The Milwaukee Art Museum in Wisconsin features 90-foot ceilings in Windhover Hall and wings that open up.

The Milwaukee Art Museum. Checubus/ShutterstockArchitect Santiago Calatrava designed the innovative building — his first commission in the US. It’s situated on Lake Michigan’s scenic coast along bike paths and walkways.

Volcanoes in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island ooze lava. Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Alexey Kamenskiy/ShutterstockThe park contains two of the world’s most active volcanoes.

Lake Tahoe’s clear blue waters make for breathtaking scuba diving. Lake Tahoe. Anton Foltin/ShutterstockLake Tahoe is the second-deepest lake in the US.

Condé Nast Traveler named Lake Tahoe the most beautiful place in Nevada in 2021. Business Insider named Wellesley College in Massachusetts one of the most beautiful college campuses in America. Wellesley College.

EvgeniiAnd/ShutterstockThe 500-acre campus comes with a private lake. Central Park in New York covers 843 acres of land in one of the world’s busiest cities. The Central Park Reservoir in New York City.

ShutterstockThe park is surrounded by skyscrapers but also full of wooded paths. It was ranked the most beautiful city park in the US by Uswitch, a green energy company, in 2022, according to Travel + Leisure. The Grand Canyon is one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

The Grand Canyon. Anton Foltin/ShutterstockLocated in Arizona, the canyon stretches for 277 miles and could date as far back as 70 million years ago. Over 4.

7 million people visited the Grand Canyon in 2022, according to the National Park Service. Tallgrass Prairie National Reserve in Kansas is the only national park dedicated to preserving the tallgrass prairie ecosystem full of forbs, flowers, trees, and shrubs. Tallgrass Prairie National Reserve.

Ricardo Reitmeyer/ShutterstockThere’s nothing like 10,894 acres of fresh country air and wide, open space. The park is located along the Flint Hills National Scenic Byway. Water fills Thor’s Well in Yachats, Oregon, during high tide, then sprays out of it, and drains back inside for a mesmerizing water show.

Thor’s Well. Lijuan Guo/ShutterstockThor’s Well is one of the most popular attractions along the coast of Oregon, according to That Oregon Life. Just don’t get too close to this “drainpipe of the Pacific.

“The top of the Willis Tower provides a sprawling view of Chicago, Illinois. The view from the Willis Tower. Angel Stellrecht/ShutterstockStanding at 110 stories tall, the Willis Tower’s skydeck offers a panoramic view of the city and Lake Michigan.

TripAdvisor ranked the view sixth in its list of the top 10 most spectacular views in the US. Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee and North Carolina is the most-visited national park in the US. Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Shutterstock/Dean FikarThe highest point in the park, Clingmans Dome, offers sweeping views of the surrounding landscapes at 6,643 feet. If you go during firefly mating season, you’ll be treated to a stunning light show. Read the original article on Insider.