Discover the USA’s Most Unusual Places to Explore with Kids
On this large and diverse planet, anywhere can seem odd if you’ve never been there before. However, some places are just a little bit stranger than the rest. Did you ever think of strolling among thousands of retired airplanes? Or searching for aliens in the desert? How about staring into a bubbling pit of tar filled with fossils?
Traveling to unusual places spurs curiosity, fosters courage, and is just plain entertaining for everyone involved. Therefore, plan a trip to one of our picks of the USA’s most unusual destinations and embark on an adventure that will leave you hearing, ‘remember that one time?’ for years to come.
The Boneyard, Tucson, Arizona
With Monument Valley, the Grand Canyon, and Cathedral Rock, Arizona is a classic destination for the great American road trip. However, while you’re out exploring nature’s most awesome wonders, make sure to check out The Boneyard at the Aerospace Maintenance & Regeneration Group on Davis-Monthan Air Force Base just outside of Tucson.
More than 4,400 old fighter jets and other military aircraft are lined up in the Arizona desert, making Davis-Monthan Air Force Base the largest airplane graveyard in the U.S. The dry heat and lack of rain in Arizona ensure that aircraft take a longer time to rust and fall apart. Moreover, the hard desert floor is able to support the weight of the planes, negating the need for pavement. Tours are only available through the Pima Air & Space Museum, so be sure to call ahead.
As a college town, Tucson is both cultured and fun. There are eclectic shops and funky restaurants, perfect for kids. Don’t miss the nearby Saguaro National Park for day hikes, horseback riding, and back-country camping.
Synchronous Fireflies, Great Smoky Mountains
There are only a handful of places in the world where a specific type of firefly, the Photinus carolinus, puts on a magical show for viewers. Once a year, in Great Smoky Mountain National Park in East Tennessee, these fantastical little creatures flicker in unison.
The only way to watch this mystical light show is to catch a shuttle from the Sugarlands Visitor Center during a specific (and predicted) week every year. It’s a popular event, so you’ll have to enter a lottery to secure a seat on the bus. However, if you camp in the Elkmont Campground, you can access the area on foot.
The Smokies are family-friendly fun waiting to happen. There are miles of hiking trails for all abilities, coupled with ranger and park programs—plus horseback riding and whitewater rafting. To stay within the park, make sure to reserve campgrounds about six months in advance. Alternatively, outside the park, there are a wealth of options available.
Mapparium, Boston, Massachusetts
This place is more cool than strange, but nestled in a hidden corner of the Mary Baker Eddy Library in Boston is a three-story, stained-glass globe. A 30-foot glass footbridge bisects the globe, allowing visitors to examine the continents’ placement from the inside. Standing at the center of the globe provides the most accurate image of the world without distortions typically caused by maps.
Although the politico-geographical borders haven’t been updated since 1934, creating some inaccuracies for a modern audience, the spherical shape of the room generates peculiar acoustic phenomena. For example, if you stand directly under the North Star and talk, you will hear your voice in surround sound. If you and a friend stand at either end of the bridge, whispers are audible perfectly.
The Mapparium is an essential stop during a day of exploring Back Bay in Boston. However, with so many museums and historical sites to visit, kids might begin to feel restless. Consequently, take them to the Esplanade Playspace on the Charles River for some multi-sensory fun.
Grand Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone
Deeper than a 10-story building and larger than a soccer field, the Grand Prismatic Spring is a bubbling cauldron of sulfurous spring water. In the center, the water reaches a scalding 189 degrees Fahrenheit (87°C). As it flows outward, it cools and creates circles of varying temperatures that attract different types of bacteria, resulting in vibrant rings of orange, yellow, and green.
The Grand Prismatic Spring is a must-see on any trip to Yellowstone National Park. Additionally, ranger programs, bison spotting, and belching mud pots will round out any family adventure to this bucket-list destination.
Stanley Rehder Carnivorous Plant Garden, Wilmington, North Carolina
This collection of carnivorous plants—including Venus flytraps and various pitcher plants—thrives over an acre in this little corner of Wilmington, North Carolina. As one of the few places in the U.S. where these fascinating plants grow in the wild, this site hosts the world’s only public carnivorous plant garden. A walking path lined with informative signs leads into a piney forest and eventually to a low-lying swampy area rich with pitcher plants. Try feeding that pesky mosquito on your arm to one of them!
Coastal North Carolina boasts miles of white sandy beaches, making it an ideal family getaway. Wilmington itself is a charming little city to explore for a couple of days before heading to the beach. Venture away from the shops and restaurants at the historic Riverfront to check out laid-back Wrightsville Beach. When the surf is up, you can rent a board and take a lesson close to the pier.
La Brea Tar Pits, Los Angeles, California
Macabre yet completely strange, LA is home to one of the world’s most abundant and famous fossil sites. Bubbling lakes of crude oil rise around Wilshire Blvd., remnants of a vast Savannah that once teemed with thousands of Ice Age creatures. When these animals found themselves stuck in the gooey muck, they often struggled to survive. What remains now is a treasure trove of fossils for scientists to discover.
Approximately 3.5 million fossils from over 600 species have been unearthed in La Brea Tar Pits, everything from snakes and mollusks to sloths and mountain lions. Although the sticky asphalt is challenging to clean off bones, it preserves them in outstanding condition. Consequently, scientists can piece together animal stories and behaviors that would otherwise remain unknown—the site even keeps entire ecosystems intact. Budding paleontologists can learn all about these fossils and excavation details from docents and demonstrations at the onsite museum.
Not far from the Tar Pits is Chris Burden’s art installation Urban Light. This exhibit of restored 1920s cast-iron street lamps pays charming homage to LA history and provides an excellent photo backdrop for your family album.
Area 51, Nevada
Mystique surrounds Area 51, with numerous stories claiming it used to store alien spacecraft that crashed on Earth. Others suggest it’s a site for secret meetings between aliens and the government, with some even believing scientists there are inventing time travel and teleportation devices. Whatever the truth may be, this is indeed a strange place for visitors. Airplanes are barred from flying over the area, and the U.S. government only acknowledged its existence in 2005.
For your alien-loving family, why not embark on a themed road trip around Nevada? State Route 375 was named the Extraterrestrial Highway, running from Las Vegas through Crystal Spring near Area 51, past Tonopah, through the ghost town of Rhyolite, and finally on to Pahrump, where Martians landed in the 1996 film Mars Attacks!.
Ringing Rocks, Buck’s County, Pennsylvania
On a road trip along the East Coast? There is a peculiar and sonorous wonder in Buck’s County, Pennsylvania, called Ringing Rocks Park. These rocks may not be unique in the world, but they are extremely rare—if you hit them with a hammer, they resonate like a bell.
Located between New York City and Philadelphia, the Ringing Rocks and surrounding Buck’s County make for an excellent stopover. The area is full of covered bridges, and the Delaware River meanders gently along, just inviting an afternoon float. Be sure to head to Bucks County River Country for water-worthy crafts for your river trip.
