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It's CO or WA. While I think some parts of California are spectacularly beautiful, there's a very large percentage of the state that's just throw-away. That's not true for either Colorado or Washington.
I've been to all of these states save AK and HI; all of them have some seriously amazing scenery.
I'd choose California overall, if nothing else because the extreme biodiversity is absolutely nothing to balk at. Up in the Bay Area, you can go from a damp coastline covered in succulents, to a proper, sandy beach, to a Redwood forest, to a pine forest, to a high desert, to rolling hills, to canyons, to mountains, in about 2 hours (traffic permitting).
Oregon has very similar biodiversity - anyone who's driven south through Mt. Hood and then West towards the coast knows what I'm talking about. Really breathtaking place. WA, same deal: lush greenery, plains, high desert, snow-capped mountains...
Although I haven't been to either, Hawaii and Alaska both have breathtaking natural beauty from everything I've seen and heard. I don't know if I'll ever make it up to AK, honestly - I'm not actually a big fan of piney forests, and I loathe cold weather and snow... that said, I'd say nothing to denigrate its natural splendor. Hawaii is definitely more my scene: warm, tropical, beachy... oh yeah!!
I find the desert landscape in NM, AZ, NV, and UT to be breathtaking and, overall, probably my favorite environment, the one I feel the most at-home and comfortable in.
It's CO or WA. While I think some parts of California are spectacularly beautiful, there's a very large percentage of the state that's just throw-away. That's not true for either Colorado or Washington.
Calling a part of a state throw-away is sort of your own opinion, but if you're refering to the Central Valley of California, I can insure you that Washington and Colorado have their own flat, boring areas. Much of Eastern Washington can be fairly uninteresting desert/farmland and cities like Yakima or the Tri-Cities and Eastern Colorado is about as flat as the Great Plains get as it runs into Kansas.
Though all three states have their share of extremely scenic terrain.
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