Since Mark moved to the US in 2019, we’ve spent years exploring big cities, rural towns, towering mountain ranges, golden sandy beaches, lush green forests, mind-blowing red rock landscapes, iconic road trips, incredible national parks, hidden gem state parks, awesome hiking trails and stunning photography locations around the country.
Want a city break, a ski trip, a chill on the beach or a hike in the mountains? You can do it in the US. It might not have old world charm like Europe or deep cultural roots like Asia, but in pure terms of tourism, the USA is an adventure playground for every type of traveler.
In this US travel guide we show you our favorite cities, national parks, road trips, hikes and photo spots to help you find inspiration for your next vacation. If you already know which state you want to go to, click that state below. Otherwise, continue reading!
Bucket List Cities
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Unmissable Vacation Spots In The US
Our complete list of mega cities, quaint towns and hidden gems for your US travel bucket list.
One thing we noticed during our extensive travels around the US is that a lot of cities look and feel very similar. But there were some cities that really stood out as looking and feeling totally unique, like Boston, New York, Las Vegas and San Francisco for instance. Each of those places has a unique style, vibe and architecture.
We’ve lived in NYC, Seattle and Raleigh, and we’ve stopped in many more great cities around the country like San Diego and Chicago. What fascinates us the most is how different each city is in terms of things like food, climate, attractions and general atmosphere.
The US is so big that it almost has to be compared to traveling through a continent like Europe, where cities change dramatically from London to Rome or from Paris to Budapest. And we haven’t even mentioned Hawaii or Alaska yet!
Here are the top US city break destinations we recommend to our friends and family:
- Chicago
- Las Vegas
- Los Angeles
- Miami
- New York City
- San Francisco
But cities aren’t for everyone. In fact, a lot of travelers we’ve met over the years actively avoid taking trips to major cities. Instead, they prefer to visit quaint towns in the countryside. It’s hard for us to argue with that, and the US has plenty of small town gems to visit.
Here are some our our favorites:
- Sedona in Arizona
- Watkins Glen in New York
- Kanab in Utah
- Stowe in Vermont
- Woodstock in Vermont
- Leavenworth in Washington
National Parks
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Our Favorite US National Parks
The most amazing national parks we’d put at the top of our bucket list if we started over again.
America’s vast network of truly amazing natural landscapes is on another level to the rest of the world. We’ve visited most of the popular US national parks and they really are special places. Mark grew up in England where the national parks aren’t even in the same ballpark as those we’ve explored in the US.
It’s the diversity of topography that makes them so awesome to us. You can climb rugged snowy mountains, walk on sand dunes, hike to natural red rock arch formations, see huge waterfalls, wade through river slot canyons, glide through marshes and watch geysers erupt. And we’re just scratching the surface.
If cities aren’t your thing or you want to discover more of these amazing places, plan your next vacation around America’s parks. We buy a new America the Beautiful national parks pass each year for $80 because it gives us access to every single national park for 365 days and saves us a fortune on entry costs.
Here are our top national park recommendations:
Road Trips
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Our Favorite US Road Trip Routes
The road trips we’ve either done and loved or are on our own bucket list.
What’s the best way to combine those bucket list cities, quaint towns and amazing national parks into one awesome itinerary? Yep, it’s US road trip time! But we’re not talking about America’s famous Route 66. That was the road trip of yesteryear.
Today it’s all about shorter and punchier road trips like Utah’s national parks, California’s Pacific Coast, New England’s rural countryside in the fall or combining popular vacation spots like South Dakota’s Black Hills with Yellowstone and Grand Teton.
For us, road trips are the single best way to travel around the US. Since 2019 we’ve spent 5 months road tripping around pretty much the entire western half of the United States, and more than a month in New England during the fall.
Here are our top recommendations so far:
Hikes
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The Most Amazing US Hiking Trails
Our roundup of the most unmissable hikes across the 50 states of America.
Hiking is one of our biggest passions in life, so it’s worked out pretty well that we get to write about our experiences for a living! There really is no better way to blow off the cobwebs, push yourself, feel those endorphins flowing and enjoy that sense of satisfaction at the end.
And we’re not sure there’s anywhere better in the world to hike than the US. Again, it’s all about the diversity for us. We’ve hiked over mountains, under canyons, through waterfalls, up razor-thin rocks with sheer drops and to countless summits with outrageously incredible views.
Here are our top day hiking recommendations:
- Precipice Trail in Acadia
- The Wave in Arizona
- Devils Garden in Arches
- Rim to River at the Grand Canyon
- Skyline Loop in Mt Rainier
- Old Rag in Shenandoah
- Black Elk Peak in South Dakota
- The Enchantments in Washington
- Half Dome in Yosemite
- Angels Landing in Zion
- The Narrows in Zion
Photo Spots
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Our Favorite Photo Spots In The US
The most striking and uniquely photogenic places we’ve visited around America with our cameras.
Travel photography is our other major passion in life, but it wasn’t always that way. Neither of us had even picked up a camera before we traveled the world and started this blog in 2018. But after years of learning, practicing and perfecting, we now sell travel photos in our print store and plan entire trips around photography.
And just like hiking, we’re not sure there’s a better place for landscape or urban photography for travel lovers like us. Having such varied topography on the doorstep is one thing, but what we like the most is that these stunning places are all so easily accessible.
Here are our top photography locations:
Our US Guidebooks
Want to make the most of your next trip? Our travel guidebooks are packed full of expert information from our own experiences in select places around some of America’s most popular destinations.
A lot of effort goes into making them as helpful as possible, but without being overwhelming (like most guidebooks are! We sell them for under $10 (which is a steal!) and we’ve sold more than 500 copies to date.
Keep Exploring
We hope this US travel guide helped with planning your next trip! But there’s a lot more to explore on Where Are Those Morgans, so why not keep searching for inspiration and helpful information on our other pages?
ABOUT US
Meet Mark And Kristen Morgan
Learn more about the team behind Where Are Those Morgans.
DESTINATIONS
Find Your Next Travel Destination
Explore the world with our travel guides from countries across 4 continents.
HIKING
Find Your Next Hiking Trail
Take a look through our guides to the most amazing hikes around the US and beyond.
PHOTOGRAPHY
Find Your Next Travel Photography Location
Grab your camera and book a flight to one of these amazing photo spots.
NATIONAL PARKS
Find Your Next National Park Adventure
Visit America’s unique landscapes with our guides to the popular national parks.
STATE PARKS
Find Your Next State Park Adventure
Visit America’s hidden gems with our guides to the popular state parks.
ROAD TRIPS
Find Your Next Bucket List Road Trip
Get your playlist ready and hit the road on one of these amazing routes.