Places Ryn Wants to Go

This high point in the Great Smoky Mountains is said to be home to the chief of all bears.

This road in the Great Smoky Mountains was supposed to assuage a displaced community, but ended up a $52 million dead end.

Marvel at 400-year-old trees in one of the last remaining old-growth Appalachian forests.

A historic dam made famous for its turbines and feature in a Hollywood classic.

Abandoned for 60 years, this submerged bridge was completely forgotten until the lake was drained.

This 19th-century building inadvertently preserved the handprints of its builders within its walls.

Mile-long cave system near Great Smoky Mountains.

Erosion has transformed this sandstone boulder into a massive dune-filled cavern.

This boulder stays on its mountain thanks to a huge chain and on the map due to local legend.

Beautiful waterfalls grace a canyon visibly torn by a violent tornado.

Outstanding collection of 19th century medical instruments includes a life-size figure cast from as many as 200 cadavers.

The taxidermied body of a bear that was a casualty of a drug trafficker’s bizarre death.

This museum of miniature displays provides a journey through early American history.

The collection of a paranormal investigator who traveled the country collecting haunted items and stories.

Moonbows over Kentucky.

A failed utopian experiment for British expats in the American South is now a Victorian village frozen in time.

This structure among the trees was the result of divine inspiration.

Visit this playground of waterfalls, caves and sinkholes.

These early tent-shaped grave coverings are unique to Appalachia.

An ancient cave system in Tennessee’s Appalachian foothills converted to a 1,200-person music venue.

This limestone outcropping was once a ceremonial site for ancient Native Americans.

Amazing taxidermy dioramas from the 1960s in a cement building meant to look like an ice cave.

An abandoned theme park with a strange and tumultuous past.

Prehistoric animals decorate this popular outdoor park.