12 must-see natural wonders – East Bay Times

Travel guide Fodor’s has just published a pair of new print guidebooks to inspire close-to-home adventures, or as they put it, “help wanderlusters navigate this ever-shifting moment in travel.” Ever shifting, indeed!

The duo includes “Fodor’s The Complete Guide to the National Parks of the USA” (Fodor’s Travel, $26) and “Fodor’s Bucket List USA: From the Epic to the Eccentric, 500+ Ultimate Experiences” (Fodor’s Travel, $27).

That 500-item bucket list ranges from Grand Canyon camping treks to Alaska’s Aurora Borealis. There’s plenty for armchair travelers and real life road trippers to enjoy, including a wide array of trip itineraries: a week of fly fishing, for example, a three-week trek through West Coast national parks and a two-week “Great American Baseball” road trip. (That one goes nowhere near the West Coast, by the way.)

The lists of must-sees vary from iconic landmarks to museums, sports spectating spots and even “state booze.” (Sonoma’s Donum Estate makes the latter list.) Oregon’s magnificent 1,943-foot-deep Crater Lake is included on the list of top natural attractions, along with the Tall Trees Grove at Redwood National Park in Northern California and Kilauea on the Big Island.

Here are the top 12 natural wonders. Find the rest of that bucket list at your favorite bookstore — and learn more at www.fodors.com.

1 Crater Lake, Oregon

2 Niagara Falls, New York and Canada

3 Black Hills, South Dakota

4 Natural Bridge, Virginia

5 Mammoth Cave, Kentucky

6 Hells Canyon, Oregon and Idaho

7 Tall Trees Grove, Redwood National Park, California

8 Kilauea, Hawaii

9 Denali, Alaska