USA travel guide · Welcome to the United States
The American Tour Association’s USA travel guide connects all 50 states and Washington, D.C. with ideas for places to visit: cities, national parks, scenic drives, museums and unusual attractions. Explore by region, state or interest, then follow the local guides for more detail.
America’s best journeys often begin with a little curiosity. A road curling along the Pacific, a music-filled neighborhood in New Orleans, a desert town beneath a wide sky: each place offers a different way to experience the United States.
From New England’s harbor towns and Appalachian trails to the Great Lakes, the canyons of the Southwest and the forests of the Pacific Northwest, there is room for every kind of traveler. Explore celebrated sights, then leave time for the local museum, family-run diner or roadside surprise that makes a place memorable.
Use our guides to build a journey around what interests you. Choose a state, follow an interest, browse by category or try an unusual discovery. Give each stop time, enjoy the miles between, and let the places you find shape the trip.
A country of many different journeys
From Atlantic harbors to Pacific shores, the United States offers far more than one kind of holiday. Use these regional starting points to find a setting that interests you, then follow the state links into cities, attractions and nearby discoveries.
Prefer the map? Explore all 50 states & Washington, D.C. →
Harbors, village greens & Atlantic shores
Follow Maine’s rocky coast, explore Boston’s historic streets, or head inland for Vermont villages and New Hampshire mountains. This corner of the country rewards a journey that mixes a walkable town with time beside the water or in the woods.
Photo: Public domain / FHWA gallery. Display cropped.
City neighborhoods & American history
New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. offer different windows into American life: immigrant neighborhoods, art collections, historic landmarks and public monuments. Beyond the cities, look for Pennsylvania countryside, Chesapeake waterfronts and New York’s lakes and mountains.
Photo: NPS / Laura Brennan. Display cropped.
Music, mountain roads & local stories
Let the journey move between mountain communities, river towns and coastal cities. Tennessee’s musical traditions, Louisiana’s food and culture, and the Appalachian landscape offer very different starting points. Add museums and historic sites that explore the region’s complex past as well as its living traditions.
Photo: Dennis Adams / public domain. Display cropped.
Historic streets, wetlands & island shores
Florida offers more than a beach holiday. Begin with St. Augustine’s historic waterfront, explore the Everglades’ wetland landscapes, or follow the Keys toward island communities. Orlando’s theme parks and Miami’s neighborhoods add entirely different kinds of days to a Florida journey.
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Lakeside cities & quieter shorelines
Combine Chicago’s architecture and museums with lake country, small towns and waterfront walks. Michigan’s Upper Peninsula offers a different pace from the region’s big cities; Wisconsin, Minnesota and the surrounding states add river landscapes, local history and communities worth a longer stop.
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Prairie horizons & remarkable detours
Give the open country time to reveal itself. South Dakota’s Badlands, prairie landscapes and small-town museums make rewarding stops between the larger cities. Seek out Native-led cultural experiences and interpretation to understand the people and histories of the places you cross.
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Canyons, desert light & cultural crossroads
Arizona’s canyon country and New Mexico’s towns combine striking landscapes with deep cultural histories. Nevada adds desert roads and bright city nights, while Texas ranges from Hill Country communities to Gulf shores and West Texas horizons. Choose one area to explore rather than treating these distances as a single quick circuit.
Photo: NPS / M. Quinn. Display cropped.
High country, red rock & valley towns
Colorado’s mountain communities, Wyoming’s broad valleys and Montana’s landscapes invite time outdoors. Idaho adds river country, while Utah offers red-rock scenery as well as alpine country. Build a journey around a few neighboring places so the drive leaves room for walks, viewpoints and local discoveries.
Photo: NPS / Lynch. Display cropped.
Forests, volcanic peaks & coastal towns
Washington and Oregon offer a rich contrast between Puget Sound communities, Cascade mountains, Pacific beaches and the Columbia River landscape. Start with a city or a valley, then explore nearby forests, waterfronts and small towns rather than rushing from one distant highlight to the next.
Photo: NPS / Emily Brouwer. Display cropped.
Coastal cities & landscapes beyond the coast
San Francisco’s neighborhoods and Los Angeles’s creative energy are only part of California’s appeal. Follow your interests into the Sierra Nevada, desert landscapes, coastal communities or smaller inland towns. Our city guides connect attractions with nearby places and geographically relevant suggestions for where to stay.
Photo: King of Hearts · CC BY-SA 3.0. Display cropped.
Mountain wilderness & coastal communities
Alaska brings a different sense of scale: mountain ranges, tundra, glaciers and communities shaped by the sea. Decide whether your focus is the interior or the coast, then explore the places along that route. Denali is one starting point; smaller communities and cultural experiences add context to the scenery.
Photo: NPS / Nathan Kostegian. Display cropped.
Volcanic landscapes & island culture
Hawaii’s islands have distinct landscapes and communities. A stay on Maui offers different possibilities from Hawaiʻi Island, Oʻahu or Kauaʻi. Choose an island as your starting point, then explore its local history, Native Hawaiian culture, coastal places and volcanic scenery with time to appreciate each setting.
Photo: NPS. Display cropped.
Follow your curiosity
Choose a place first, or let an interest lead you there. These collections connect the scenery, stories and attractions that make a journey your own.
Begin with a landscape that draws you in: Acadia’s Atlantic shore, the Grand Canyon’s immense views or the forested mountains of Washington. Explore the surrounding area as part of the same visit.
A road or railway can give a journey its shape. Explore routes such as the Cherohala Skyway, then look for nearby towns and viewpoints that make the journey more than a drive between endpoints.
Use a museum, historic trail or neighborhood as a doorway into a place. Seek different perspectives on its history, from Indigenous heritage to migration, industry and everyday community life.
Explore San Francisco’s neighborhoods, Los Angeles’s film and art connections, or the musical traditions of Tennessee and Louisiana. Start with one city and discover what lies within and around it.
A memorable day can be a scenic railway, a hands-on museum or a theme park. Browse outings by interest, then choose places near your destination so there is time to enjoy the experience together.
Leave room for an unusual attraction, a surprising small town or a place to stay with its own story. Our discoveries collection offers starting points when you want a journey with a few unexpected turns.
Kokopelli’s Cave
Make the accommodation part of the story: a vacation rental built into the cliffs near Farmington.
Explore this discovery →
Trade an ordinary room for a treehouse in Southern Oregon. Forest surroundings, inventive places to sleep, and a little childhood wonder make this a stay to remember.
Explore this discovery →Photo source: Out ’n’ About Treesort listing, Travel Oregon.
Stay in a tipi on the Rosebud Reservation and learn about Lakota culture through experiences offered by your hosts. Your visit helps support Lakota youth programs.
Explore this discovery →Add a very different night to your American adventure.
A surprising little town, an unusual place to stay, or a hidden treasure most travelers miss? Tell us where it is and what makes it special—we’d love to hear about it.
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