Top Destinations to See Natural Phenomena in U.S.

Choose Your Journey

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  #1 Grand Canyon

  One Location
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  #2 Volcanoes

  Nineteen Locations
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  #3 Geysers

  Four Locations
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  #4 Aurora Borealis

  Four Locations
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  #5 Meteor Showers

  One Location
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  #6 Bioluminesence

  Four Locations
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  #7 Firefall

  One Location
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  #8 Bird Migration

  Six Locations
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  #9 Alpenglow

  Four Locations
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  #10 Sea Turtle Hatching

  One Location
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  #11 Whirlpools

  Four Locations
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  #12 Glacier Ice Caves

  Fourteen Locations
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  #13 Naucreous Clouds

  One Location
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  #14 Monarch Butterfly Migration

  Four Locations
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  #15 Moonbows

  Six Locations
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  #16 Glow worm caves

  Two Locations
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  #17 Light Pillars

  Nineteen Locations
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  #18 Sailing stones

  One Location
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  #19 Ice waterfalls

  Fourteen Locations
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  #20 Ice volcano

  One Location

The top travel-worthy phenomena on our list and truly one of the natural wonders of the world, the Grand Canyon in Arizona is a rare natural canyon erosion formation with thousands of bands of red rock. Nearly 300 miles long, this “mountain lying down” averages 10 miles across and a mile deep. When you rent a car and visit, you can expect humbling views, stunning panoramas and gorgeous desert landscapes.

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Timing:

Open all year round but best to avoid the summer when temperatures can reach more than 105℉.

Locations:

• Grand Canyon National Park, Fredonia, Arizona

Recommended Car:

Jeep Wrangler

Known as one of nature's most unpredictable forces, volcanoes are openings or vents where lava, tephra (small rocks), and steam erupt onto the Earth's surface. According to the United States Geological Survey, there are over 160 active and potentially active volcanoes in the U.S., most of which are in Alaska, where eruptions occur yearly. The rest can be found throughout the American West and in Hawaii. Kīlauea, in Hawaii, is one of the most active volcanoes on Earth and is seen by millions of tourists each year. If you plan on visiting, take advantage of the daily ranger-led hikes, check the underground cavernous lava tubes and caverns, and explore the old, dried-up lava flows and lava lakes that emit a reddish-orange glow at night. This truly one-of-a-kind experience is the second most travel-worthy natural phenomenon in the U.S. according to our research.

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Timing:

Although conditions may vary per location, the best time to visit volcanoes in the U.S. is during the winter months (November to March), when the weather cools down and crowds become thinner. If an eruption occurs, nighttime is the best time to view - only at a safe distance, of course.

Locations:

• Makushin Volcano, Alaska
• Akutan Peak, Alaska
• Augustine Volcano, Alaska
• Mount Redoubt, Alaska
• Mount Spurr, Alaska
• Mount Baker, Washington
• Glacier Peak, Washington
• Mount Rainier, Washington
• Mount St. Helens, Washington
• Three Sisters, Oregon
• Newberry Volcano, Oregon
• Crater Lake, Oregon
• Mount Shasta, California
• Lassen Peak, California
• Long Valley Caldera, California
• Halemaumau Crater, Hawaii
• Kilauea, Hawaii
• Halemaumau Crater, Hawaii

Recommended Car:

Jeep Wrangler

What is a geyser exactly? Technically, it's a hot spring under so much pressure that it erupts, sending water and steam into the air. In fact, geysers are super rare - less than one thousand exist worldwide, making this the #3 most travel-worthy natural phenomena to visit in the U.S. Lucky for us, about half of the planet's geysers are in Yellowstone National Park.

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Timing:

Most geysers are easy to see and admire all year-round but we'd recommend avoiding the winter months as snow and ice can make it difficult to travel to these remote locations. In addition, if you're interested in visiting the Fly Geyser, try to avoid the summer when it can feel unbearably hot.

Locations:

• Fly Geyser (aka Fly Ranch Geyser), Gerlach, Nevada - avoid in summer as it can be hot
• Old Perpetual, Lakeview, Oregon
• Old Faithful, Yellowstone Park, Wyoming
• Morning Glory Geyser, Yellowstone Park, Wyoming

Recommended Car:

Range Rover

More commonly known as the Northern Lights, Aurora Borealis is a natural display of light in the night sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions like Alaska, Michigan or Wisconsin caused by solar winds entering the Earth's atmosphere at a high speed. When it does occur, Auroras display dynamic displays of brilliant lights that look like curtains, rays, spirals, or dynamic flickers covering the entire sky.

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Timing:

One of the top 5 natural phenomena in the U.S., if you're in these locations during the right time, the likelihood of experiencing the Northern Lights is high. Alaska has an “Aurora Season” from August 21 to April 21 each year, while the changing seasons of late fall and spring offer more opportunities to view this experience in Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Locations:

• Newport State Park in Ellison Bay, Wisconsin
• Marquette, Michigan
• Angle Inlet, Minnesota
• Fairbanks, Alaska

Recommended Car:

Volkswagen Atlas

A meteor shower (also known as shooting stars) is a celestial event in which a number of meteors look like they're coming from a specific spot in the sky which is caused by streams of cosmic debris called meteoroids entering Earth's atmosphere at extremely high speeds. You can catch these really anywhere or anytime and enjoying these beautiful and inspirational night time spectacles is simply one of life's greatest delights.

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Timing:

The best time to experience a meteor shower is in the fall or winter but can be experienced all year round.

Locations:

• Cherry Springs State Park, Coudersport, PA
• Any dark night sky

Recommended Car:

Volvo XC90

According to National Geographic, bioluminescence is light emitted by living organisms through chemical reactions in their bodies which can cause a beautiful, awe-inspiring spectacle in places like California, Florida and Washington. When bioluminescence occurs, you can expect to see fluorescent colors radiating from the organisms giving off a luminous glow. The best time to see this phenomenon is in the evening at least two hours after sunset, although visibility is not always guaranteed.

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Timing:

Taking place only once or twice a year in the summer months of June - September; you can only catch this phenomenon late spring and summer in San Diego.

Locations:

• San Juan Island, Washington
• Mission Bay & Torrey Pines Beach, San Diego, CA
• Big South Fork, Tennessee
• Titusville, Florida

Recommended Car:

Ford Mustang Convertible

Only available in Yosemite National Park's Horsetail Falls, this “firefall” happens right before the sunset and just for a moment you can see what looks like a blazing lava waterfall - a phenomenon meant for all from photographers and amazed onlookers to enjoy.

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Timing:

The exact dates change each year but typically you can enjoy this phenomenon in mid-February if conditions are absolutely perfect with great light, plenty of water and clear skies.

Locations:

• Yosemite National Park (Horsetail Falls), Yosemite Valley, California

Recommended Car:

Chevrolet Suburban

A seasonal movement, birds migrate north or south, between breeding and wintering grounds, depending on the time of year, which can often mean larger than life flocks taking over various parks and destinations in Texas, California, New Mexico and more. Perfect for road trippers, bird lovers and amateur observers alike!

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Timing:

Spring is the best time to witness the most impressive gatherings of beautiful birds across the U.S. as it occurs over a shorter timeframe than in the fall, since birds are anxious to get to their breeding grounds and start mating. However, there are exceptions - the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico has the best viewing October through February and Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge in California has the most birds August through October.

Locations:

• Delaware Bay, Delaware
• Iain Nicolson Audubon Center at Rowe Sanctuary, Gibbon, Nebraska
• Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, San Antonio, New Mexico
• Rio Grande Valley, TX
• Point Reyes National Seashore, California
• Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Loleta, California

Recommended Car:

BMW X5

Probably one of the most beautiful visible light effects in the mountains and nature in general, an alpenglow is an optical phenomenon that occurs as a reddish-pink glow on the Alaska and California mountaintops in the U.S., best seen at sunset or dawn when the sun goes behind the horizon or appears from behind it. This reddish light seen at 'magic hour' is so rare and effortlessly stunning that hikers and photographers worldwide specifically travel for it with the hopes of capturing it.

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Timing:

Alpenglows occur across Alaska and California, and while they can be seen throughout the year, you are more likely to catch one in the summer when twilight lasts longer or during winter months when the skies are clear. Keep your eyes peeled for this natural wonder when exploring mountains around sunset and sunrise on clear days.

Locations:

• Denali National Park & Preserve, Alaska
• Chugach Mountains, Alaska
• Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve, Alaska
• Half Dome - Yosemite National Park, California

Recommended Car:

Range Rover Sport

Experiencing a sea turtle hatching is unlike anything you've ever seen! Once ready, these adorable reptiles break out of their eggs in the coastal sand and make the treacherous journey into the ocean to start their life. During the season, you can see countless baby sea turtles moving at once across the wet sand as they embark on their odyssey.

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Timing:

June- July

Locations:

• Padre Island National Seashore, North Padre Island, Corpus Christi, Texas

Recommended Car:

Volkswagen Jetta

While some natural wonders are simply beautiful to behold, others are remarkably powerful. Also known as maelstroms, whirlpools are produced by two opposing currents meeting or one current running into an obstacle. This then creates a swirling body of water, with the strongest maelstrom typically running 33 feet wide and 16 feet deep. You can find whirlpools deep in the ocean, with some notable ones found off the coast of New York, Maine and Louisiana.

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Timing:

The best timing can differ per location as whirlpools are often unpredictable, however it is recommended to visit whirlpools in the summer and fall, from dawn to dusk at a safe distance.

Locations:

• Eastport, Maine
• Niagara Falls, NY
• Lake Peigneur, Louisiana
• Lake Texoma, Oklahoma/Texas

Recommended Car:

BMW X7 Seite

A glacier ice cave is a cave that forms within the ice of glaciers, especially during the summertime, carved out by water running through it. Glacier ice caves are exceptionally rare, often found in cold climates or high elevations, and only open to the public if deemed safe. It's hard to estimate how many glacier ice caves there are in the world, with some disappearing as glaciers melt due to climate change and others being far too deep within glaciers ever to be discovered. For now, Alaska has many available to visit.

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Timing:

The best time to visit a glacier cave is from May to September, when the weather conditions are most favorable. Some of the most famous glaciers in Alaska are best accessed in the warmer months.

Locations:

• Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Alaska
• Byron Glacier Ice Cave, Alaska
• Matanuska Glacier Cave, Alaska
• Kennicott Glacier Ice Caves, Alaska
• Root Glacier, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska
• Jumbo Creek Ice Cave in Kennecott, Alaska
• Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Alaska
• Mendenhall Ice Caves, Juneau, Alaska
• Big Four Ice Caves, Washington
• Crystal Ice Cave,Tulelake, California (Merrill Cave)
• Bandera Volcano and Ice Cave in Grants, New Mexico
• Darby Canyon Ice Cave, Wyoming (Wind Cave)
• Big Ice Cave, Bridger, Montana
• Eben Ice Caves, Michigan

Recommended Car:

Toyota Tundra

These rare polar stratospheric clouds are some of the more bewitching things to be found in the sky, taking the shape of thin discs with beautiful wisps of color. Nacreous clouds can also be referred to as 'mother of pearl' due to their color, which can cause them to be mistaken for another natural phenomena, the Northern Lights. This natural event only occurs when the temperature above the Arctic Circle drops significantly, causing widely spaced water molecules to blend and form ice crystals in a dry stratosphere.

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Timing:

These rare clouds tend to only form in the winter during very cold and dry weather, and are visible one to two hours after sunset.

Locations:

• Fairbanks, Alaska

Recommended Car:

Chevrolet Tahoe

Predominantly in North America, the Monarch butterfly migration is the phenomenon where the butterflies migrate each summer and autumn to and from the West Coast and Central Mexico. An otherworldly experience, you can see monarch butterflies fly all around you and everywhere - a truly beautiful and mesmerizing adventure.

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Timing:

The best time to see the most butterflies is mid-October through mid-February but November might be the best month overall.

Locations:

• Natural Bridges State Beach, Santa Cruz, CA
• Monarch Grove Sanctuary, Pacific Grove, CA
• Monarch Butterfly Grove, Pismo Beach, CA
• Natural Bridges State Beach, Santa Cruz, CA

Recommended Car:

BMW 4 Series

It might surprise you that not all rainbows appear during the day. A moonbow, also known as a lunar rainbow, is a rarer version of this optical phenomenon that can be seen when the sun goes down. This marvelous wonder forms when the light from the Moon is refracted through water droplets in the air. For a moonbow to appear, the Moon must be in or near its brightest phase (full), water droplets must be present in the part of the sky opposite the Moon, and the Moon must be low in the sky—no more than 42 degrees above the horizon—so the night sky is very dark. The lower the Moon, the bigger the moonbow! You could see these moonbows anywhere from New York to California to Hawaii.

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Timing:

The best time is the night of the full moon or within two or three days before or after. Plan to view about two hours after sunset or before sunrise for your best chance at seeing the moonbow.

Locations:

• Niagara Falls, New York
• Cumberland Falls, near Corbin, Kentucky
• Jerome, Arizona
• Yosemite National Park, California
• Kauai and the Big Island, Hawaii
• Waimea Canyon State Park, Hawaii

Recommended Car:

Chevrolet Suburban

Glowworms are usually found in dark and sheltered underground caves- and a first glance can often be mistaken for a common bug. However, their bioluminescence often creates this amazing experience for people to behold when the glowworms emit a blue/green light that attracts their prey towards them. When this does occur, the roof of the caves in Tennessee and Alabama gives the appearance of a bright sky full of stars.

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Timing:

Quick, reserve a car now - tours to see the glowworms in Pickett State Park are only conducted between May and June, while in Dismals Canyon, they can be seen in smaller numbers year round, with the best viewing times between May and September.

Locations:

• Pickett State Park, Tennessee
• Dismals Canyon, Alabama

Recommended Car:

BMW X7 Seite

Sun pillars or light pillars are a stunning optical phenomenon in which beams of light appear to extend vertically (upward or downward) from a light source, such as the Sun, the Moon, or even street lights. The astonishing spectacle is created by light reflecting from tiny ice crystals drifting in Earth's atmosphere. For these stunning lights to form, conditions must be just right: extremely calm and cold weather without any wind. Prime conditions can be found in Wisconsin, Maine and Colorado, just to name a few.

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Timing:

While hard to predict, you can see sun pillars when the sun is low before sunset in the west or after sunrise in the east, or when the sun is below the horizon. Light pillars can be spotted at any time on a frigid winter night, often subzero temperatures with high humidity and little to no wind.

Locations:

• Redmond, Oregon
• Castle Rock, Colorado
• Franktown, Colorado
• Parker, Colorado
• Elizabeth, Colorado
• Bennett, Colorado
• Goodland, Kansas
• Amarillo, Texas
• Frisco, Texas
• Waterloo, Iowa
• Graceville, Minnesota
• Hudson, Wisconsin
• Boswell, Pennsylvania
• Marblehead, Massachusetts
• Derry, New Hampshire
• Brentwood, New Hampshire
• Exeter, New Hampshire
• York, Maine
• Brooklin, Maine

Recommended Car:

Cadillac Escalade

Known as “sailing stones”, these rocks seem to move along the California desert floor with no gravitational cause with size varying from a few ounces to hundreds of pounds. Only recently was the cause of the rocks' movement discovered but you can still expect a mysterious and memorable experience when you see the epic distances some of these rocks have seemingly traveled on their own.

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Timing:

Available to witness all year round, it's generally sound advice to avoid Death Valley in the summers dangerous heat.

Locations:

• Racetrack Playa, Death Valley National Park, Death Valley, CA

Recommended Car:

Mercedes-Benz G-Class

Perhaps one of the most breathtaking phenomena to witness, especially for outdoor lovers, ice waterfalls are a must-see spectacle in the winter. While frozen waterfalls sound like something out of a fairytale, unique to places like Iceland or Norway, these magical ice attractions can be found across the country, from Oregon and New York to Colorado and California. When temperatures drop and the weather becomes chillier, the rushing waters freeze, transforming these beautiful waterfalls into magnificent ice sculptures that are a photographer's dream.

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Timing:

The best time to explore ice waterfalls is during late winter months when the ice has had time to build and the days are longer.

Locations:

• Yosemite Falls, California
• Crater Lake National Park, Oregon
• Multnomah Falls, Oregon
• Grand Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone
• Spearfish Canyon, South Dakota
• Minnehaha Falls, Minnesota
• Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, Wisconsin
• Niagara Falls, New York
• Cathedral Falls, West Virginia
• Cascade Falls, Virginia
• Soco Falls, North Carolina
• Foster Falls, Tennessee
• North Clear Creek Falls, Colorado
• Ouray Ice Park, Colorado

Recommended Car:

Mercedes-Benz G-Class

Only existing during the winter and a perfect winter road trip destination, this ice volcano appears when water from a natural fountain shoots water in the air that starts to freeze mid-flight, ultimately building a volcano-shaped ice mountain that only gets bigger as the winter goes on - when it's especially cold, this New York-based volcano can get as tall as 50 feet!

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Timing:

The best time to visit this phenomenon is during the dead of winter, December - February.

Locations:

• Letchwork State Park (near Glen Iris Inn), Castile, New York

Recommended Car:

Chevrolet Blazer