The Most Beautiful Little-Known Spots in the American West

Yeah , we get it . You ’ve ogled Yosemite ’s Half Dome . You ’ve bathe in Yellowstone ’s Old Faithful . But just because you hold up - nip your Aspen ski vacation or your kinfolk trip to the Grand Canyon does n’t mean you ’ve seen the American West . Because you have n’t . Not until you experience these 12 obscure muffin located so far off the beaten path not even Siri can assist you find your way back .

Mono Lake, CA

Why you necessitate to go : Just look at the piazza . While this eerily beautiful Salvador Dali - comparable desert lake located just east of Yosemite has inspire everyone from Pink Floyd to Clint Eastwood to Mark Twain , it ’s still largely overlooked by the throng of holidaymaker too busy Instagramming El Capitan to notice . Which means you ’re pretty much free to rove its trails or get a near look at its sensational beauty by canoe or kayak . The one must - do thing : Take a sundown walk around South Tufa orchard . you may also go on a term of enlistment , but the country is best explore via solo charge . peradventure project on some Pink Floyd .

La Push, WA

Why you need to go : Because it was featured in theTwilightseries ( kidding ! ) While we begrudgingly allow this fact to be depressingly true , La Push remains one of the chilly beach town on the Pacific seacoast . turn up entirely within the Quileute Indian Reservation surrounded by national forest west of Olympic National Park , all of its business are tribe - have and proffer that exact character of relaxed ( non - vampire ) lifestyle you ’ve been bet for … being that you ’re on vacation and all . The one must - do thing : Whale watching on the wide , crescent - shaped First Beach after off up the salmon bake during Quileute Days every July

Bannack, MT

Why you should go : Can a Ithiel Town also be a state park ? In the case of distant Bannack , Montana , the answer is yes . While buzzworthy Montana Town like Livingston draw in the tending of Jim Harrison and Anthony Bourdain , the ghost township of Bannack soldier on , full operated by the Montana Fish , Wildlife , & Parks department near the United States Department of State border with Idaho about a three - hour ride from Yellowstone . The one must - do affair : Ghost tour and gold panning are pop activities , but just wandering the dusty former boomtown ( and marveling at the fact that it ’s 2016 ) is the main attraction here .

Murphys, CA

Why you need to go : Because sorryPaso Robles , Murphys is the " next Napa " ( until somewhere else is the next Napa ) . This historical Gold Rush town locate two hours east of Sacramento feature two dozen tasting room handily site along Main St – all of them within walk ( i.e. , stumbling ) distance – plus the nearby Mercer and Moaning Caverns where you’re able to argue with your substantial other over the difference between stalactites ( which hang down from the ceiling ) and stalagmites ( which grow up from the cave floor ) . ( Now you will succeed say debate – you ’re welcome . ) you may also rent a houseboat on nearby New Melones Lake , which you all should do . The one must - do affair : You mean , in addition to renting that houseboat ? last out at the Murphys Hotel , one of the erstwhile hotels in California . If it was dependable enough for J.P. Morgan and Ulysses S. Grant , it ’s expert enough for you .

Collins Beach on Sauvie Island, OR

Why you need to go : While Pacific coastnude beaches like Black ’s Beachget all the attention ( and crew ) , that does n’t mean you ca n’t also get naked by the river . Such is the case at Collins Beach on Sauvie Island , located 25 international nautical mile north of Portland on the Columbia River . The laid - back , one - geographical mile beach is frequented by favorable , polite nudies rather than the usual assortment of creepy lookie - loos .

The one must - do thing : Besides GETTING NAKED ( well not really , it ’s “ clothing optional ” ) , you need to control out the weird ( even for Portland ) spaceship - comparable , graffiti - encompass abandoned boat locals call the UFO . sooner nude .

Stanley, ID

Why you call for to go : If you ’re looking for your own private Idaho , Stanley is all yours ( well technically you ’ll have to share it with the town ’s 63 residents ) . Stanley is located about three hours from Boise surrounded by the sensational Sawtooth National Recreation Area , so keep your head on a swivel because you ’ll fundamentally just be asterisk at jaw - dropping raw beauty the whole metre you ’re here . The one must - do affair : savor stagger scene hiking the Redfish Lake Loop Trail surrounded by jagged great deal top , then plop down at Redfish Lake Lodge ’s foetid shoreside gazebo for a well - clear burger and beer .

Chena Hot Springs, AK

Why you need to go : Part hot springs / part resort / part unincorporated community / part alternative vigor research centre , Chena Hot Springs – located about 50 miles north of Fairbanks – is your go - to spot for Zamboni - style “ snowfall coach ” spell , scenic nature flight over glacier , and sipping crapulence in hand - cut up frappe glasses at the onsite Aurora Ice Museum . ( Pro tip : the ice toilet is NOT for public use.)The one must - do thing : Soaking your tired bones in the healing waters of its natural outdoor hot spring rock lake and looking up at the Aurora Borealis ( aka Northern Lights ) during the spring equinox

Chapel on the Rock, CO

Why you need to go : Instead of look at the well - worn Highway 36 from Boulder up to Rocky Mountain National Park , take the more scenic Peak to Peak Highway 72 ( local call it " Freak to Freak " ) and be rewarded with several esthetically pleasing prize along the way , like this show - discontinue chapel carve into a massive mountainscape at St. Malo Church near the town of Allenspark . I intend , did you see the photo?The one must do - thing : The church is open to the public ( Pope John Paul II apparently once pray here ) , but if you just pull over and snap a few pic that ’ll be more than enough to cleanse your sinning soul .

Greybull, WY

Why you should go : Skip the Grand Canyon and instead mislay your mind at Devil ’s Kitchen , located five miles east of the town of Greybull in Northern Wyoming . There you’re able to cheep dinosaur remain and freaky aqueous rock and roll formations that are part Grand Canyon and part Badlands , but all yours . The one must - do thing : Stroll the town of Greybull . It ’s the hometown of Wilford Brimley , which passably much tells you everything you involve to lie with about the place .

Kanab, UT

Why you need to go : When you think of the West , you mean of this townsfolk just northerly of the Arizona border nickname “ Little Hollywood ” for its role as a filming localisation inGunsmoke , The Lone Ranger , The Outlaw Josey Wales , and about a billion other old - school Westerns . Today you may tour the still - standingGunsmokemovie set , scour the town for authentic Native American art , or , most significantly , use it as a base for search the ring area ’s cockeyed number of internal parks and monument . The one must - do affair : encampment is great and all , but once you plump into a waiting room electric chair by the pool carve into a canyon atthe luxury Amangiri stamping ground , that old Boy Scout collapsible shelter starts to look a helluva lot less appealing .

Alma, CO

Why you need to go : If you ’re expect to get high in Colorado , you ca n’t get much higher than Alma – Colorado ’s highest unified municipality at 10,578 ft . Despite its location a mere 30 transactions to the south of Breckenridge ( via a stunning mount road crossing the Continental Divide ) , it maintains a low-down , end - of - the - Earth mind-set lie in of little more than the playfully appoint universal memory Al - Mart and a few shops … including ( obviously ) a pot dispensary . For that other eccentric of high . The one must - do matter : Whether or not you pay off High Country Healing a visit , retard out a live show and chatting up the “ colorful ” cast of locals on the out-of-door mountainside patio at Alma ’s Only Bar ( currently being freshen up and reopen as Miner ’s Club ) is a highlight of any Alma experience .

White Sands Missile Range, NM

Why you need to go : From theBurning military personnel - style outlandishness of Slab Cityto anisland in Washington you could only access through Canada , there ’s no shortage of oddball shit litter the great American West . But touring an outdoor missile park located on the grounds of the largest military installation in the US , which also includes the situation of the first nuclear turkey test ? moderately much as batshit crazy as it gets . The one must - do matter : This one ’s easy . Tour the White Sands Missile Range Museum . It ’s pretty much the only thing youcando in this sprawling 3,200 - square - mile military installation surrounding White Sands National Monument operated by the US Army .

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?Kanab, Utah, Bryce Canyon National Park