Most beautiful areas of your state / province

[inkyatari]

I posted in another thread about Ogle County, Illinois being one of the most beautiful areas of Illinois, and it got me to thinking, if someone were to visit your state or province, what would you tell them are the most beautiful areas?

For illinois, I'd say 

Ogle County
Jo Daviess and Carroll counties
Galena, IL
Starved Rock State Park
Monroe County
Shawnee National Forest - (Specifically Garden of the Gods, High Knob, LaRue / Pine Hills area, Bald KNob, Giant City State Park- but there are so many others.)
Cache River State Natural Area

[roadman]

For Massachusetts, it would clearly be the Berkshires, with Cape Cod a close second.

[hotdogPi]

For Massachusetts, it would clearly be the Berkshires, with Cape Cod a close second.

If there's a close second, then first place is not clear (since this is all subjective). I do agree with your choices, though. Third place would probably be Cape Ann (Gloucester/Rockport).

[Rothman]

For Massachusetts, it would clearly be the Berkshires, with Cape Cod a close second.

I will post a picture from Mount Sugarloaf in the Pioneer Valley north of the Holyoke Range to contend with the idea that the Berkshires are the most scenic.

Berkshires are thick forest and the views from even the tops of the hills can be obscured by surrounding ranges.  I would take the view from Mount Holyoke (Skinner Mountain) over Mount Greylock any day.

Also, Berkshires have Pittsfield and North Adams.  Blech.

[roadman]

For Massachusetts, it would clearly be the Berkshires, with Cape Cod a close second.

If there's a close second, then first place is not clear (since this is all subjective). I do agree with your choices, though. Third place would probably be Cape Ann (Gloucester/Rockport).

Fully agree with your third place choice.

[Max Rockatansky]

I'll pick 10 for California since this will be absurdly long otherwise:

1.  Yosemite Valley
-  I'm particularly fond of looking at it from high up at Glacier Point.

2.  Big Sur
-  CA 1 definitely is the most scenic highway in the state but there are tons of State Parks with great hiking trails and weird secondary routes like the Nacimineto-Ferguson Road. 

3.  Sequoia National Park
-   My favorite trail is Moro Rock overlooking the Generals Highway and Great Western Divide.  The Sherman Tree Trail and Mineral King are among my other favorites. 

4.  Marin Headlands
-  Definitely the best view of San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge.  Lots of coastal sea formations and some great military history.

5.  Point Reyes
-   Some of the most scenic coastline in the state with probably the coolest lighthouse.  Sir Francis Drake Boulevard has some great vistas.

6.  Bodie
-  Lots of great views of the Eastern Sierras amid the ruins probably the coolest ghost town in the country. 

7. Death Valley
-   Really you have to see it for yourself to understand how massive of a sink it really is.  I prefer Golden Canyon and Dante's View as my favorite spots. 

8. Lake Tahoe
-   The best views are from Emerald Bay.  I'd rate it a little higher if it was so populated.

9.  Donner Pass
-   Probably the best looking mountain pass just slightly over Tioga.  Has great views of rails, Interstate, Donner Lake, and Old US 40 on Donner Pass Road.  Definitely has an ominous vibe with the back story of the Donner Party.

10. Lassen Peak
-   Definitely way more accessible than Mount Shasta and probably has the most apparent signs of Volcanic activity in the lower 48 states aside from Yellowstone. 

[triplemultiplex]

10. Lassen Peak
-   Definitely way more accessible than Mount Shasta and probably has the most apparent signs of Volcanic activity in the lower 48 states aside from Yellowstone. 

Mt. St. Helens says "Hi".



I'm partial to Lake Superior.
Door County is also a magnet for nice views of a giant lake.
The Mississippi River below La Crosse is great with the high bluffs and all.
Can't forget Devil's Lake State Park.
Any place there's a glacial moraine tends to take on a special character with the lumpy terrain, little pot lakes and mix of farm fields and hardwood forests.  Looks great in the autumn on a winding road that has to dodge the steeper hills and swampy low spots.

[webny99]

The much shorter list would be the areas of upstate NY that aren't beautiful - Buffalo city, the Tonawandas, and Niagara Falls city, along with areas of most other cities.

Upstate NY is a beautiful place all around. Basically, any state park will fill the bill. If you like waterfalls, Ithaca is gorges (pun intended). Despite the presence of Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, the Finger Lakes are much more charming, in my opinion.

Some more specific locations:
Letchworth State Park, Livingston County
Chimney Bluffs State Park, Wayne County
Allegany State Park, Cattaraugus County
Adirondack Park, which spans multiple counties. Bald Mountain is a personal favorite.

Niagara Falls is cliche. It's impressive and powerful, but it does not meet my criteria for "beautiful". Once you've seen it, you've seen it. I see it around fifteen to twenty times a year, so it's lost a significant degree of the "wow!" factor.

Needless to say, spending a week or two in upstate is bucket-list-worthy. Fall is the best season for most attractions, followed by a toss-up between late spring and summer.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Door County was nice, but I was dismayed by the fact that there's nowhere to go to avoid the throngs of tourists packing the streets in every town.

[vdeane]

The much shorter list would be the areas of upstate NY that aren't beautiful - Buffalo city, the Tonawandas, and Niagara Falls city, along with areas of most other cities.

Upstate NY is a beautiful place all around. Basically, any state park will fill the bill. If you like waterfalls, Ithaca is gorges (pun intended). Despite the presence of Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, the Finger Lakes are much more charming, in my opinion.

Some more specific locations:
Letchworth State Park, Livingston County
Chimney Bluffs State Park, Wayne County
Allegany State Park, Cattaraugus County
Adirondack Park, which spans multiple counties. Bald Mountain is a personal favorite.

Niagara Falls is cliche. It's impressive and powerful, but it does not meet my criteria for "beautiful". Once you've seen it, you've seen it. I see it around fifteen to twenty times a year, so it's lost a significant degree of the "wow!" factor.

Needless to say, spending a week or two in upstate is bucket-list-worthy. Fall is the best season for most attractions, followed by a toss-up between late spring and summer.

I'm partial to the Keene/Lake Placid/Wilmington area of the Adirondacks as well as the area along Eagle Lake.  NY 73 and NY 74 are my favorite touring routes.

Don't forget the Thousand Islands.

[webny99]

I'm partial to the Keene/Lake Placid/Wilmington area of the Adirondacks as well as the area along Eagle Lake.  I-73 and I-74 are my favorite touring routes.

All of those places are still on my own personal bucket list, as I've never been beyond Inlet on NY 28 (or beyond Lake George on I-87). Hoping for Saranac Lake this summer, and could catch at least a drive-through of the western area of the park on a potential Montreal trip.

I couldn't resist throwing a little edit in there for you, too. 

Don't forget the Thousand Islands.

I can't believe I did! Those wishing to explore that region may want to be prepared to cross the border. Both sides are about equally charming IMO, though NY gets the bonuses of Heart Island and Wellesley Island, and in contrast to Niagara, is the more developed of the two sides.

[Brandon]

Door County was nice, but I was dismayed by the fact that there's nowhere to go to avoid the throngs of tourists packing the streets in every town.

If you want a peninsula that's not swarming with FIBs, go a bit further north to the Keweenaw.

[Beltway]

Virginia

Most places in the Appalachian Mountain part of the state, and the Shenandoah Valley.
Chesapeake Bay coastal areas and the bay and estuaries themselves for boaters.
Atlantic Ocean coastal areas
James River
Potomac River
Rappahannock River

[triplemultiplex]

Nothing else in Minnesota compares to the North Shore.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Nothing else in Minnesota compares to the North Shore.

Nope. But some of my other favorites:
Bluff Country (US 61/MN 16)
Edge of the Wilderness (MN 38)
MN 95 along the St. Croix from I-94 to US 8

[jakeroot]

10. Lassen Peak
-   Definitely way more accessible than Mount Shasta and probably has the most apparent signs of Volcanic activity in the lower 48 states aside from Yellowstone. 

Mt. St. Helens says "Hi".

Speaking of which, the view of St Helens from Johnston Ridge may qualify for Washington, depending on your definition of beauty. I love the fact that there's no large trees (just bushes and wildflowers). Very expansive views.

[Max Rockatansky]

10. Lassen Peak
-   Definitely way more accessible than Mount Shasta and probably has the most apparent signs of Volcanic activity in the lower 48 states aside from Yellowstone. 

Mt. St. Helens says "Hi".

The irony there is that both actually had eruptions in the 20th Century.  Lassen Peak had eruptions from 1914 through to 1917 and was the only other volcano to erupt in the 20th century in the Continental U.S. aside from Mount St. Helens.

For Arizona I'll just rank what I think is the best:

1.  Grand Canyon
-  This is a fairly obvious choice.

2.  Vermillion Cliffs National Monument
-  I've never been as far as The Wave but the Navajo Bridge and cliffs over the Colorado River are stunning.

3.  Antelope Canyon
-  The Wave-like canyon is far easier to reach being near Page.

4.  Oak Creek Canyon
-  Pretty much you get the best of the Red Rock formations that make Sedona notable without much of the yuppie crowd that doesn't want to go that far north on AZ 89A.

5.  Oatman Highway
-  A pre-1953 alignment of US 66 which tons of history and surreal desert landscapes.  Lots of feral burros wander into Oatman itself which I think is a better ghost/mine town than Jerome.

6.  Canyon de Chelley
-  Completely underrated Canyon out on the Navajo Nation near US 191. 

7.  Jerome
-  Not as good as Oatman but still a really cool place to go and has a ton of scenery.

8.  US 191/Coronado Trail
-  Probably the most intimidating US Route (yes even more than US 550 and US 212) high up on the White Mountains.  The road goes through the mammoth sized Morenci Mine.

9.  AZ 88/Apache Trail
-  A run up the Salt River on a half asphalt/half dirt highway.  Definitely one of the most intimidating highways in Arizona if not the western U.S.

10.  Salt River Canyon
-  A huge canyon traversed on both sides by US 60/AZ 77.

[Ian]

For Maine, I believe Acadia National Park wins for most beautiful in my opinion. Lots of very scenic rocky coastal views with dozens of pretty hiking trails all around. While most of the state's coastline is generally scenic and rocky, Acadia is most certainly the prettiest.

Honorable mention goes out to Baxter State Park (home of Mount Katahdin and the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail) and the Mountain Valley area of western Maine (mainly Oxford, Franklin, and Somerset Counties).

[paulthemapguy]

Illinois has already been covered, but I wanted to add mention of the Chicago Skyline, and more importantly, Mathiessen State Park.  Mathiessen is next to Starved Rock, but it's loads better in my opinion.  Canyons and waterfalls?  In MY Illinois?

Top 5 for Illinois is:
1. Garden of the Gods, in the SE corner
2. Mathiessen State Park, LaSalle County
3. Galena and vicinity, the hills of Jo Daviess County
4. The Chicago Skyline
5. <error> There is nothing else beautiful in the whole state 

[OracleUsr]

NC.  That's an easy one...the Smokies.

[DaBigE]

I'm partial to Lake Superior.
Door County is also a magnet for nice views of a giant lake.
The Mississippi River below La Crosse is great with the high bluffs and all.
Can't forget Devil's Lake State Park.
Any place there's a glacial moraine tends to take on a special character with the lumpy terrain, little pot lakes and mix of farm fields and hardwood forests.  Looks great in the autumn on a winding road that has to dodge the steeper hills and swampy low spots.

To that list, I'd also add:
Holy Hill
The Dells (the actual river portions, not the overcrowded resorts & water parks)
Eau Claire
The bluffs around Volk Field/Camp Douglas
High Cliff State Park

[cu2010]

I'm partial to the Keene/Lake Placid/Wilmington area of the Adirondacks as well as the area along Eagle Lake.  NY 73 and NY 74 are my favorite touring routes.

Seconded. NY73 is my favorite drive in the entire state. Saranac Lake and Lake Placid are both charming small towns in the heart of the Adirondacks.

As for which parts of upstate NY aren't beautiful, I find most of the drive along the Thruway west of Syracuse to be pretty boring...also, the US11 corridor north of Watertown is pretty boring as well...

[ghYHZ]

For Nova Scotia: Cape Breton Island

https://www.cbisland.com/

[NWI_Irish96]

Indiana:

Brown County
Lake Michigan Dunes
Several sections along the Ohio River

[inkyatari]

Illinois has already been covered, but I wanted to add mention of the Chicago Skyline, and more importantly, Mathiessen State Park.  Mathiessen is next to Starved Rock, but it's loads better in my opinion.  Canyons and waterfalls?  In MY Illinois?

If I'm not mistaken, Starved Rock and Mathessien, and Buffalo Rock are all administered as one park, seeing as how close they are. I don't understand why they just don't combine them all.  I guess it doesn't really matter.  I will say this, if you're going to Starved Rock from Chicago or points east, use this route:

I-55 to US 6.  West on 6 to Bell Rd.  South on Bell to Hansel.  West on Hansel to Cemetery Rd.  SW on Cemetery to the Aux Sable locks.  Stop and stretch here.  Very beautiful spot that I ride my bicycle to all the time. Continue W on Cemetery (along the way you will pass Evergreen Cemetery.  Indian Chief Shabbona is buried here. Maybe worth a quick stop.) At Washington St, turn SW.  Take this W to IL 47. Go south across the river to Southmor Rd,  Take this to the T intersection at Shabbona Rd.  Head W.  Go S at Buffalo Rd, then W on DuPont Rd.  Keep going straight to River Rd.  Turn right, and head under the IL 170 bridge.  Keep going straight.  In about 5 miles, you'll pass Illini State Park.  Another place worth a stop.  Keep heading west.  River turns into Gentleman - Trumbo Rd.  Keep going straight into the city of Ottawa.  Head north to IL 71.  Turn left (W)  Keep going straight.  Soon, you'll be entering Starved rock from the east entrance.  Several places to park for hiking - Illinois canyon, Kaskaskia Canyon / Council OVerhang,  Hennepin Canyon, Parkman's Plain  /LaSalle / Tonty canyon, and the main entrance to the park. About a mile past the Starved Rock main entrance, you come to IL 178.  Turn left (S) and Mathessien state park is just a couple miles down.  A slower way to Starved Rock for sure, but it's also more beautiful than I-80, and on busy weekends, you miss most of the crowds headed this way.

Here's a map to show you the general route.  There's a lot of other parks and historic sites you can stop at, but this is good for starters.

https://www.plotaroute.com/route/569944

Top 5 for Illinois is:
1. Garden of the Gods, in the SE corner

Hike the observation trail, but also get on the wilderness trails there.  There's a lot of amazing stuff there that most people don't see.

4. The Chicago Skyline

True.  It almost makes me forget the cesspool that the political situation in the city is.

5. <error> There is nothing else beautiful in the whole state 

When I started bicycle riding, I actually discovered that the farmlands around where I live have their own beauty. No, it's no Shawnee HIlls, but it has it's charm.