Places atlas2018 Wants to Go

Once a menacing challenge for trailblazers, this trail is now the most scenic drive in Utah.

This massive geographical sculpture is so subtle, it's possible to pass by it without noticing.

A one-of-a-kind sundial at the Very Large Array honors a radio astronomy pioneer, incorporating the original piers from his breakthrough radio telescope.

Rippling sand dunes frozen in the Arizona rock.

Semi-recognized center of the world, with many oddities.

Most-visited and most-photographed slot canyon in the American Southwest.

Some 2,000 carvings show this rare desert spring has been an oasis for travelers for over a thousand years.

Stairs often replace streets on the steep slopes of this old mining town.

This immigrant bridge once spanned the Thames but is now a fixture of an Arizona city.

A mistaken marker makes an erroneous claim along the historic Old Divide Road.

In the remote high desert of New Mexico, a strange array of poles beckon fury from above.

A mysterious spirit totem at the edge of Navajo lands.

One of the world's largest telescopes, stares into the night sky with two huge mirrors.

Eons ago, a rushing lava river formed this pristine passage through solid rock.

The wreckage of a deadly bomber plane crash can still be found near an Arizona peak.

The biggest solar telescope in the world helps reveal the secrets of our sun.

Rumor had it that these concrete crosses scattered across the Arizona scrubland helped align spy satellites. (They didn’t.)

An abandoned facility that has become a place of ritualistic satanic worship, or so rumor has it.

Once a year, at exactly 11:11 a.m., this monument comes to life.

Coast along one of Japan’s mountain railways for coveted views of magnificent hydrangeas.

Open since 1938, this diner has kept its fountain, malt machine, and all the gum that greasers left beneath its counter.

Thousands of Mexican Free-Tailed Bats soar around an abandoned storm drain at sunset each summer.

A mysterious "wedding cake" castle in the middle of the urban desert.

A $100,000 tumbleweed decorates an Arizona park and ride that got its priorities a bit tangled.