Your Top 5 Favorite U.S. States to Visit

[Sycamorefan96]

Trying to start an interesting topic. Here's my list.

1) New Mexico for the desert, the mountains, the pine forests, and the canyons. I really like being able to see 20 miles in every direction and seeing distant mountains and plateaus in the distance. Driving into a city like Las Cruces or Albuquerque at night from the west is spectacular. A lot of the highways have very active train tracks running next to them and due to the sight lines you can often see more than one train running at one time. When I think of "The West", New Mexico is what comes to mind.

2) Nevada for the desert and mountains. Lots of great desert scenery and snow capped mountains most of the year. I drove into Winnemucca once late at night and it was like a miniature Vegas. Vegas is cool too, especially the Strat (space needle).

3) Oklahoma because it's a mixture of the Southwest and the Midwest. Lots of cattle, open grasslands, semi arid deserts (western OK), old small towns, and of course Route 66 (signed SR 66).

4) Texas for the western half of the state. To me Texas is Amarillo, Lubbock, the Big Bend, and El Paso. The eastern half of the state is just hot and humid (which I don't like). El Paso is awesome to drive through on I-10 at night. The elevation is higher than the much larger city of Juarez on the Mexican side. All you can see is miles and miles of lights. The Big Bend of Texas is my #1 favorite region in the country to visit for the same reasons that New Mexico is my favorite State to visit.

5) Idaho for the potatoes, my favorite food (just kidding). The snow capped mountains there are great. Shoshone Falls, which is referred to as the "Niagara of the West" in the Spring is 100% worth visiting. I drove a rental car on the most backwoods scenic highway you can take from Boise to Idaho Falls and it was probably the best drive I've ever done within the US.


White Sands, New Mexico


Las Vegas Strip, Nevada (view from Strat)


Black Mesa, Oklahoma (highest point in OK)


Santa Teresa Canyon, Texas- Rio Grande River (USA on right, Mexico on left)


Shoshone Falls, Idaho

 

[Huff77]

Hawaii Colorado Florida New Mexico South Carolina.

 

[bluestreak]

New Hampshire, Arkansas, Montana, California, New York.

 

[sycamore_21]

Maine is one of the best states in the Union! AZ of course, VA has it all, Hawaii obviously

 

[SycamoreStateofMind]

Florida - Other than how busy it has gotten... No place I'd rather go bass fishing (so many great fisheries) or vacationing with my family! I think I took 5 different trips to FL last year alone. Have already been once this year and going back in June with the family. Love the food. Love the ocean. Love the politics - during covid you could go into a restaurant and people acted like humans and you didn't have to wear senseless masks.

Michigan - Probably my favorite place to visit with family. Love Lake Michigan. Great golf courses. Good food. Good weather. Great parks. Great biking trails. Easy driving distance.

Texas - I've only been a couple times. Woodlands, TX to compete in an Ironman several years back and that place was beautiful and then all the way on the border in Zapata, TX to bass fish famed Falcon Lake. Not sure I'd go that far south right now given the current state of our border and just overall safety. But Texas has a lot of other great fisheries on my bucket list so I hope to go back sometime soon.

Missouri - I think that St. Louis and Kansas City are two of the great cities in America. My wife and I love visiting both cities whenever we get the chance. I haven't visited the Ozarks or Table Rock Lake down by Branson but both are on my bucket list. I think it's a very underrated state.

 

[CoachShipp]

Georgia....Jekyll Island to be precise.

 

[treeman]

California - Yeah yeah they can be a hot mess but you can't deny the amount of things to do, see, experience there is like no other state. You want mountains - Seirra Nevada mountain is range is underrated and I think blows the Rocky Mountains away as far as premier mountains in the continental U.S. You want touristy stuff? DisneyLand (better than Disney world), The real Universal Studios, Hollywood. Napa Valley, Lake Tahoe, Yosemite, the Redwood and Sequoia trees are some of the most surreal things to see. You have San Fransisco which is one of the most unique cities in America with picture worthy spots every block it seems. Highway 1. Amazing cost line. ghost towns. I mean the state has it ALL.

Michigan - Being from northern Indiana I take this place for granted. But for a extended weekend trip this is one of the most underrated states in the midwest. Northern Michigan is absolutely beautiful. If you have never been I highly recommend going. It makes you wish you had 5 million sitting in the bank so you can retire, buy a boat, skis, and just live your life in a town worthy of a hallmark movie.

Idaho - One of the most beautiful states I have ever seen. There is a reason why people from Idaho want to keep it a secret.

Missouri - I have always loved the Americana vibe that Missouri gives. You have two great midwest cities in Kansas City and St. Louis along with solid smaller urban areas. Visit Hannibal Missouri; you can't help but feel like Mark Twain is going to come around the corner.

Tennessee - Just a lot to offer, from getting stuck at a tourist trap to being lost in the mountains and everything in between. This is where ALL my family vacations were growing up so I might be a little bias.

I've never been to the New England area, anybody have any states, towns, etc. that are must see in that part of the country. My wife want to plan a trip up there in the next few years.

 

[Sycamorefan96]

I've never been to the New England area, anybody have any states, towns, etc. that are must see in that part of the country. My wife want to plan a trip up there in the next few years.

I personally like Vermont and New Hampshire the best because of how scenic they are with the mountains, rivers, streams, and waterfalls. Both of those states combined are basically half the size of Indiana, just to give you an idea of how small they are. After those two states I'd recommend Maine which is right next door.

 

[sycamore_21]

California - Yeah yeah they can be a hot mess but you can't deny the amount of things to do, see, experience there is like no other state. You want mountains - Seirra Nevada mountain is range is underrated and I think blows the Rocky Mountains away as far as premier mountains in the continental U.S. You want touristy stuff? DisneyLand (better than Disney world), The real Universal Studios, Hollywood. Napa Valley, Lake Tahoe, Yosemite, the Redwood and Sequoia trees are some of the most surreal things to see. You have San Fransisco which is one of the most unique cities in America with picture worthy spots every block it seems. Highway 1. Amazing cost line. ghost towns. I mean the state has it ALL.

Michigan - Being from northern Indiana I take this place for granted. But for a extended weekend trip this is one of the most underrated states in the midwest. Northern Michigan is absolutely beautiful. If you have never been I highly recommend going. It makes you wish you had 5 million sitting in the bank so you can retire, buy a boat, skis, and just live your life in a town worthy of a hallmark movie.

Idaho - One of the most beautiful states I have ever seen. There is a reason why people from Idaho want to keep it a secret.

Missouri - I have always loved the Americana vibe that Missouri gives. You have two great midwest cities in Kansas City and St. Louis along with solid smaller urban areas. Visit Hannibal Missouri; you can't help but feel like Mark Twain is going to come around the corner.

Tennessee - Just a lot to offer, from getting stuck at a tourist trap to being lost in the mountains and everything in between. This is where ALL my family vacations were growing up so I might be a little bias.

I've never been to the New England area, anybody have any states, towns, etc. that are must see in that part of the country. My wife want to plan a trip up there in the next few years.

Bar Harbor Maine is a wonderful place in the summer/fall

 

[Sycamorefan96]

all the way on the border in Zapata, TX to bass fish famed Falcon Lake. Not sure I'd go that far south right now given the current state of our border and just overall safety.

I am very familiar with that lake's location. Reading online it sounds like you are allowed to fish the Mexico side without a passport as long as you don't physically land on their side. I did see photos of signs saying that it "could be dangerous to cross into Mexico". Is the border marked by buoys or how does that work?

 

[SycamoreStateofMind]

I am very familiar with that lake's location. Reading online it sounds like you are allowed to fish the Mexico side without a passport as long as you don't physically land on their side. I did see photos of signs saying that it "could be dangerous to cross into Mexico". Is the border marked by buoys or how does that work?

Correct one side of the lake is US the other side is Mexico. It’s a massive body of water it’s pretty easy to avoid going over to the Mexico side. But I don’t recall it being “marked” but it might have been its been 10 years since we went.

But you’ve got Mexican commercial fish camps that line the coast and it’s a daily occurrence to see a John boat running from net to net and those guys are running around the lake with automatic rifles. It’s third world and very unnerving.

I’m pretty sure a handful of Americans were killed several years back on the body of water. But at one point it was probably the best big bass fishing lake in the country. Not anymore - others have surpassed it. But still pretty typical to catch 7 to 9lb bass.

 

[Sycamorefan96]

Correct one side of the lake is US the other side is Mexico. It’s a massive body of water it’s pretty easy to avoid going over to the Mexico side. But I don’t recall it being “marked” but it might have been its been 10 years since we went.

But you’ve got Mexican commercial fish camps that line the coast and it’s a daily occurrence to see a John boat running from net to net and those guys are running around the lake with automatic rifles. It’s third world and very unnerving.

I’m pretty sure a handful of Americans were killed several years back on the body of water. But at one point it was probably the best big bass fishing lake in the country. Not anymore - others have surpassed it. But still pretty typical to catch 7 to 9lb bass.

Mexico is definitely third world, I'll give you that. I've been south of the border several times in my car and it's not uncommon to see the Mexican army and police patrolling the roads with machine guns in the back of their pickup trucks. They also set up road blocks where they'll ask you a few questions and search your vehicle for drugs and guns.

Anyways I've been on the Mexican side of the lake about 25 miles west of Zapata driving from Monterrey to San Antonio, which is why I was familiar with the lake. I had considered using 54 to Roma, but went with the crossing a little ways NW of Laredo.

 

[bluestreak]

a friend and his wife were stopped in Baja Mexico by the police and were told they would be arrested because they had a jar of HSM medicinal salve in their camper medicine cabinet. Told if they paid a $200 "fine" on the spot - in cash - they could be on their way.

 

[Desperado]

1.) Tennessee
2.) Texas
3.) South Carolina
4.) Virginia
5.) Colorado

 

[Sycamorefan96]

a friend and his wife were stopped in Baja Mexico by the police and were told they would be arrested because they had a jar of HSM medicinal salve in their camper medicine cabinet. Told if they paid a $200 "fine" on the spot - in cash - they could be on their way.

I just drove the entire length of the Baja Peninsula last year and it's easily the best road trip I've ever done. I saw several RV'ers down there, but the honest truth is that taking any kind of RV or camper south of the border is a bad idea. You really want to do everything you can to try to blend in as much as possible, and an RV or camper does the exact opposite and just draws way too much unwanted attention. You're basically asking to get harassed if you take one of those.

 

[bluestreak]

I just drove the entire length of the Baja Peninsula last year and it's easily the best road trip I've ever done. I saw several RV'ers down there, but the honest truth is that taking any kind of RV or camper south of the border is a bad idea. You really want to do everything you can to try to blend in as much as possible, and an RV or camper does the exact opposite and just draws way too much unwanted attention. You're basically asking to get harassed if you take one of those.

I think the word I used when they related the story was "stupid"

 

[SycamoreinTexas]

1) Colorado (Estes Park, Woodland Park, Cripple Creek)
2) Texas (Big Bend, San Antonio, New Braunfels, Hill Country, Austin, El Paso
3) New Mexico (Ruidoso very underrated place, Santa Fe, Taos)
4) California
5) Tennessee (Nashville, Chattanooga, Memphis)

 

[bent20]

In the summer: Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota are all very similar. A lot of great outdoor activities and great breweries. Southwest Wisconsin/northeast Iowa/northwest Illinois is a hidden gem of an area with the beautiful rolling hills and neat little towns.
In the winter: The Southeast in general. I enjoy the gardens. If you want to escape the traffic of Florida and the Carolinas, the Mississippi and Alabama coastlines are surprisingly beautiful, even if some of the cities aren't so much.
Most underrated state: Utah. Has some of the very best national parks.

 

[Sycamorefan96]

In the summer: Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota are all very similar. A lot of great outdoor activities and great breweries. Southwest Wisconsin/northeast Iowa/northwest Illinois is a hidden gem of an area with the beautiful rolling hills and neat little towns.
In the winter: The Southeast in general. I enjoy the gardens. If you want to escape the traffic of Florida and the Carolinas, the Mississippi and Alabama coastlines are surprisingly beautiful, even if some of the cities aren't so much.
Most underrated state: Utah. Has some of the very best national parks.

Canyonlands is on my short list.

 

[Jason Svoboda]

Don't really have a Top 5. I'm a big fan of the West Coast (love hotter weather with little humidity) and my favorite place to visit is probably the Laguna Beach area in California. I usually roll my eyes at the whole "it's a vibe" stuff but I definitely feel that way there. Big fan of the Pasadena/Santa Ana/San Marino, CA area as well.