Chalk-white Gulf Coast beaches, poignant Civil Rights sites and a rich musical history await in Alabama.

America’s Last Frontier serves wildlife-filled national parks, Native heritage and some of the country’s most scenic rail journeys.

From the mighty Grand Canyon to desert cities and Indigenous heritage sites, Arizona offers a mix of outdoor adventure and culture.

The Natural State lives up to its name with some of the America’s top mountain-biking trails, plus underrated Ozarks cities and history in capital Little Rock.

Discover nine national parks, Pacific Coast road trips and some of the USA’s blockbuster cities in the Golden State.

From wild pursuits in Rocky Mountain National Park to Denver’s trending galleries and brewpubs, Colorado has art and outdoor adventure in spades.

Wrapped around the Long Island Sound, Connecticut delights travellers with quaint coastal towns, literary landmarks and one of the USA’s most prestigious universities.

Quiet sandy beaches, rich Italian heritage and Revolutionary sites should put underrated Delaware on your travel watch list.

Go beyond the theme parks in the Sunshine State and discover the wildlife-filled Everglades, the Kennedy Space Center and history-steeped St Augustine, the oldest city in America.

From oak-cloaked Savannah to buzzing Atlanta, Georgia’s cities pack a cultural punch, while its swamps and barrier islands promise wildlife and watery adventures.

The Hawaiian archipelago is known for its kaleidoscopic beaches and surf culture – but savvy travellers seek out its Indigenous-led tours, a sumptuous royal palace and volcanic wonders too.

Adventure looms large in Idaho, where you can raft the Salmon River and hike in Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve.

While Chicago’s art and architecture steals the spotlight, Illinois’ creative small towns, quirky stretch of Route 66 and rich presidential history should win travellers too.

Come for the great sandy expanse of Indiana Dunes National Park and stay for alfresco art and live music in Indianapolis.

Frank Lloyd Wright-designed buildings and a UNESCO City of Literature mean Iowa is more than a flyover state.

There’s more to Kansas than sunflower fields and tallgrass: visit museum-rich Wichita and explore moving Civil Rights sites in capital Topeka.

Bourbon distilleries, bluegrass music and postcard-pretty horse farms are reasons to visit this Southern charmer.

Whether you’re swaying to jazz music, feasting on Creole or Cajun cuisine, or delighting in the Mardi Gras parades, Louisiana promises a heady cultural cocktail.

Acadia National Park is one of the East Coast’s finest, while lighthouse-stitched towns deliver indie galleries and maritime history.

Big city Baltimore is an artsy underdog, while Assateague Island is a cavalcade of wild horses, maritime forests and marshes.

It might be hard to drag yourself from Boston’s cool neighbourhoods and absorbing Revolutionary sites – but the arty towns and adventures of coastal Cape Cod and the rural Berkshires reward those who do.

Michigan’s wild Upper Peninsula is all forests and waterfalls, while the Lower Peninsula plays host to one of the USA’s most exciting cities: Motown-fueled, art-filled Detroit.

Minnesota’s ‘Land of 10,000 Lakes’ moniker rings true in remote Voyageurs National Park and Boundary Waters, while Twin Cities Saint Paul and Minneapolis pack in live music venues and galleries.

From the juke joints and museums of the blues-soaked Mississippi Delta to the beaches and small towns of the Gulf Coast, a Magnolia State road trip guarantees music, history and seaside adventure.

From the world’s tallest arch in St Louis to jazz music and barbecue in Kansas City, Missouri’s urban attractions draw road-trippers – but its Ozarks parks and kitsch Route 66 stops are worth travelling for too.

Montana is known as ‘Big Sky Country’ for good reason: glaciers, lakes, soaring peaks and bubbling hot springs characterise the state’s epic wilderness, which includes Glacier and Yellowstone National Park.

Nebraska’s Great Plains are often overlooked by travellers – but its Indigenous festivals, striking sandhills and burgeoning Omaha art scene should not be ignored.

Beyond the bright lights of Las Vegas, the Silver State holds red-rock-filled state parks, quirky ghost towns, remote byways and the caverns, peaks and dark skies of Great Basin National Park.

Hiking or snowshoeing in the White Mountains, kayaking in the Lakes Region, and museum-hopping in coastal Portsmouth – a trip to the Granite State promises four-season adventure.

New Jersey is too often eclipsed by the bright glare of New York City, but give the Garden State a chance and you’ll find rich Revolutionary history, a robust food and wine scene, and the Victorian architecture of coastal Cape May.

Venture to northern New Mexico for Indigenous pueblos and cities (think Taos and Santa Fe) framed by the Sangre de Cristo mountains, or stay south and wonder at the labyrinthine Carlsbad Caverns and White Sands National Park.

There’s more to this state than the Big Apple – venture beyond New York City for fine wine in the Finger Lakes, literary history on Long Island and hiking and wildlife in the Catskill Mountains.

The lighthouse-studded Outer Banks barrier islands and trail-laced Blue Ridge Mountains complement museum-filled cities like Raleigh and Durham in North Carolina.

Head west for the rippling badlands and wild horses of Theodore Roosevelt National Park, or road-trip east for the quirky art and chef-forward food scene of big city Fargo.

Ohio’s underrated cities include Cincinnati, with its German heritage and bourbon scene, and Cleveland, home of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, while little-known Cuyahoga Valley National Park protects winding waterways and forests.

Explore Indigenous cultures at Oklahoma City’s First Americans Museum; dive into a surprising musical history in Tulsa; and drive a wonderfully preserve stretch of the legendary Route 66.

This Pacific Northwest bolthole unfolds in a jigsaw of maritime forests, saw-toothed peaks and lush winelands, while cool, creative cities like Portland and Eugene are satisfyingly offbeat.

Pennsylvania is rooted by the dynamic cities of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, with their world-class art museums and renowned food halls – but in Lancaster County’s Amish country and the bucolic Poconos mountains, life moves at a slower pace.

This lush Caribbean island offers much more than a fly-and-flop break, with bioluminescent bays, the tropical El Yunque rainforest and layered history in capital San Juan.

Rhode Island is the USA’s smallest state, but it packs grand Gilded Age mansions, design-forward cities and postcard-worthy beaches into its borders.

Charleston, with its rainbow-coloured rowhouses and world-class International African American Museum, is one of the Southern USA’s top destinations, while wildlife-rich swamps and sand-fringed barrier islands are fodder for outdoor adventurers.

The presidential landmark of Mount Rushmore is South Dakota’s most famous sight, but make time for Native-led Reservation tours and exploring the rugged, bison-filled Badlands National Park too.

The USA’s rich musical heritage comes to the fore in honky-tonk filled Nashville and soulful Memphis, while the Great Smoky Mountains National Park delights with hikes, scenic drives and wildlife including black bears.

A country-sized state, Texas’s strength lies in its diversity, from the gaping canyons of Big Bend National Park to the Mexican-American culture of San Antonio to the wine-drenched Hill Country.

Anchored by St Croix, St John and St Thomas, the US Virgin Islands are known for their idyllic beaches (possibly home to nesting sea turtles), top snorkelling spots and colourful carnivals.

You’d hardly guess that northern and southern Utah were the same state: head to the former for Alpine-esque mountains, valleys and capital Salt Lake City, and to the latter for epic red rockscapes protected by five national parks.

Maple syrup farms, covered bridges and pin-up-worthy small towns: Vermont is New England charm distilled. Make time for spirited and independent Montpelier, the USA’s smallest state capital.

From country music’s roots in Appalachia to Revolutionary tales told in Yorktown and Williamsburg, you’ll get a diverse lesson in American history on a road-trip through Virginia.

The Pacific Northwest’s towering forests and sky-scraping peaks are parcelled into national parks including Mount Rainier and Olympic, while cool Seattle is the place for offbeat music tours and world food.

The only state entirely within mountain-covered Appalachia and home of New River Gorge National Park, West Virginia is filled with forested trails and waterfalls, while Civil War history is retold in quaint towns such as Harpers Ferry.

America’s so-called ‘Dairyland’ packs a culinary punch, while the quaint waterside communities fringing Lake Michigan and Green Bay make for stellar road trips.

Wyoming leads with the great outdoors from hot-spring-filled Yellowstone, the country’s first national park, to the peaks, pines and alpine lakes of Grand Teton.