Outdoor sights in USA
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Leif Ericson Park
Most Scandinavian Americans live up in northern Bay Ridge, where you can see the Norwegian Constitution Parade at Leif Ericson Park on the first Sunday after May 17, the anniversary of Norway’s first constitution. Grab some herring salad (or miniature Norwegian trolls) at Nordic Delicacies (6909 Third Ave at Bay Ridge Ave).
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Kula Botanical Garden
Pleasantly overgrown and shady, the mature Kula Botanical Garden has walking paths that wind through acres of theme plantings, including native Hawaiian specimens and a 'taboo garden' of poisonous plants. Because a stream runs through it, the garden supports a wider variety of vegetation than you'll find in other Kula gardens - the whole place is an explosion of color.
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MacArthur Park
The Westlake area, just west of Downtown, is slowly but surely cleaning up its act and families have returned to MacArthur Park for picnics and paddling around a spring-fed lake. The restored band shell hosts a summer concert series. (And yes, this is the park that ‘melts in the dark' in the eponymous Jimmy Webb song made famous by Donna Summer.)
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Lowell National Historical Park
The historic buildings in the city center - connected by the trolley and canal boats - comprise the national park, which gives a fascinating peak at the workings of a 19th-century industrial town. Stop first at the Market Mills Visitors Center to pick up a map and check out the general exhibits. An introductory multimedia video on historic Lowell is shown every half-hour.
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Bradbury Mountain State Park
Bradbury Mountain State Park has several miles of forested hiking trails, including an easy 10-minute hike to a 485-foot summit. It yields a spectacular view all the way to the ocean. There are 35 rustic campsites here. To reach it, take ME 125 and ME 136 north from Freeport, and turn left just after crossing I-95; from there, follow the state park signs.
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Fanette Island
Explore the 3-mile-long Emerald Bay by boat, which is also the only way to get to Fanette Island, Lake Tahoe's lone isle. It is open for exploring and swimming from 06:00 to 21:00 daily, except from February to June 15 to protect nesting Canadian geese. The nearest boat rentals are in Meeks Bay and South Lake Tahoe. From the latter you can also catch a narrated bay cruise.
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Inspiration Point
Sheer granite cliffs and a jagged shoreline hem in glacier-carved Emerald Bay, a spot of supreme natural beauty that will have you burning up the pixels in your digicam. Its most captivating aspect is the water, which changes from cloverleaf green to light jade depending on the angle of the sun. There are plenty of pullouts along Hwy 89, including one at Inspiration Point .
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Kaweah Oak Reserve
About 7 miles east of Visalia is Kaweah Oak Reserve, home to 324 acres of valley oak trees, which once stretched from the Sierra to (long-gone) Tulare Lake in the valley. Nice for a short hike, it's also a rare glimpse into the valley's past before the orchards and vineyards took over. From Hwy 198, turn north onto Road 182; the park is about a half-mile along on your left.
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Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve
The Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve has 1600 acres of protected coastal ecosystems, with 7 miles of hiking and cross-country ski trails past woodlands, fields, wetlands, beaches and dunes. Its diverse habitats make it a particularly intriguing place for birdwatchers. To get there, take US 1, 1.5 miles north of Wells and turn right onto Laudholm Rd.
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Prospect Park
The creators of the 585-acre Prospect Park – Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux – considered this an improvement over their other New York project, Central Park. Created in 1866, Prospect Park has many of the same features. It’s gorgeous, with a long meadow running along the western half, filled with soccer, football, cricket and baseball players (and barbecuers), and much of the rest dotted with hilly forests and a lovely boathouse on the east side; many more visitors come to bike, skate or just lounge around. There are also free concerts at the Prospect Park Bandshell (near the 9th St and Prospect Park West entrance). For information on activities, stop by the…
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Topsmead State Forest
Topsmead State Forest was once the estate of Edith Morton Chase. You can visit her grand Tudor-style summer home (open for free guided tours on alternate weekends during summer months, hours vary) complete with its original furnishings. Then spread a blanket on the lawn and have a picnic while enjoying the view at 1230ft. Topsmead is 2 miles east of Litchfield.
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Klawock Totem Park
Of the three totem parks on POW, the Klawock Totem Park is by far the most impressive and obviously a great source of community pride. Situated on a hill overlooking the town's cannery and harbor, Klawock's 21 totems are the largest collection in Alaska and make for a scenic, almost dramatic setting. The totems are either originals from the former village of Tukekan or replicas.
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Dennis The Menace Park
A must for fans of kick-ass playgrounds, Dennis The Menace Park was the brainchild of Hank Ketcham, the creator of the classic comic strip, who lived in Pebble Beach until his death in 2004. This ain't your standard dumbed-down playground, suffocated by Big Brother safety regulations. With lightning-fast slides and towering climbing structures, even adults can't resist its charms.
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Keahua Arboretum
Amid towering trees, a gurgling stream and cool misty rain, Keahua Arboretum, east of town, makes a nice little picnic spot. The Department of Land & Natural Resources planted mini groves of teak, eucalyptus and shower trees in the 1940s to create an outdoor nature classroom, showcasing the benefits of forest management.
Avoid the area at night, when it becomes the scene for rave parties.
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Makena State Park
Makena State Park wraps three beaches in one, and should be high on every traveler's itinerary. Its crowning glory, Big Beach, is the sort of scene that people conjure up when they dream of a Hawaiian beach - beautiful and expansive, with virtually no development on the horizon. Although it's a state park, Makena remains in a natural state, with no facilities except for a couple of pit toilets and picnic tables.
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Rachel Carson Wildlife Refuge
Named after the famous environmentalist, the Rachel Carson Wildlife Refuge consists of 9000 acres of protected coastal areas. There are four trails scattered in the non-contiguous refuge, the most popular being the 1-mile interpretive Carson Trail that passes tidal creeks and salt marshes, and is a great spot for seeing migratory birds. It’s located off ME 9, at the northern edge of Wells.
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Santa Elena Canyon Trail
Down in the desert, the 1.5-mile Santa Elena Canyon Trail, 40 miles southwest of Panther Junction, is one of the most popular treks in Big Bend because of the stunning rock and river views. It's rated easy, but you have to wade through a stream and climb stairs in the canyon wall. The adventurous (and ecoconscious) might seek out the trail that's left off maps. Hint: there are falls and lots of vegetation for the desert.
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Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park
On the water, set snugly between the bridges and backed by Civil War–era warehouses, the 9-acre Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park has a cozy lawn on the East River. At research time, the park was closed for retooling, including the addition of a glass pavilion designed by Pritzker Prize–winning architect Jean Nouvel to house a 1920s-era carousel. The park is scheduled to reopen in spring 2011.
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Whale Park
If you don't have funds for a wildlife cruise, try Whale Park, 4 miles south of town, which has a boardwalk and spotting scopes overlooking the ocean for whale watching. Fall is the best time to sight cetaceans; as many as 80 whales - mostly humpbacks - have been known to gather in the waters off Sitka from mid-September to the end of the year. If you don't mind cold, rainy weather, the Sitka's is the first week of November.
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Grand Hope Park
A few steps north of the Staples Center is the small and peaceful Grand Hope Park . Designed by Lawrence Halprin, one of the country's foremost landscape architects, it was the first of South Park's beautification projects which began in the late '80s. It's often filled with students from the adjacent Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, a private college with an international student body.
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Muth Interpretive Center
Inland from the harbor, where run-off from the San Bernardino Mountains meets the sea, the brackish water of the Newport Bay Ecological Reserve supports more than 200 species of birds. This is one of the few estuaries in Southern California that has been preserved, and it's an important stopover on the Pacific Flyway. The Muth Interpretive Center, near Irvine Ave, has displays and information about the 752-acre reserve; call for hours.
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Indian Grinding Rock State Historic Park
To get perspective on the region's history, take Hwy 88 north toward Pine Grove to the Indian Grinding Rock State Historic Park, which is sacred ground for the local Miwok Indians. The magnificent 'grinding rock' is covered with ancient petroglyphs and mortar holes called chaw'Ses. Camping in reconstructed bark houses, called U'macha'tam'ma ', provides a more tactile Miwok experience than any museum could.
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'Ahihi-Kina'u Natural Area Reserve
This 818-hectare (2045-acre) reserve is a distinctive marine life habitat with unique geological features, including anchialine pools and kipuka (mounds of earth encircled by lava from Maui's last flow in 1790). The remains of a coastal Hawaiian village - its old sites marked by walled and terraced platforms - sit between lava flows at 'Ahihi Bay. Snorkellers at 'Ahihi Cove are treated to dazzling coral, parrotfish and sea turtles.
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Prospect Terrace Park
A great spot from which to get an overview of the city, Prospect Terrace Park is a small pocket of green space off Congdon St on the East Side. In warm weather, you'll find students throwing Frisbees, office workers picnicking and, if you arrive at the transitional point between day and the arrival of night, sunsets. The monumental statue facing the city is that of Providence founder Roger Williams, whose remains were moved to this site in 1939.
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Big Bend Ranch State Park
Big Bend Ranch State Park is much less explored than its big brother, but the easily accessed turnouts for hiking or picnicking along the river road shouldn't be ignored. Make the easy 0.7-mile trek into narrow Closed Canyon, where the cliffs rise above you, blocking out the sun. Camping is off Casa Piedra Rd, but you have to register at the Fort Leaton State Historic Site, which is past the park.
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