The United States is full of breathtaking natural attractions. But none are quite so intriguing as the night sky itself. Fortunately, this country has a collection of designated Dark Sky Parks, where the light pollution from surrounding towns is so minimal that you can enjoy the stars in all of their dazzling glory. So without further ado, here are the top three places with some of the darkest skies in the U.S.:
Located in Mackinaw City, the Headlands Dark Sky Park is a notoriously beautiful place for spotting meteors. This property became a designated Dark Sky Park in 2011, the sixth in the U.S. and the ninth in the entire world. The park is situated along two miles of undeveloped shoreline in the northwestern tip of Michigan's lower peninsula. Visitors can enjoy free monthly Dark Sky Park programs to learn more about the celestial beauty of the area. Address: 15675 Headlands Rd, Mackinaw City, MI 49701.
Because of its incredibly clear skies and almost no light pollution, Cherry Springs State Park is one of the best places along the East Coast for stargazing. Located in the Susquehannock State Forest, the park features an Astronomy Field with a virtually unobstructed 360-degree view. Each year, this park organizes two "star parties," which are attended by hundreds of stargazers and curious astronomers. Address: 4639 Cherry Springs Rd, Coudersport, PA 16915.
The state of Utah is home to an impressive 9 designated Dark Sky Parks, yet perhaps the most unique of all of them is Canyonlands. By day, this otherworldly landscape is characterized by red rocks, endless horizons, and fascinating arches. Once the sun sets, your eyes will gaze upwards to the incredible array of nighttime magic. Address: Moab, UT 84532.
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Have you checked any of these Dark Sky Park locations off of your stargazing bucket list? Where else have you ventured to see the incredible night sky? We'd love to hear about your experiences!
There are few things I enjoy more than taking a peaceful stroll down a scenic trail. These days, it can be tricky to find a secluded trail where you’re not constantly battling other hikers, but I found one for you!
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There are plenty of amazing hiking trails in Shreveport. Nature parks like the Walter B Jacobs Memorial Nature Park and Betty Virginia Park are great, family-friendly parks that can easily fill up an afternoon. If you’re on the hunt for something a little more secluded, then make your way over to Ford Park.
Ford Park sits on the southern shores of Cross Lake, just 10 miles from downtown Shreveport.
The 80-acre park is part of SPAR’s network of parks in the Shreveport area. SPAR also maintains Betty Virginia Park, Highland Park, the Red River Bicycle Trail, the Shreveport Dog Park, Riverview Park, and many others.
There are several outdoor attractions at Ford Park that make this one of SPAR’s most popular parks. The kids love the playground, the parents love the boat launch, disc golf course, and tennis courts—it’s a win-win!
There’s also a fishing pier for folks who want to do a little fishing without the hassle of launching a boat. Cross Lake is a popular fishing hole for largemouth bass, channel catfish, and freshwater drum. If you plan on doing any fishing, make sure you have a Louisiana fishing license.
From 1950 until the 70s, Ford Park was home to a children’s zoo. While the zoo is long gone, you’ll see a few relics of the past during your visit.
Most notable is the old train engine. The train was used in the construction of the Panama Canal and was delivered to the park in 1957. It’s a unique little slice of history that you don’t come across every day!
While many outdoor adventurers enjoy the sports courts and fishing, the nature trail is my personal favorite part of the park.
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Ford Park Loop is a 1.6-mile loop trail that’s both kid-friendly and dog-friendly. It’s decent for strollers, but you might get stuck in a few areas if you’re visiting after a rainfall.
There’s a section of the trail that takes you right along the water’s edge. It’s a beautiful area that’s perfect for a quiet stroll. Just look at those enchanting emeralds!
Life can be a busy blur, with each season somehow busier than the last. It's so important to live in the present, to adopt a "yes, and" mantra, and never pass up the opportunity for a bucket-list adventure. Today we're inviting you to quite literally stop and smell the roses at the best botanical gardens in the U.S. As these blooms explode in a spectacular rainbow of color and variety, don't miss your chance to revel in the resplendence of Mother Nature's most marvelous seasonal show and check out the best botanical gardens that America has to offer on this list.
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Botanical Gardens In The Northeast U.S.
1. New York Botanical Garden - New York City, New York
Amid the hum and buzz of The Bronx, the New York Botanical Garden offers urbanites a 250-acre escape to paradise. One of the most beautiful day trips in New York, this garden is popular for visitors of all ages, in all seasons of the year. Kids love to explore the Children’s Adventure Garden, while the Seasonal Walk, a vibrant collection of perennials, grasses, and bulbs, is a favorite among photographers and nature admirers. Plant people, meanwhile, revel in the 3.5-acre Native Plant Garden, which focuses on flora native to the region. It's more than a pretty face, however: the New York Botanical Garden showcases more than a million living plants and operates one of the world’s largest plant research and conservation programs. It's the "best botanical garden near me" if you're living in NYC.
Botanical Gardens In The Southern U.S.
2. Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden - Dallas, Texas
Located on the shores of White Rock Lake, the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden is considered by many to be one of the country’s most beautiful and colorful gardens. While known primarily for its beautiful spring blooms, this Texas treasure is open -- and ravishing -- all year round, offering visitors 66 acres of natural beauty to explore in each and every season. It features over a dozen different exhibits, each with its own distinct landscape. Some of these areas include a children's adventure garden, a pecan grove, and a tree tunnel whose striking beauty has earned it a spot on every photographer's bucket list.
Huntsville Botanical Garden isn't just one of the most beautiful places in Alabama, it's one of the most beautiful places in the entire South. This beautiful botanical garden, which covers 112 acres, receives visitors year-round from all across the state and beyond, who come to delight in its myriad ecosystems, lush landscapes, bountiful blooms, and, during select times of the year, the seasonal, open-air butterfly house. Families adore the Children's Garden, which, with its whimsical sculptures and fanciful flowers, is the perfect place to foster a love and appreciation of the Great Outdoors in the littlest explorers.
Another Sunshine State gem, Naples Botanical Garden is 170 acres of pure paradise that's wholly unique to this part of Florida. Characterized by flora and fauna found in the tropics, subtropics, marshes, and mangroves, this is one of those destinations in the U.S. that truly feels worlds apart from any place found on the mainland. The Garden, founded in 1993, also features 90 acres of natural habitats, trails, and a boardwalk and stage that plays host to local musicians, making for a delightful all-around destination for romantics and nature lovers.
5. Brookgreen Gardens - Murrells Inlet, South Carolina
There's no place in the entire country quite like Brookgreen Gardens, a place steeped in Southern beauty, culture, and history in the most magical of ways. Founded in 1931 by Archer and Anna Hyatt Huntington, Brookgreen Gardens is a real-life oasis that's home to 250-year-old Southern live oaks, a beguiling butterfly garden, and myriad other gardens including the namesake Palmetto Garden. Aesthetes strolling the grounds will delight in the beauty of the sculptures and the bold garden designs, an artistic flourish that takes this botanical garden to the next level.
America's very own fairy tale, no place in America is more magical than the Biltmore Estate. The Biltmore was built by George Vanderbilt between 1889 and 1895; a 178,926-square-foot mansion located on 8,000 acres of pristine property just outside of Asheville, North Carolina. The largest privately-owned home in America, it's a place of stunning scenery, lush gardens, ornate architecture, and historic relevance. While the house itself is a major attraction (the Biltmore draws over a million visitors each year), the massive and meticulously kept gardens on the estate are absolutely heavenly and rival the home's stunning beauty. The summer rose garden, spring tulip display, and sunflower fields add an enchanting, natural element to this commanding castle, and are worth seeking out during their seasonal blooms.
Botanical Gardens In The Midwest U.S.
7. Missouri Botanical Garden - St. Louis, Missouri
Nestled in the Midwest, the Missouri Botanical Garden is a glorious oasis that's one of St. Louis's best-kept secrets. Locals know and love the garden for its beautiful spring blooms, but its Chinese Garden, English Woodland Garden, and Doris I. Schnuck Children’s Garden are year-round favorites for families and photographers alike. Come and stroll along its lush garden maze, and you'll be transported back in time to an enchanting manor in the English countryside... right smack in the middle of the Midwest!
Detroit often gets overlooked in terms of natural beauty, but that's only because Belle Isle Conservancy is such a hidden gem. Once you've discovered this urban oasis for yourself, your entire perception of Motor City will change. Located just a stone's throw from Downtown, this island park is home to a nature zoo, maritime museum, aquarium, golf practice facility, and plenty of open green space. What also makes this island park unique is the Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory, which features a wide array of beautiful and rare flora, including one of the nation’s largest collections of orchids. The Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory was designed by famous architect Albert Kahn and is the oldest continually running conservatory in the United States. Stepping into the conservatory will make you feel like you're in another world... in the most magical, wonderful way.
The Cincinnati Zoo's hippo starlet definitely put this Midwest gem on the map, but even before the #TeamFiona craze, this attraction was known for its world-renowned botanical garden. Of course, this is something Ohioans have long known, with the annual Zoo Blooms boasting a ROYGBIV explosion of over 100,000 tulips and fanciful flowers that's scores of naturalists, photographers, families, flower lovers, and pollinators (!) for generations. Experts in horticulture tend to the abundant flora and fauna that paint the landscape of the Zoo, which, no matter what time of the year you visit, is an enchanting experience that will make you feel like Dorothy entering the magical Land of Oz.
Botanical Gardens In The Southwest U.S.
10. San Francisco Botanical Garden - San Francisco, California
Golden Gate Park might be California's most iconic place, but within this American treasure, there is a botanical garden that beckons all to come and revel in its beauty. While best known for its magnificent magnolias that brighten the most dreary winter day in the Golden City, the garden's towering redwood grove is perhaps its most splendiferous feature. In fact, the park is home to some of the only albino coastal redwoods in the entire state, and they are commanding monoliths that anchor the park and make it an immensely special place to experience.
Another surprising oasis tucked away in the Southwest, Desert Botanical Garden is so beautiful, it almost seems like a mirage. Luckily, it's as real as it gets, and home to an abundance of native flora and fauna that will give you a whole new appreciation for this striking region. This Arizona treasure boasts 140 acres flush with over 50,000 plants representing 4,000 different species, nearly 400 of which are rare or endangered. Five scenic trails wind through the lovely landscape, each offering a unique and scenic perspective. Whether you like wildflowers or cacti, there's a hike here for everyone; though, with all five (paved) hikes totaling just over a mile, this is a wholly accessible and immersive adventure that's a quintessential part of the Desert Botanical Garden experience. It's one of the most unique botanical gardens in the U.S.
12. Hawaii Tropical Bioreserve & Garden - Hilo, Hawaii
Hawaii is home to some of the largest botanical gardens in the U.S., and while there are numerous bucket-list-worthy reasons to visit Hawaii, and we think that this glorious bio reserve and botanical garden ranks among the most compelling. This oasis opened in 1984 in Hawaii's secluded and sublime Onomea Valley, and today is home to over 2,500 tropical and subtropical plants from the islands and around the world. The crown jewel of this real-life Garden of Eden, however, is a three-tiered waterfall that many claim to be *the* most beautiful in Hawaii. And despite its diminutive stature -- especially compared with some of the Aloha State's most commanding cascades -- this wondrous waterfall, surrounded by the lushest, emerald-green foliage and vibrant flora, definitely lives up to such praise.
One of the most resplendent treasures in the Pacific Northwest, the Portland Japanese Garden is a real-life Eden tucked away in the hills of Rose City. With its cool canopy of trees, vibrant and verdant foliage, and a sonorous score of babbling cascades and fluttering wildlife, the Portland Japanese Garden is 12 acres of perfect and pristine paradise. Beautiful all year long, the spring brings bountiful cherry blossoms, the summer is verdant green and glorious, autumn is awash in fall foliage, and winter is an ice-frosted fantasy of stillness and serenity. Simply put, the Portland Japanese Garden is a total sensory experience sure to calm your busy mind and bring a sense of peace. If you're a nature lover looking for the most sublime escape within city limits, nothing compares.
14. Washington Park Arboretum - Seattle, Washington
If you're looking for a peaceful retreat on the shores of Lake Washington, the Washington Park Arboretum is definitely worth a visit. Managed by the University of Washington Botanic Gardens and the City of Seattle, this sprawling 230-acre space is home to an incredible variety of plant life, including some species you won't find anywhere else in the Pacific Northwest. As you make your way through the Arboretum's winding paths, stop by the Graham Visitors Center, where you can find helpful information and pick up some great souvenirs at the Arboretum Foundation's gift shop. And if you're up for a little extra adventure, don't miss the beautiful Japanese Garden at the south end of the Arboretum (remember that there is a small entrance fee for this part of the park).
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Botanical gardens are some of our country's most wondrous places, providing a perfect and accessible experience of nature unlike any other. We challenge you to pick a garden or two to visit this season for a colorful dose of awe and wonder.
Have you been to any of the best botanical gardens in the U.S.? Let us know - we'd love to hear from you! If you're looking for more top botanical gardens in the U.S. to visit, be sure to check out this garden in Virginia and take the Azalea Walk.
