North America’s largest known cliff dwelling is so well-preserved that, from a distance, it looks like an art installation or an intricate sandcastle city. Cliff Palace, tucked in an alcove beneath the bluffs in Mesa Verde National Park, is actually an Ancestral Puebloan ruin believed to have been built between AD 1190 and 1260. The palace’s 150 rooms and kivas, used by Puebloans for religious rituals and meetings, are carved out of sandstone and supported by wooden beams and mortar.
Just outside German-settled town Fredericksburg, Enchanted Rock State Natural Area resembles something dropped from outer space but, at the same time, is rooted in nature. Its dominant attraction is an enormous boulder whose granite surface is dotted with fragrant shrubs and blackjack oaks. People can hike to the top, stopping to peer at vernal pools with fascinating fairy shrimps, whose eggs survive the dry season before springing to life when it rains.
Black Elk Peak is the highest natural point in South Dakota and probably the best perch from which to gaze across Black Elk Wilderness, a remote swathe of the Black Hills National Forest named after a holy man of the Oglala Sioux. The peak is topped by a distinctive 1930s fire lookout tower, built from native stone, and looks over the dramatic landscape of pine forests, jagged peaks, canyons, lakes and open grasslands.
Alaska is king when it comes to remote corners. Kenai Fjords is among the state’s smallest national parks though it’s home to some of the most spectacular scenery. Exit Glacier is perhaps the most dramatic, with blue-white waves of ice soaring out of Harding Icefield and stretching towards the Atlantic. The surrounding meadows and forests add to the beauty.
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No, this isn’t a high fashion mirage. There really is a Prada store standing along an otherwise empty stretch of desert highway. Except it isn’t exactly a store but an art installation, created in 2005 by Berlin-based artists Elmgreen and Dragset. Despite initial plans for the structure to gradually deteriorate, it has been maintained and has become a popular tourist attraction for those seeking out unique, remote landmarks. Located on US Route 90 just outside the small city of Marfa, it is stocked with bottomless handbags and right-footed shoes.
Archaeological sites are rarely more scenic than Lapakahi State Historical Park on the island of Hawaii’s North Kohala coast. The ancient fishing settlement is set against a backdrop of palm trees and shimmering blue waters, fringed by a striking beach with black and white stones. Visitors can follow a series of trails with information panels explaining the significance of structures such as canoe storage houses, religious shrines and an ancient burial site, revealing the life of the fishing community – Koai'e – that occupied the land in the 1300s.
It takes a 4WD vehicle or a lot of stamina to reach River House Ruin, a sandstone cliff dwelling built by Ancestral Puebloans between AD 900 and the late 1200s. The five-mile (8km) route from the highway is characterised by deep sand and rocks. It’s worth the effort, though. The early desert site is made up of a series of well-preserved rooms tucked beneath apricot-hued cliffs, while a one-mile (1.6km) trail allows visitors to peek at hundreds of petroglyphs on the walls.
There are endless wonders along the 25-mile (40km) stretch that makes up the Lost Coast, which is so rugged and wild that plans to continue the Pacific Coast Highway this far north were abandoned. The area, popular with hikers, runs from Mattole Beach to Black Sands Beach (pictured) in Mendocino County with wildflower meadows, driftwood beaches, maritime forests and wide-open ocean views along the route.
Part of Pusch Ridge wilderness area in the Santa Catalina Mountains, Sabino Canyon is a rare source of water in the desert, flowing pretty much all year round thanks to storms and snow melt. There are no cars allowed along the route so visitors have to take a shuttle to reach this glorious landscape of steep rocky cliffs and picnic spots by pools and cascades. The area is home to some beguiling creatures too, including desert bighorn sheep.
On a remote edge of Alaska south of Anchorage, this waterway off Cook Inlet is one of the most dramatically beautiful sights along the coastal Seward Highway. This part of the road curls around Turnagain Arm, with the snow-dusted mountains of Chugach State Park looming over the slate-grey water. Beluga whales can often be spotted not far from shore too.
A remote lighthouse on a remote section of a remote island that’s part of a remote archipelago, Bodie Island Light Station is so lonely in its location that its beauty almost seems wasted. Its black-and-white stripes are all the more striking in their solitude against the backdrop of pine trees and marshland. It’s part of Cape Hatteras National Seashore and the dune-humped Outer Banks, a stretch of barrier islands between the mainland and the Atlantic Ocean.
Around AD 850, Ancestral Puebloans built what was effectively a huge trade centre in the heart of the New Mexican desert. Chaco Culture is made up of a series of huge stone buildings and is believed to have served as a ceremonial and administrative centre – despite the arid landscape and long winters. Visitors can take ranger-led tours to view the remains of the impressive ‘great houses’ up close and to learn about the spiritual significance of the surrounding mountains and mesas.
The staggering sea cliffs of Molokai – the world’s tallest – have drawn artists including Claude Monet to paint their dramatic, green-blanketed beauty, which pops even more dramatically against the inky-blue waters. They’re located on Molokai, known as 'the Friendly Isle' and far quieter and more rural than its neighbours. So quiet, in fact, that there isn’t a single traffic light on the island.
Scotty’s Castle would be a surreal sight pretty much anywhere. The Mission and Spanish Colonial Revival-style villa is especially intriguing given its location in the oasis of Grapevine Canyon in the far northern reaches of Death Valley. It was built in the 1920s by Chicago millionaire Albert Mussey Johnson, who named it after his friend, the prospector and entertainer Walter ‘Death Valley Scotty’ Scott. The elaborate castle was used as a gatehouse until it was purchased by Death Valley National Park in 1970.
Middle Falls is one of three waterfalls along the Genesee River in Letchworth State Park, and is definitely the most dramatic. The broad cascade flows like multiple unfurled reels of silk, and it’s all the more beautiful thanks to its setting in a high-sided, thickly forested gorge. It’s no wonder the park has been dubbed 'the Grand Canyon of the East' – and the scenery is especially dramatic when viewed from a hot air balloon.
Few humans live on Cumberland Island, a salt-sprayed barrier island off Georgia’s southeastern coast. In fact they’re far outnumbered by the wild horses who graze on dune grass and snooze on the sandy beaches. There are an estimated 200 of them, believed to be descendants of livestock brought here when Spanish missions were established in the late 1500s. The island is also a nesting site for loggerhead turtles, and its 10,000 acres of wilderness have been designated a protected national seashore.
This former gold-mining town, now a state park sprawled high in the Sierra Nevada mountains, was abandoned in the early 20th century. Today the sparse, arid landscape is dotted with a series of deserted buildings in various states of disrepair and decay. And, if stories are to be believed, in various states of haunting. This is considered a ghost town in more ways than one, with spirits apparently hanging out in the general store (still stocked with groceries) and the Masonic Cemetery.
These caves on the shores of vast Lake Superior are spectacular all year round, but it’s in the depths of winter that they really sparkle. Located between brown-sugar beaches and contrasting with the bold blue of the lake, the caves transform into wintry wonderlands with heaps of snow on the ground and giant icicles dripping decoratively from the rock. The caves are only accessible when the ice is thick enough, making this natural wonder even more special.
Driving on Maine’s coast-skimming roads can feel like skirting the edge of the world, with little between you and the blazingly beautiful blue sea and sky. A standout beauty is the candy-striped West Quoddy Head Lighthouse in Lubec, the easternmost town in the continental US. Built in 1858, the tower sees some of the first rays of sunlight to hit the country each morning and, like the Bold Coast it’s part of, lives right on the edge.
Cape Flattery, part of the Makah Reservation and just outside Olympia National Park, is at the furthest northwest tip of the contiguous US. It’s so dramatically lovely that it barely seems real. Visitors must purchase a Makah Recreation Pass for entry to the reservation and its stunning short hiking trail, featuring beautiful boardwalks through a coastal forest leading to incredible ocean views.
Vast Big Bend National Park, in southwest Texas, packs in quite a bit. There’s the Chisos mountain range, which runs all the way through. Then there are swathes of the Chihuahuan Desert and a portion of the Rio Grande river. Perhaps the most striking sight, though, is Santa Elena Canyon, whose cliffs form the tallest part of the canyon wall, soaring up to 1,500 feet (457m). There are hikes around the area or people can raft along the river as it flows through the canyon.
Most people visiting the Florida Keys head to Key West, so the rest of it is often gloriously uncrowded. This is particularly true in Dry Tortugas National Park, a chain of seven islands best known for 19th-century Fort Jefferson (on Garden Key). The islands are accessible only by boat or seaplane, which helps keep visitor numbers relatively low despite the abundant natural beauty. Sea turtles nest on the sand while the surrounding waters harbour shipwrecks, corals and reef sharks.
Stonehenge might be considerably more famous (and just a little bit older) but this curious sculpture in a remote area of Nebraska off Highway 59 has the novelty factor. Carhenge was created in 1987 by Jim Reinders as a tribute to his father. He used 39 old cars to replicate the original Neolithic stone circle, which is near Salisbury in the UK.
Perched vertiginously in the limestone cliffs of Camp Verde’s desert, Montezuma Castle was built and occupied by the Sinagua people between AD 1100 and 1425. The impressive building, used as an abode with 20 rooms, was designated a National Monument in 1906 and for decades visitors could access it via a series of cliffside ladders. Now, to prevent further damage, it can only be viewed from the ground.
The most imaginative and talented of painters couldn’t come up with a more striking colour palette. The silky cascade and cyan blue pools of Havasu Falls really do pop against the red rocks that surround it. The waterfall is one of five on the remote Havasupai Indian Reservation just outside Grand Canyon National Park. The area reopened to visitors in February 2023 after being closed for nearly three years due to the pandemic and subsequent flooding that damaged trails and bridges. However, access is still controlled, and visitors must obtain a permit in advance.
Part of the John Day Fossil Beds, Oregon’s Painted Hills truly deserve their name. The clay hills appear to have been brushed, daubed and swirled with delicious shades of gold, apricot, chartreuse, jet-black and terracotta. These colours are actually the work of nature over millions of years, with layers of minerals including iron oxide and manganese. They’re equally impressive from a distance or admired close-up from the boardwalk trails that weave between the rocks.
Hawaii has more than 1,000 miles (1,609km) of shoreline so it’s tough to pick the loveliest. Kauai’s coastline, though, is particularly pretty – and wonderfully remote. The northern Napali Coast is a designated wilderness area and part of the Hawaii State Parks system. It’s inaccessible to cars and can only be explored along the 11-mile (17.7km) Kalalau Trail, which runs between two beaches – Ke’e and Kalalau – via spiky sea cliffs and verdant valleys.
It’s always free to camp in this unique ‘desert’, which is actually a former lake whose water evaporated over time to reveal ghostly, pale, cracking alkali beds. Also known as the Alvord Playa, it’s both striking and surreal, with the curling earth joined by boiling blue pools, hissing mud pots and a mountainous backdrop.
Pretty much everything feels wonderfully remote in Utah, whose landscapes appear to have been sculpted by a giant with rare talent. Visitors to Peek-a-Boo Canyon in southern Utah might just feel like they’re alone in this surreal and beautiful world. The path through this slot canyon, close to the equally striking Spooky Gulch, weaves its narrow way between dramatic walls of rust-red rock, whose myriad patterns and colour variations are illuminated by beams of sunlight shining through the cracks.
Wrangell-St Elias National Park and Preserve receives surprisingly few visitors given its vast size (it covers 13.2 million acres) and beauty. Fewer than 80,000 people venture here each year (compare that to Yellowstone's 4.5 million annual visitors), which means there’s a good chance of not meeting a single soul, except perhaps a curious mountain goat or moose. It’s rich in wonders, from ice fields and volcanic peaks to the striking Kennicott Glacier (pictured), whose snow-white swathes are interrupted by glacial lakes.
Read on to see 40 astonishing places that look like they're from another planet