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We’ve seen some amazing natural wonders around the world. It turns out there are more than enough surreal places for you to check out for yourself in the United States. Don’t believe me? Well, just feast your eyes on these destinations.
1. Giant Prismatic Spring – Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
This beauty is the largest hot spring you’ll find in the United States, and third largest in the world, behind
New Zealand’s Frying Pan Lake and Boiling Lake in
Dominica. The colors of the spring come from the pigmented bacteria in the waters. Can you dip a toe in it? No, but you can walk around the edge for a cool photo op.
2. Horsetail Fall – Yosemite National Park, California
This seasonal waterfall at Yosemite will make you think of Mordor from Lord of the Rings, but don’t fret. That yellow-red glow is caused from the sun shining upon the falls at certain times.
3. Fly Geyser – Nevada
Drive 2 ½ hours from Reno and you’ll find yourself at Fly Geyser. This was created by some drilling done in the name of finding sources for geothermal energy in 1964. Minerals sprang from the hole to create this wonderfully odd formation. Fly Geyser is on private property, so don’t try to climb the tall fences that surround it. But it’s so huge that you can get a good picture from the road.
4. Mono Lake – California
The moment you see Mono Lake in person you’ll believe you’re on another planet. Snowcapped mountains surround this salty blue lake that has plenty of Tufa, columns of limestone that have been formed by the salinity of the water.
5. The Wave – Arizona
It took millions of years for winds to erode Navajo sandstone in the Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness of
Arizona to make this trippy formation that’s a great photo opportunity.
6. Glass Beach – Fort Bragg, California
Let’s go back to not-so-enlightened times of the 1900s, when the locals would toss all sorts of household garbage over the cliffs and onto the beach below. Fast forward a few decades and the only thing the Pacific Ocean didn’t take was the glass and pottery that’s now been smoothed out from years of erosion.
7. Northern Lights – Alaska
The Northern Lights will make your jaw drop the moment you see them in person. And all you have to do to have that moment is visit
Fairbanks or
Anchorage from September to April 20.
8. Sequoia National Park – California
You’ll never feel as small as you do when standing next to sequoia trees that are as tall as a football field is long. The biggest of the bunch is the General Sherman Tree – it stands 275 feet tall, is said to be around 2,500 years old and is one of the largest trees in the world.
9. Thor’s Well – Oregon
If you head to
Oregon’s Cape Perpetua an hour before to an hour after high tide, you’ll be able to see one hell of a show at Thor’s Well. This saltwater fountain creates its show from the power ocean tides and is very dangerous, so try to enjoy it from a safe distance.
10. Mendenhall Glacier Caves – Alaska
If you ever find yourself in
Juneau, Alaska, a trip to these caverns are a must-do. The ice caves in this 12-mile glacier at the heart of the Mendenhall Valley give you the feeling that you're walking through a tunnel of brilliant blue clouds.
11. Oneota Gorge – Oregon
This may look like it should be in a fairy tale, but it’s actually in Oregon’s Columbia River Gorge. This place is great to walk through on a warm summer day just to see the fern and moss that coat the walls.
12. Dry Tortugas National Park – Florida
Yes, there’s something even cooler beyond the uninhibited fun of Key West. Head 70 miles west of Key West and you’ll find Dry Tortugas National Park. Its home to Fort Jefferson, an unfinished fortress that the U.S. Navy begun building in 1847. This place is secluded from the world. So much so that you can only access it by boat or seaplane. A fine way to unplug from the rest of the world.
13. Bonneville Salt Flats – Utah
You’ll be hard-pressed to find someplace flatter on earth. The Bonneville Salt Flats are what’s left from a prehistoric lake that covered the area until about 14,500 years ago. Now it’s the home to Speed Week in mid-August, where racers look to break land speed records. The Flats can get awfully hot in the summer (120 degrees Fahrenheit), so maybe stay away during that time of year. We wholly recommend heading out to the area after a bit of rain, which turns the area into a giant mirror.
There’s a creepy beauty about this beach. You can take a walk or horseback ride along this secluded beach that’s dotted with limbs and roots of tree that have tossed about due to erosion on the north end of the island. It’s a great place for a sunset, and very popular for weddings.
15. White Sands National Monument – New Mexico
This stunner takes a desert, but makes the sand look as white as snow. You can take various tours about the area to find out how it formed and what creatures make their homes in the dunes.
16. Skagit Valley Tulip Fields – Washington
Hundreds of thousands of visitors hop in their car to drive through these tulip fields in April to see these beautiful flowers in bloom. The gorgeous mountains in the distance are just a bonus.
17. Antelope Canyon – Arizona
It took millions of years for water to carve out these crevices you can take a walk through today. The colors you actually see on the walls will change depending on the time of year when you visit. There are no private walks to the area as the Navajo Nation only allow guided tours to enter the canyon. But that’s a good way to find out even more about the area.
18. Hamilton Pool Preserve – Dripping Springs, Texas
This natural pool just outside of
Austin, Texas, is a popular summertime hangout for tourists and locals alike. So how did it come to be? It actually used to be an underground river before erosion caused the dome to collapse.
