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Mid-Atlantic: Maryland
(Hon. Mention: Virginia Piedmont)
South: North Carolina
(Hon. Mention: Florida Keys)
Overall: New York
07-10-2011, 07:30 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ktaadin
Overall, I would give the nod to New York State. New York has the barrier island beaches along long island, the hudson valley, great lakes, mountains including a few that reach above timberline, and great urban scenery and skyline in the NYC area.
Great way of describing the scenery of New York state! I agree with that description.
This is how I would rank the East coast states from Most scenic to Least scenic:
1. New York state: Already explained by ktaadin. Also, what forgot to be mentioned is New York state have some great waterfalls such as Niagra Falls and Kaaterskill falls.
2. North Carolina: Sort of similar to New York state scenery. It has some pretty high mountains, it has barrier island beaches too. Charlotte is not New York City but it actually has some nice urban scenery and developing a nice skyline.
3. Massachusetts: Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket have some pretty great scenery, as well as Boston for some urban scenery. Also the hills, lush forests, and farms of Western Massachusetts are nice.
4. Maine: Vast areas of lush forests and probably more evergreen trees than the other East coast states and rocky coastline. Some nice small town scenery.
5. Vermont: Vast areas of lush forests. Some mountains. Also some nice small town scenery. Great fall colors in the trees during fall but this is true for some other East state coast states too.
6. New Hampshire: Similar to Maine and Vermont.
7. Pennsylvania: Nice urban scenery in Philadelphia, vast areas of farms, rolling hills, lush forests. Even some big lake coastline around Erie.
8. Florida: Very flat but some pretty great tropical beaches and subtropical beaches. Palm trees in Southern areas of Florida. Miami has some pretty good urban scenery. The farmland is pretty different from the other East coast states it seems like with more orange grove farms and more tropical/subtropical farmland.
9. Georgia: It has some coastline and it has some big hills and even some small mountains. It has some urban scenery around Atlanta. It has large vast areas of forests and farmlands.
I think Savannah might also have some pretty good urban scenery.
10. South Carolina: At least it has a coastline. Charleston has some pretty good urban scenery in some parts it seems like.
11. Virginia: It has some hills/mountains and coastline.
12. Rhode Island: Coastline, some islands, farms. Providence seems to have some urban scenery that seems pretty good.
13. New Jersey: It actually has some great views of Manhattan NYC from Jersey City. This would be higher on the list but the rest of New Jersey just looks kind of ugly to me. The only other places that might have decent scenery in New Jersey is part of the Jersey coastline, and areas of Northwest New Jersey. Also Jersey City and Hoboken has some pretty good urban scenery things about it.
14. Connecticut: I guess it has some nice coastline, farms, lush landscapes but still pretty low on the list. Nothing that special to offer in scenery compared to the other states. Does not really offer any great urban scenery.
15. Delaware: Same as what I said about Connecticut. Actually Delaware and Connecticut have some urban decay such as Hartford in Connecticut and Wilmington in Delaware.
16. Maryland:I dont know what it is about Maryland but it just seems to be the least scenic and most ugliest East coast state by far. It has the blahness of Connecticut and Delaware but with the urban decay of Baltimore. But then again the best neighborhoods of Baltimore might offer some decent urban scenery.
If Washington DC was not in its own special administration region and was actually part of the state of Maryland then Maryland would most definitely be much higher on this list. But Washington DC is technically not part of Maryland so...
Overall though plenty of Northeast states offer plenty of great urban and nature scenery.
Great way of describing the scenery of New York state! I agree with that description.
This is how I would rank the East coast states from Most scenic to Least scenic:
1. New York state: Already explained by ktaadin. Also, what forgot to be mentioned is New York state have some great waterfalls such as Niagra Falls and Kaaterskill falls.
2. North Carolina: Sort of similar to New York state scenery. It has some pretty high mountains, it has barrier island beaches too. Charlotte is not New York City but it actually has some nice urban scenery and developing a nice skyline.
3. Massachusetts: Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket have some pretty great scenery, as well as Boston for some urban scenery. Also the hills, lush forests, and farms of Western Massachusetts are nice.
4. Maine: Vast areas of lush forests and probably more evergreen trees than the other East coast states and rocky coastline. Some nice small town scenery.
5. Vermont: Vast areas of lush forests. Some mountains. Also some nice small town scenery. Great fall colors in the trees during fall but this is true for some other East state coast states too.
6. New Hampshire: Similar to Maine and Vermont.
7. Pennsylvania: Nice urban scenery in Philadelphia, vast areas of farms, rolling hills, lush forests. Even some big lake coastline around Erie.
8. Florida: Very flat but some pretty great tropical beaches and subtropical beaches. Palm trees in Southern areas of Florida. Miami has some pretty good urban scenery. The farmland is pretty different from the other East coast states it seems like with more orange grove farms and more tropical/subtropical farmland.
9. Georgia: It has some coastline and it has some big hills and even some small mountains. It has some urban scenery around Atlanta. It has large vast areas of forests and farmlands.
I think Savannah might also have some pretty good urban scenery.
10. South Carolina: At least it has a coastline. Charleston has some pretty good urban scenery in some parts it seems like.
11. Virginia: It has some hills/mountains and coastline.
12. Rhode Island: Coastline, some islands, farms. Providence seems to have some urban scenery that seems pretty good.
13. New Jersey: It actually has some great views of Manhattan NYC from Jersey City. This would be higher on the list but the rest of New Jersey just looks kind of ugly to me. The only other places that might have decent scenery in New Jersey is part of the Jersey coastline, and areas of Northwest New Jersey. Also Jersey City and Hoboken has some pretty good urban scenery things about it.
14. Connecticut: I guess it has some nice coastline, farms, lush landscapes but still pretty low on the list. Nothing that special to offer in scenery compared to the other states. Does not really offer any great urban scenery.
15. Delaware: Same as what I said about Connecticut. Actually Delaware and Connecticut have some urban decay such as Hartford in Connecticut and Wilmington in Delaware.
16. Maryland:I dont know what it is about Maryland but it just seems to be the least scenic and most ugliest East coast state by far. It has the blahness of Connecticut and Delaware but with the urban decay of Baltimore. But then again the best neighborhoods of Baltimore might offer some decent urban scenery.
If Washington DC was not in its own special administration region and was actually part of the state of Maryland then Maryland would most definitely be much higher on this list. But Washington DC is technically not part of Maryland so...
Overall though plenty of Northeast states offer plenty of great urban and nature scenery.
I don't know what is it about you,but it does seem you haven't seen much of Maryland.While for most scenic state overall I would probably pick Pennsylvania,all states are beautiful so I wouldn't try to rank them,but Maryland definitely is among the most scenic ones.It also helps that it's small state so wherever you live you are not far from the beach,mountains or gorgeous countryside
As much as I DETESTED living there, I don't know how the nod can't go to Maine. I'm assuming that most people who didn't select Maine haven't been there, or at least haven't seen beyond the Southern Maine Coast or Western foothills (nice, but not even close to Mid Coast/Acadia/Down East or some of the mountainous areas like Baxter SP, or Western Maine).
My top 5:
1) Maine. This is a no-brainer for me. We can sit here and debate who has better beaches (Outer Banks, NC... National Seashore MA... Long Island NY, etc), but none of those places have the dramatic rocky coastline that Maine does. Again, if you've only been to Portland/Kennebunkport/York/Kittery, you ain't seen nothing. It's simply stunning and it goes on forever. Beyond that, there's no natural landscape quite like Acadia National Park anywhere else on the East Coast. It's just gorgeous.
I would concede that NC, NH, VT, and NY have better mountains, but Katahdin and Baxter SP are extraordinarily beautiful. The lakes region rivals any lake region on the East Coast. The Northern Maine Woods (Allagash and beyond) are unspoiled natural wilderness regions like only seen in places like Alaska. A ride up Route 201 between Bingham and Jackman provides absolutely stunning views of extensive wilderness and stunning rivers, lakes and mountains. There's no place else on the East Coast quite like it.
2) North Carolina. This state has it all from the barrier beaches along the coast to the Smokey Mountains in the interior. I think giving North Carolina is number two is pretty easy.
3) New York State. Fairly solid number three right here. The Finger Lakes are a geographical gem as are the Adirondacks. The beaches all along Long Island are extraordinarily beautiful too. I rank NY third because I think the Mountains in places like New Hampshire and North Carolina area little more awe-inspiring, and I think North Carolina's Outer Banks are a little more unspoiled than Long Island. Still, this list drops off a ways after New York
4) New Hampshire. New Hampshire sort of has a mini-New York thing going on. Great lakes in the central part of the state (well, "lake"), gorgeous mountains, and a small but beautiful and diverse coast. I think I prefer the White Mountains of New Hampshire to any other range on the East Coast. Mount Washington and the Presidentials are simply stunning. Franconia Notch is almost equally as beautiful too. New Hampshire's coast is beautiful, but not as long and varied as other states mentioned.
5) Vermont. No coastline hurts. However, Lake Champlain is beautiful and massive. Vermont's Green Mountains aren't (to me, anyway) as striking as the Adirondacks, Whites or Great Smokeys. Still, the rolling agricultural landscape, seemingly endless picturesque New England villages and countryside are hard to knock.
NY has the most variety outside CA, maybe more Two Great Lakes, Finger Lakes, two mt ranges, big wide valleys, Hudson, Lake Champlain, St Lawrence, Niagara, Palisades, LI, NYC.
Maine's vast interior forests and its rocky, jagged coastline, and Vermont's Lake Champlain, covered bridges, and its mix of forest with dairy farming; these would be my favorites..
We enjoy North Carolina immensely. The great variety with the beaches of the outer banks, the triangle area, and the beauty of the mountains. If you enjoy a peaceful and serene getaway look at Maggie Valley N.C. or the Nantahalla Gorge area of NC.
Maine truly is a beautiful state as is upstate New York and New Hampshire. Sorry, must be honest about Florida. Along the ocean area yes it is picturesque-----however, if you truly drive the length and width of the state you will come to the conclusion that in general it is a mundane state for scenery.
I agree with a previous poster that Maryland does indeed have pretty areas. Virginia also has a nice variety of scenery and overall is a very pretty state.
1 North Carolina
2 Virginia
3 Maine
4 New York
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