Off-the-Beaten-Path Travel Destinations

Beyond the big-name tourist spots, the United States is packed with plenty of off-the-beaten-path travel destinations. You might not find these hidden attractions, cool sights and unusual things to do in a typical guidebook, but keep reading for everything you need to know to make your next vacation unique and unforgettable.

San Diego

San Diego is home to miles of stunning coastline and has plenty of things to do that will appeal to any traveler. But if you want to go beyond typical tourist attractions and find off-the-beaten-path travel destinations in the area, there are plenty of options to consider.

Head to the top of Mount Soledad for 360-degree panoramic views of San Diego and its famous shoreline. The 822-foot hill is known primarily for its veterans memorial. On a clear day, you can see the entirety of La Jolla, the Pacific Ocean and the mountains of Mexico. It’s a great spot to watch the sunset.

Not far from Balboa Park, you can walk across the 375-foot-long Spruce Street Suspension Bridge for a beautiful view of Sessions Canyon, 70 feet below. The pedestrian bridge was constructed in 1912 to provide people in the neighborhood a passage across the canyon to new streetcar lines being built nearby.

In Seaport Village, take a spin on the Looff Carousel. Hand-carved in 1895 by Charles Looff, the wooden carousel features two horse-drawn chariots and 54 animals, including camels, giraffes and an elephant. Looff built over 50 carousels in his lifetime. Many have disappeared, but you can ride his legendary work in San Diego for only $3.

Take a drive out to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. Often overshadowed by nearby Death Valley and Joshua Tree national parks, Anza-Borrego offers scenic drives, fantastic desert flora and unique geologic formations. Check out the town of Borrego Springs, right in the middle of the park. It’s the only California town that’s surrounded by a state park and it’s also an official International Dark Sky Community—so make sure you plan to stay after dark.

Salt Lake City

Set against the incomparable backdrop of the Wasatch Mountains, the capital of Utah is an urban gem in the mountain west. The downtown area is filled with galleries and museums but there’s no shortage of hidden gems and off-the-beaten-path travel destinations to discover.

In the Sugar House neighborhood on the south side of town, all that remains of the famed Snelgrove ice cream factory and parlor is a giant double-scooped ice cream cone. The ice cream factory first opened in 1929 and the dairy treat soon became a Utah favorite. The giant ice cream cone is such an iconic landmark, it was featured on a pin for the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics.

Wheeler Historic Farm is one of the few remaining 19th-century farmsteads in the Salt Lake Valley. On a visit to the working farm, you can tour the 1896 Victorian farmhouse, milk a cow, feed the ducks, watch blacksmithing demonstrations and enjoy a tractor-drawn wagon ride. Wheeler Farm is in Murray, about 20 minutes south of Salt Lake City.

With 12 original sculptures and over 70 stones engraved with scriptures, poems and literary texts, Gilgal Sculpture Garden was once a backyard project but is now a small public park a few blocks from midtown Salt Lake City. Thomas Child designed and created the garden in the mid-20th century, going to incredible lengths to obtain stones weighing up to 62 tons for his sculptures. The garden is the only identified visionary art environment in Utah.

Tour the city’s historical landmarks on a trolley tour with a uniformed conductor and motorman as your guides. Traveling on a replica retro streetcar, you’ll hear dozens of historical tales while passing the State Capitol Building, the Union Pacific Depot, the Olympic stadium and the marvelous mansions in the Historic District, including the estate of Brigham Young. History comes to life on this sightseeing adventure.

Flagstaff

Flagstaff is known for year-round outdoor activities, its historic downtown and easy access to the Grand Canyon, but there are also plenty of off-the-beaten-path travel destinations to explore in the area.

Channel your inner astronomer at the Lowell Observatory where you can peer through world-class telescopes and sit in on lectures about the history of Pluto (researchers at the observatory were the first to discover the dwarf planet). Located about a mile from downtown, the observatory is open until 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday—plan your visit for nighttime to get the most out of the experience.

At Walnut Canyon National Monument, ancient cliff dwellings are easily spotted among the remarkable geological formations of the canyon itself. A one-mile round-trip walk along the Island Trail offers access to 25 cliff-dwelling rooms and leads visitors back in time to the world of the Native people archeologists call Sinagua. You can also enjoy sweeping views of the canyon and explore historic cultural sites along the Rim Trail.

There are more than 600 volcanoes in the area between Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon. Geologists call this belt of volcanoes the San Francisco Volcanic Field, named for San Francisco Mountain, whose tallest peak is 12,633 feet above sea level—the highest elevation in Arizona. Northeast of Flagstaff, Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument is just one small part of the field. Whether you take some time to walk the trails or drive through the monument, the contrasting colors of the cinders and the jagged and twisted lava fields will capture your imagination and interest.

Nearby Sedona is surrounded by the beautiful Coconino National Forest. One of the most unforgettable hikes in the area is the trail to Devil’s Bridge—the largest natural sandstone arch in Sedona. The moderate hike is about 2 miles roundtrip, but well worth it for the extraordinary views of one of the most amazing landscapes in the country.

Las Vegas

If you want to take a break from the glitz and glamor of the Strip, but still keep some neon and games of chance in the mix, here are some off-the-beaten-path travel destinations to check out in Las Vegas.

Enjoy bells, bumpers and buzzers at the Pinball Hall of Fame, where you’ll find an impressive collection of pinball machines from the 1950s through the 1990s. Most of the games are from the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s—the heyday of pinball. All of the machines have been restored to like-new playing condition and all are available for play. Older pinball machines are set to 25 cents per play and newer 1990s models cost 50 cents per game. 

The neon lights on the Vegas Strip are one of the iconic sights of the 20th century. Visit the Neon Boneyard, the final resting place of some notable pieces of Vegas history—neon signs from legendary casinos and resorts including the original Aladdin’s lamp from the first Aladdin casino, Binion’s horseshoe, the Silver Slipper and the Golden Nugget. 

Most visitors interested in the history of Las Vegas want to know about the city’s gangster-rich beginnings. If you want to learn about the city’s place in the Atomic Age instead, visit the National Atomic Testing Museum, just east of the Vegas Strip. Affiliated with the Smithsonian, the museum is much more than Geiger counters and old photos—visitors can learn about 70 years of atomic history in the U.S.

Ethel M Chocolates’ Botanical Cactus Garden in nearby Henderson is the largest cactus garden in the southwest United States and features three acres packed with more than 300 species of plants. Half are cacti and succulents native to the American Southwest. The rest are desert trees and shrubs from Australia, South America and the southwest region of the U.S. 

Editor's note: At press time, the United States was still dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic, and some of the attractions mentioned in this article were closed. As travel restrictions ease and things reopen, please call ahead to confirm the status and hours for any place you plan to visit.