Memorial Day Plans? Here are the Most Beautiful Places in Each of the 9 PIA Western Alliance States

We all know the United States is an incredibly beautiful country packed with incredible scenery from coast to coast. And beautiful scenery isn’t in just a few states. All 50 states have places that are absolutely stunning.

The travel website, Travel and Leisure recently took a long look at the staggering number of places to travel in the U.S. Included are the mind-boggling things you can see in the nine PIA Western Alliance states.

As we approach Memorial Day weekend, Weekly Industry News decided to share the top sites in our nine states. If you don’t have plans this weekend, try one — or more — of these locations.

Alaska: Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve. At 13 million acres, the park is the largest in the country. There is tons of hiking, a boreal forest and glaciers galore.

Arizona: The Grand Canyon. What can we write that hasn’t been written about Arizona’s most stunning sight? Arizona has lots of beautiful places but nothing compares.

California: Yosemite National Park. Wow. It is the third-oldest national park in the United States. Granite rock in various formations tower over the park’s floor. And Yosemite has a bunch of really great waterfalls.

Idaho: Sawtooth National Forest. Four mountain ranges and four major rivers meet here. This is a 2.1 million acre outdoor paradise. It has remained almost unchanged since Lewis and Clark walked there in 1805. Some peaks in the park hit 10,000 feet, there are huge lakes, tall trees and lots to see.

Montana: Going-to-the-Sun Road. Oh, my gosh! The views of ice-carved peaks is incredible along this 50-plus mile road that travels through Glacier National Park. The peak of the scenery is at Logan Pass. The 6,646 feet pass is the Continental Divide.

Nevada: Red Rock Canyon. It’s just above Las Vegas and is packed with cliffs and crags and caves. Lots of hiking and rock climbing is available, and driving through the canyon is an amazing experience.

New Mexico: Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness. In a state full of geographic wonders, the landscape here seems closer to science fiction than it does to traditional scenic views. Pinnacles and spires galore dot the landscape. This was — by the way — a prehistoric swamp along what used to be a coast line. It was packed with dinosaurs.

Oregon: Crater Lake. One of many areas on the West Coast that shows off the tectonic activity that made the Cascade Range. Eons ago Mt. Mazama blew its top and the result is a deep, and gorgeous, lake. Water doesn’t get much clearer, nor more breathtaking.

Washington: Hurricane Ridge. One of the most beautiful spots in Washington’s Olympic National Park. The park, itself, features dozens of mountain peaks, lakes, animals, meadows and thick, green forests. Hurricane Ridge is the park’s diamond.

Source link: Travel +Leisure — https://bit.ly/3GgB9l9