united states of america

Wanderlust Approved ITINERARY

​You made it!  We've traveled around the world, and now we're back in the USA!  We conclude our virtual tour around the world on home soil.  Today's itinerary is structured a little differently - I've sorted our tour into categories, so you can choose your own adventured from topics that include: National Parks, Museums, Zoos/Aquariums, Beaches, and Must Sees!

I hope you've enjoyed this Virtual Tour Around The World as much as I have enjoyed bringing it to you! 

Next up: Keep your eyes peeled for the resurrection of weekly travel deals - for future travel planning.  

Keep wanderlusting!  

NATIONAL PARKS
Grand Canyon National Park
Arizona - Home to much of the immense Grand Canyon, with its layered bands of red rock revealing millions of years of geological history.

Yellowstone National Park
Wyoming/Montana/Idaho - Yellowstone features dramatic canyons, alpine rivers, lush forests, hot springs and gushing geysers, including its most famous, Old Faithful.

Yosemite National Park
California - Famed for its giant, ancient sequoia trees, and for Tunnel View, the iconic vista of towering Bridalveil Fall and the granite cliffs of El Capitan and Half Dome.

Denali  National Park
Alaska - Denali National Park and Preserve is located in the central area of the Alaska Range, a mountain chain extending 600 miles  across Alaska. Its best-known geologic feature is Denali, formerly known as Mount McKinley.

Kenai Fjords National Park
Alaska - The park contains the Harding Icefield, one of the largest ice fields in the United States.

Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park
Hawaii - Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park covers more than 333,000 acres (133,668 hectares) on Hawaii’s main island. Its terrain varies dramatically encompassing volcanic craters, dense rainforest, black lava rock cliffs and expansive desert landscapes.

Hot Springs National Park
Arkansas - Known as "America's Spa" this park is a bit different from the other national parks. For one thing, it is the only park with a city running through it. It also ranks #1 for the smallest national park.

Redwood National Park
California - A string of protected forests, beaches and grasslands along Northern California’s coast.

Rocky Mountain National Park
Colorado - It spans the Continental Divide and encompasses protected mountains, forests and alpine tundra. It's known for the Trail Ridge Road and the Old Fall River Road, drives that pass aspen trees and rivers.

Dry Tortugas National Park
Florida - 70 miles west of Key West, is normally accessible by seaplane or boat. But you can take a virtual tour from your couch and swim through the third largest coral reef in the world.

Acadia National Park
Maine - Its landscape is marked by woodland, rocky beaches and glacier-scoured granite peaks such as Cadillac Mountain, the highest point on the United States’ East Coast.

Glacier National Park
Montana - With glacier-carved peaks and valleys running to the Canadian border. It's crossed by the mountainous Going-to-the-Sun Road.

Carlsbad Caverns National Park
New Mexico - In the Chihuahuan Desert of southern New Mexico. It features more than 100 caves. The Natural Entrance is a path into the namesake Carlsbad Cavern.

Crater Lake National Park
Oregon - Known for its namesake Crater Lake, formed by the now-collapsed volcano, Mount Mazama. Wizard Island is a cinder cone near the western edge of the lake.

Badlands National Park
South Dakota - Its dramatic landscapes span layered rock formations, steep canyons and towering spires.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park
North Carolina/Tennessee - Ridge upon ridge of forest straddles the border between North Carolina and Tennessee in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Zion National Park
Utah - Distinguished by Zion Canyon’s steep red cliffs. 


MUSEUMS
Smithsonian National Museum of National History
Washington DC

Guggenheim
New York - Offering its entire contemporary art collection online.

Metropolitan Museum of Art
New York - Explore 26 online exhibits. 

Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)
New York - Offering a virtual tour of its exhibit of Swiss artist Sophie Taeuber-Arp.

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Massachusetts - One of the most comprehensive art museums in the world with a collection that exemplifies the breadth, richness, and diversity of artistic expression, from prehistoric times to modern day.

Mystic Seaport Museum
Connecticut - The museum's youtube channel.

Grammy Museum
California - "Museum at Home"

Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex
Florida - Inviting families to tune into Facebook Live daily (9:30 am for younger children and 1:00 pm for adults) for an out-of-this-world educational experience. Staff will virtually tour different parts of the museum, sharing fun facts and space-related lessons.

Georgia O'Keefe Museum
New Mexico - The Georgia O'Keeffe Museum preserves, presents, and advances the artistic legacy of Georgia O’Keeffe through the Museum's art and archival collections as well as the artist's historic homes in Abiquiú, New Mexico. 

Idaho Potato Museum
Idaho - Quick Video Tour of the museum. 

Detroit Institute of Arts
Michigan - A beacon of culture for the Detroit area for well over a century.

Michigan Science Center
Michigan - Check out the planetarium, health and wellness gallery, science stage and more.

The Alamo
Texas - Virtual Video Tour.


ZOOS & AQUARIUMS
San Diego Zoo 
California - Live Webcams.

Georgia Aquarium  
Georgia - Live Webcams.

Monterey Bay Aquarium 
California - Live Web Cams.

Phoenix Zoo
Arizona - Digital Safari.

National Aquarium
Maryland - Livestreams of its Blacktip Reef (several species of sharks), Jellies Invasion (jellyfish) and Pacific Coral Reef (coral and saltwater fish) for at home enjoyment.


BEACHES
Waikiki Beach
Hawaii - O‘ahu island’s Waikiki Beach is a bustling two-mile stretch of white sand beach dotted with small green parks and palm trees. Its promenade walkway is popular with joggers, walkers and tourists. 

Waimea Bay
Hawaii - Famous for surfing, Waimea Bay’s dramatic winter waves can have front faces measuring more than 60 feet.

Moloka‘i
Hawaii - The island of Moloka‘i has the highest sea cliffs in the world. 

Haleʻiwa Beach Park
Hawaii - Its calm turquoise waters and unpopulated beachfront make it an ideal spot for beginner surfers, kayakers, paddle boarders and snorkelers, as well as roaming sea turtles. 


MUST SEES
Statue of Liberty 
New York - Video virtual tours. 

Hoover Dam
Nevada - Some great panoramas. 

Niagara Falls
New York - Great live webcam of the falls!

Liberty Bell
Pennsylvania - Video tour.

Mount Rushmore
South Dakota

White House
Washington DC