Places cleanplate Wants to Go

An inconspicuous footbridge beloved by San Diego locals.

One of the most scenic stretches of road in America winds between some of the country's oldest trees.

One of Antoni Gaudí’s earliest buildings, built between 1886 and 1890 for the industrialist Eusebi Güell.

An old California photo stand has been turned into a shrine to the cozy art of crochet.

Rainbow-hued local gem in Venice.

Hollywood's most famous landmark, the "temporary" sign that has stood for decades longer than intended.

One man's homage to the sun continues to grow like a glass fractal.

A pair of large white marble lions guard this stretch of the Mojave Desert, and it is utterly mysterious how they got there.

This unlicensed collection of fast-food memorabilia sits on the site of the first ever McDonald's restaurant.

This Pringle-shaped ledge makes for the perfect photo op.

With beautiful views and every detail perfectly considered, one of the geniuses of modern architecture built himself the perfect home.

This simple highway curve has become a comedic pilgrimage site.

One man’s obsessive, 30-plus-year quest is behind the pies at this spot on the Lower East Side.

The highest concentration of petroglyph sites in Gold Butte National Monument, plus an improbable early 20th-century dam.

A mysterious castle built as a monument to lost love.

This long line of cement defensive wedges is named after the famous chocolate bar for obvious reasons.

See the rare bloom of the "Queen of the Night" cactus at one of the world's largest succulent collections.

The tallest outdoor elevator in Europe rockets passengers on a dizzyingly precarious ride to the top of a mountain.

A striking, menacing sandstone peak towering above a landscape that's equal parts Mordor and the Moon.

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

This oasis-like spring in the Sonoran Desert is home to unique, endangered species.

Since World War II people have been decorating this stretch of the Yuma desert with signatures arranged out of rocks.

The decaying ruins of a failed mining company’s water diversion project cling to the side of a desert canyon.

Every year, festive decorations appear on this juniper tree located in the median strip of a busy highway.