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Well, for variety of ecosystems and diversity of natural wonders I'd say California. The ability to go from Coasts of beaches / rugged rocks / coastal Redwood forests to desert and mountains and most everything in between is unusual in a relatively small area. Personally, I have always felt more at home in mountains states and Southwest USA.
Some stick in my mind because of the fortuitous timing of when I was there and what I experienced. I found Flaming Gorge in Utah/Wyoming in late August nearing sunset and as I pulled off the side of the road and observed it from one of the lookout points and it was stunning. Also the Gates of the Mountain area in Montana and driving Lolo pass area through the Northern Rockies.
The Finger Lakes region of New York (Letchworth State Park) in autumn as well as Vermont / New Hampshire/ Maine. Experiencing the rural parts of Mississippi driving the Natchez Trace Parkway during a late June thunderstorm. We are blessed to have so much variety in the USA. It's sort of like having a harem of beautiful women that are all natural.
Which state has the most overall natural beauty? I feel like Washington state but would like to here other opinions.
It's been so long since I've been to the PNW that I can't remember what it looks like anymore. All states have some beauty about them but I'll have to go with places that I've spent time in more recently that are at the top. Well, before I mention them, can I add two honorable mentions: CA (majority of it) and Colorado (the western half of the state):
1. Alaska
2. Pennsylvania
3. West Virginia (surprisingly naturally beautiful)
Tough question.
I've been to 49 states. Worked in a lot of them, just explored some, and lived in 6 or 8.
Most beautiful? ....... That's like asking me to judge a Miss America pageant. I love them all.
If I had to pick an area - the Southwest. New Mexico, Arizona to Nevada. There is something about the desert. And Grand Canyon. And Meteor Crater. But that Nevada desert.... my, my.
I was a trucker. And I could never understand why people were inside their houses in New Mexico. I wanted to bang on their doors and yell, "Look! Can you believe this? Why are you still inside?"
I traveled the US in my sales career. It ended before I was ready so I drove a truck 750,000 miles.
Yeah. It's beautiful.
Same here, I've been to 49 states. The missing piece is Hawaii. It's on my list.
All states have some beautiful element to them; even the plain-Jane states like Iowa (beautiful rolling hills) and North Dakota (wide open spaces/ plains as far as the eye can see).
I think Michigan is underrated by a lot of people. It has many kinds of beaches (not just sand), beautiful dunes, marshes, stunning paperbark birch forest, dramatic fall foliage and amazing winter vistas.
This is true. But it's more so the UP (Upper Peninsula for those unfamiliar with MI) or close to it which most people don't travel that far north so they don't see it. I been to the UP once a very long time ago. Lived in MI more recently and the furthest north I got was Grand Rapids (hilly, pretty area but not nearly close enough to the UP), Lansing (not pretty and central), and Saginaw (other side of the state, not far north enough and not pretty).
Which state has the most overall natural beauty? I feel like Washington state but would like to here other opinions.
Agreed - Washington State has such a variety of climate zones and topography - and since it's one of the "smaller" Western states, it's easier to get to those zones.
I have not been to Alaska (yet), but I have been to the other 49 and lived in several.
For sheer range of beauty, from below sea level desert to the highest point in the continental United States, I am going to have to go with California.
Second would be Oregon. Third would be right here in Colorado. Fourth would be Pennsylvania (for the trees).
Well, in that case, Manhattan is neither naturally beautiful, nor is it a state...
It's not even a city...
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All states have some beauty
not 'effective or any other type of sarcasm'.
