The Ultimate USA Hidden Gems Grand Tour: 14-Day Cross-Country Expedition

Explore this 500-acre open-air museum where monumental modern sculptures by world-renowned artists rise from rolling hills and grassy meadows.

Hike through a dramatic gorge trail featuring 19 waterfalls. Plan to visit on a weekday morning to beat the crowds and enjoy quiet morning mist.

Take a boat tour across the St. Lawrence River to inspect this Gilded Age castle built on Heart Island in the early 1900s.

Navigate a whimsical labyrinth across connected historic townhouses containing over 100 themed rooms and 70 secret hidden doors.

Stroll peaceful boardwalk trails beside blooming lotuses and water lilies along the Anacostia River, especially vibrant during mid-summer.

Drive beneath a Spanish moss-draped live oak canopy to access a hauntingly beautiful Boneyard Beach adorned with sun-bleached trees.

Walk the elevated Boardwalk Loop Trail through North America's largest remaining sanctuary of old-growth bottomland hardwood forest.

Stand under the vast 17,000-square-foot canopy of a historic live oak estimated to be between 400 and 500 years old.

Paddle a kayak through sculpted sandstone sea caves, rock arches, and clear waters along the shores of Lake Superior.

Immerse yourself in a vast architectural maze featuring automated musical instruments, eclectic collections, and the world's largest carousel.

Take a guided architectural tour of Frank Lloyd Wright's personal home, studio, and estate harmonized with the surrounding rolling hills.

Navigate Iowa's premier cavern network, highlighted by the 1,100-foot Dancehall Cave with soaring rock chambers and limestone arches.

Take in sweeping views of the Mississippi River from 500-foot bluffs and hike wooded trails leading to scenic natural waterfalls.

Step onto the iconic baseball diamond carved directly out of a cornfield, famous from the beloved 1989 motion picture.

View the dramatic 300-foot rock spire that served as a major landmark for 19th-century pioneers trekking west along the Oregon Trail.

Photograph this quirky roadside art monument replicating Stonehenge using vintage American cars spray-painted industrial gray.

Trek through a unusual badlands landscape featuring mushroom-shaped rock hoodoos and exposed prehistoric fossil beds.

Cool off at Oklahoma's tallest waterfall, plunging 77 feet into a natural spring-fed pool nestled in the Arbuckle Mountains.

Drive past ancient granite peaks where wild bison, longhorn cattle, and Rocky Mountain elk roam freely across prairie habitats.

Hike the Cathedral Mountain Trail to top red mesa formations blanketed in shimmering selenite crystals.

Observe the Popo Agie River vanish into a vast limestone cavern at The Sinks and reemerge a quarter-mile downstream at The Rise.

Hike the Tower Trail around the base of this massive hexagonal volcanic monolith, revered as Bear Lodge by Native tribes.

Soak for free inside the historic State Bathhouse in 104°F geothermal mineral waters and walk past vibrant travertine terraces.

Kayak or boat across Bighorn Lake framed by 1,000-foot sheer canyon walls cutting through rugged mountain terrain.

Experience the world's longest-running nightly summer rodeo with bull riding, bronc riding, and fast-paced barrel racing.

Explore gravity-defying granite rock formations and hoodoos that make Vedauwoo a world-famous playground for rock climbers and hikers.

Hike or sled down rolling white gypsum sand dunes. The creator recommends arriving in late afternoon to stay for dramatic sunset colors.

Hike the Slot Canyon Trail early in the morning to beat the heat while weaving between cone-shaped volcanic tent rock formations.

Visit a UNESCO World Heritage site and continuously inhabited Native American pueblo showcasing multi-storied adobe architecture.

Descend into massive underground limestone chambers including the Big Room, and watch thousands of bats fly out at dusk.

Climb wooden ladders into preserved ancestral Pueblo cliff dwellings and inspect ancient petroglyphs etched on canyon walls.

Walk scenic red rock trails that directly inspired iconic Southwestern landscape paintings by Georgia O'Keeffe.

Trek across icy terrain with a guide to explore glowing subterranean blue ice caves formed underneath Mendenhall Glacier.

Step back into the early 1900s at an abandoned copper mining ghost town set against massive glaciers in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park.

Drive through the Talkeetna Mountains past historic gold mines and tundra valleys bursting with red and gold foliage in late summer.

Observe brown bears catching jumping salmon directly from elevated viewing platforms above Brooks Falls during peak summer runs.

Walk coastal rain forest paths lined with authentic carved Tlingit totem poles while exploring Russian and Native heritage sites.

Soak in steaming outdoor mineral hot springs pools and tour the world's largest year-round museum crafted entirely from ice.