Imagine you got a chance to visit some or all of the most beautiful and eye-breaking spots in America. I bet that must be like a dream come true for you. Who doesn’t want to go visit a country that’s so rich and powerful and is blessed with sights both natural and man-made?
People go haywire (on a positive note), if someone just picks them up an opportunity to visit the marvelous places in the US. The mental framework we create when we hear about America is that it is the nation of sky scrapers. Tall and huge multidimensional buildings and such other similar structures surround the whole nation and its glorious cities under the amber sky. The people there work day and night with holding most of their potentials. But this might get you wondering as how, in such a place filled with traffic of both people and their work, would you spot a beautiful sight!
Well, nothing is impossible in a nation that is one of the superpowers in the world. Amidst this squirrel crowd lurks hundreds of places wherein beauty sleeps its best. Probably now you can get an inkling as why it is called “The America”. And to go visit the beautiful places there, surely you would be left with a huge dilemma as to which place you should go as there are thousands and no doubt you would want to go see them all which may not be possible for you in one go. And if you ask all the 300 million US residents for their favourites, you are likely to get 300 million different answers. So how do you go about searching and picking out the nation’s at least 10 most beautiful places? You need not panic since I have the solution for you to make it easy a plan for your visit. Take a look at the ten beautiful places of America.
1. The Squares of Savannah, Ga
This city is adorned with a blend of both the urban and the pastoral lifestyle gracefully mingling with each other in a Southern way. This place is surrounded by live oaks, magnolias which emits a gentle aroma, historic buildings that give a reminder of the past, 22 enchanting public square and secret gardens. It is a treat to the eye and a solace for the soul and a marvellous tourist attraction, all assembled into one. The Spanish moss drapes Pulaski Square, which is named for Revolutionary War hero, Gen. Casimir Pulaski.
2. Clingmans Dome along the Appalachian Trail in Great Smoky Mountains National Park
The Appalachian Trail ranks high in the list of scenic beauties all along its journey through 14 states from Georgia to Maine. It was first proposed in 1921 by Benton MacKaye, a hiking enthusiast and later came into service across the Eastern states in 1937 as a continuous footpath. It seems to be a monumental achievement for the Americans. Clingmans Dome, which rises to 6,643 feet at Tennessee’s eastern edge, is the highest point along the 2,172 mile trail. The Smokies that surround holds more than 4000 species of plants, 230 types of birds and 65 mammal species. The place extends unbroken into every direction with its lushness intact. The clouds magnify the charm.
3. Jenny Lake in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
6 to 9 million years ago, due to the grinding pressure along the Teton Fault created two massive sections of the crust of the Earth giving rise to Teton mountains. No doubt America has older and higher mountains than this but it’s no less alluring. On the east of the rift, is a separate buckled block, creating the valley called Jackson Hole. This is what makes the Tetons so amazing and spectacular. An eruption of granite caused a dozen of 12,000 foot peaks shooting from the valley floor. They Jenny Lake lies amid the grandeur on the left. It is 2.5 mile long water which reflects the mountain’s beauty. This lake embraces elk, moose and trumpeter swans and is one of the true jewels of the national park.
4. Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco
Built in 1937, this $35 million concrete and steel structure not only connects San Francisco to Marin County but is a grand symbol of one of the world’s most striking cities. Golden Gate Bridge, which is painted in orange, has got twin towers of 750 feet tall that appears to have vanished into the sky and the cables that looks like cobweb stretches like a harp string. It is ranked as the world’s seventh longest bridge after its completion 70 years later. It is a structure, loved and admired by all as a work of art and gives a breathtaking view when angled from the top.
5. Hawaii’s Na Pali Coast
This place rests at the extreme edge of the country, away from the cradle of American Revolution and gives you an insight of its interior. In the hustle and bustle of amazing coral reefs, beaches and mist-shrouded volcanic peaks of Hawaii’s oldest island, the people have indeed found out its magnetic spot. Along the Kalalau Trail on the Na Pali coast of Kauai, luxurious mountains plunge into the giant Pacific 4,000 feet deep. The short hike island wherein into a crystal pool falls the Hanakapi’ai Falls and the tropical flowers abundant on the hill sides create a healthy rhythm of colour and light. You don’t feel like going home back!!
6. Night view from Mount Washington (Pittsburg)
In a nation rich with illuminated cities, Pittsburg’s beauty is undeniable. You will enjoy its aesthetic beauty while standing atop Mount Washington and glance at the steep hill that rises toward the south side of the city along with the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers flowing together creating the mighty Ohio, the waterway essential for the settlement of the nation. These rivers hold downtown’s exuberant Golden Triangle where you will find the skyscrapers thrusting upwards. At night, the lights on more than 15 bridges twinkle like little stars. Such a breathtaking site is a gift of the urban renewal.
7. Grafton, Vt.
In winters, the foothills of the Green Mountains, the state’s namesake, glow red, yellow and orange. Grafton Vermont is the best choice for you to take in nature’s annual creativity, the art show during the falls, on the state’s beautiful hamlets. The Windham Foundation preserves the site in its best and has rehabilitated more than 50 historic buildings along with the Old Tavern. The Grafton village Cheese factory, a pair of quaint New England churches, nature museum, smattering of art galleries and a few other man-made attractions invites people from every corner. Apart from these, the virtues of Yankee matters a lot.
8. The upper Mississippi River
Though it is a little less celebrated than most of the other beautiful spots, it is nonetheless a package of unique beauty and the low profile that it maintains add to it. To enjoy the opulence, you will have to take a spin leaving aside the territory of Huck and Tom on the Great River Road as it runs alongside Old Muddy’s reaches through Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota. It will take you winding over hills, atop towering bluffs and also through the 19th century river town after another, being regarded as the nation’s one of the most scenic routes. As you proceed, ancient Indian burial mounds will be punctuating rolling parklands, the sidewheelers ply the river and the villages present an example of Steamboat Gothic along either side of the bank.
9. Red Rock Country (Sedona, Arizona)
Whenever Hollywood, during its golden days, wanted to picture the beauty of the West, Sedona was there. Many hundreds of TV shows and movies as well like that of “The Call of the Canyon” were shot in and around this town. Why the word “canyon”? That’s because of the majestic Grand Canyon that is accompanied by the wind-shaped buttes and the towers of sandstone which encapsulates this place giving it a rugged look and holds the national’s identity. The rocks here are ancient that emits a sense of timelessness and ignites an imagination to those who encounter them. Before the cameras took its girth, the early settlers of this place were the American Indians who produced many cultures and creative artists but the centre of attraction remains the same- it’s enchanting beauty.
10. From Key Largo to Key West, Florida
A little land but with many associations along the way such as coral reefs, Key deer, manatees, pirates, Key lime, silver palms, Bogart and Bacall downing gangsters in Key Largo and Hemingway downing mojitos at Sloppy Joe’s in Key West. As you skip down the fragile 110 mile archipelago on the US 1, you will see things that can be found nowhere else in the country. The sparkling Atlantic in one side to the blue-green Gulf on the other glorifies the scenery. The panoptic water along with the road that separates the place catches travellers giving them a rippling sensation accompanied by colourful residents and fauvist sunsets.
11. Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone national park is known to be the first national park in the United States and is famous for its wildlife, ecosystems and many geothermal features, especially Old Faithful Geyser, which is one of the popular features of the park. The Yellowstone Lake, considered to be one of the largest high-altitude lakes in North America, is centred over the Yellowstone Caldera, the largest supervolcano in the continent. This park is the feature of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem which is the largest remaining ecosystem in the northern temperate zone of the Earth.
12. Grand Canyon National Park
Grand Canyon national park is the 15th oldest national park in America and is located in Arizona. The centre piece of the park is the Grand Canyon, a gorge of the river Colorado and is considered to be one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. This landscape is beyond comparison. Its beauty and loveliness cannot be marred at any cost. The Canyon, which is the featured spot of the park, is appreciated for its depth, size and the colourful layers of rocks it exposes. In the year 2010, this park was honoured under the program of ‘America the Beautiful Quarters’ with its own coin.
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