From colorful deserts and crystal-clear springs to towering glaciers and surreal rock formations, the United States is home to landscapes that seem almost too extraordinary to exist. Here are 50 destinations that look like they belong on another planet—or in a fantasy movie.
1. Antelope Canyon – A twisting sandstone slot canyon glowing with shades of orange and gold.
2. White Sands National Park – Miles of brilliant white gypsum dunes.
3. Hamilton Pool Preserve – A turquoise pool beneath a collapsed limestone grotto.
4. Thor’s Well – A dramatic ocean sinkhole nicknamed the “drainpipe of the Pacific.”
5. Badlands National Park – A maze of colorful ridges and sharply eroded pinnacles.
6. Bryce Canyon National Park – Thousands of orange hoodoos rising from the earth.
7. The Wave – Flowing sandstone patterns that resemble frozen waves.
8. Crater Lake National Park – America’s deepest lake with astonishing blue water.
9. Devils Tower National Monument – A massive volcanic rock rising dramatically from the plains.
10. Mono Lake – Surreal limestone towers emerging from an ancient lake.
11. Fly Geyser
12. Grand Prismatic Spring
13. Havasu Falls
14. Glacier Bay National Park
15. Denali National Park and Preserve
16. Zion National Park
17. Arches National Park
18. Canyonlands National Park
19. Valley of Fire State Park
20. Monument Valley
21. Lake Tahoe
22. Mendenhall Glacier
23. Bonneville Salt Flats
24. Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve
25. Painted Hills
26. Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness
27. Mammoth Hot Springs
28. Redwood National and State Parks
29. Olympic National Park
30. Na Pali Coast State Wilderness Park
31. Haleakalā National Park
32. Nā Pali Coast
33. Dry Tortugas National Park
34. Biscayne National Park
35. Cumberland Island National Seashore
36. Apostle Islands National Lakeshore
37. Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
38. Niagara Falls
39. Acadia National Park
40. Shenandoah National Park
41. Great Smoky Mountains National Park
42. Congaree National Park
43. Caddo Lake
44. Devils Kettle
45. Maroon Bells
46. Mount Rainier National Park
47. Mount Hood
48. Carlsbad Caverns National Park
49. Mendenhall Ice Caves (Access varies by glacier conditions and may not always be possible.)
50. Yosemite National Park – Granite cliffs, waterfalls, and giant sequoias create one of the world’s most iconic landscapes.