Three and a half miles of cliffs, rocky beaches, Gilded Age mansions and 40 Steps to nowhere in particular.

The oldest still-operating tavern in the United States was once owned by a pirate.

The set location for a 1987 cult classic draws international film buffs to the middle of the Mojave Desert.

A rugged lava field dotted with molds of the ancient pines that were growing when the volcano erupted.

This haunted hotel built on natural springs once served as a hospital for a quack doctor promising a cure for cancer.

This futuristically sylvan church is a glass-enclosed marvel of modern architecture.

A waterfall 600 ft. inside a mountain, once the bane of gold miners, is now a spectacle of nature.

Hidden behind Lincoln's head is a 70-foot-long chamber containing enamel plates documenting American history, sealed in a teakwood box in a titanium vault.

Humboldt's human-powered sculptures race across land and sea for days on end in a wacky quest for dominance.

A Northwoods sporting competition that shows lumber jacks doing much more than cutting down trees.

This shallow cave got its name from copious amount of human bones found inside.

The fifth-longest suspension bridge the world, connecting one Michigan peninsula to another.

Island where motor vehicles are banned -- home to the only carless highway in the United States.

A taste of Middle Earth, in the middle of the Bayou City.

Remember that scene in the Matrix, when Neo is in the big white room with all the weapons flying by? Well, this is what it would look like if he had wanted trees instead of guns.

This café is dedicated to serving coffee roasted by Native American-owned companies.

A plaque commemorates the spot in the Oregon woods where the first-ever Geocache was hidden.

This unassuming cheese empire in rural Oregon churns out more than 150,000 pounds of cheese each day.

Sasqu(w)atch out!

The world's last remaining store of its kind.

This massive mushroom has spent centuries eating its way across a huge swath of Oregon.

Where Nor'easters go to die.

Statues of Ramona Quimby, Henry Huggins, and Ribsy the dog in the park where their adventures "really happened."

A sculpture of a salmon swimming through a brick building.