‘They are our ancestors’: descendants of slaves divert tourism from plantations
This. 1978 | Wyoming, Montana and Idaho
Why it’s a UNESCO World Heritage site: Yellowstone dominates the geothermal features market, with over 10,000 examples, as well as the largest concentration of geysers in the world (over 500). The park also excels in the fossilized plant department, with only about 150 species, and is home to physically powerful populations of burly animals, adding bison and bears.
How to get there: The park has five front stations. The park’s road from the north entrance to Gardiner, Montana, in Cooke City, Montana, is open year-round.
Best time to visit: In spring, when visits are low, bears wake up and wildflowers begin to bloom. Babies also abound in April, May and June, when several species, in addition to bison, moose, moose and pronghorn, give birth.
Insider Tip: Take a refreshing swim at the canyon-surrounded swimming domain in Firehole River, Wyoming. (Note: The park’s other pool on the Boiling River is closed for the foreseeable long term due to damage from June flooding. )
On maps, images, and videos, see the full force of Yellowstone’s flooding.
This. 1982 | Illinois
Why it’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site: Considered the first city in the Americas, the largest prehistoric Native American settlement in northern Mexico once covered 3,500 acres and had a population of 10,000 to 20,000. Today, 80 of the 120 mounds of earth date from 1050 to 1200 AD. It still exists, adding the 100-foot-tall Monks Mound, the largest earthwork in North America and the only mound visitors can climb.
How to get there: The is in Collinsville, Illinois, 8 miles east of downtown St. Louis.
Best time to visit: Although the interpretation center is closed for renovation until next year, the grounds are open from dusk, so stop by when you feel like mounds.
Tip: Download the Back to the City of the Sun app for a 90-minute augmented tour that takes you back in time to the Mississippian civilization.
This. 1995 | New Mexico
Why it’s worthy of UNESCO: More than 119 limestone caves beneath the Chihuahuan Desert, plus Carlsbad Cavern and Lechuguilla Cave, dazzle and delight with concretions (e. g. , stalagmites and stalactites), sculptural reefs and rock formations, gypsum chandeliers, and component geological features. molded through bacteria. The park is also part of the Permian Age Captain’s Reef (299 to 251 million years ago), one of the most productive preserved and most available fossilized reefs in the world. From April to mid-October, thousands of Brazilian reefs and free-tailed bats roam the Carlsbad Cave.
How to get there: El Paso, is about 2 hours away by car.
Best time to visit: September, when bats are still circling and crowds.
Insider Tip: Between mid-April and late May, sit at the Bat Flight Amphitheater and watch winged creatures emerge from the cave in search of dinner. On the third Saturday in July, check into other elevators at sunrise to witness your next flight. while they return home for a nap. From Memorial Day weekend through October, park rangers run nighttime bat systems at the outdoor site.
A visitor consultant to the country’s 63 stunning national parks.
This. 1987 | New Mexico
Why it’s worthy of UNESCO: The potpourri of archaeological destinations here – the Chaco Culture National Historical Park, the Aztec Ruins National Monument and five archaeological coverage sites of the Chaco culture – exemplifies the architectural and technical intelligence of the Chacoan people, who inhabited the domain from the mid-ninth to the early thirteenth century. Many structures and works of art have survived, adding ceremonial buildings, giant houses, kivas and petroglyphs.
How to get there: The closest major town to Chaco Culture National Historical Park is Farmington, N. M. , about a 90-minute drive away. (Albuquerque is 180 miles to the southeast. ) The Aztec ruins are in Aztec, N. M. , 20 minutes from Farmington.
Best time to visit: spring or autumn, when the weather is halfway between heat wave and frost.
An expert’s tip: Chaco Cultural Park, which was designated an International Dark Sky Park in 2013, hosts telescope sighting events at the equinoxes and solstices. At Aztec ruins, check out centuries-old gardening tips at Heritage Garden, which pumpkin similar to vegetables planted by the ancestral Pueblo.
This. 1979 | Florida
Why it’s worthy of UNESCO: Let’s list the ways: The Everglades is the largest subtropical nature preserve (1,509,000 acres, if we talk about numbers) with the maximum vital breeding ground for wading birds and the largest non-stop sawgrass meadow in North America. It also earns fees for having the largest mangrove ecosystem in the Western Hemisphere and for being the favorite zip code for rare and endangered species such as the Florida panther, American alligator and manatee.
How to get there: The park has 3 entrances in 3 cities: Homestead, Miami and Everglades City. Visitors can access all locations by car and the Flamingo and Gulf Coast neighborhoods by boat.
Best time to visit: spring, autumn and winter, when the weather is bearable and the birds are outside.
Insider Tip: At the former Nike Hercules missile site, relive a terrifying era in U. S. history. The U. S. , when our country introduced missiles into Cuba during the Cold War. Double the wildlife at Flamingo Marina, the only marina in the park, where manatees and crocodiles hide.
All-terrain wheelchairs are coming to U. S. parks. USA: ‘It’s life-changing’
Why is it a UNESCO World Heritage Site?At 29 km wide and 1 mile deep, the Grand Canyon is a historical e-book carved into the rock. Its geological layers tell a story that dates back more than 1. 8 billion years, adding the era 6 million years ago when the Colorado River first raised its cutting knives. The landscape is one of maximalism, with a frozen lava flow, waterfalls and a river of white water running through its veins.
How to get there: The South Rim, which is open year-round, is about 80 miles from Flagstaff, Arizona, and 212 miles from the North Rim. Buses run between Flagstaff or Las Vegas and Grand Canyon Village on the South Rim, and between the edges, depending on the season. The Grand Canyon Railroad provides exercise service between Williams, Arizona, and the park.
Best time to visit: spring or autumn, when there is abundance, crowds are scarce, and services on either shore are open (specifically, May 15 to October 15 for the north coast and year-round for the south coast).
Insider tip: Native American artists, such as Zuni stone carvers and a Hopi goldsmith, showcase their crafts and share their traditions at the Desert View Watchtower or South Rim Visitor Center, depending on the season.
This. 1983| Tennessee and North Carolina
Why it’s worthy of UNESCO: The lush temperate zone is home to an incredibly varied collection of plants, insects, and animals, adding 130 species of trees, 65 species of mammals (only 1500 American black bears), over two hundred types of birds, synchronous fireflies, and 30 species of salamanders. Hence the park’s nickname, “The Salamander Capital of the World. “The park extols the virtues of age: many rocks were formed millions of years ago.
How to get there: The park stretches across two states. Travel times from Knoxville, Tenn. , and Asheville, N. C. , are approximately forty-five minutes and 70 minutes, respectively.
The best time to visit: autumn, for its fireworks of autumn colors, or spring, for its thick rain of wild flowers.
Insider Tip: The park has one of the best collections of log buildings in the east, with more than 90 barns, churches, schools, flour generators, and other historic structures. Get a guide to car tours, as those old walls don’t speak.
This. 1987 | Hawaii
Why it’s a UNESCO World Heritage site: The park, which rises from the point of the sea to 13,677 feet, comprises two of the world’s tallest active volcanoes, Mauna Loa and Kilauea. The latter volcano has been erupting frequently since 1983 and arises from its 4,000-foot-high summit and the flanks of its eastern rift zone. Warm effusions continuously touch the tropical landscape, a haven for local birds and endemic species such as a carnivorous caterpillar, a lava-loving cricket and the world’s rarest goose.
How to get there: The park is located about 45 minutes from Hilo, on the island of Hawaii.
Best time to visit: Whenever Kīlauea’s lava flows or shines.
Insider Tip: The park never closes, so you can spend any and all moments of delirium watching the summit erupt. If you see ash in your hiking boots, you have been kissed through Kilauea.
This. 1979 | Pennsylvania
Why it’s worthy of UNESCO: The Declaration of Independence and the U. S. Constitution were debated, followed, and signed in Independence Hall, putting the founding principles of the new republic in ink.
How to get there: Georgian-style construction is located in downtown Philadelphia and can be reached by car, bus or public transportation.
Best time to visit: January and February, when tickets are needed, or federal holidays that push their patriotic buttons.
Hint: The original Rising Sun chair is out of reach of all George Washington ghosts. However, visitors can preside over an imaginary constitutional conference in a playchair at the Independence Visitor Center in Independence National Historical Park.
Este. 1979, 1992, 1994 | Alaska and Yukon Territory and British Columbia, Canada
Why it’s worthy of UNESCO: Canada (Kluane and Tatshenshini-Alsek) and the United States (Wrangell-St. Elias and Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve) share the site, which is known to have the largest nonpolar ice box and some of the longest glaciers in the world. The blue-green-white area ticks several ecosystem boxes, adding marine environments, coastal forests, montane forests, subalpine and alpine tundra. Locals come with bears, wolves, caribou, salmon, Dall’s sheep and mountain goats.
How to get there: The Wrangell-St. Elias Guest Center is near Copper Center, about two hundred miles east of Anchorage. Only two roads, Nabesna and McCarthy, the park. To explore Yakutat’s sea coast and more remote sections of the park, hitchhike by bus or ferry. Glacier Bay is west of Juneau; Plane or boat required.
Best time to visit: June and July, because of the warm weather, the many features of the park and the multitude of wildflowers. One disadvantage: mosquitoes.
Insider tip: From the Kennecott Visitor Center in Wrangell-St. Elias, strap on your crampons and hike the two-mile Root Glacier Trail, which ends with a valid glacier you can walk on.
This. 1983| Puerto Rico
Why it’s worthy of UNESCO: Spanish engineers built the 4 forts and 20-foot-thick defensive wall to protect the city and San Juan Bay from invaders. Castillo San Felipe del Morro (El Morro), Castillo San Cristóbal, Fuerte San Juan de los Ángeles Cruz and La Fortaleza exemplify European military architecture, with a Caribbean touch. In addition, La Fortaleza (1533) is the first defensive design erected in Old San Juan and is the oldest governor’s mansion still in use in the Western Hemisphere.
How to get there: Three of the forts are in Old San Juan and can be reached on foot or by a loose tram. Fort San Juan de los Angeles Cruz is in the recreational park Islos ángeles de Cabras in the vicinity of the city of Toa Baja.
Best time to visit: from May to October, the calm before the cruise ship attack.
Insider Tip: Nestled between the fort’s strong walls and San Juan Bay, the 1 1/2-mile Paseo del Morro carries from Puerta de San Juan to El Morro.
This. 1981 | Kentucky
Why it’s worthy of UNESCO: Formed over a hundred million years ago, the world’s most extensive cave formula provides more than 400 miles of mapped channels and almaximum each variety of cave formation, adding stalagmites, stalactites, gypsum needles and mirabilite flowers. . The 52,830-acre park is also a herbal impediment course of chasms, crevices, crevices, and underground rivers and springs.
How to get there: Drive about an hour south of Louisville.
Best time to: The internal temperature of the caves remains constant at 54 degrees, so you can in winter and not feel bloodless or crowded.
Insider Tip: If you’re not afraid of darkness or claustrophobic spaces, sign up for the Wild Cave Tour, which delves into the most excessive and less crowded sections of the underground network. This year tours of the caves were suspended, but are expected to resume next summer. .
This. 1978 | Colorado
Why it’s a UNESCO World Heritage site: The ancestral people of other peoples left their mark on the Mesa Verde plateau with over 5,000 archaeological sites, adding six hundred cave dwellings dating from 450 to 1300 AD. Petroglyph Point Trail.
How to get there: The front of the park is about a 15-minute drive from Cortez, Colorado, and forty-five minutes from Durango, Colorado.
Best time to visit: May to mid-October, when five clifftop houses welcome visitors to their rocky attics. The months of the tour vary by location, so plan strategically.
Insider Tip: If you’re more of a hermit than a pack animal, head to Step House, the rare home that doesn’t require a guide.
This. 2014 | Louisiana
Why it’s a UNESCO World Heritage site: Hunters, fishermen, and gatherers built the ancient settlement 3400 years ago on Macon Ridge, which overlooks the floodplain of the Mississippi River. Native Americans moved the earth by hand to build mounds, C-shaped ridges, and a giant central plaza. The “cultural capital” a center of exchanges, trade, ceremonies and meetings with friends.
How to get there: He is in Pioneer, Louisiana, about a hundred miles west of Jackson, Mississippi.
Best time to visit: The seasons that book the Louisiana sauna.
Insider tip: Climb the 72-foot-tall mound A, known as the Bird Mound, the largest mound by volume in North America.
This. 1981 | Washington State
Why it’s a UNESCO World Heritage site: The park stretches its wings from the ocean coast to temperate rainforest, from alpine grasslands to glacier mountain peaks. species of the planet, and nearly 75 miles of the Pacific Sea coast, for bathers who can come and go.
How to get there: Olympia, Washington, is between 60 and 190 miles east at the entrance.
Best time to visit: April and May, when gray whales sail toward Alaska.
Insider Tip: Ski, snowboard or snorkel down the tube at Hurricane Ridge Ski and Snowboard Area, the westernmost ski hotel in the Lower 48 and one of 3 chairlift operations within a national park. (The Badger Pass ski area is located in Yosemite, also a UNESCO site. )
This. 2010 | Hawaii
Why it’s worthy of UNESCO: Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument is making noise for its herbal and cultural attractions, which encompass, and fewer, 582,578 square miles in the Pacific Ocean. The world’s largest conservation domain throws a protective canopy over an underwater volcanic chain (part of the Hawaii-Emperor seamount chain), 3. 5 million acres of coral reefs, habitats for flora and fauna unique to the Hawaiian Islands, and colony colonies that provide a landing and breeding platform for 14 million seabirds. On land, the islands of Nihoa and Mokumanamana archive Polynesian and Hawaiian artifacts and traditions, such as heiau shrines and stone carvings.
How to get there: You can not without a permit for conservation, management, education, studies and cultural activities.
Best time to visit: 24/7, if you are a dolphin or a spinner dolphin.
Tip: You can model Papahanaumokuakea anywhere else in the Hawaiian Islands. At the Mokupapapa Discovery Center on the Big Island, fish from the National Monument inhabit the 3500 gallon aquarium. The Northwest Hawaii Islands exhibit at the Waikiki Aquarium has an interactive booth in the area, and the Maui Ocean Center has a Papahanaumokuakea exhibit with a topographic map, photos of locals, and an explanation of their name. On November 19, the Bishop Museum in Honolulu will present the exhibit “LALO: Science and Conservation in the Northwest Hawaiian Islands,” which delves into the herbal and cultural importance of Papahanaumokuakea. Kaena Point, on Oahu’s north coast, closely resembles the site’s coastal shores, adding monk seals resting and nesting albatrosses.
This. 1980 | California
Why it’s a UNESCO World Heritage site: The 131,983-acre coastal redwood sanctuary protects nearly some of the world’s tallest trees. Salmon when the fish run.
How to get there: The Thomas H. Kuchel Visitor Center at the southern end is 500 km from San Francisco and km from Eureka, California. By contrast, Crescent City’s information center is 180 miles south of Medford, Oregon.
Best time to visit: Unless waterproof, the rainy season from November to April 15.
Insider Tip: If the water point is high enough, the Hiouchi Visitor Center offers ranger-led inflatable kayak tours on the Smith River in spring and summer.
This. 2015 | Texas
Why it’s worthy of UNESCO: In the early 1700s, Franciscan priests built Mission San Antonio de Valero (Alamo), the first, in Spain and the Catholic Church colonized, converted, and protected New Spain. Over the next thirteen years, 4 more missions (Concepcion, San Juan, San Jose, and Espada) sprang up along a 10-mile stretch of the San Antonio River. The missions stirred up the melting pot of influence from settlers, Coahuiltec nomads, and other indigenous hunter-gatherer teams that were an integral component of Texas’ first settlement. The site also includes two ditch systems, personnel (agricultural fields), and the Rancho de las Cabras, the Floresville property that provided goats to Mission Espada.
How to get there: Alamo squats in downtown San Antonio; the other 4 missions are spaced approximately 2 1/2 miles along Mission Road. Visitors can also visit the sites by motorcycle or on foot on Mission Hike and Bike Trail, or partially kayaking on the San Antonio River.
Best time to visit: Texas Spring (January to March), famous for its delicious temperatures and bluebenie mats.
Insider Tip: Praise those at the mariachi Mass, which is celebrated on Sundays in San Jose.
This. 1984 | New York
Why it’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site: Lady Liberty has welcomed newcomers to New York Harbor since 1886. However, the Statue of Liberty is more than a symbol of freedom; it is also an art painting through the French sculptor Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi and the engineer Gustave Eiffel. UNESCO describes the monument as a “masterpiece of the human spirit. “
How to get there: Take the ferry from Battery Park in Lower Manhattan or Liberty State Park in Jersey City.
Best time to visit: The first boat Monday through Friday, to the crowds.
Hint: To climb (377, to be exact), climb into the crown of Lady Liberty, which reopened in October after being closed for more than two years because of the pandemic.
East. 1992 | New Mexico
Why it’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site: The Native American settlement at the foot of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains is a testament to the colorful culture and traditions of the Pueblo people, from their inception 1,000 years ago to the present day. The adobe- the walled village is the largest surviving village (full-time population: about 150) and seven kivas; an athletics track; the ruins of the chapel of San Geronim, built in 1619; and its replacement, which dates from 1850. Blue Lake is one of the community’s most sacred sites, due to its herbal resources and non-secular significance.
How to get there: Taos Pueblo is about 70 miles north of Santa Fe and 3 miles from downtown Taos.
Best Time to Visit: Holidays, when tribesmen honor Catholic patron saints and town traditions. The village closes for special devotional occasions and for 10 weeks from late winter to early spring.
An expert’s suggestion: buy local products. Buy bread baked in a village oven called an “oven” as a craft by adding silver jewelry, mica speckled pottery, moccasins, and drums made from animal skins.
This. 1995 | Montana and Alberta, Canada
Why it’s worthy of UNESCO: The union of Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta and Glacier National Park in Montana created the world’s first foreign peace park and a baby in biodiversity. The monumental terrain stretches across grasslands and prairie forests, rugged canyons and towering mountains. Unlike human visitors, binational moose do not require passports to cross the border.
How to get there: Kalispell, Montana, is 33 miles from West Glacier on the Western Front and Missoula is 125 miles south. Browning is adjacent to the 3 fronts east of Continental Divide: St. Mary, Two Medicine and Many Glacier. East and west glacier, depending on the season. Several companies come and go transporting visitors from towns near the park.
Best time to visit: July and August, when all accommodation and food services in the park are open as paths, adding the Alpine segment of Going-to-the-Sun Road.
Tip: If you’re as hungry as a grizzly bear, choose wild blueberries. Glacier National Park allows one liter per person per day.
This. 1984 | California
Why it’s a UNESCO World Heritage site: The park is most productive known for its double G: glacial granite. Secular erosion has resulted in a paradise of waterfalls, adding five of the highest in the world; polished domes; full peaks of teeth; and steep cliffs. Groves of giant redwoods and alpine meadows melt all things hard.
How to get there: San Francisco is a four- or five-hour drive away. Even closer: Mariposa, California, which is less than forty-five miles from the Yosemite Valley Visitor Center. Amtrak provides exercise and bus services to Yosemite Valley.
Best time to visit: April and May, when the snow melts and the waterfalls roar.
Insider Tip: Experience Yosemite’s Ansel Adams lens with a Yosemite Valley photographic elegance led by the Ansel Adams Gallery, featuring elegance 3 times a week.
This. 2019 | New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Wisconsin, Arizona and California
Why it’s worthy of UNESCO: Frank Lloyd Wright, the father of the Prairie style, permanently altered the architectural landscape with his then-outrageous ideas, which included the open plan; the integration of fabrics such as metal and concrete; and the combination of exterior and interior. The 8 structures make up a reel of portfolio highlights and showcase his mastery in nearly every domain of life, from art (Guggenheim Museum) to faith (Temple of Unity) to domestic happiness (Fallingwater, Frederick C. Robie House, Hollyhock House, Herbert and Katherine Jacobs House). Taliesin and Taliesin West, their homes and studios in Wisconsin and Arizona, respectively, are microcosms of fashion designs.
How to get there: The 8 structures are spread across the country, on the Upper East Side of Manhattan; Chicago and Oak Park, Illinois; Mill Run, Pennsylvania; Spring Green and Madison, Wisconsin; Scottsdale, Arizona; and Los Angeles.
Best time for: No bad time; only Wright’s time. However, as the buildings are usually inside, they have bad weather. In this way, you can immerse yourself in nature without getting cold, raining or getting too hot.
An expert’s suggestion: don’t stop it at 8 o’clock. The Frank Lloyd Wright trail includes thirteen architectural sites in Illinois, adding the two UNESCO sites. Wisconsin’s FLW address has nine, with Taliesin as one of the UNESCO-certified obstacles.
Editing through Nicole Arthur and Amanda Finnegan; Graphics through Tim Meko; Design through Katty Huertas and Eddie Alvarez; Design edited by Christine Ashack; Photo editing through Lauren Bulbin and Mark Gail; Copy via Wayne Lockwood and Emily Morman.