The National Famine Museum in Strokestown, Co.Roscommon, Ireland. It’s well off the beat track for tourists who flock to Dublin and the west coast.
It was redeveloped a couple of years ago & it tells the stories of the Great Famine/An Gorta Mór which caused the deaths of 1 million people and the emigration of another 1 million to the US, Canada & UK.
Its a fantastic museum
Fwiw there's a pretty neat little memorial in Battery Park, New York remembering the Irish famine immigration. It's opposite the Statue of Liberty and Governor's Island.
USA here. Most people think of the Smithsonian museums in Washington, DC. The national Museum of Natural History is one of the most visited in the USA. However, the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, PA, has one of the world’s largest paleontologic collections. That museum easily rivals the Smithsonians.
Worth noting also that most of the dinosaur bones in famous museums, like the Smithsonian or London Museum of Natural History, are actually casts. The real ones are in Pittsburgh! Dozens of museums have casts of the T-Rex in Pittsburgh for example.
You could easily spend an entire day (morning to evening) there. Not to mention the adjoining art museum. Pittsburgh also has Phipps Conservatory, which is a large building with multiple interconnected greenhouses (dating to the late 1800s) that has gorgeous plants on constant rotation.
Kartchner Caverns State Park in southern Arizona. Frankly everything in southern AZ is underrated. Organ pipe national forest. Benson. Bisbee. Sierra Vista. There are so many beautiful places in southern AZ. Most people come into Phoenix and head directly north. Yes, the Grand Canyon is top of the list. Jerome is awesome. Sedona is SUPER overrated.... Ok. It is beautiful. But the fucking crowds have made it insufferable. If you go south there is so much beauty. And no one appreciates it the way they should.
I lived in Tucson for awhile and I thought it was great. You could be in a hot desert full of giant saguaros one minute and playing in alpine snow an hour later.
When I was on a family trip to the Grand Canyon as an astronomy obsessed teen, I *insisted* we detour to see the Meteor Crater. The joke was everyone spent the hour joking about how I was forcing them to drive to see a big hole in the ground, but on the way back everyone spent the entire hour talking about how happy they were that I insisted we go see the crater!
New Bedford Whaling National Historic District is seriously underrated. They were the whaling capital of the world in the 1800’s so there are a lot of related sites including the Seamen’s bethel which got written about in Moby Dick.
Honestly all of the nature preserve state parks are amazing, the king being the Adirondacks which covers the entire mountain range, so its less of a landmark and more a collection of awesome spots.
I haven't personally seen letchworth and i assume the pictures aren't doing it justice.
Came here for this one
New York is the best state for waterfalls. Niagara is just the biggest
But Letchworth, and all around the finger lakes are gorgeous with gorges, lovely small towns, wineries etc
We just have so many stunning waterfalls and it seems like only locals know about it
Letchworth is for sure something special in scale tho. Fall colors there are straight out of a painting
Gotta keep the small towns/villages relatively secret as to preserve their charm and appeal. It’ll be fun to do a trip to Watkins-Glen and Corning and do some exploring for a weekend
Immigrant here to WA, didn't know about this, thanks for sharing!
WA is amazing for unique geology the rest of the world doesn't know about.
I loved Wave Rock, the hippo cave, rock paintings and the tiny ecosystems in the pools atop the rocks.
The pinnacles are really cool and kinda creepy, especially since they haven't fully figured out their origin.
Kalbarri is beautiful, like a small-scale Grand Canyon.
Furtherst north I've been so far is Shark Bay, and the shell beach was fascinating while the stromatolites are probably one of the coolest things I've seen. I imagined myself completely alone with just the stromatolites, envisioning Earth before life as we know it.
I still have so many places to visit here!
Im also an Immigrant, been here 10 ish years though now. My favourite WA trip I ever did was 12 Days or so through the middle and then back. Went from Perth in through past Walga rock, Big Bell (abandoned hotel), Cue, Mount Augustus (if you ever get a chance, go), Kennedy Ranges (really cool hiking national park), then in past Gascoyne Junction and south towards Wooramel Station and back home. It’s a lot of driving (Just over 25 hours) but sooo worth it. Mind you there was a 7 day stretch of no running water and only the one swimming hole at Kennedy Ranges NP but seriously some of the most beautiful stuff you’ll ever see.
There is something really magical about opening the canvas flap of your swag and just watching the stars through the fly screen when you’re 1000km from the nearest light source
Eventual goal is getting a caravan to explore Australia in. As you say, there's a lot of driving to get to places here!
I love the free campsites - such a nice perk. Our favorite so far is the one on the Murchison, directly east from Kalbarri (take the road through the park to get back to the main highway, gorgeous drive during wildflowers season). It's got excellent bathroom facilities and it's nice and shady next to the river.
The night sky here is amazing, agreed, and I haven't even gotten a full Outback dark sky yet!
California has so many world class things to see, it’s hard to limit to one underrated landmark. I will go with The Avenue of the Giants, a scenic highway in northern California, running through Humboldt Redwoods State Park. It has been described as one of the most beautiful forested drives in the world.
That is an amazing drive, but my choice for underrated in California is Hetch Hetchy, a second Yosemite Valley that was dammed 110 years ago. It is said the dam hastened John Muir's death and led to the creation of the National Park Service and prominence of the Sierra Club. Tragic backstory, but largely forgotten. Still beautiful and rarely visited.
I stepped over (luckily over not on) a rattlesnake on the trail. Apparently Hetch Hetchy is drier and they are found there, but not really just over the ridge in Yosemite.
NorCal in general is so gorgeous. That stretch north of Fresno into Oregon as you go into the mountains is a beautiful stretch of freeway!
One of my favorites from California is Bodie, probably the best gold rush era ghost town still in existence.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodie,_California
It's been scheduled to be closed twice, so everyone interested in that history should give it a visit to help keep it "alive."
If you liked Bodie, check out Darwin, near Death Valley.
A 10 hour drive from my house takes me to a ridiculous amount of places that are among the best of the world. It includes California, Oregon, Arizona and Nevada. I am so lucky to live here.
Lol sorry, meant Sacramento. I didn't want to pull up a map, that's what I get for being lazy :P
Basically once you get out of the farmland north of Bay Area on the 5 and hit the forests/mountain, like around Shasta, I think? I remember there being one stretch that had the most gorgeous views of a sapphire lake, while another part had snow-topped mountains.
If I move back to California, I think I'll live in NorCal for a bit.
20 years ago, I rode a motorcycle across the US and back, avoiding interstates and often going out of my way for random tourist attractions. Here are some of my favorites that I can remember:
London Bridge, Lake Havasu, Arizona. Sure, it’s a tourist trap, but they literally fucking moved a bridge from London to the western US and modern cars drive over it. It’s insane.
Grand Canyon, Arizona. Yes, even though the states nickname is “The Grand Canyon State” and it says that on every license plate. Yes, even though everyone has heard of it. It really cannot be overrated. It’s incredible. You have to see it.
[The Jackrabbit Trading Post](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Rabbit_Trading_Post). After miles and miles and miles of seeing their giant billboards mysteriously telling you how close you are to this tourist trap, your mind prepares you for the letdown of the lamest tourist trap in the world. However, it’s even lamer than that. I seriously underestimated how lame it would be.
[Devil’s Rope Museum](https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/devil-s-rope-museum), McLean, Texas. Who could know that barbwire could be so fascinating? I honestly enjoyed this very much.
[Hot Springs, Arkansas](https://www.nps.gov/hosp/index.htm). There’s a city in the mountains that’s a National Park, full of historic buildings and surrounded by beautiful trails. I happened to roll into town during their [Documentary Film Festival](https://hsdfi.org/). I ended up staying for four days, watching 3-4 documentaries a day and partying with the locals in the bars contained in historic buildings.
[Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina and Virginia.](https://www.nps.gov/blri/index.htm) Speaking of unusual national parks, this one is a road. It’s in the Appalachian mountains and runs parallel to a nearby interstate, so there’s no semi trucks and in my experience, not a lot of cops with speed guns. Best motorcycling experience. Beautiful Mountain view’s, forests, and wildflowers.
[The Spam Museum](https://www.spam.com/museum). Austin, Minnesota. You can smell it for miles before you see it. There’s a giant pork processing plant here and nearby is a museum dedicated to everyone’s favorite tinned meat. I heard they completely revamped and expanded it since I was there, which is amazing, because it blew my mind 20 years ago. There was a complete recreation of the set of the “Spam, Spam, Spam, and Spam” Monty Python sketch.
[Zippo/Case museum](https://www.zippo.com/pages/zippo-case-museum-flagship-store), Bradford, Pennsylvania. Look, I get it. You want a museum the whole family will love, but half of them are into lighters and the other half are into knives. I have excellent news for you. It’s also a pretty drive to get there and the street lights were shaped like Zippo lighters.
[Motown Museum](https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/motown-museum), Detroit, Michigan. Still in Berry Gordy’ sold home with “Hitsville, USA” emblazoned on it. You can feel and smell the history of some of America’s greatest music.
[Art Institute of Chicago](https://www.artic.edu/). It’s so huge. So much art. Get lost and all of a sudden you’re in the “Arms and Armor” collection. Thousands of swords, knives, guns, helmets, and bows from around the world. And that is just a teeny tiny example of the sheer amount of art collected and displayed there.
[Corn Palace](https://cornpalace.com/), Mitchell, South Dakota. It’s a big concert venue and event center surrounded with huge murals made of corncobs that is completely changed every year. It’s corn! 🌽
[Wall Drug](https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2216). Wall, South Dakota. This may be the king of tourist traps. The nearby badlands and Black Hills are amazing. The sheer enormity of a place dedicated to selling lots and lots of keychains is staggering. Once you go, you, too, will want a “Where the Hell is Wall Drug” bumpersticker.
Palouse Falls - Washington State
https://preview.redd.it/jokwy9nc0x1d1.jpeg?width=1024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4d11d102d4fba8b6e16532a4a1a7d97d5348d27e
It's gotten way better recently. Like, much more organized and way less creepy (though the victorian night city would still probably be a bit scary for a kid)
The Ames Monument in Wyoming between Cheyenne and Laramie. It’s a stone pyramid designed by one of America’s great architects, HH Richardson, at the high-elevation point of the transcontinental railroad.
[Ames Monument](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ames_Monument)
Ribblehead Viaduct in northern England. It provides a very scenic train route. And in the Victorian era, it was an impressive example of engineering. Temporary settlements, essentially just slums, were built around the area to enable workers to live near the site of construction. I don’t believe much remains of them today, but it’s overall a site of historical and aesthetic significance.
In Oregon I’d vote for the prehistoric gardens south of port orford. It’s a bunch of dinosaur statues but they are in such a lush green forest with huge ferns. It’s in a pretty out of the way place, so it doesn’t get as much love as it deserves.
Virginia, US: Natural Bridge. If you know about it, it's wonderful. It's just that most people don't know about it. And it's not that easy to get to from most of the state.
Bok Tower. Lake Wales, FL. A scenic gardens and tower atop a 328’ ‘summit’ on Lake Wales Ridge. Can see pretty far as much of FL is generally flat and lower in elevation. The place is magical any time of year.
In my home state of Texas I think Palo Duro Canyon is pretty amazing but it is so far out in the middle of nowhere (sorry Amarillo). 2nd biggest canyon in the US. But it's like 6 hours from anything and I mean you see nothing for hundreds of miles around it. There are of course hiking trails and equestrian trails and camping and and amazing but campy and antiquated TEXAS musical performed in an open air amphitheater in the canyon every summer. My parents made me go one summer and it was honestly one of the best vacations. So much scenery and spurred my love for hiking. Spain (where I live now) reminds me a lot of that area.
Is that the world's largest ball of twin in Minnesota or the world's largest ball of twine in Kansas or the world's largest ball of twin in Wisconsin or the world's largest ball of twine in Missouri?
Devil's Tower, in NE Wyoming.
If you ever get the opportunity to pass through that part of the nation- it's definitely worth seeing. In short, it's the core of a long-dead volcano (I think it's Basalt?)
It's difficult to describe but worth seeing if you're in the area.
Its rather famous, and we probably should rename the native's holy site to the litteral translation of "bear lodge" instead of after the devil.
But it is definitely a very cool mountain, well butte.
Assume you mean the Einstein statue in front of the National academy of science. It is across the street from the Vietnam War Memorial.
I used to always bring my visiting family to the sleeping giant sculpture on hains point, but the fucking city sold it to the casino at National Harbor
In NSW I think the Warrumbungles is a very underrated national park. A beautiful and unique ridge line, great walks, and one of our only (or maybe only) official dark sky parks
Teddy Roosevelt National Park is so lovely. (North dakota) I also think, in general, that people discount how beautiful the Great Plains are. The grasses and the sky look unreal. And when you are actually in proper prairie you see all of the unique flowers and vegetation. It's really underrated.
Too many shrubs and trees around Wilpena Pound. For Mars similarity I might put forward the Moon Plain near Coober Pedy:
https://preview.redd.it/njwvnb3tlw1d1.jpeg?width=726&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cc7b07b906d5277c1de08c66190da4831b35294b
The Orphan Train Museum and Research Complex in Concordia, Kansas. It was on the way of the multi-day drive I uses to make with my kids to visit my parents.
The Cotton Gin Museum in Texas is also a great stop. It is near Blue Bell ice cream mfg. When we stopped there one of my favorite parts was seeing just how many other.parents were their trying to teach their kids about an important technology in American economic and social history.
I grew up in Missouri and I would say the Ozark National Scenic Riverways. It’s well known to locals, but most people outside of MO hear Ozarks and just think of Branson. It’s the first national park area to protect a river system. There aren’t too many places where it’s so accessible to do a multi-day float trip and wild camp right on the gravel bars.
East Tennessee here:
Everyone always thinks of the Smoky Mountains but good lord there's so much more than that in East Tennessee.
Off the top of my head:
The Tennessee River Gorge just west of Chattanooga is incredible.
On the border of TN/NC is Citico Creek Wilderness, it's like the Smokies without the tourists and far more old growth forest and home to a stunning drive called the Cherohala skyway which has numerous overlooks and trail access points, one of which is Bald River Falls. A huge and spectacular waterfall.
Moving slightly west from there, the Cumberland Plateau is another scenic area that rivals anything you'd find the Smokies. The mountains are much smaller but tons of waterfalls, scenic overlooks and various other sites. Numerous state parks such as Savage Gulf, Fiery Gizzard, Fall Creek Falls, Laurel Snow, and even a federal one Big South Fork. There's rock arches and even a few hoodoos like you'd see out west but in a lush forest instead.
Dry Island Buffalo Jump in Alberta, Canada.
Our mountain parks are famous, and there are other buffalo jumps and badlands that are more well known. But this place is spectacular.
Northern parts of my state has several national parks with wild Red pandas in them but most average tourists very rarely visit those parks due to general remoteness, rough terrain, cost factor and overall uncertainty of spotting wildlife etc but that's probably a good thing overall.
New York:
The Thousand Islands, shared with Canada they are kinda like a backwards delta at the start of the St. Lawrence River as it leaves lake Ontario, only its made of very solid bedrock instead of deposted river sediment.
The Adirondack Mountains/Park: a state park preserves the entire mountain range and is mandated by an amendment to the state's constitution (mainly to stop sediment from washing into the Erie Canal). The rocks at the surface are mainly Gneiss and other metamorphic rocks dating to over a billion years ago, they were the roots of an older mountain range that was erroded away, and then started uplifting again around the same time as the Appalachians.
Pulpit rock, Antwerp NY: in the side of the wide U shaped valley is a vertical cylinder carved out of the cliffside, it was formed by what can only be described as an eddy or whirlpool of ice with some gravel in it and serves as evidence of the most recent glaciation even in the area. Its name comes from a preacher in the 1820s using it to give sermons from because the shape was just right to amplify his voice to the people below. (And what better church than one built by god himself? So what if he forgot a roof or 3 walls.)
Ringing Rocks County Park
Basically a giant boulder field in the middle of nowhere. You can bring a hammer and strike the boulders and hear the noise they make. Makes for a good day trip and photo op.
Almost all of the comments are from the us, so im gonna say Hungary, and the mpst underrated landmark in my country is the Bory Castle. One dude built it himself, by himself. It looks whimsical as hell. If you're in Hungary check it out!
https://preview.redd.it/k4xnpa80px1d1.jpeg?width=712&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e5580b03f82a262d4a63e6dabf645057699cd8b6
For some reason the original text disappeared... But this is Kvarken archipelago in Finland. Very shallow part of Gulf of Bothnia.
Ice age carved the landscape very flat and shaved cliffs, leaving behind millions of boulder and large rocks. After ice age land is rising, post glacier rebound, and new islands and rocks pop up everywhere.
https://preview.redd.it/og7xdmadtx1d1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=652e0df3c2f026812afc5b8a308b630bbfb0650f
The Statue of Vercingétorix, leader of the Gaul tribes coalition, in Burgundy.
Gloria Victis.
We have no nature, we had to turn our entire country into a drainage system. We're just a heap of sand, clay and bog.
Most of our big landmarks are flood defense related too. Delta Works, Maeslant Barrier, Afsluitdijk. An underrated one is the Houtribdijk, where you can actually see the water on both sides.
The Bahaii Gardens in Haifa, Israel. Everyone knows about the old city of Jerusalem, western wall, dome of the rock, etc. But the Bahaii Gardens take any other religious site in the country with ease.
The Chief Menominee Memorial Site in Marshall County, Indiana.
Marks the site where nearly 1000 Potawatomi were forced off their land by US troops enforcing bogus treaties. They were made to walk all the way to Oklahoma from here, joining others in their removal on the notorious Trail of Death.
Indianapolis has some cool monuments that rival DC in my opinion. [War Memorial.](https://lifeinindy.com/things-to-do/indiana-war-memorial/) and [Monument Circle](https://www.visitindy.com/listing/soldiers-%26-sailors-monument-monument-circle/5786/).
In Ogden Canyon, Molly’s Nipple which is almost directly across from The Chief. Somewhat smallish rock formations only viewable while westbound, just before The Narrows.
Nothing in terms of nature, probably. But for me the underrated stuff is in the province of Groningen - the old churches, some of which are almost 1000 years old, the monastery at Ter Apel, and the hanging kitchens of Appingedam. Other regions do get their fair share of tourism.
For the state, maybe Mt. Shasta or Lassen National Park. Rarely hear it compared to other landmarks.
For country, maybe Waimea Canyon or Adirondacks. I don't know how "underrated" they are,, but you hear them less.
We don't got much going on in New Hampshire ever since The Old Man of The Mountain's fucking face fell off twenty years ago, so I'm gonna go with either the Robert Frost Farm in Derry or the USS Albacore in Portsmouth. The former is self-explanatory, and the latter is just a docked Cold War-era submarine turned museum.
Aviation Museum in Darwin NT. It has a showcase B-52 which is really amazing, but also tastefully presented wrecks of Japanese and Allied Aircraft from World War II and later accidents over the NT including stories of the aviators.
In France, [the Lascaux Stone Age cave paintings](https://www.bradshawfoundation.com/lascaux/) take your breath away.
They are amazingly good. Drawn far underground by the light of flickering torch, but any modern artist would be proud of them.
Here in Sweden, it would be the medieval town of Visby. Most people who visit Sweden head for the major cities or the nature in the north, but the medieval town inside the wall of Visby really is special. If you're a fan of Kiki's Delivery Service you owe Visby a visit because the town is based on Stockholm and Visby.
In my local city, Plymouth in the UK there is a decorative stone archand small plaque by some old steps in the sea wall comemorating the point at which the Mayflower left for the Americas.
There are a few other plaques there commemorating stuff here like the first pioneer ship to New Zealand and the landing of the first transatlantic flight by a sea plane, and the view across Plymouth sound is lovely. Most people are completely unmoved by the sense of history though. I only found out about it when I dropped my son off at work last year.
A lot of people don’t know of [Old tjikko](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Tjikko) (Sweden) gained fame as the oldest tree in the world. But it’s actually the fourth oldest clonal tree, meaning that the actual tree trunk is relatively young but the root system is roughly 9600 years old but it has regenerated new tree trunks all those years. It was unfortunately broken off in a blizzard last year, but it’s probably cool to see.
Belgium: Not something we're proud of, but "The Atlantic Wall".
Or at least that's how we call our coastline as it's filled with big 10-story buildings with an oceanview followed by 3-4 story buildings (maximum) immediatly after. As The Netherlands and France don't have this, it's quite a recognizable view when flying from the UK to Belgium, or even when you're off the coast in a boat, you can easily spot where Belgium's coastline is.
Before the Schengen Area, it was difficult to travel across the border so massive amounts of people spent weeks or even entire summers at a relatively small coastline (only 78km). Combine that with the "social tourism" hype that lots of mayors pushed ant that resulted in a massive amounts of big appartment blocks being built (with crappy appartments that no local wants to live in) and destroying the old Belle Epoque walkway buildings that were there before.
In Florida, it's the freshwater springs around Orlando.
There are several that have crystal clear water that's 72° year-round, where you can swim. You may also see manatees, alligatos, tons of cool birds, turtles, interesting fish, otters, and other animals.
The 10,000+ lakes in Minnesota.
Sure, it’s in the license plate and it’s somewhat well known, but the beauty and recreational opportunities provided, get overshadowed by how cold everyone thinks it is here.
Science and industry museum in Manchester, its a great museum in the city where the Industrial Revolution started, the modern atomic model was invented and was the birthplace of the computer. Also the Manchester museum just coz it has a t rex
Cape Flattery and Hobuck Beach.
They are soooo far away, so remote and with so little service that they are not visited heavily but are two of my favorite spots on the Olympic Peninsula. Most don’t make the drive all the way out there when they visit but it’s really spectacular. The drive getting there along the straight of Juan de Fuca is great too
Big Brutus! The biggest excavator in the world. I was just about to comment that landmark in Kansas. When I was kid I climbed to the top, something like over 100ft with no guardrails half the trip.
Edit to add: it’s so large that when it broke down it was just stuck where it’s at. When my mom was a kid in the 70s and 80s they used to go out there and just climb it and explore, and then finally they made it to a museum to preserve it.
The Haymarket Martyrs Monument in Chicago/Forest Park. People enjoy the weekend and 8 hour day but don't necessarily remember the events that led to it.
The National Famine Museum in Strokestown, Co.Roscommon, Ireland. It’s well off the beat track for tourists who flock to Dublin and the west coast. It was redeveloped a couple of years ago & it tells the stories of the Great Famine/An Gorta Mór which caused the deaths of 1 million people and the emigration of another 1 million to the US, Canada & UK. Its a fantastic museum
Fwiw there's a pretty neat little memorial in Battery Park, New York remembering the Irish famine immigration. It's opposite the Statue of Liberty and Governor's Island.
Visited it in 2019. It’s lovely Surrounded by the sky scrapers, busy streets - its a nice memorial & mini square of an Irish landscape
USA here. Most people think of the Smithsonian museums in Washington, DC. The national Museum of Natural History is one of the most visited in the USA. However, the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, PA, has one of the world’s largest paleontologic collections. That museum easily rivals the Smithsonians.
Have been there and can confirm that it’s fucking amazing
I went for my first time a few months ago and loved it. I was extremely impressed with the magnitude of exhibits. That place is huge.
The Heinz History Museum in Pittsburgh is also worth visiting
I haven’t made it there yet
Worth noting also that most of the dinosaur bones in famous museums, like the Smithsonian or London Museum of Natural History, are actually casts. The real ones are in Pittsburgh! Dozens of museums have casts of the T-Rex in Pittsburgh for example.
The informational signs actually show you which bones are real and which are casts.
I need to go now. I love natural history museums.
You could easily spend an entire day (morning to evening) there. Not to mention the adjoining art museum. Pittsburgh also has Phipps Conservatory, which is a large building with multiple interconnected greenhouses (dating to the late 1800s) that has gorgeous plants on constant rotation.
Greenhouses are like my second favorite thing. Who knew that I needed to visit Pittsburgh. I've been to Philly a couple times.
Pittsburgh has a lot going for it, considering it’s a smaller medium-sized Rust Belt city.
My aunt worked in the paleontology department at the Carnegie when I was dino loving kid. All the stuff the in the storage is also freaking amazing.
I can only imagine!
Here to bump Carnegie museum of natural history. The place is wonderful if you’re a fan of thousands to millions of years ago
In my home state, it’s Craters of the Moon
My Idaho vote would be the potato museum in Blackfoot Idaho. It has the world’s largest Pringle!!!
Craters of the moon is a fucking mind blowing place
Yeah, that place is awesome!
I would say Shoshone Falls.
Definitely up there as well
Ah yes. I randomly decided to detour there early in a cross country drive and wasn’t disappointed
Ancient lava flows as far as the eye can see. Awesome place!
Kartchner Caverns State Park in southern Arizona. Frankly everything in southern AZ is underrated. Organ pipe national forest. Benson. Bisbee. Sierra Vista. There are so many beautiful places in southern AZ. Most people come into Phoenix and head directly north. Yes, the Grand Canyon is top of the list. Jerome is awesome. Sedona is SUPER overrated.... Ok. It is beautiful. But the fucking crowds have made it insufferable. If you go south there is so much beauty. And no one appreciates it the way they should.
I came for a vacation in 2007 and am still here. Totally agree.
I loved Saguaro NP. Way cooler than I thought it would be.
The whole sky islands region is really fascinating
I lived in Tucson for awhile and I thought it was great. You could be in a hot desert full of giant saguaros one minute and playing in alpine snow an hour later.
Meteor Crater. It’s in the same region of AZ as the Grand Canyon, Sedona, and the Painted Desert and petrified forest. But it’s cool, too.
When I was on a family trip to the Grand Canyon as an astronomy obsessed teen, I *insisted* we detour to see the Meteor Crater. The joke was everyone spent the hour joking about how I was forcing them to drive to see a big hole in the ground, but on the way back everyone spent the entire hour talking about how happy they were that I insisted we go see the crater!
New Bedford Whaling National Historic District is seriously underrated. They were the whaling capital of the world in the 1800’s so there are a lot of related sites including the Seamen’s bethel which got written about in Moby Dick.
New York checking in and nominating Letchworth. There’s a reason why it’s called The Grand Canyon of the East
Honestly all of the nature preserve state parks are amazing, the king being the Adirondacks which covers the entire mountain range, so its less of a landmark and more a collection of awesome spots. I haven't personally seen letchworth and i assume the pictures aren't doing it justice.
Came here for this one New York is the best state for waterfalls. Niagara is just the biggest But Letchworth, and all around the finger lakes are gorgeous with gorges, lovely small towns, wineries etc We just have so many stunning waterfalls and it seems like only locals know about it Letchworth is for sure something special in scale tho. Fall colors there are straight out of a painting
Gotta keep the small towns/villages relatively secret as to preserve their charm and appeal. It’ll be fun to do a trip to Watkins-Glen and Corning and do some exploring for a weekend
Walga Rock, Western Australia is basically smaller, less touristy Uluṟu with super cool rock paintings and you can climb on top of it as well.
Immigrant here to WA, didn't know about this, thanks for sharing! WA is amazing for unique geology the rest of the world doesn't know about. I loved Wave Rock, the hippo cave, rock paintings and the tiny ecosystems in the pools atop the rocks. The pinnacles are really cool and kinda creepy, especially since they haven't fully figured out their origin. Kalbarri is beautiful, like a small-scale Grand Canyon. Furtherst north I've been so far is Shark Bay, and the shell beach was fascinating while the stromatolites are probably one of the coolest things I've seen. I imagined myself completely alone with just the stromatolites, envisioning Earth before life as we know it. I still have so many places to visit here!
Im also an Immigrant, been here 10 ish years though now. My favourite WA trip I ever did was 12 Days or so through the middle and then back. Went from Perth in through past Walga rock, Big Bell (abandoned hotel), Cue, Mount Augustus (if you ever get a chance, go), Kennedy Ranges (really cool hiking national park), then in past Gascoyne Junction and south towards Wooramel Station and back home. It’s a lot of driving (Just over 25 hours) but sooo worth it. Mind you there was a 7 day stretch of no running water and only the one swimming hole at Kennedy Ranges NP but seriously some of the most beautiful stuff you’ll ever see. There is something really magical about opening the canvas flap of your swag and just watching the stars through the fly screen when you’re 1000km from the nearest light source
Eventual goal is getting a caravan to explore Australia in. As you say, there's a lot of driving to get to places here! I love the free campsites - such a nice perk. Our favorite so far is the one on the Murchison, directly east from Kalbarri (take the road through the park to get back to the main highway, gorgeous drive during wildflowers season). It's got excellent bathroom facilities and it's nice and shady next to the river. The night sky here is amazing, agreed, and I haven't even gotten a full Outback dark sky yet!
The Maryhill Museum and Stonehenge Memorial near Goldendale, Klickitat County, Washington.
Oh I love that Stonehenge.
California has so many world class things to see, it’s hard to limit to one underrated landmark. I will go with The Avenue of the Giants, a scenic highway in northern California, running through Humboldt Redwoods State Park. It has been described as one of the most beautiful forested drives in the world.
That is an amazing drive, but my choice for underrated in California is Hetch Hetchy, a second Yosemite Valley that was dammed 110 years ago. It is said the dam hastened John Muir's death and led to the creation of the National Park Service and prominence of the Sierra Club. Tragic backstory, but largely forgotten. Still beautiful and rarely visited.
I stepped over (luckily over not on) a rattlesnake on the trail. Apparently Hetch Hetchy is drier and they are found there, but not really just over the ridge in Yosemite.
NorCal in general is so gorgeous. That stretch north of Fresno into Oregon as you go into the mountains is a beautiful stretch of freeway! One of my favorites from California is Bodie, probably the best gold rush era ghost town still in existence. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodie,_California It's been scheduled to be closed twice, so everyone interested in that history should give it a visit to help keep it "alive."
If you liked Bodie, check out Darwin, near Death Valley. A 10 hour drive from my house takes me to a ridiculous amount of places that are among the best of the world. It includes California, Oregon, Arizona and Nevada. I am so lucky to live here.
Yeah I miss living in SoCal. So many cool places to go!
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Bay Area, but it could be in any part of California. The only thing that changes is destintions.
North of Fresno going into Oregon? That’s vague…
Lol sorry, meant Sacramento. I didn't want to pull up a map, that's what I get for being lazy :P Basically once you get out of the farmland north of Bay Area on the 5 and hit the forests/mountain, like around Shasta, I think? I remember there being one stretch that had the most gorgeous views of a sapphire lake, while another part had snow-topped mountains. If I move back to California, I think I'll live in NorCal for a bit.
That’s a good choice.
Don’t forget about The Mystery Spot in Santa Cruz!!!
20 years ago, I rode a motorcycle across the US and back, avoiding interstates and often going out of my way for random tourist attractions. Here are some of my favorites that I can remember: London Bridge, Lake Havasu, Arizona. Sure, it’s a tourist trap, but they literally fucking moved a bridge from London to the western US and modern cars drive over it. It’s insane. Grand Canyon, Arizona. Yes, even though the states nickname is “The Grand Canyon State” and it says that on every license plate. Yes, even though everyone has heard of it. It really cannot be overrated. It’s incredible. You have to see it. [The Jackrabbit Trading Post](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Rabbit_Trading_Post). After miles and miles and miles of seeing their giant billboards mysteriously telling you how close you are to this tourist trap, your mind prepares you for the letdown of the lamest tourist trap in the world. However, it’s even lamer than that. I seriously underestimated how lame it would be. [Devil’s Rope Museum](https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/devil-s-rope-museum), McLean, Texas. Who could know that barbwire could be so fascinating? I honestly enjoyed this very much. [Hot Springs, Arkansas](https://www.nps.gov/hosp/index.htm). There’s a city in the mountains that’s a National Park, full of historic buildings and surrounded by beautiful trails. I happened to roll into town during their [Documentary Film Festival](https://hsdfi.org/). I ended up staying for four days, watching 3-4 documentaries a day and partying with the locals in the bars contained in historic buildings. [Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina and Virginia.](https://www.nps.gov/blri/index.htm) Speaking of unusual national parks, this one is a road. It’s in the Appalachian mountains and runs parallel to a nearby interstate, so there’s no semi trucks and in my experience, not a lot of cops with speed guns. Best motorcycling experience. Beautiful Mountain view’s, forests, and wildflowers. [The Spam Museum](https://www.spam.com/museum). Austin, Minnesota. You can smell it for miles before you see it. There’s a giant pork processing plant here and nearby is a museum dedicated to everyone’s favorite tinned meat. I heard they completely revamped and expanded it since I was there, which is amazing, because it blew my mind 20 years ago. There was a complete recreation of the set of the “Spam, Spam, Spam, and Spam” Monty Python sketch. [Zippo/Case museum](https://www.zippo.com/pages/zippo-case-museum-flagship-store), Bradford, Pennsylvania. Look, I get it. You want a museum the whole family will love, but half of them are into lighters and the other half are into knives. I have excellent news for you. It’s also a pretty drive to get there and the street lights were shaped like Zippo lighters. [Motown Museum](https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/motown-museum), Detroit, Michigan. Still in Berry Gordy’ sold home with “Hitsville, USA” emblazoned on it. You can feel and smell the history of some of America’s greatest music. [Art Institute of Chicago](https://www.artic.edu/). It’s so huge. So much art. Get lost and all of a sudden you’re in the “Arms and Armor” collection. Thousands of swords, knives, guns, helmets, and bows from around the world. And that is just a teeny tiny example of the sheer amount of art collected and displayed there. [Corn Palace](https://cornpalace.com/), Mitchell, South Dakota. It’s a big concert venue and event center surrounded with huge murals made of corncobs that is completely changed every year. It’s corn! 🌽 [Wall Drug](https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2216). Wall, South Dakota. This may be the king of tourist traps. The nearby badlands and Black Hills are amazing. The sheer enormity of a place dedicated to selling lots and lots of keychains is staggering. Once you go, you, too, will want a “Where the Hell is Wall Drug” bumpersticker.
Palouse Falls - Washington State https://preview.redd.it/jokwy9nc0x1d1.jpeg?width=1024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4d11d102d4fba8b6e16532a4a1a7d97d5348d27e
The House on the Rock. That place is weird
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It's gotten way better recently. Like, much more organized and way less creepy (though the victorian night city would still probably be a bit scary for a kid)
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very much worth the visit.
I grew up like 20 minutes from it, we took a field trip in elementary school. I wouldn’t call it traumatizing… it’s just super strange haha
I’ve heard of multiple Houses on the Rock. Is this the one near Wisconsin Dells?
There’s only one as far as I know. It’s between Spring Green and Dodgeville, so about an 45 minutes or so from the Dells
i just ent there last week! 5 hours well spent.
Frying Pan Tower - North Carolina https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frying_Pan_Shoals_Light?wprov=sfti1
The Ames Monument in Wyoming between Cheyenne and Laramie. It’s a stone pyramid designed by one of America’s great architects, HH Richardson, at the high-elevation point of the transcontinental railroad. [Ames Monument](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ames_Monument)
That’s super cool looking.
The scenic byways of Montana are an absolute blast.
Pine Creek Gorge (Pennsylvania Grand Canyon). The gorge, the surrounding trails, the creek itself which is the largest “creek” in the US I believe
Yes
Ribblehead Viaduct in northern England. It provides a very scenic train route. And in the Victorian era, it was an impressive example of engineering. Temporary settlements, essentially just slums, were built around the area to enable workers to live near the site of construction. I don’t believe much remains of them today, but it’s overall a site of historical and aesthetic significance.
Fuerte de Samaipata, Bolivia
In Oregon I’d vote for the prehistoric gardens south of port orford. It’s a bunch of dinosaur statues but they are in such a lush green forest with huge ferns. It’s in a pretty out of the way place, so it doesn’t get as much love as it deserves.
Virginia, US: Natural Bridge. If you know about it, it's wonderful. It's just that most people don't know about it. And it's not that easy to get to from most of the state.
Bok Tower. Lake Wales, FL. A scenic gardens and tower atop a 328’ ‘summit’ on Lake Wales Ridge. Can see pretty far as much of FL is generally flat and lower in elevation. The place is magical any time of year.
In my home state of Texas I think Palo Duro Canyon is pretty amazing but it is so far out in the middle of nowhere (sorry Amarillo). 2nd biggest canyon in the US. But it's like 6 hours from anything and I mean you see nothing for hundreds of miles around it. There are of course hiking trails and equestrian trails and camping and and amazing but campy and antiquated TEXAS musical performed in an open air amphitheater in the canyon every summer. My parents made me go one summer and it was honestly one of the best vacations. So much scenery and spurred my love for hiking. Spain (where I live now) reminds me a lot of that area.
Definitely the world’s largest ball of twine!
Is that the world's largest ball of twin in Minnesota or the world's largest ball of twine in Kansas or the world's largest ball of twin in Wisconsin or the world's largest ball of twine in Missouri?
Yes!
Don't forget to stop off at the Knute Rockne Crash Site Memorial.
Charles Mound in Illinois. Most impressive high point of any state in the union.
Devil's Tower, in NE Wyoming. If you ever get the opportunity to pass through that part of the nation- it's definitely worth seeing. In short, it's the core of a long-dead volcano (I think it's Basalt?) It's difficult to describe but worth seeing if you're in the area.
Its rather famous, and we probably should rename the native's holy site to the litteral translation of "bear lodge" instead of after the devil. But it is definitely a very cool mountain, well butte.
That's the one from Close Encounters, right?
I think so.
Worth it. It’s even crazier in person.
Awesome, but I wouldn’t call it underrated. It’s pretty popular.
Fair. but it's often overshadowed by Mt Rushmore and Yellowstone
Blucifer!
Einstein Memorial in DC
Assume you mean the Einstein statue in front of the National academy of science. It is across the street from the Vietnam War Memorial. I used to always bring my visiting family to the sleeping giant sculpture on hains point, but the fucking city sold it to the casino at National Harbor
In NSW I think the Warrumbungles is a very underrated national park. A beautiful and unique ridge line, great walks, and one of our only (or maybe only) official dark sky parks
The Civil War Surrender House on the Cumberland River in Dover, TN.
Teddy Roosevelt National Park is so lovely. (North dakota) I also think, in general, that people discount how beautiful the Great Plains are. The grasses and the sky look unreal. And when you are actually in proper prairie you see all of the unique flowers and vegetation. It's really underrated.
https://preview.redd.it/rg5opr6cdw1d1.jpeg?width=739&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=19603c8e2ed69103d0a4fcbe18a173035c55896a Wilpena Pound, South Australia
Directors interested in making some sci-fi films on Mars should look forward to interior Australia.
Too many shrubs and trees around Wilpena Pound. For Mars similarity I might put forward the Moon Plain near Coober Pedy: https://preview.redd.it/njwvnb3tlw1d1.jpeg?width=726&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cc7b07b906d5277c1de08c66190da4831b35294b
The Orphan Train Museum and Research Complex in Concordia, Kansas. It was on the way of the multi-day drive I uses to make with my kids to visit my parents. The Cotton Gin Museum in Texas is also a great stop. It is near Blue Bell ice cream mfg. When we stopped there one of my favorite parts was seeing just how many other.parents were their trying to teach their kids about an important technology in American economic and social history.
I grew up in Missouri and I would say the Ozark National Scenic Riverways. It’s well known to locals, but most people outside of MO hear Ozarks and just think of Branson. It’s the first national park area to protect a river system. There aren’t too many places where it’s so accessible to do a multi-day float trip and wild camp right on the gravel bars.
East Tennessee here: Everyone always thinks of the Smoky Mountains but good lord there's so much more than that in East Tennessee. Off the top of my head: The Tennessee River Gorge just west of Chattanooga is incredible. On the border of TN/NC is Citico Creek Wilderness, it's like the Smokies without the tourists and far more old growth forest and home to a stunning drive called the Cherohala skyway which has numerous overlooks and trail access points, one of which is Bald River Falls. A huge and spectacular waterfall. Moving slightly west from there, the Cumberland Plateau is another scenic area that rivals anything you'd find the Smokies. The mountains are much smaller but tons of waterfalls, scenic overlooks and various other sites. Numerous state parks such as Savage Gulf, Fiery Gizzard, Fall Creek Falls, Laurel Snow, and even a federal one Big South Fork. There's rock arches and even a few hoodoos like you'd see out west but in a lush forest instead.
Dry Island Buffalo Jump in Alberta, Canada. Our mountain parks are famous, and there are other buffalo jumps and badlands that are more well known. But this place is spectacular.
Northern parts of my state has several national parks with wild Red pandas in them but most average tourists very rarely visit those parks due to general remoteness, rough terrain, cost factor and overall uncertainty of spotting wildlife etc but that's probably a good thing overall.
Well share where this is!
[Singalila National Park](https://youtu.be/6VryCcu4M80?si=vcQfGXHvm89XF-Bk)
Wallaman Falls, and the greater atherton Tablelands, in Queensland. Stunning part of the world, with very unique flora and fauna.
New York: The Thousand Islands, shared with Canada they are kinda like a backwards delta at the start of the St. Lawrence River as it leaves lake Ontario, only its made of very solid bedrock instead of deposted river sediment. The Adirondack Mountains/Park: a state park preserves the entire mountain range and is mandated by an amendment to the state's constitution (mainly to stop sediment from washing into the Erie Canal). The rocks at the surface are mainly Gneiss and other metamorphic rocks dating to over a billion years ago, they were the roots of an older mountain range that was erroded away, and then started uplifting again around the same time as the Appalachians. Pulpit rock, Antwerp NY: in the side of the wide U shaped valley is a vertical cylinder carved out of the cliffside, it was formed by what can only be described as an eddy or whirlpool of ice with some gravel in it and serves as evidence of the most recent glaciation even in the area. Its name comes from a preacher in the 1820s using it to give sermons from because the shape was just right to amplify his voice to the people below. (And what better church than one built by god himself? So what if he forgot a roof or 3 walls.)
Ohio has a lot of early Native American mounds that are really fascinating and mysterious.
Serpent mound for the win! Has astronomical alignments, too, really fascinating site.
In Washington, Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic monument is a must visit if you're in that area of the state.
Ringing Rocks County Park Basically a giant boulder field in the middle of nowhere. You can bring a hammer and strike the boulders and hear the noise they make. Makes for a good day trip and photo op.
Almost all of the comments are from the us, so im gonna say Hungary, and the mpst underrated landmark in my country is the Bory Castle. One dude built it himself, by himself. It looks whimsical as hell. If you're in Hungary check it out!
The Adirondacks of New York I guess not so low key but overseas visitors don’t think New York and think incredible natural spaces
Letchworth. The Grand Canyon of the east.
https://preview.redd.it/k4xnpa80px1d1.jpeg?width=712&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e5580b03f82a262d4a63e6dabf645057699cd8b6 For some reason the original text disappeared... But this is Kvarken archipelago in Finland. Very shallow part of Gulf of Bothnia. Ice age carved the landscape very flat and shaved cliffs, leaving behind millions of boulder and large rocks. After ice age land is rising, post glacier rebound, and new islands and rocks pop up everywhere.
https://preview.redd.it/og7xdmadtx1d1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=652e0df3c2f026812afc5b8a308b630bbfb0650f The Statue of Vercingétorix, leader of the Gaul tribes coalition, in Burgundy. Gloria Victis.
We have no nature, we had to turn our entire country into a drainage system. We're just a heap of sand, clay and bog. Most of our big landmarks are flood defense related too. Delta Works, Maeslant Barrier, Afsluitdijk. An underrated one is the Houtribdijk, where you can actually see the water on both sides.
The Bahaii Gardens in Haifa, Israel. Everyone knows about the old city of Jerusalem, western wall, dome of the rock, etc. But the Bahaii Gardens take any other religious site in the country with ease.
I’ve been there! There’s also a Baha’i temple Beth close to where I live.
A lot of castles and forts (southern germany)
The Chief Menominee Memorial Site in Marshall County, Indiana. Marks the site where nearly 1000 Potawatomi were forced off their land by US troops enforcing bogus treaties. They were made to walk all the way to Oklahoma from here, joining others in their removal on the notorious Trail of Death.
Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio. It's huge and free.
Stetson Mansion in Florida, during Christmas
I went to school at Stetson and never knew that was there. Looks like I'll have to drive by during homecoming this year
Apparently, Graceland, being that it’s up for auction. Weird. We already don’t have shit in this po-dunk city lol
Indianapolis has some cool monuments that rival DC in my opinion. [War Memorial.](https://lifeinindy.com/things-to-do/indiana-war-memorial/) and [Monument Circle](https://www.visitindy.com/listing/soldiers-%26-sailors-monument-monument-circle/5786/).
The war memorial looks like the Anzac memorial in Melbourne.
Gilboa Bull
the Convict Road, Fredonia IA.
In Wisconsin it's "Timm's Hill". It's merely 2,000 feet. It's the highest point in Wisconsin.
Arkansas Grand Canyon
In Ogden Canyon, Molly’s Nipple which is almost directly across from The Chief. Somewhat smallish rock formations only viewable while westbound, just before The Narrows.
Ohio - Grandpa’s CheesBarn
Waterton National Park, Alberta, Canada Edited: I didn’t think to add the province or country on first thought lol
The Sandhills in Western/Central Nebraska are absolutely beautiful!
Fort Rock, Oregon, and the entire Eastern Oregon Desert.
The National Aquarium in Baltimore Maryland
I'm thinking about anything here in The Netherlands, but I can't think of anything underrated.
Nothing in terms of nature, probably. But for me the underrated stuff is in the province of Groningen - the old churches, some of which are almost 1000 years old, the monastery at Ter Apel, and the hanging kitchens of Appingedam. Other regions do get their fair share of tourism.
Maybe the rolling landscape of Limburg, but then you go to Belgium and then it's twice as high.
Pipestone National Monument in Minnesota. Amazing place about Native Americans.
For the state, maybe Mt. Shasta or Lassen National Park. Rarely hear it compared to other landmarks. For country, maybe Waimea Canyon or Adirondacks. I don't know how "underrated" they are,, but you hear them less.
We don't got much going on in New Hampshire ever since The Old Man of The Mountain's fucking face fell off twenty years ago, so I'm gonna go with either the Robert Frost Farm in Derry or the USS Albacore in Portsmouth. The former is self-explanatory, and the latter is just a docked Cold War-era submarine turned museum.
Aviation Museum in Darwin NT. It has a showcase B-52 which is really amazing, but also tastefully presented wrecks of Japanese and Allied Aircraft from World War II and later accidents over the NT including stories of the aviators.
In France, [the Lascaux Stone Age cave paintings](https://www.bradshawfoundation.com/lascaux/) take your breath away. They are amazingly good. Drawn far underground by the light of flickering torch, but any modern artist would be proud of them.
Newgrange, Ireland. 5200 years old, older than Stonehenge and the Pyramids.
Here in Sweden, it would be the medieval town of Visby. Most people who visit Sweden head for the major cities or the nature in the north, but the medieval town inside the wall of Visby really is special. If you're a fan of Kiki's Delivery Service you owe Visby a visit because the town is based on Stockholm and Visby.
In my local city, Plymouth in the UK there is a decorative stone archand small plaque by some old steps in the sea wall comemorating the point at which the Mayflower left for the Americas. There are a few other plaques there commemorating stuff here like the first pioneer ship to New Zealand and the landing of the first transatlantic flight by a sea plane, and the view across Plymouth sound is lovely. Most people are completely unmoved by the sense of history though. I only found out about it when I dropped my son off at work last year.
Thanks everyone for making me realise I know sh\*t about the USA
A lot of people don’t know of [Old tjikko](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Tjikko) (Sweden) gained fame as the oldest tree in the world. But it’s actually the fourth oldest clonal tree, meaning that the actual tree trunk is relatively young but the root system is roughly 9600 years old but it has regenerated new tree trunks all those years. It was unfortunately broken off in a blizzard last year, but it’s probably cool to see.
Belgium: Not something we're proud of, but "The Atlantic Wall". Or at least that's how we call our coastline as it's filled with big 10-story buildings with an oceanview followed by 3-4 story buildings (maximum) immediatly after. As The Netherlands and France don't have this, it's quite a recognizable view when flying from the UK to Belgium, or even when you're off the coast in a boat, you can easily spot where Belgium's coastline is. Before the Schengen Area, it was difficult to travel across the border so massive amounts of people spent weeks or even entire summers at a relatively small coastline (only 78km). Combine that with the "social tourism" hype that lots of mayors pushed ant that resulted in a massive amounts of big appartment blocks being built (with crappy appartments that no local wants to live in) and destroying the old Belle Epoque walkway buildings that were there before.
Sleeping Bear Dunes for Michigan, perhaps.
In Florida, it's the freshwater springs around Orlando. There are several that have crystal clear water that's 72° year-round, where you can swim. You may also see manatees, alligatos, tons of cool birds, turtles, interesting fish, otters, and other animals.
Dayton air museum there is So much cool shit there
Bok Tower Garden in FL, USA
The entire country
For me it's definitely the Extern Steine in north Western Germany: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Externsteine
The 10,000+ lakes in Minnesota. Sure, it’s in the license plate and it’s somewhat well known, but the beauty and recreational opportunities provided, get overshadowed by how cold everyone thinks it is here.
Science and industry museum in Manchester, its a great museum in the city where the Industrial Revolution started, the modern atomic model was invented and was the birthplace of the computer. Also the Manchester museum just coz it has a t rex
Cape Flattery and Hobuck Beach. They are soooo far away, so remote and with so little service that they are not visited heavily but are two of my favorite spots on the Olympic Peninsula. Most don’t make the drive all the way out there when they visit but it’s really spectacular. The drive getting there along the straight of Juan de Fuca is great too
Kansas here. I can’t think of a single one
Big Brutus! The biggest excavator in the world. I was just about to comment that landmark in Kansas. When I was kid I climbed to the top, something like over 100ft with no guardrails half the trip. Edit to add: it’s so large that when it broke down it was just stuck where it’s at. When my mom was a kid in the 70s and 80s they used to go out there and just climb it and explore, and then finally they made it to a museum to preserve it.
Jerusalem Badlands maybe. I was excited to go until I realized that you need to schedule a guided tour to actually get close to the rock formations.
Alien welcome center, Beaufort SC.
Carrizo Plain in California.
The Haymarket Martyrs Monument in Chicago/Forest Park. People enjoy the weekend and 8 hour day but don't necessarily remember the events that led to it.
The Grand Canyon