Longitude: 159.7° W
When to go: April, May, September, and October for the best weather
This untouched oasis of white-sand beach and turquoise water has a mystical local history. The large basalt rocks don’t just offer stunning coastal views: Local legend has it that human spirits depart from this part of the coastline, too.
Longitude: 159.6° W
When to go: May to September
With blue water, emerald cliffs and shimmering waterfalls, Kauai’s Nāpali Coast is a lush rainbow of natural beauty so stunning that even in a place dubbed The Garden Island, it stands out. The shore is accessible by land and sea. There is a fabulous three-day trek known as the Kalalau Trail. Or Zodiac tours can access the shore, and kayaking is permitted in the summer. Aerial tours via helicopter are a more expensive option and your feet won’t touch the shore, but the whole coast is visible and it will be sure to leave you breathless without the physical effort.
Longitude: 157.8° W
When to go: February
For the week around Valentine’s Day in the community of Kaka‘ako, Honolulu, each year more than one hundred artists from around the world gather together to turn Honolulu into a living art gallery. The name POW! WOW! works on several levels. Pow for the impact art has on a person, and wow for the reaction of the viewer. Together it makes pow wow, a Native American word meaning “celebration of culture, music, and art,” and that is the POW! WOW! Festival in a nutshell.
Longitude: 149.8° W
When to go: June and August
The island of Moorea, which means “yellow lizard” in Tahitian, earned its name because it’s said that a giant lizard opened up the two bays of Cook and Opunohu with its tail. Nestled in between the bays is Moorea Lagoon, with its crystal clear turquoise water.
Longitude: 135.0° W
When to go: September to October
Famous for the Klondike Goldrush of 1897 when a rampant stampede of prospectors hit the north in the hopes of striking it rich, the Yukon holds far more treasure than just hard metallic gold. In the fall, the tundra transitions from green to bright orange, golden yellow, and crimson red for two months, transforming a picturesque mountain meadow into an explosion of colors.
Longitude: 134.5° W
When to go: All year, May to September for longer hours
There is a quiet majesty to all glaciers: with their age and timeless beauty that transforms landscapes. Mendenhall Glacier in Alaska’s Tongass National Forest is one of thirty-eight large glaciers that flow from the Juneau Icefield. Formed over three thousand years ago during the Little Ice Age, it is 12 mi/19.3 km long and its crystal blues stand out against the snow and landscape. The spectacular colour is due to the air bubbles being squeezed out of the ice over the centuries, giving glaciers such as Mendenhall their sparkling blue tone. As with all nature, it’s affected by the environment around it and Mendenhall is retreating due to the climate crisis. The environmental impact from the retreat is severe, threatening sea levels and freshwater supplies, but the melting ice is also revealing secrets from the earth’s past. The retreating glacier recently exposed a natural treasure trove of ancient trees with roots and bark, perfectly preserved under a blanket of gravel from the glacier. The best way to experience Mendenhall’s sparkling splendor is to hike along the multiple trails of the surrounding area.
Longitude: 123.1° W
When to go: November to January
Every November the Capilano Suspension Bridge turns into an enchanted forest during Canyon Lights—a winter lights festival. Decorated with hundreds of thousands of colorful bulbs, the bridge, canyon, and surrounding rainforest are lit up like a fairy land, including eight Douglas firs that reach heights of 110 ft/33 m, making them the world’s tallest decorated Christmas trees.
Longitude: 122.3° W
When to go: April to May
Celebrate spring’s arrival by tip-toeing through a living rainbow made up of over 2.5 million tulips. The countless varieties, spread across 10 ac/40,000 m2, mean the bloom lasts for around five weeks. A third-generation Canadian tulip farmer, Alexis Warmerdam, founded the festival believing the public would love frolicking through the tulips as much as she herself did, and how right she was.
Longitude: 123.4° W
When to go: All year
These stunning gardens were created by Jennie Butchart more than one hundred years ago to transform a disused limestone quarry which had been dug out by her husband’s cement business. There are five gardens here now, each with its own variety of landscaping. The Sunken Garden alone boasts 151 flower beds and 65,000 bulbs.
Longitude: 122.3° W
When to go: All year
There can’t be many exhibitions entirely devoted to glass, but this one in Seattle covers 1.5 ac/6,000 m2 with eight galleries, several drawing walls, and a wonderful garden. Inspired by two of glass-artist Dale Chihuly’s favorite buildings, Sainte-Chapelle in Paris and the short-lived Crystal Palace in London, his centerpiece is the Glasshouse. It displays a 100 ft/30 m long suspended sculpture of reds, oranges, yellows, and ambers totaling 1,340 pieces. Vibrant colors and whimsical designs throughout the exhibit create a wonderland to wander through.
Longitude: 122.4° W
When to go: All year
The Mission District in San Francisco is exploding with color. Vibrant murals line the streets and alleyways. While several streets in the area are covered with art, the best is found around Balmy Alley and Clarion Alley. The first murals appeared in Balmy Alley in 1972, painted by a two-woman team who called themselves Mujeres Muralistas. In the mid 1980s, mural activists covered all the garage doors and fencing in the alley with meditations on Central American culture and the U.S.A.’s involvement in Central America. Although murals change regularly, the strong social and political messages remain. More than seven hundred murals have been created since 1992 in Clarion Alley alone.
Longitude: 122.4° W
When to go: All year, but September to November for warmer weather
During World War I and II, houses in San Francisco were painted with surplus Navy paint, known as “battleship gray.” In the 1960s, artist Butch Kardum painted his Victorian-style house with blues and greens. Inspired, his neighbors followed suit, resulting in a colorist movement, filling entire neighborhoods with color.
Longitude: 120.0° W
When to go: Summertime
With streets lined with old-timey hotels, quirky shops, and delicious restaurants, it’s no wonder that King’s Beach is the place to be in Lake Tahoe. And while the town is a funky little beach town that hasn’t changed much over the years, the sparkling lake is what really draws people in.
Longitude: 121.9° W
When to go: May to October for best weather and beach activities
Little candy-colored beach houses with European flair, the condos of Capitola’s Venetian Court sit directly on Capitola City Beach. Built in 1924, they are listed as one of the first condo seaside developments in California and, luckily for the rest of us, some of these little slices of beach heaven are available to rent. The beach really comes alive during the summer when evenings are filled with live music, outdoor dance floors, and movies on the beach. Fall brings wine and art festivals, and opera.
Longitude: 122.7° W
When to go: All year
So-called because the street names all run alphabetically, Portland’s Alphabet District is buzzing with shops, bars, restaurants, and cafés. There are all styles of architecture found in this historic city, but it is the brightly painted Victorian townhouses of the Pearl District that really steal the show.
