Whatever the weather, there are plenty of reasons to get out and explore America's great outdoors. From state parks packed with trails to living history museums and sculpture gardens, there's something for everyone to enjoy. To inspire your next alfresco adventure, we've picked the most exciting outdoor attraction in each state.
Click through to discover America’s best outside attractions…
Waterfalls, wildflowers, and hiking trails fill this state park atop Northeast Alabama's Lookout Mountain. The main draw is DeSoto Falls, which cascades down 104 feet over a series of terraces, emptying into a craggy canyon.
Visitors can stay the night at scenic campgrounds and in charming mountain chalets.
Alaska is overflowing with glorious outdoor attractions, but Mount McKinley (Denali) stands head and shoulders above them all – literally. Rising to 20,310 feet, the soaring peak, the tallest in North America, is the crowning jewel of Denali National Park.
Denali Park Road affords fabulous views of the mega mountain. It's typically served by a shuttle bus in the summer months.
America has beautiful botanical gardens from coast to coast and Phoenix's Desert Botanical Gardens is one of the standouts. Trails wind through rainbow displays of desert flora, from Joshua trees and saguaros to pretty Blackfoot daisies.
A highlight is the Desert Wildflower Loop Trail which is alive with pollinators, from bees and butterflies to beautiful hummingbirds.
This unique 911-acre park in southwestern Arkansas attracts treasure hunters from across the States. Visitors come here to (legally) pan for diamonds and other precious gems at the volcanic preserve. Knowledgeable staff are on hand to identify any uncovered jewels – with the finder allowed to take their treasure home.
Beyond the dig site, there are picnic spots and trails through the rugged rock formations and lush forest.
Along with the equally impressive El Capitan, this 8,844-foot peak is a symbol of Yosemite National Park, which is also home to majestic waterfalls, glacial valleys, and giant sequoias.
Not for the faint of heart, the challenging hike to the summit of Half Dome is a 16-mile round trip which culminates in a series of cables clinging to the near-vertical rock face.
Colorado is filled with epic rockscapes, shrub-scattered desert, and mountain panoramas – but the aptly named Garden of the Gods still stands out. The park is known for its otherworldly sandstone pinnacles rising some 300 feet and shifting shape over millions of years.
Visitors typically come here for nature walks, Jeep tours, and rock-climbing.
There's something romantic about Hartford's Elizabeth Park, not least because of the Helen S Kaman Rose Garden with its flower-laced trellises and bright, blooming beds.
Some 15,000 rose bushes fill the garden, which dates to the early 20th century and is sewn with tranquil pathways, plus a gazebo built in 1904.
Delaware's shores are the state's crowning jewel and visitors can enjoy the view on a stroll along the Rehoboth Beach Boardwalk.
The promenade stretches for around a mile, hugged by quirky shops, restaurants, and of course, a sweep of gorgeous white sand. A walk or bike ride is even better at sunset.
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Snorkelers and swimmers are drawn to the coral-filled waters of Dry Tortugas National Park – but those who prefer dry land will find plenty to explore on Garden Key.
One of the park's largest islands, it's capped by the 19th century Fort Jefferson, while its sandy beaches are home to nesting sea turtles. Visitors can spend the night at the back-to-basics campground.
Rock City is as close to a fairytale as you'll come in the Peach State. The park can be found on top of Lookout Mountain and is best known for the views from rugged Lover's Leap and the towering High Falls cascade.
Visitors can also wander through caverns filled with fairytale sculptures, enjoy the alfresco art installations, and brave the heights of Swing-A-Long Bridge.
Among the Aloha State's many glorious stretches of coastline, striking Punaluʻu Beach is one of its most famous black sand beaches. Found on Hawaii's Big Island (or Island of Hawaiʻi), the inky powder is the result of years of volcanic activity.
Fringed with palm trees, the shores also provide a home for protected Hawaiian green sea turtles.
Visitors to this National Monument might feel like they've landed on the moon – the stark volcanic panoramas certainly have an otherworldly quality. The craggy landscapes are the result of volcanic eruptions, which left behind striking craters, spatter cones, and caves.
Most popular is the North Crater Flow Trail, which loops past intricate rope-like lava forms, known as pahoehoe.
Fabulous rock formations are the highlight of this state park in northern Illinois, which is filled with sandstone canyons, creeks, and gushing waterfalls. Visitors can hike on 13 miles of trails through the wilderness, take a trolley tour or spend the night in one of the tree-shrouded cabins.
The towering sand mountains of Indiana Dunes National Park are one of the state's star attractions – and Mount Baldy is the mother of them all. An enormous 'living dune' (meaning it's always changing and shifting), it soars 126 feet above Lake Michigan.
Various hiking routes allow visitors to experience the sandy peak, including the Mount Baldy Beach Trail, which offers stunning views of the lake.
A fascinating Indigenous heritage site in the northeast of Iowa, this National Monument stretches out along the Mississippi River and protects hill structures built by the ‘Effigy Moundbuilders’ more than 1,000 years ago.
The mounds – held sacred by Indigenous American tribes – can be seen on hiking routes including the popular Fire Point Trail. Sweeping views of the Mississippi River are a glorious bonus.
Visitors are whisked back to the Old West at the Boot Hill Museum in southwestern Kansas. There are plenty of indoor attractions – including shopping at the General Store – but much of the fun is alfresco.
Travelers can wander the streets drinking in charming western-style façades and wagons and even catch a mock gunfight outside the saloon.
Natural wonders are packed tight in this pretty park in the Bluegrass State. But its greatest treasure is its namesake, Cumberland Falls, a 60-foot curtain of water known as the ‘Niagara of the South’.
It's particularly famous for its glimmering lunar rainbows, created by moonlight refracted in the water. Birdwatching, hiking and horse riding are all favoured activities here.
An alfresco treasure trove for art lovers, the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden is one of America's finest. Part of the New Orleans Museum of Art, it's host to more than 90 striking works from international creators, all surrounded by beautiful live oaks and native flowers.
Highlights include a bold bronze by Henry Moore and a mirror labyrinth by Jeppe Hein.
Dating to 1858, Bass Harbor Head Light Station rises from Maine's craggy coastline, where Bass Harbor meets Blue Hill Bay. Part of Acadia National Park, the exterior of the light station is best seen from a trail which leads to a fantastic viewpoint.
Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988, the light station receives around 180,000 visitors each year.
This state park is named for Fort Frederick, a defensive stone base built in 1756. The park borders the Potomac River, with the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal passing through a portion of its 585 acres.
The fort's hulking stone walls and barracks are surrounded by hiking trails, picnic spots, and campsites – there’s also a boat launch in the park for canoeing on Big Pool Lake.
There are plenty of outdoor experiences to be enjoyed at Massachusetts' Plimoth Plantation, a living history museum dedicated to the Plymouth Colony of the 1600s and the Indigenous people who called the area home.
Collected along the Eel River, the Wampanoag Homesite is a recreation of an Indigenous village, complete with traditional houses and gardens. There's also the 17th-century English Village, a replica of the pilgrims' own settlement, with timber-framed houses and even livestock.
Discover more about the colony and the original Mayflower: the ship that shaped America
An unlikely green oasis in the Motor City, Belle Isle is an island park that spreads out over a little under 1,000 acres. Lakes, woodland, playgrounds, and picnic spots are all packed within its limits, alongside a plant-filled conservatory and an aquarium.
Another highlight is the James Scott Memorial Fountain (pictured), an ornate marble monument crowned with lion sculptures and decorated with carvings.
Artsy Minneapolis has plenty of galleries, but the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden – belonging to the Walker Art Center – is a real gem. The free-to-enter arts space has a whole host of cool contemporary sculptures, from giant bronzes to concrete etchings and wrought steel pieces.
The star is the mammoth Spoonbridge and Cherry (pictured), the sculpture garden's very first piece.
The Magnolia State is famous for its enchanting cypress swamps which bustle with birdlife and drip in Spanish moss. The Greenville Cypress Preserve protects a beautiful area of swampland in the west of Mississippi.
The park spreads over 16 acres in the Mississippi Delta, with boardwalk trails looping past the wooded wetlands and wildflower meadows. It's a home for species from great egrets and the northern mockingbird to tree frogs and salamanders.
Another avant-garde, alfresco arts space, Laumeier Sculpture Park dates to the 1970s, beginning with some 40 works gifted by American pop artist Ernest Trova. Today, there are more than 70 mammoth pieces spread out over 105 acres.
They range from a giant cat decorated with mosaics to quotes cast in glittering neon. The most iconic artwork in the park is The Way by Alexander Liberman (pictured), a hulking piece made from huge red cylinders.
Big Sky Country was made for outdoor adventures, and the state has natural wonders in spades. Alpine Lake McDonald in Glacier National Park is one of Montana's highlights.
Carved out by glaciers, it's the largest and deepest lake in the park, spreading out over 10 miles and surrounded by snow-crowned peaks. Plenty of trails snake around the lake, including the challenging Mt. Brown Lookout route which passes through old growth forest and affords fabulous views over the water.
Chimney Rock is a real head turner and one steeped in historical significance. It comprises a broad, conical base, with a teetering pinnacle that served as a recognizable landmark for pioneers heading west in the 19th century.
The rock formation rises from the sweeping plains of western Nebraska. Exhibits at the visitor center shed light on this unusual natural landmark.
Sin City is renowned for its streets drenched in neon – but what happens to Vegas' iconic signs when they retire? Some end up at the Neon Museum and its fascinating Neon Boneyard, essentially a cemetery for out-of-service signs.
Visitors can view the 200-plus-strong collection of artifacts, which include everything from a giant Hard Rock Cafe guitar to glittering nods to the Stardust and Sahara hotels.
Packed with natural wonders, this rugged park unfolds in the White Mountain National Forest, in the north of New Hampshire. One of the main attractions is mighty Flume Gorge (pictured), a granite ravine with walls plunging up to 90 feet and hugged by a wooden boardwalk.
Meanwhile, Echo Lake, which sits at a lofty 1,931 feet, is ideal for a swim or kayak. Those with a head for heights can board the aerial tramway which climbs to the top of Cannon Mountain.
New Jersey's popular Grounds for Sculpture is exactly what it sounds like: a leafy park filled with striking outdoor artworks. There's a huge variety of sculptures scattered about the pretty gardens, from bronze cows to mighty metal depictions of King Lear and other figures.
Beyond the art, visitors should keep an eye out for the beautiful wisteria-hung pergola and elegant Monet Bridge arching over a pond filled with koi fish and water lilies.
The Interdune Boardwalk is one of the best ways to experience the powdery, chalk-white gypsum dunes of New Jersey’s aptly named White Sands National Park.
The elevated pathway strikes a route through the rippling sandscape, and outdoor displays along the way offer fascinating information on everything from the resident wildlife to how the dunes were formed.
Spread over 843 acres, the Big Apple's ‘Green Lung’ features sweeping meadows, bridge-spanned boating lakes, and wooded trails. Surprising treasures await, too, from brooding 19th-century Belvedere Castle to the Strawberry Fields area and the Imagine mosaic, a tribute to John Lennon.
Soaring Grandfather Mountain is a North Carolina jewel, with parts protected as a state park, and other swathes as a private nature reserve.
In the reserve, wonders include the dizzying Mile High Swinging Bridge and the chance to spot bears and cougars. Trails range from mellow wooded hikes to strenuous mountain treks.
Did you know that North Dakota has a rich Scandinavian heritage? Immigrants from countries including Norway and Sweden traveled to the area in the 19th century, many of them farmers drawn to the Roughrider State's fertile ground.
This unique park celebrates the state's Scandinavian connection with a huge Swedish Dala horse, a Danish-style windmill, a bronze statue of writer Hans Christian Andersen, and more.
One of Ohio's treasures, Hocking Hills State Park is a wonderland of grottoes, waterfalls, and woodland. Travelers can tour Ash Cave, a spellbinding recess cave with its own little waterfall and plunge pool, and hike the Old Man's Cave trail, which reveals yet more caverns and cascades.
Visitors can enjoy camping, canoeing, and wildlife watching – the park is home to deer, birdlife, and elusive bobcats.
This stark terrain might look like it belongs in Bolivia rather than Oklahoma, but the landscape is one of America's best kept secrets. Salt Plains State Park is made up from salt left behind by a prehistoric ocean and includes the Great Salt Plains Lake within its limits.
Outdoor activities abound here, from swimming in or kayaking on the lake to biking around and enjoying the views.
An icon of Oregon state, Wizard Island rises from Crater Lake, a sapphire-colored caldera lake. The island is actually a cinder cone formed thousands of years ago, whose pointy shape is said to resemble a warlock's hat.
Visitors can soak in views of the isle from hiking trails around the crater rim or get a closer look on a guided boat tour.
An outdoor attraction for history lovers, Gettysburg National Military Park is packed with trails and monuments telling the story of one of the Civil War's most pivotal battles. General Lee's northern invasion was famously thwarted in the 1863 clash, which saw Confederate troops retreat to Virginia.
Ranger programs and living history events bring the past to life, while horseback trails and hiking paths allow visitors to explore at their own pace.
Known as the ‘People's Park of Providence’, Roger Williams Park was established in the 1870s and extends across 435 leafy acres. The 5,000 trees are an attraction in themselves, with world and native species on display, from the mighty Scarlet Oak to the Norway Spruce.
Beyond the canopy, there are landmarks aplenty including the Temple to Music (pictured), a grand alfresco concert venue, and the pretty Japanese Garden.
These tranquil gardens ooze Southern charm – think Spanish-moss-draped oaks and pretty rose beds. Most beautiful of all is the Live Oak Allée, with oak trees that were planted in the 1700s.
There's also a 2,000-strong collection of sculptures, scattered across a trio of galleries, and the gardens themselves. The most famous piece is Anna Hyatt Huntington’s Fighting Stallions.
No celebration of the country's alfresco sights would be complete without mighty Mount Rushmore. This legendary mountain carving in the Black Hills of South Dakota features the faces of four revered presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln.
Visitors can wander the grounds to really appreciate the scale of the carvings and to spot their state flag along the grand Avenue of Flags.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park remains the most visited in America and landmarks like the Kuwohi (formerly Clingmans Dome) Observation Tower make it even more appealing. The striking tower rises above the hazy mountain canopy. At 6,643 feet, it's the highest point in the state.
A 0.5-mile walk leads to the tower's summit – from here, visitors can marvel at the beautiful panoramas of the spruce-fir forest.
Fort Worth Botanic Garden is considered one of the most beautiful gardens in the US, and it's also the oldest of its kind in Texas.
Dating to 1934, it's a wonderfully varied space with working vegetable patches, a cactus plot, a romantic rose garden, and a peaceful Japanese garden. There's also a grove filled with maple and oak trees, perfect for shady walks.
Utah's rock formations are legendary, from mighty bluffs like Zion's Towers of the Virgin to intricate hoodoos and pinnacles. But perhaps most fascinating of all are the graceful rock arches that have been formed over millennia.
There are more than 2,000 stone arches in the aptly named Arches National Park. Delicate Arch is the most famous of them all. The free-standing arch is the largest of its kind in the park and can be reached on a three-mile trail.
The highest point in the state of Vermont, 4,393-foot Mount Mansfield afford hikers epic views over peaks and woodland.
Popular routes include the Sunset Ridge Trail, which winds to the summit through woodland and over rugged, rocky ridges. During colder months, the mountain is great for skiing and other winter sports.
America's most famous living history museum has plenty to keep visitors engaged. Offering a glimpse into life in the 18th century, the site includes everything from a recreated colonial-era garden and a carpenter's yard to working archaeological sites.
Guests can also enjoy carriage rides and a stroll through the beautiful arboretum.
Hoh Rain Forest is an unexpected pearl in Olympic National Park, an endlessly diverse landscape of rocky peaks, glaciers, and rugged stretches of coast. The forest takes its name from the Hoh River, a glacial waterway that trickles down from Mount Olympus.
Hiking routes, such as the Hall of Mosses Trail lead visitors past moss-covered maple trees, Douglas firs, and red cedars.
The 876-foot New River Gorge Bridge has long been popular with BASE jumpers, who parachute from the lofty structure on 'Bridge Day' each year.
Those without such a head for heights can enjoy the bridge on hikes, scenic drives, and rafting adventures through New River Gorge, named America's 63rd national park in 2020.
Pattison State Park offers a true back-to-nature experience. It spreads over more than 1,400 acres and is packed with rivers, woods, and wetlands – though its trophy sight is Big Manitou Falls.
At 165-feet, the cascade is the highest in Wisconsin and one of the highest east of the Rockies. Its smaller sibling, Little Manitou Falls, is also pretty as a picture, crashing over craggy rock from 31 feet.
One of America's most colorful natural sights, Grand Prismatic Spring manages to stand out even in a wonder-filled national park like Yellowstone.
It's the largest hot spring in the country, with a diameter of 370 feet. The vivid colors – deep azure, yellow and orange – come from rings of bacteria that flourish in the hot waters.
Now discover more amazing images of Earth's most colorful natural wonders