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From sea to shining sea…the wonderful and wacky, beautiful but bizarre, mesmerising and maddening United States of America is not so much one country as a collection of countries under a single star spangled banner.

Outsiders may struggle to grasp the scale of the US or to understand it—hardly surprising when the natives often seem to be strangers to each other. The super rich of Silicone Valley may not have much in common with the folks making ends meet in rural Kentucky; It can seem that the vast areas insultingly dubbed the 'flyover states' are a world apart from the cosmopolitan seaboard cities.

So how is a visitor to make sense of the vastness and variety of the USA? You can have fun trying, or you could just go along for the ride.

The first challenge is deciding which USA you want to see, because a lifetime’s worth of trips won't be enough.

There’s the natural America: The landscapes, of course, are mind-blowing, the wildlife fabulous. The national parks are unmissable, the mountains breathtaking. We all know about the Rockies, but what about the Appalachians—or the Sierra Nevada range, or the Cascades?

Away from mountains, the deserts are forbidding but unforgettable, the coastlines magnificent. From New England in the Fall, to the beaches of California, to the drama of Alaska; from hot springs to hotter volcanoes; from one of the highest points on earth to one of the deepest. All this and more is waiting for you.

Let’s not forget the cities, among the most vibrant on earth. But where to start? Perhaps with gaudy, in-your-face Las Vegas; or New York, one of the most exciting collections of humanity on the planet? Cool Boston? Sophisticated Seattle? It’s your choice.

And we haven’t touched on the sport, the food, music, the culture—the US has some of the finest art galleries, museums and theatres in the world—and of course the history which has shaped the can-do attitude that the rest of the world has come to associate with America, and the Americans.

Of course as with any good friend, you don’t have to be blind to the difficulties they may be facing to admire them, even love them. The US has its share of problems and there’s no point in pretending otherwise. But go with an open mind, open eyes and an open heart. Whichever America you opt for, prepared to be welcomed, surprised, enlivened and enriched.

Hidden gems in The United States

California

The John Muir Trail

Peter Elia
Peter Elia

One of the USA's epic treks, the John Muir Trail (JMT) is a 211 miles (339 km) hike in California's Sierra Nevada. The trail passes through several national parks, including Yosemite, Kings Canyon, and Sequoia national parks, finishing with a sublime summit hike on Mount Whitney. This golden nugget of a trail is known for its dramatic landscape. Upon each alpine pass, the eyes are treated to mountain ranges extending in all directions, filled in by meadows and serene lakes. Need to know JMT will challenge most hikers, both mentally and physically. The trail is known for its tricky logistic, unforgiving terrain, unpredictable weather, and fire conditions. In addition, you must obtain trekking permits in advance. Resupplying on the JMT is more complex and expensive than most linear treks. It requires pre-planning and parcel drops to designated campsites. I advise all but the most intrepid to do it with an organised operator who will take care of the logistics on your behalf.

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The United States travel guides

Alaska's Best National Parks
Guide

Alaska's Best National Parks

Lisa Maloney
Lisa Maloney

There’s the great outdoors and then there’s the wilderness. And then, in a category all of its own, there’s Alaska.

Things To Do In Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
Guide

Things To Do In Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Lisa Maloney
Lisa Maloney

If you think of sprawling coastal plains and seemingly endless streams of caribou, you're probably thinking of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR to locals).This massive refuge may be best-known for the highly public battle over whether to open its borders to oil drilling, but this vast, trackless wilderness is also home to more than 200,000 caribou and a smattering of polar bears, best seen from the tiny village of Kaktovik.

What To Do In Gates Of The Arctic National Park
Guide

What To Do In Gates Of The Arctic National Park

Although it's one of the most visited parks in the Arctic, Gates of the Arctic is still populated by far more caribou and birds than human visitors. This enormous park, sandwiched between Noatak National Preserve and Kobuk Valley National Park (to the west) and the Dalton Highway or Haul Road (to the east) supports one of the last completely intact Arctic ecosystems.

What To Do In Kobuk Valley National Park
Guide

What To Do In Kobuk Valley National Park

Located entirely above the Arctic Circle in the western Brooks Range, Kobuk Valley National Park is a broad valley encircled by the Baird and Waring mountain ranges, with the Kobuk River snaking through its middle for 61 miles. It’s best known for the desert-like sand dunes that cover most of its southern reaches.

Things To Do In Denali National Park
Guide

Things To Do In Denali National Park

Denali National Park and Preserve is a sprawling, 6-million-acre land of snow-clad peaks, tundra-carpeted hills and rushing glacier-fed creeks. Easy access from the road system and being home to Denali (formerly Mt.

What To Do In Wrangell-St. Elias National Park And Preserve
Guide

What To Do In Wrangell-St. Elias National Park And Preserve

Wrangell-St. Elias National Park may be best known for its enormous size; this 13.

What To Do In Katmai National Park
Guide

What To Do In Katmai National Park

Broad river flats, looming mountains, and the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes -- the stunning, desolate remains of the 20th century's largest volcanic eruption: That's what you'll find in Katmai National Park. Alongside the park's famous brown bears gorging on floods of incoming salmon, visitors also come here for the paddling, backcountry hiking and fly fishing, although some of the fishing is catch and release only.

What To Do In Prince William Sound And Kenai Fjords National Park
Guide

What To Do In Prince William Sound And Kenai Fjords National Park

Prince William Sound (PWS) sits in a calm, well-sheltered inlet on the Gulf of Alaska. It hugs the state’s south coast, cradled between the Kenai Peninsula and the Southeast panhandle and protected by three large barrier islands.

How To Get To Lake Clark National Park
Guide

How To Get To Lake Clark National Park

Lisa Maloney
Lisa Maloney

If you live in or near Anchorage and want a quick day of bear viewing, you head for Lake Clark National Park and Preserve, which is just a short hour's flight away. But you can see much more than bears here: Lake Clark is also famous for its volcanoes and Richard Proenneke's historic, hand-crafted cabin, and it's a popular destination for fly fishing and paddling, too.

Things To Do In Aniakchak National Monument and Preserve
Guide

Things To Do In Aniakchak National Monument and Preserve

The six-mile-wide caldera in the heart of Aniakchak National Monument and Preserve showcases what's left when a mountain literally blows its top. But that's not all you'll find in this 600,000-acre park perched in Southwest Alaska near the start of the Aleutian Chain.

What To Do In Chugach And Talkeetna Mountains
Guide

What To Do In Chugach And Talkeetna Mountains

Extending for roughly 495,000 acres north, south and east of Anchorage and connected to the Southcentral Alaska road network, Chugach State Park is one of the state’s more accessible adventure spots. The Chugach Mountains offer several dozen excellent hiking and backpacking trails, much of which across high tundra landscapes, all within easy reach from Anchorage.

Guide

Packing list

Packing for an Alaska trip depends entirely on the activities you’ve got planned but the common theme is to hope for the best, plan for the worst. If you’re planning on skiing, paddling or technical climbing you’ll need specialized equipment: consult your operator.

Guide

When to go to Alaska

What are the four seasons in Alaska? Answer: Winter, June, July, and August. So goes the oldest Alaskan joke in the book, and while not strictly true — May and September can be beautiful times to visit America’s Last Frontier — the old joke does have a basis in fact.

Getting awe-inspired in Alaska
Article

Getting awe-inspired in Alaska

On my first visit to Alaska, in 1999, I was so overwhelmed by its vastness and beauty that I cried. I had never been in a space that was so huge, wild and dramatic, and the miles and miles of wilderness were incomprehensible.

Western US National Park Road Trips
Guide

Western US National Park Road Trips

Stuart Thornton
Stuart Thornton

Combining the awe-inspiring national parks of the Western USA into a single road trip makes for a true Americana adventure. From the Grand Canyon to the Rocky Mountains, here are a few spectacular long-distance routes.

The Best USA Road Trip Routes
Guide

The Best USA Road Trip Routes

Amy Balfour
Amy Balfour

That ribbon of highway, the endless skyway…. Woody Guthrie immortalised life on the road in 1940 and it’s been sung about, written about and filmed about ever since.

Renting An RV For An Epic Road Trip
Guide

Renting An RV For An Epic Road Trip

Jody Halsted
Jody Halsted

The joy of an RV national park road trip is its simplicity: your family, the open road and the great outdoors. But a successful RV trip isn’t quite as easy as renting a rig and hitting the road.

Rocky Mountain Road Trip
Guide

Rocky Mountain Road Trip

Amy Balfour
Amy Balfour

The national parks of the northern Rocky Mountains share a few iconic features— snow-capped peaks, shimmering lakes, bright wildflowers—but it's their individual characteristics that give a Rockies road trip its appeal. Elk and bighorn sheep keep things wild at Rocky Mountain National Park while the rugged Grand Tetons are a photogenic showstopper.

Utah National Parks Road Trip
Guide

Utah National Parks Road Trip

Amy Balfour
Amy Balfour

Fiery red rock formations dot the Southwest, lighting up the landscape at sunrise and sunset with a brilliant array of colours, from red to orange to deep purple. Created by erosion over millennia, and still changing today, these sandstone wonders are the photographic highlight of most road trips across southern Utah.

Grand Canyon Driving Loop
Guide

Grand Canyon Driving Loop

Amy Balfour
Amy Balfour

This lasso loop swings past some of the largest and most breathtaking natural formations in the Southwest, ending with a showstopping bang at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. Hoodoos, arches, red rock cliffs and a horseshoe bend are just a few of the photographic highlights along the way.

The Best East Coast USA Road Trips
Guide

The Best East Coast USA Road Trips

Amy Balfour
Amy Balfour

There are three national parks in the East Coast mid-Atlantic region: Shenandoah National Park, Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the newly created New River Gorge National Park. It’s a half-day drive from these mountain showstoppers to a slew of federal and state recreation areas where adventurous travellers can hike, bike, paddle and camp, or simply embrace the great outdoors.

Skyline Drive & Blue Ridge Parkway Road Trip
Guide

Skyline Drive & Blue Ridge Parkway Road Trip

Amy Balfour
Amy Balfour

Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway ribbon along the crest of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains, curving past some of the finest viewpoints and trails in the Southern Appalachians. Inviting small towns and striking geologic formations dot the surrounding mountain foothills.

Western North Carolina Road Trip Route
Guide

Western North Carolina Road Trip Route

Amy Balfour
Amy Balfour

The Blue Ridge Parkway lets loose in the rugged mountains of the North Carolina high country, swooping above the clouds, shooting through tunnels and nudging against the slopes of ancient mountains. Great Smoky Mountains National Park awaits at the end of the drive.

West Virginia To Shenandoah National Park Road Trip
Guide

West Virginia To Shenandoah National Park Road Trip

Amy Balfour
Amy Balfour

This road trip starts in the mountains of West Virginia, where wild rapids, climber-ready sandstone and a high-elevation wilderness draw active travellers. Afterwards, road trippers can soothe sore muscles in historic hot springs then dig into America’s turbulent past in Harpers Ferry.

Great Smoky Mountains Road Trip
Guide

Great Smoky Mountains Road Trip

Amy Balfour
Amy Balfour

Gorgeous scenery and outdoor adventure join forces on this Great Smokies loop, which swings past urban parks, waterfall trails and wildlife playgrounds.

North Carolina’s Outer Banks Road Trip
Guide

North Carolina’s Outer Banks Road Trip

Amy Balfour
Amy Balfour

This drive rolls through federal and state parks on the windswept Outer Banks (OBX), a scrappy strand of barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean and mainland North Carolina. Wild horses, a shifting sand dune, a mysterious lost colony and coastal watersports keep the mood untamed.

The Best New England Road Trips
Guide

The Best New England Road Trips

Amy Balfour
Amy Balfour

Acadia National Park in Maine is the only national park in New England, although the region is packed with other federally run recreation areas, including national monuments, seashores and forests. Picturesque state parks, with hiking trails, waterfalls, lakes, rivers, beaches and historic sites, are scattered across the Northeast.

White Mountains & Waterfalls Road Trip
Guide

White Mountains & Waterfalls Road Trip

Amy Balfour
Amy Balfour

The sharp-edged beauty of the White Mountains juts in from all sides as you twist between jagged peaks and wild waterfalls on this double-loop drive. Just south in the Lakes Region, the beauty turns tranquil, eliciting easy oohs and ahhs as you drive along the shores of Squam Lake and Lake Winnipesaukee.

The Best Of Coastal Maine Route-1 Road Trip
Guide

The Best Of Coastal Maine Route-1 Road Trip

Amy Balfour
Amy Balfour

This breezy road trip on US 1 brakes for lobsters, lighthouses and L.L.

Classic New England Fall Road Trip Route
Guide

Classic New England Fall Road Trip Route

Amy Balfour
Amy Balfour

Foliage across New England puts on a brilliant display of colour in fall, with yellow, orange and deep red leaves shimmering across forested hills.This loop passes leaf-peeping hotspots across Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire.

The Best Midwest National Park Road Trips
Guide

The Best Midwest National Park Road Trips

Sarah Bence
Sarah Bence

The Midwest US is often unfairly labeled “flyover country” but those who fly over middle America don't know what they're missing.From the Great Lakes, the rugged Badlands, some fairly bizarre Americana roadside attractions (think: a giant Paul Bunyon statue holding a hot dog along the historic route 66), and yes some cornfields too.

Lake Michigan & Lake Superior Circle Road Trip
Guide

Lake Michigan & Lake Superior Circle Road Trip

Sarah Bence
Sarah Bence

The Midwest’s five Great Lakes make up the largest freshwater system in the world.The lakes’ shores are lined with sand dunes, and inland in Michigan and Wisconsin you’ll also find dense forests, waterfalls, and natural springs.

South Dakota & Badlands National Park Road Trip
Guide

South Dakota & Badlands National Park Road Trip

Sarah Bence
Sarah Bence

This figure-of-eight route takes you on an epic road trip through South Dakota’s national parks, forests, and monuments. The area is particularly rich in Native American history, including that of the past and present-day Lakota people.

Chicago To The Ozarks Road Trip
Guide

Chicago To The Ozarks Road Trip

Sarah Bence
Sarah Bence

This one-way route takes you through three Midwestern states: Illinois, Missouri, and Arkansas. Start in Chicago and head down along the historic Route 66 to reach St.

Best Places For Backpacking In Alaska
Guide

Best Places For Backpacking In Alaska

Lisa Maloney
Lisa Maloney

Alaska is a backpacker's paradise, where your trail cred will reach new levels. Whether you’re cutting your teeth on classic tried-and-true routes, or flexing more advanced backpacking skills, Alaska is the place to gear up and get out there.

The United States tours

Turquoise Kayak and Hike
Alaska

Turquoise Kayak and Hike

Lake Clark multisport adventure
7 days From $3,850 pp
Denali Unexplored
Alaska

Denali Unexplored

Basecamp hiking in Denali National Park
4 days From $2,895 pp
Denali Express
Alaska

Denali Express

Four day basecamp hiking in Denali National Park
4 days From $2,199 pp
Alaska Multisport Adventure
Alaska

Alaska Multisport Adventure

Prince William Sound, Chugach and Denali National Park
9 days From $4,995 pp
Prince William Sound, Chugach & Denali
Alaska

Prince William Sound, Chugach & Denali

Hiking, kayaking, backpacking & ice climbing
9 days From $4,395 pp
Noatak River & Great Kobuk Sand Dunes
Alaska

Noatak River & Great Kobuk Sand Dunes

Epic Gates of the Arctic & Kobuk Valley combined tour
12 days From $7,695 pp

The United States travel companies

Alaska

Alaska Alpine Adventures

Small-group adventure holidays in Alaska
North America, South America, Antarctica

SA Expeditions

Tailor-made guided tours
Western USA

Wildland Trekking

Hiking vacations in the US and beyond
Western USA

Bindlestiff Tours

Self-drive & private tours of the Southwest US
North America, East Asia

Sigs Rides

Guided & self-guided motorbike & cycling tours
North America

Off The Beaten Path

Exceptional trips for curious travelers
Western USA

Get In The Wild

Outdoor adventures in Utah & Washington
Central America, South America, Africa (and 8 more)

Cheesemans’ Ecology Safaris

In-depth nature & wildlife tours in outstanding destinations

Places to go in The United States

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Expert itineraries

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