This is the highest continuous paved highway in North America, ascending rapidly from coniferous and aspen forests to treeless tundra at 12,183ft, and offering outstanding mountain panoramas. Viewing areas include Many Parks Curve and Forest Canyon O..

This 560-acre plot of coast redwoods is one of the last virgin redwood forests in the Bay Area. Muir Woods became a national monument in 1908 after Congressman William Kent donated land to the US government, insisting the park be named for conservati..

The Huntington comprises one of the world’s finest research libraries of rare books and manuscripts; a world-class collection of 18-19C British art, French and American works; and renowned botanical gardens. Secluded in the upscale Pasadena suburb of..

Sequestered in a lushly landscaped 65-acre canyon, this re-creation of a 1C BC Roman villa overlooks the Pacific. A replica of a villa in Herculaneum buried during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79, the building was erected in 1974 and now is a..

This national historic Landmark may be America’s most beautiful highway. Deemed an engineering marvel when completed in 1932, the narrow, serpentine roadway climbs 3,500ft to the Continental divide at Logan Pass, moving from forested valleys to alpin..

Elegantly displayed in a spare contemporary building are 1,000 works from a private art collection spanning seven centuries of European painting and sculpture and 2,00 years of Asian sculpture. Entrepreneur Norton Simon began collecting paintings in ..

Native Americans say this clifftop at Acoma Pueblo has been inhabited “since the beginning of time.” Archaeologists verify that this 70-acre village perched atop a sheer 367ft mesa has been lived in since the 11C.

This pleasantly landscaped 10-acre plot is the hub of downtown Salt Lake City and the heart of the Mormon faith. Here are the six-spired temple, the silver-domed tabernacle, the beautiful Assembly Hall and several noteworthy statues and monuments. Pa..

This visitor center, opened in May 1997, is located only 5mi from the crater and offers spectacular views of the steaming lava dome, as well as the collapsed flank of the mountain. The facility and the ridge on which it is located are named for David..

As you enter the hotel from the Strip, you'll find yourself in a blooming, light-filled solarium promenade, teeming with design boutiques. Walk down the promenade to see the Lake of DreamsHH, where a 140-foot mountain of cascading water dazzles spect..

Caesars Palace, which opened in 1966, cost $25 million to build (they've added more than $1 billion in renovations since) and stretches over 85 acres and encompasses spectacular fountains, three casinos, 12 restaurants, a health spa, a beauty salon, ..

The Pikes Peak Cog Railway remains a great excursion. Small black coal-fired steam locomotives, tilted to keep the boilers level, originally pushed trains up the mountain's eastern side. Now diesel-electric models do so (late Apr-early Nov; round-tri..

The deepest lake in the United States at 1,932ft, and the seventh-deepest in the world, rests in the caldera of a collapsed volcano called Mount Mazama. Spectacularly ringed by mountains that stay snow-covered most of the year, this crystal-clear sap..

Known to native Blackfeet as the Land of Shining Mountains, Glacier Park was homesteaded in the late 19C. Pressure to establish the park began in 1891 with the arrival of the Great Northern Railway; Congress gave its nod in 1910. The railroad built n..

Perched on a north-south ridge high above the San Diego Freeway, a gleaming cluster of low-lying buildings holds one of the nation's most extensive facilities for the study, conservation and presentation of visual art. Collections include French deco..

Fun, feisty and infinitely appealing, the market has maintained its earthy egalitarianism while a modern city has grown up around it. An abundance of farm-fresh vegetables, seafood and flowers dazzles the eye and tempts many a traveler to take bags o..

This sun-blasted realm of stone, sand and wide-open spaces stretching along California's eastern border with Nevada has the lowest elevations and highest temperatures in the Western Hemisphere. Far from population centers and major highways, Death Va..

Exotic and endangered animals from around the globe find safe haven in this 1,800-acre park of rolling grasslands in the heart of San Diego County. Created and operated by the San Diego Zoo, it is both a major tourist attraction and conservation cent..

This sprawling six-building complex, generally referred to by the acronym LACMA, is the nation's largest art museum west of Chicago. Housing a broad collection ranging from Egyptian and pre-Columbian art to contemporary works, LACMA is also the city'..

This extraordinary small museum gained international stature with its three-fold 2001 expansion by Philip Johnson, who also designed the initial International-style building in 1961. The original first floor is devoted to late oilman-publisher Amon G..