The most beautiful places in the US
- Insider rounded up the most beautiful places in the US, based on our own rankings as well as those of other publications.
- Notable sites include the Pacific Coast Highway, Lake Tahoe, and Central Park.
From breathtaking natural wonders to architectural marvels built by humans, America is a beautiful place with no shortage of gorgeous sites.
Based on rankings from Insider and other publications, as well as sites such as TripAdvisor, we rounded up the most beautiful places in the US.
In no particular order, here are 30 parts of the country that put their postcard photos to shame.
Read the original article on InsiderSkagit Valley Tulip Fields in Washington is a stunning landscape in the spring.
Skagit Valley hosts an annual blink-and-you'll-miss-it Tulip Festival when the flowers are in peak bloom.
Kenai Fjords National Park in Alaska features a majestic glacier.
Glaciers might look stationary, but their movements sculpt landscapes. Exit Glacier is the only part accessible by road, otherwise you can navigate the park by boat, kayak, or on foot. The park is also home to Alaskan wildlife such as whales, mountain goats, bears, and moose.
Country Living named Oak Alley Plantation in Vacherie, Louisiana, the most beautiful historic home in America.
Oak Alley Plantation was built from 1837 through 1839 and named for the 800 feet of oak trees that predated its construction.
The Grand Prismatic Spring's bright colors make it a standout spot in Yellowstone National Park in Teton County, Wyoming.
The water coming from a crack in the ground running 121 feet deep gets its vibrant hues from bacteria living around the spring.
Insider named Oregon's Oneonta Gorge one of the 11 most spectacular waterfalls in the US.
The gorge is tucked away inside vibrant green cliffs.
White Sands National Monument in New Mexico consists of gleaming gypsum sand dunes.
The sand covers 275 miles, making it the largest gypsum dunefield in the world.
They don't call Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas "The American Spa" for nothing.
The water in Hot Springs National Park is a toasty 143 degrees Fahrenheit, and the park is full of hiking trails and historic bathhouses.
With its views of the Rocky Mountains and charming hubs like Pearl Street, Insider named Boulder, Colorado one of the prettiest cities in the US.
National Geographic also named it the happiest city in the US. Is there a better combination?
Clearwater Beach in Florida was voted the best beach in the US by TripAdvisor.
One TripAdvisor user wrote: "Having flown from upstate New York, with its snow and cold blowing wind, Clearwater was a wonderful respite. The white sand, and calm ocean waves made for a wonderful break!"
Charleston was voted America's Best Small City by Condé Nast Traveler readers for its fifth consecutive year in 2015, and again in 2017.
In 2016 it was voted the best city in the world by Travel + Leisure. With colorful houses lining its streets and tons of beautiful settings for outdoor recreation, it's a well-deserved honor.
The Pacific Coast Highway in California is one of the most well-known scenic drives in the US.
It's famous for its cliff-side ocean views and pit stops like the Golden Gate Bridge and redwood forests.
Acadia National Park in Maine is one of the most-visited parks in North America.
With 158 miles of hiking trails and seven peaks above 1,000 feet, it's no wonder that 3.3 million people visit the park each year.
Badlands National Park in South Dakota is known as "the Grand Canyon of the Midwest."
The Badlands' otherworldly rock formations and fossil beds stretch for 244,000 acres.
Newport, Rhode Island, is a whimsical storybook town.
Newport, Rhode Island, is full of adorable cottages, enormous mansions, and miles of coastal walkways.
Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park, known as "Nature's waterpark," is nestled in Missouri's St. Francois Mountains.
The shut-ins are a series of mild river rapids and igneous rocks leftover from volcanic activity billions of years ago.
The Wave in Coyote Buttes North, Arizona, is a famous computer desktop background.
Microsoft included an image of The Wave in their desktop wallpaper options in 2009, skyrocketing what was once a little-known local gem into a worldwide phenomenon.
Glacier National Park's natural beauty made the cut as the most breathtaking natural wonder in Montana in Insider's roundup.
Located in Montana's Rocky Mountains, near the Canadian border, Glacier National Park has over 700 miles of hiking trails, and terrain ranging from glaciers and lakes to alpine meadows and forests.
Business Insider readers dubbed the Palace of Gold the most beautiful building in the state of West Virginia.
New Vrindaban was founded in the 1960s by followers of Hare Krishna, and is sometimes referred to as "America's Taj Mahal." Its lavish ornamentation includes marble, onyx, teak, and 22-karat gold leaf.
Arches National Park in Utah is nature's sculpture garden.
The park contains over 2,000 stone arches formed naturally, the largest one spanning 306 feet.
The Milwaukee Art Museum in Wisconsin features 90-foot ceilings in Windhover Hall and wings that open up.
Architect Santiago Calatrava designed the innovative building. It's scenically situated on Lake Michigan along bike paths and walkways.
Volcanoes in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island ooze lava.
The park contains two of the world's most active volcanoes.
Lake Tahoe's clear blue waters make for breathtaking scuba diving.
Lake Tahoe is the second-deepest lake in the US
Wellesley College in Massachusetts is one of the most beautiful college campuses in America.
Central Park in New York covers 843 acres of land in one of the world's busiest cities.
The park is surrounded by skyscrapers but also full of wooded paths.
Established in 1885, Niagara Falls State Park in Buffalo, New York, is the oldest state park in the US.
The waterfall flows with more than 700,000 gallons of water per second.
The Grand Canyon is one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
It stretches for 277 miles and could date as far back as 70 million years ago.
Tallgrass Prairie Natural Reserve in Kansas is the only national park dedicated to preserving the tallgrass prairie ecosystem full of forbs, flowers, trees, and shrubs.
There's nothing like 10,894 acres of fresh country air and wide, open space.
At Thor's Well in Yachats, Oregon, water fills it up during high tide, sprays out of it, and drains back inside for a mesmerizing water show.
Just don't get too close to this "drainpipe of the Pacific."
The top of the Willis Tower provides a sprawling view of Chicago, Illinois.
Standing at 110 stories tall, the Willis Tower's skydeck offers a panoramic view of the city and Lake Michigan.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee is the most popular national park in the US.
If you go during firefly mating season, you'll be treated to a stunning light show.
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