Semmes’ USA Travel Bucket List

USA Bucket List My bucket list is a never-ending work in progress. I am continuously adding, altering, changing, and updating it. I love discovering new things, learning about new destinations, being inspired to try something new, etc. So, my bucket list serves as a reminder to me of the massive, exciting, ever-changing world. Do I think I will accomplish everything on my bucket list? I sure hope so! Anything is possible!

Make sure you check out all my other Bucket Lists! Here is my USA Travel Bucket List. I break things down into states. Keep in mind that I will be constantly adding and editing items on this list. And, let me know if I should add anything else!

* The numbers refer to the items from Lonely Planet’s Ultimate Travel book.

General USA Travel

OFFICIAL LANGUAGE – English
BEST TIME TO VISIT – Year-round
CAPITAL – Washington, DC
Drive Route 66
Lay in the Four Corners
Swim in one of the Great Lakes
Visit all 50 states
Visit New England in the Fall
#364. Drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway

✓ Capital – Juneau
✓ Ride on the Mount Roberts Tramway in Juneau
✓ Cruise the Prince William Sound
✓ Go on an Alaskan cruise
Go dog sledding
✓ Go whale watching
#267. McKinley (Denali)
✓ Spot a grizzly bear
✓ See the Mendenhall Glacier
✓ Touch a glacier
Ride the scenic White Pass & Yukon Route Railway
See the salmon run

Capital – Phoenix
Fly over the Grand Canyon in a helicopter
Hike into Antelope Canyon
#84. See the Monument Valley
See the Wave
See White Pocket
#06. Visit the Grand Canyon (UNESCO)
See the Horseshoe Bend
See the Elephant Arch
See the Painted Desert
Visit Sedona
Havasu Falls
Seguaro National Park
Visit Scottsdale
Visit Flagstaff
Stay at the Enchantment Resort in Sedona

Capital – Sacramento
#278. Death Valley National Park
Drive along the Pacific Coast Highway
Carmel-by-the-Sea
Monterey
San Luis Obispo
Visit Santa Cruz
Malibu
Santa Monica
Newport Beach
Laguna Beach
Eat at the French Laundry
✓ Go to Disneyland
Go to Sequoia National Park
#21. Go to Yosemite National Park (UNESCO)
#77. Go to Redwood National and State Parks (UNESCO)
✓ LOS ANGELES
- ✓ Drive around Beverly Hills
- Stand under the Hollywood sign
- #466. See the Griffith Observatory
- ✓ See the Hollywood Walk of Fame
- ✓ See Hollywood
- ✓ Go to Universal Studios
- ✓ Go to the Santa Monica Pier
- ✓ Visit Getty Center
- ✓ Go shopping on Rodeo Drive
- Venice Beach
- The Venice Canals
- Go to the Hollywood Bowl

✓ SAN FRANCISO
- ✓ Cross the Golden Gate Bridge
- ✓ Drive on Lombard Street
- ✓ Ride a trolley in San Francisco
- ✓ #101. See the Golden Gate Bridge
- ✓ #228. Visit Alcatraz Island
- ✓ Visit Fisherman’s Wharf
See Highway 1
Pick up Colorful Sand at Glass Beach in Fort Bragg
#97. See the Big Sur
Visit Hearst Castle
Visit Santa Barbara
Walk on Glass Beach
Wine taste in Napa Valley
Visit San Diego
- Stay at the Del Cornado
- Balboa Park
- San Diego Zoo
- See the sunset at Sunset Cliffs
- Cornado Island
Go to Lake Tahoe
Enjoy a day in the water at Channel Islands National Park
Joshua Tree National Park
Visit Sonoma

Capital – Denver
Marble Caves
✓ #177. See Rocky Mountain National Park (UNESCO)
✓ Ski in Aspen
✓ Go skiing in Vail
Spend Christmas in Aspen
Mese Verde National Park (UNESCO)
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
Visit Garden of the Gods
Go sanboarding at the Great Sand Dunes National Park

Capital – Hartford
Go to Bethany Beach
Go to Madison on Connecticut’s Gold Coast
Mystic Seaport
✓ Eat pizza at Frank Pepe Pizzeria

Capital – Tallahassee
Go to Sanibel Island
Devil’s Den
Swim with the manatees in Crystal River
#442. Explore the Everglades National Park (UNESCO)
✓ Go shopping on Worth Ave in Palm Beach, FL
✓ Relax on the sandy beaches in Destin
✓ ORLANDO
- Go to Universal Park
- ✓ #155. Go to Disney World
- Spend Christmas at Disney World
Visit St. Augustine
✓ Visit South Beach Miami
KEY WEST
- Eat Key Lime Pie in the Florida Keys
- Stand at Mile 0
- Touch the southernmost point in the USA

✓ Capital – Atlanta
✓ See the aquarium in Atlanta
Visit Savannah
Eat at the Olde Pink House in Savannah
Visit Tybee Island

✓ Capital – Honolulu
Attend a luau
✓ Get Leid
Kauai
- Go to Na Pali Coast State Park
- See the Waimea Canyon
- Relax on Lanikai Beach
- Visit Wailua Falls
- Polihale Beach
✓ Oahu
- ✓ See Pearl Harbor
- ✓ Swim with the dolphins
- Climb the stairway to heaven (Haiku Stairs of Oahu)
- Surf on the North Shore
- Diamond Head State Monument
- Waikki Beach
- See the turtles at Turtle Beach
- Walk on the Waikiki Strip
- Hanauma Bay
Molokai
- Relax on Papohaku Beach
- See 1,000 coconut trees at Kapuaiwa Coconut Grove
Lanai
- Go diving on Hulope Bay
- Eat a pineapple on the Pineapple Isle
- Visit the Lana’i Cat Sanctuary
✓ Maui
- ✓ Go whale watching
- Walk on the black sand beach at Waianapanapa
- Drive the Road to Hana
- Snorkel at Molokini
- Walk through the Bamboo Forest
Big Island
- Watch lava flow into the ocean from Kilauea Volcano in Kamokuna
- Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (UNESCO)
- Relax on Kauna’oa Bay
- Punalu’u Black Sand Beach
- See Mauna Kea
- Visit Akaka Falls
- See the Rainbow Falls
- Papakōlea Beach
- Walk through the Thurston Lava Tube
Celebrate the Floating Lantern Festival
Walk along old lava or volcano

Capital – Springfield
✓ CHICAGO
- Go shopping on Michigan Ave
- ✓ Go on a riverboat architecture tour
- See the Chicago Cubs play at Wrigley Field
- See the “bean”
- Stand on the Sears Tower Sky Deck
- #307. Art Institute of Chicago
- Stand on the Willis Tower Glass Platform
- Millenium Park

Capital – Baton Rouge
✓ Drive on the longest, continuous bridge in the world
Tour Oak Alley Plantation
✓ NEW ORLEANS
- ✓ Eat beignets at Café DuMonde
- ✓ Drink a Hurricane
- Go to Mardi Gras in New Orleans
- ✓ Go on a ghost and/or cemetery tour
- ✓ Have your palm read
- ✓ Party on Bourbon Street
- ✓ See the French Quarter
- ✓ Tour the World War II Museum
- ✓ Eat at Commander’s Palace
- ✓ Eat at Brennan’s

Capital – Augusta
Eat Lobster in Maine
Go to the Acadia National Park
Fort Knox
Marshall Point Lighthouse
Visit Portland
Boothbay Harbor
Casco Bay Islands
Watch the sunrise on Cadillac Mountain (first place the sun rises in the USA)
Vacation at a quintessential New England vacation spot
Kayak in Bioluminescent Bay
Camden

✓ Capital – Annapolis
✓ Eat crab
✓ Go to the Baltimore Inner Harbor
✓ Visit Annapolis
✓ Visit Baltimore
✓ Visit the Naval Academy
Visit St. Michaels

Capital – Boston
PLYMOUTH
- Go see Plymouth Rock
- See a replica of the Mayflower
Go to Salem, MA for a reenactment of the witch hunts

BOSTON
- Go see the Boston Red Socks play at Fenway Park
- Walk the Freedom Trail
- Union Oyster House
#323. Visit Cape Cod National Seashore
Visit Martha’s Vineyard
Visit Nantucket

Capital – Carson City
Go to Lake Tahoe
✓ LAS VEGAS
- ✓ Gamble in Las Vegas
- ✓ Go to Vegas with my best friends
- ✓ Walk the Las Vegas Strip
- ✓ See a Cirque de Soliel show
See the Hoover Dam
Valley of Fire
Great Basin National Park
Valley of Fire State Park
Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area

Capital – Santa Fe
Go to the Carlsbad Caverns (UNESCO)
See the White Sands National Park
✓ See Roswell
✓ Visit Cloudcroft
Visit Taos Pueblo (UNESCO)
Watch a Balloon Glow at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta

Capital – Albany
Go to Montauk
✓ NEW YORK CITY
- ✓ #80. Go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art
- ✓ See the Statue of Liberty (UNESCO)
- ✓ Go to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
- ✓ Go to the top of the Rock
- ✓ Go shopping on 5th Ave.
- ✓ #208. Go to Time Square
- ✓ National History Museum
- Spend Christmas in New York
- See the lighting of the Rockefeller Christmas tree
- Visit MoMa
- Ice skate in Central Park/Rockefeller Center
- ✓ See a Broadway Play
- ✓ #144. See the Statue of Liberty
- ✓ #109. See the Empire State Building
- ✓ See the Grand Central Station
- ✓ Stay at the Plaza
- ✓ Walk around Central Park
- ✓ Walk the High Line
- Visit Ellis Island
- ✓ Visit Brooklyn
- ✓ #263. Visit Ground Zero (National September 11 Museum & Memorial)
#106. See the Niagara Falls
Visit Coney Island
Visit Watkins Glen State Park
Lake Placid

Capital – Salem
Get lost in Powell’s City of Books (one of the world largest bookstores)
Visit Thor’s Well
Oneonta Gorge
Crater Lake National Park
Visit Bend
Visit Portland
Multnomah Falls
See the Oregon Coast

Capital – Harrisburg
✓ PHILADELPHIA
- ✓ Eat a Philly Cheese Steak in Philly
- ✓ See the Liberty Bell
- ✓ #500. Visit the Independence National Historical Park (UNESCO)
✓ See Gettysburg National Military Park
Visit the Hershey Chocolate Factory
Pittsburg
Stay in Pocono Mountains
✓ Shop at the famous King of Prussia Mall

✓ Capital – Nashville
✓ Drive through or visit the Great Smoky Mountains (UNESCO)
Go skiing in Gatlinburg
✓ See the Gaylord Opryland
✓ MEMPHIS
- ✓ #475. Visit Graceland
- ✓ Party on Beale Street
- ✓ National Civial Rights Museum
- ✓ Sun Studio

Capital – Austin
Attend a rodeo
✓ Go to Dallas
Go to Houston
See the Hamilton Pool Preserve
Walk down the San Antonio River Walk
Visit the Alamo
Marble Falls

Capital – Olympia
Visit the San Juan Islands
SEATTLE
- Go to the top of the Space Needle
- Go to Pike Place Market
- Leave gum on Seattle’s Gum Wall
Olympic National Park (UNESCO)
Mount Rainier National Park

Attend the cherry blossom festival
✓ Arlington National Cemetery
✓ Holocost Museum
✓ #259. Lincoln Memorial
✓ See the Declaration of Independence
✓ See the Thomas Jefferson Memorial
✓ Smithsonian
✓ #171. See the National Mall
✓ Take a tour of the White House
✓ Visit the Library of Congress
✓ Visit the Senate and the House of Representatives

Capital – Cheyenne
See the Grand Prismatic Spring
Go to Jackson Hole
#61. See the Yellowstone National Park (UNESCO)
- Prismatic Spring
- See Old Faithful
Attend a rodeo in Cody, the rodeo capital of the world
Grand Teton National Park
Visit Devil’s Tower National Monument

✓ Alabama

✓ Capital – Montgomery
✓ Go to Orange Beach
✓ Sing “Sweet Home Alabama” in Alabama
✓ Visit the Air and Space Museum

✓ Arkansas

✓ Capital – Little Rock
Stay at the Crescent Hotel (American’s Most Haunted Hotel)
Go to Whitaker Point
Search for diamonds at Crater of Diamonds State Park
✓ Visit the Hot Springs

Delaware

Capital – Dover
Walk the Rehoboth Beach Boardwalk
Wilmington

Idaho

Capital – Boise
Ski at Bogus Basin
Stop at Coeur d’Alene

Indiana

Capital – Indianapolis
Indiana Dunes State Park
See the Indy 500 Track

Iowa

Capital – Des Moines
Field of Dreams

Kansas

Capital – Topeka
See the Monument Rocks National Monument

✓ Kentucky

Capital – Frankfort
Go to the Kentucky Derby
Listen to bluegrass in Lousiville
Mammoth Cave National Park (UNESCO)

Michigan

Capital – Lansing
Ann Arbor
Drink some wine in Traverse City
Go to Detroit
Mackinac Island

Minnesota

Capital – St. Paul
Go to the Mall of America
North Shore Scenic Drive
Visit Minneapolis
Relax on the North Shore of Lake Superior

✓ Mississippi

✓ Capital – Jackson
Natchez Trace Parkway
✓ Visit Oxford

✓ Missouri

Capital – Jefferson City
✓ Go to the top of the Arch in St. Louis
Visit the Lake of the Ozarks

✓ Montana

Capital – Helena
Go to Glacier National Park

Nebraska

Capital – Lincoln
Indian Cave State Park
Visit Carhedge, a replica of Stonehenge but with cars

New Hampshire

Capital – Concord
Mount Washington
Visit Portsmouth

✓ New Jersey

Capital – Trenton
See Atlantic City
Visit Cape May
Visit Ocean City
Enjoy the views of Manhattan from Liberty State Park

✓ North Carolina

Capital – Raleigh
Visit Ashville
✓ See the Biltmore
✓ Visit the Outer Banks

North Dakota

Capital – Bismarck
Theodore Roosevelt National Park
Visit Fargo

Ohio

Capital – Columbus
Cedar Point
Visit Put-in-Bay
Visit the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

✓ Oklahoma

Capital – Oklahoma City
✓ Sing “Oklahoma” in Oklahoma

Rhode Island

Capital – Providence
Castlehill Lighthouse
Visit Princeton
Newport Cliff Walk

✓ South Carolina

Capital – Columbia
✓ Visit Charleston

South Dakota

Capital – Pierre
Black Hills
Go to the Badlands National Park
#391. See Mount Rushmore

Utah

Capital – Salt Lake City
Go to Zion National Park
Bryce Canyon
Goblin Valley State Park
Hike the Devil’s Garden Trail in Arches National Park
Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument
Monument Valley
Go skiing in Park City

Vermont

Capital – Montpelier
Stay at a bed and breakfast
Go skiing

✓ Virginia

Capital – Richmond
Visit historic Williamsburg
Roanoke
✓ Monticello and UVA (UNESCO)

West Virginia

Capital – Charleston
Go white-water rafting in the New River Gorge

Wisconsin

Capital – Madison
Lake Geneva
21 Apostle Islands

Want More Bucket List Inspiration?

Note: This post contains affiliate links. When you make a purchase using one of these affiliate links, we get paid a small commission at no extra cost to you.

I will be constantly updating this post with more Bucket List ideas! So, make sure you check back all the time. Also, please feel free to pin this post!

Travel around the world with Semmes!

xx,
Semmes