Maine

USA's top 10 natural wonders

The third biggest country on earth, the USA packs spectacular biodiversity within its borders. Between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, you’ll encounter hot desert playas and plateaus, skyscraping mountain ranges topped by glaciers, rolling grasslands where millions of bison once roamed, tropical rain forests, active volcanic zones and polar tundra.

John Ford Point at Monument Valley. Image by Benoit Cappronnier / Lonely Planet / Getty Images

Sara Benson

Lonely Planet Writer

Five family-friendly destinations you may not have considered

Everyone knows travel changes once kids come into the picture. Suddenly you have to plan around naps, easily accessible rescue centers for soiled-underpants and whining backseat drivers. What they don’t tell you is how much fun it can be, and that it doesn’t have to be limited to timeshares on beaches and mega-amusement parks.

I know. Traveling with my four-year-old daughter has slowed down the usual pace. But I found myself getting a new appreciation for things I had long ignored – like at a 4th of July parade in Philadelphia, when colorfully dressed Ecuadorian dancers stopped to dance with her.

Robert Reid

Lonely Planet Writer

Gallery (and cafe)-hopping in Portland, Maine

While Portland, Oregon may be attracting culture vultures from all over, Portland in Maine happily flies under the art radar, attracting only the savviest of art oglers.

Art aficionado Daniel Kany has worked in hipster hubs across the US. Now he's back in his home state of Maine, and with good reason: Portland is stepping up to bat with plans to hit an artful home run. So we've created an all-star line-up of activities based on Daniel's insider tips.