An Explorer’s Guide to the Hidden Wonders of the United States America Obscura

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Introducing our newest book:

America Obscura

An Explorer’s Guide to the Hidden Wonders of the United States

Available Nov 10, 2026

Edited by Atlas Obscura, Doug Baldinger, and Louise Story

From the creative minds behind the #1 New York Times bestseller Atlas Obscura comes a road trip into the hidden heart of America—a love letter to the strange, fantastic, and beautiful corners of the United States.

America Obscura takes readers on a journey that stretches from shore to shore, in search of the country’s folk rituals and roadside museums, its outsider artists and eccentric prophets, its forgotten dreamers and improbable visionaries who help shape the landscape every day. Equal parts travel companion and cultural almanac, this is the definitive field guide to America’s hidden marvels.

Preorder now!

Amazon Barnes & Noble Bookshop.org IndieBound Penguin Random House

Atlas Obscura State Map

How Many U.S. States Can You Check Off?

Mark each state you’ve visited to reveal your total.

Start Your Map!

A Quest to See Every State

Dispatches from CEO Louise Story’s mission to complete her 50-state map before America turns 250.

The Graveyard That Made Our CEO Kiss a Frog

A surreal field in rural Wisconsin holds hundreds of giant fiberglass molds—an accidental archive of roadside Americana where art, industry, and imagination collide.

Written By

Louise Story

March 18, 2026

Our CEO's 50-State Quest: Gravette, Arkansas

Dispatches from Atlas Obscura CEO Louise Story's journey to visit all 50 states by America's 250th anniversary.

By Louise Story
Wonder All Around Us

A stop at the gravesite of a Kentucky Derby champion reveals how Atlas Obscura turns ordinary drives into unexpected discoveries.

By Louise Story
Two Places, One Story: Mickey Mantle’s House and the Toxic Town

An Atlas Obscura map led to a joyful stop at Mickey Mantle’s childhood home, and a haunting visit to the abandoned mining town just up the road.

By Louise Story
Wyoming, and What Happens When You Pull Over

On her quest to visit all 50 states by July 4th, Atlas Obscura's CEO pulled over for a bicycle sculpture, a plane on a pole, and a mountain lion being skinned in a Wyoming backroom, and came away with something unexpected.

By Louise Story

States of Wonder

Discover hidden history and stunning vistas across the United States.

A foggy view from Washington’s Mount Rainier, the most glaciated peak in the continental United States.

Itinerary

9 Strange and Surreal Spots in Washington State

50 States of Wonder

Fermilab’s bubble chamber, a device used to detect and study subatomic particles, looks like it’s straight out of science fiction.

Itinerary

9 Stunning Scientific Sites in Illinois

50 States of Wonder

The Rock of Ages Granite Quarry is the world’s largest deep-hole dimension granite quarry.

Itinerary

9 Rocking Places in Vermont

50 States of Wonder

Notable Figures

Meet the changemakers whose impact is still felt today.

Dawoud Bey, Untitled #20 (Farmhouse and Picket Fence I), from the series Night Coming Tenderly, Black, 2017, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Accessions Committee Fund purchase.

underground railroad

The Photographer Who Reimagined the Darkness of the Underground Railroad

How acclaimed artist Dawoud Bey used the landscape to tell the story of the unseen.

Gregory, with Dr. Alvenia Fulton, one of his nutrition mentors.

civil rights

The Legacy of a Civil Rights Icon's Vegetarian Cookbook

Dick Gregory was an activist, comedian, and trendsetter for Black vegans.

nature

Podcast: Roger Williams Root

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.

West Hartford, Connecticut

Noah Webster Statue

This tribute to the founding father of the American dictionary originally contained a spelling error.

An aerial view of Oxford during riots sparked by the enrollment of an African-American student, James H. Meredith, at the University of Mississippi in 1962.

statues

The Artists and Writers Who Fought Racism With Satire in Jim Crow Mississippi

How William Faulkner and a small group of provocateurs challenged segregation in ways that resonate today.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Thaddeus Kosciuszko National Memorial

America’s smallest national park site is the former residence of exiled Polish national hero Thaddeus Kosciuszko.

Historical Spots

From iconic destinations to hidden pieces of the past.

Glenns Ferry, Idaho

Three Island Crossing State Park

At the site of the most dangerous crossings on the Oregon Trail, a museum explores the complex history of westward migration in America.
Clear Lake, Iowa

The Day The Music Died Memorial

A giant pair of thick black glasses mark the tragic demise of a trio of rock and roll legends.
Newport, Rhode Island

The White Horse Tavern

The oldest still-operating tavern in the United States was once owned by a pirate.
Seattle, Washington

Gas Works Park

This former coal gasification plant found a curious second life as a popular public park.
Peebles, Ohio

The Great Serpent Mound

The largest earthwork effigy in the world.
Hilo, Hawaii

Mauna Kea

Earth's tallest volcano is sacred to Native Hawaiians, and home to a dozen world-class observatories.
Woods Landing-Jelm, Wyoming

Woods Landing Bar & Cafe

Dance on a hand-hewn log floor padded with bouncy boxcar springs at a saloon built in 1883.
Baltimore, Maryland

George Peabody Library

It’s not hard to see why the historic Peabody Conservatory of Music’s library has been described as a “cathedral of books.”
St. Marys, Georgia

Dungeness Ruins

Ruins of a Carnegie family mansion on Cumberland Island.