Accessible only by boat, this centuries-old island fort never saw troops or combat.

An unreal vintage shop that wears its dadaist influence on its zombie fish.

This stunning sea creature-shaped home blends into the landscape like a fantasy villa.

An "anarchical" no man's land, complete with garbage sculptures and a hobo-run "Landfillian Library."

A playground built by the kids that is a child's wonderland, and a helicopter parent's nightmare.

The arboretum whose marshy soil sucked up the dreams of housing developers.

A diverse, expansive nature preserve in northeastern Kansas.

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

A 90-acre park on former landfill that hosts an annual kite festival.

A once grand hotel is being retaken by the wilderness it once capitalized on.

A quiet and contemplative oasis in the middle of New York's bustle and riot.

Gnarled canopies of pink and purple wildflowers arch over the trail to the summit.

An abandoned horror film set sits eerily along a highway through Hollywood's "door to the desert."

This abandoned Greek island was the last active leper colony in Europe.

The abandoned ruins of a failed resort hide on this verdant, picture-perfect island.

You can still find treasures on the pebbly beaches of one of the world's oldest jade-producing areas.

A record-size collection of wild-haired troll dolls tells the story of the mythical creature's roots in Scandinavian folklore.

Rows of 19th-century brick ovens used to process coal into coke form the center of a wooded park.

There is beauty and history in the ruins of this former company town.

A storybook European village in Berkeley.

This brightly made over hotel hides decades of suicide, serial killers, and mysterious deaths.

A look into the Church of Scientology's deeply unfavorable view of psychiatry.

Rainbow-hued local gem in Venice.

This serene oasis in an affluent Los Angeles neighborhood holds some of Gandhi's ashes and got Elvis into Eastern Philosophy.