A massive volcanic plug is now a protected area that hosts a number of bird species.

A massive sea stack famous for its appearance in The Goonies.

A Roman-style column in Oregon hides a spiral staircase inside.

A roaring, awe-inspiring double cascade of icy water flows through woodland Oregon like something out of a Tolkien novel.

The magic's in the hole!

The deepest lake in the United States, and once the site of epic destruction that lives on in legends.

One of the most scenic stretches of road in America winds between some of the country's oldest trees.

An optical illusion found amid a logged redwood forest.

This massive redwood tree has a hole in the base big enough to drive through.

Discover for yourself what Herb Caen referred to as "the best kept secret in the Bay Area."

In all of the 29 years it was in operation, no prisoners ever escaped successfully... or so they claim.

Radioactivity still cause for concern at this urban explorer's paradise.

The key to turning shifting dunes into the green oasis of Golden Gate Park.

San Francisco's urban bison herd has persisted in the face of extinction, development, and disease.

Relics of the 1894 Midwinter Exposition continue to delight visitors today.

Home to one of the world’s largest collections of model yachts.

The seawater playground of gilded-era San Francisco burned to the ground in 1966.

Bring your own cardboard to the slippery slopes of concrete hidden in a neighborhood park.

A shop full of natural curiosities, carnivorous plants, and costumed taxidermied mice.

The oldest burial ground in the city, final resting place of city founders, Ohlone natives and murderers alike.

A still functioning vaudeville carousel that has operated for over a century boasts a colorful menagerie and past.

A beautiful geyser under environmental threat.

One of nature's most well-scheduled phenomenons resides in Wyoming's Yellowstone National Park.

Known as one of the most climbed mountains in the world, this barren peak is permanently bald thanks to an anti-wolf fire.