America the beautiful.
So much to see. So much to experience.
Just because we don't have exotic oceans and ancient history doesn't mean there isn't majesty to take in.
There are many vacations to put together.
And now we don't have to use a paper map to plan.
Our apps and GPS have it all planned out.
Redditor driedkitten wanted to compare notes about the greatest ways to see the USA, so they asked:
"Where is the most beautiful place in the United States?"
So far the cliffs of California is my favorite part of the US.
The Falls
niagara falls GIF
Giphy
"Subjective of course, but Crater Lake is certainly a sight to behold."
KaboodleMoon
"My home state of Oregon is full of beautiful places, South Umpqua falls, Illinois River, and Multnomah falls. Are some favorites."
jlp120145
Oh Hoh...
"A tie for Acadia, Hoh rainforest, and Rainier in the fall."
ParkLaineNext
"I was going to say Acadia. It's very underrated for some reason. My mom's friend by coincidence ended up being my English professor in college and we went on a trip to see family in ME. We stopped at Acadia for a day and she said it reminded her a lot of her visit to Greece."
NunChuckNorris007
"Hoh rainforest is absolutely devastatingly beautiful. Hiked the whole Hoh river trail when I was 17 and it's still near the top of the list for my favorite things I've ever done."
Hal9000_Red_Eye
In Awe
"Glacier national park. I was continuously in awe that the place was real life."
StrebLab
"The vistas of this road, on a motorcycle, were beyond breathtaking to experience. Would 100% do it again. Being on a bike allowed for stops at the waterfalls where there was no room for vehicles to pull over, and the views from the tunnels under the road were supernatural."
tastygrrrl
The Road Ahead
"There is a stretch of the Navajo reservation where there is no cell service, AM or FM radio reception. The road stretches before you for miles surrounded by red rocks touching blue sky. The buzzing undercurrent of modern connectivity fades away and your brain can be truly still."
tulleandtiaras42
"We did a little unscheduled off-roading in that area when we came to a road closed barrier. A Navajo couple pulled up alongside us while we pondered the dirt road heading roughly in the direction we wanted to go and assured us it was passable. Really lonely place... but wonderful."
KaleidoscopeWeird310
On a Clear Day
Mountain GIF by Sunshine Village
Giphy
"Mount Rainier."
WWDB
"If I stand right at the doorjamb of my front door on a clear day, I have a beautiful view. I owned this house for 15 years before I figured that out. You can't see it from any other position in the doorway, or if you're outside."
Wise_Ad_4816
Mountains are hot. That is all.
See the Country
Happy Dance GIF by PLAYMOBIL
Giphy
"Depends on what you’re looking for. The United States is a big place."
"For me - Hawaii is hard to beat."
Own-Willingness-3935
Beautiful scenery...
"Zion National Park is the most well-known place in Utah. But my entire state is an outdoorsman's paradise. LOTs of beautiful scenery in both the northern and southern parts of the state."
nekor18670
"Totally!!! And it’s very different. I personally prefer Southern Utah because the red rocks make me feel like I’m on Mars. But I grew up in the salt lake valley, so the mountains lost a lot of their majesty. But if I’m being honest, I miss them terribly."
Bye-sexual-band-n3rd
Smell the old growth
"I’m incredibly biased, but the most beautiful place is the California redwoods. Drive up 101, and then detour towards Petrolia. There is absolutely nothing like it. Roll down your windows and drive 35mph. Smell the old growth. Stop at the pull out. Take a small hike. It’s worth it."
Altril2010
"Yes, 100%. My brother lives in McKinleyville and I am going to see him the end of April. Can't wait. It's my happy place. They are like the Grand Canyon and Niagara Falls... you have to see them to believe them. Those redwoods are something else!"
strongy78
Utopia
"Yosemite! You drive thru the tunnel and come out the other side. Looks like heaven/Utopia."
Socalrdb
"Did a hike in Yosemite on January 1 last year. A spectacular way to start the year. I had seen photos of it, seen it in movies, watched countless videos on Youtube about it but -nothing- prepares you for the sight of El Cap as you turn that corner. I was very nearly moved to tears."
ThrustersToFull
Amazing
Episode 1 Boat GIF by The Simpsons
Giphy
"The Shenandoah Valley. Its an amazing place if you're an outdoorsman. Hiking, fishing, hunting, bird watching, camping."
homoco4396
All the wonders of the world. I may have to check all of these out.
What did we miss? Let us know in the comments below.
Redditor crunchy_croissant asked:
"What is one country that you will never visit?"
In all deference to the locals living there, these destinations are notorious for undesirable conditions.
"north ikea"
– Sorryformyfart
"i always knew the north part of ikea was sketchy."
– Joel-O42069
Living In Perpetual Fear
"Myanmar."
"Spent my pre-adolescence there during the previous rule of the junta, when Suu Kyi was in house arrest. I cannot begin to explain the fear that was present in everyday life there then. My father had to be at Yangon for some pretty run-of-the-mill corporate work and was nonetheless always on alert."
"As a 10/11/12-year-old, I was not allowed to answer telephones, lest I reveal something that might seem problematic to the administration. Even in an atmosphere that you were on the brink of rubbing law enforcement the wrong way, my most memorable moments were brushes with the younger adult neighbours in our apartment who were running an illegal computer training centre."
"I cannot imagine their lives now, suspended in constant agitation."
– Glooberty
Unstable Republic
"Sudan. Either of them."
– bobsyouruncle1950
"I spent two weeks in South Sudan in the summer of 2005. This was when the civil war was still happening so before Sudan was two separate countries. There was something like 30 km of paved road in all of South Sudan at the time. It was beautiful but there was literally no infrastructure. Lots of AK47s though."
– nomadicfeet
Being Assigned
"My dad's colleague was trapped with no connection to outside world in this recent coup in Sudan. Everyone in office was worrying about that group she went with. Thankfully they were extradited to India by the company."
"Even my dad was being asked repeatedly to go and he asked me. As I had fairly good grasp of current affairs, I told him no every time as this sh*t was going to go down in future. Now I don't think anyone will be sent for projects there😌"
– Wise_Ad9414
Not A Top Choice For Tourists
"Somalia."
– Atsunome
"10/10 would prefer over South Sudan."
– PureRandomness529
Words From An Egyptian Woman
"Reading the comments on this and a previous thread as an Egyptian woman, I feel so ashamed of my country and sad for all the women who had to deal with terrible kinds of sexual harassments in Egypt and many more unfortunate events that happend there."
"I'm so sorry you had to go through this and I'm apologising on behalf of everyone who dared to make you feel uncomfortable in any way because I absolutely know what you went throughm It's what almost every Egyptian woman goes through everyday and we're still not heard."
– htarekk
Places ravaged by war tend to not be on a visitor's list of places to vacation.
Destination: Terrorism
"Sad Afghanistan. It’s a beautiful country, and I know the regular people are friendly. But I probably won’t survive a week there."
– gozba
Foreigners, Beware
"Probably Afghanistan. It's not safe for foreigners."
– bpanio
These Low Effort Jobs Have Surprisingly High Salaries | George Takei’s Oh Myyy
Have you ever worked one of those jobs that paid you to kinda sit there? If you have, you know the joy that comes with watching the entirety of Breaking Bad ...A Violent Country
"Syria is such a bed of history city's that are ancient that I'd love to see for myself but sadly just wouldn't be safe I think for a long time!"
– lookonthedarkside66
Even people with ties to their country didn't give high marks.
A Local's Perspective
"I live in Venezuela and if I manage to leave Venezuela, I won't come to visit."
– AnthonnyAG
Plagued By Upheaval
"Haiti. As much as I'd love to visit my mother's home country, there's a reason even my mother hasnt gone back since the early 00s. Haiti continually gets f'ked by political unrest, economic upheaval, and ecological turmoil."
"Combined with the fact that our last living relative that was still there died back in 05, we have no connection to that place anymore."
"I sincerely, emphatically hope things get better, because one day I would love to connect with that part of my heritage, but not now, and probably not within the next ten years, either."
– WanderingGenesis
The One Who Never Went Back
"My good friend is Venezuelan. He left in 2014. Get a few drinks in him and he starts ranting about how much he hated it."
– AnchoviePopcorn
Switzerland can be too much of a good thing.
Lap Of Luxury
"I’ll never go back to Switzerland. It’s pretty, I just can’t afford to breathe there."
– ExpertAncient
"Even talking about Switzerland feels expensive."
– PocketRocketTrumpet
"I dont think we can afford this conversation."
– Boobagge
The Consolation Prize
"We flew to Switzerland and drove to France for our vacation because it was cheaper. We went back to Geneva for our flight out and couldn't get seats (flying standby). This lasted for a couple of days and like every day there between the hotel and the food was like a vacation budget of its own."
– lemonylol
People want a getaway to de-stress from their everyday lives.
Based on the examples and reasons listed above, it makes sense some people would want to avoid packing their bags for a dream vacation at the mentioned destinations.
Unless the travelers are thrill-seekers, I suppose.
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FAME.
GiphyHollywood walk of fame. Haven't seen a dirtier road. mirgyasen
And the smell and the people trying to force things on you, ugh, a homeless guy screamed at me when I walked passed him so that sums up my experience of the walk of fame. asel89
The Rock.
Plymouth Rock.
It's just a rock. It's not even a big rock, or a weird-looking rock; it's just a grayish lump the size of a beanbag chair with "1620" carved on it. I didn't pay anything to look at it and it still was a ripoff.
There's a nice pizza place nearby though. Omny87
Lower Expectations.
Whatever expectation you have of Roswell, New Mexico- it's worse. FrontiersWoman
I made a pit stop through Roswell one time and it was cool, but I think the hour I spent there was probably all that I needed. NativeImmigrant15
Singtown
That wing mural in Nashville... there is literally a line that takes an hour to go take a picture with a pair of wings on a wall. nateisgreat1017
Pretty much anything you see on social media about Nashville isn't what makes the city great.
Source: I've lived in Nashville a decade. Anyone who plans on coming here let me know and I'm happy to give tips. SpecialSauce92
Oh La La....
GiphyJapan has such a romanticized view of France that they actually have a term, "Paris Syndrome," for the sudden shock suffered by Japanese tourists when they see that France isn't how they imagined. onlysane1
Buy... Sell... BUY!!!
The New York stock exchange. You can't actually go in and see the trading floor. LoneStarLlama
Hey in reality not much is traded on the floor anymore. Most share are traded on electronic exchanges. The NYSE is basically used for conferences and a TV Studio for the Business Networks. RudyRusso
Anywhere Else!
Oslofjorden. Please go anywhere else In Norway when you visit. MrMrRubic
The main challenge here is that to us foreigners, half of Norway is just a jumble of F's and J's, so there's a good chance we end up there by mistake. kpclaypool
You Know?
Times square on new years. If you know, you know. LeSenpaii
When I was in college a couple years ago my buddies and I thought it would be a great time to go to Times Square on New Years. To even get inside we had to be there around 9 am. Police had the entire square cordoned off and were checking everyone's bag that entered. Once you got into the square you were not allowed to leave.
So we had to stand for hours in the square with nothing to do until the festivities actually started. Around 1 pm the stores and restaurants closed which coincidentally meant no more bathrooms. People were going in bottles, holding it or a couple times I saw them just going in the road. It was a mess. A once in a lifetime mess, but a mess never the less.
Edit: When I went they were doing several concerts on different stages as well as a huge open area that was just under the building where the ball dropped. When I said you couldn't leave I meant that area under the ball. If you left that area you weren't allowed back in to that specific spot. So you basically had to decide whether you wanted to see the performances or be really close to the ball. AttackBrows
Poor Unfortunate Souls....
The Little Mermaid statue in Copenhagen.
It's just so... meh. And too far away from the city center, especially if it's freezing outside like the time I visited it. Just get a souvenir or a postcard or something.
Copenhagen itself is beautiful though, very highly recommended. I_hate_traveling
With a Pint!
If you're in Dublin, stay away from the Temple Bar area, it's ridiculously overpriced and is not at all what a real Irish bar is like at all. ois2400
I disagree to a point, I was in Dublin for a vacation last year. My wife and I did go to Temple Bar for one evening just to get a few beers and see the crowds/music. It was worth it for an evening. redsox113