samlafrance's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
Olanta, South Carolina

Woods Bay State Park

This natural wonderland is a unique chance to explore a Carolina bay, a mysterious geological formation of unknown origin.
Asheville, North Carolina

Biltmore Estate's Secret Passages

The enormous 250-room Vanderbilt mansion conceals hidden doors and secret passageways.
Cashiers, North Carolina

Grimshawes Post Office

This 5-by-6-foot wooden hut is the smallest historic post office in the U.S.
Asheville, North Carolina

Basilica of Saint Lawrence, Asheville

This rare basilica nestled right in downtown Asheville is an architectural marvel, inside and out.
Asheville, North Carolina

Pritchard Park Drum Circle

Every week, a festive public jam session breaks out in downtown Asheville.
Asheville, North Carolina

Folk Art Center

A wonderful display of arts and crafts handmade by local artisans in the Southern Appalachians.
Black Mountain, North Carolina

Craggy Gardens Rhododendron Tunnels

Gnarled canopies of pink and purple wildflowers arch over the trail to the summit.
Asheville, North Carolina

Biltmore Industries Homespun Museum

The fine fabric handwoven at Biltmore Industries was once coveted around the world.
Staten Island, New York

Alice Austen House

The pioneering photographer's prints are immortalized inside her childhood home.
Helena, Montana

Stonehouse in Reeder's Alley

One home in the historic strip hides secret compartments and the ghostly songs of long-gone canaries.
Helena, Montana

Guardian of the Gulch

The old fire tower is one of the last of its kind in the United States.
Key Biscayne, Florida

Cape Florida Lighthouse

Located within a historic park, the beacon is the oldest standing structure in Miami.
Pensacola, Florida

San Pablo Shipwreck

Though nicknamed the “Russian Freighter,” this ship was actually sunk off the coast of Pensacola by the U.S. government in a top-secret operation.
Ponce Inlet, Florida

The Green Mound

One of the largest Native American shell middens stands 30 feet tall.
Ormond Beach, Florida

Ormond Beach Watchtower

A replica of one of the more than 15,000 civilian lookout towers that lined the U.S. coast during World War II.
Naples, Florida

Clam Pass Beach

A hidden beach at the end of a tunnel of mangrove trees.
Ormond Beach, Florida

Dummett Sugar Mill Ruins

The ruins of a once-thriving sugarcane plantation that was burned in the Second Seminole War.
Pensacola, Florida

USS Oriskany

The 44,000-ton aircraft carrier was purposely sunk to create an artificial reef teeming with life.
Pensacola, Florida

Wreck of the USS Massachusetts

The "worst battleship ever built" is enjoying a grand second act, submerged 30 feet in the Gulf of Mexico.
Pensacola, Florida

Fort Barrancas

This now-deactivated naval base defended the Florida coast for centuries.
St. Augustine, Florida

Castle Otttis

Two men built this castle on the Florida coast as an artistic “landscape sculpture.”
Pensacola, Florida

Tarkiln Bayou Preserve State Park

One of the best places in Florida to spot rare, carnivorous pitcher plants.
Key Largo, Florida

Christ of the Abyss

An underwater statue of Christ blesses the depths off Key Largo.
Crawfordville, Florida

Wakulla Springs

One of the world’s largest and deepest freshwater springs, where mastodons once roamed.