Each year lots of lists come out offering their picks for places to visit in the new year.
Lonely Planet just released its eighth annual Best In The US list and you might be a bit surprised by most of the destinations which made the cut.
To come up with the list, Lonely Planet, “asks its community of travel experts, in-house editors, researchers on the road and locals on the ground to decide on the most compelling destinations to visit in the year ahead“, according to the press e-mail I received.
Along with the list, Lonely Planet is also running a contest where one lucky winner will win a trip for two to California’s Redwood Coast (which also happens to be the #1 US destination to visit on the list).
Here is Lonely Planet’s picks for the 2018 Best In The US List:
- California’s Redwood Coast – “Lose all track of time (and cell signal)”
- Boise, Idaho – “What cool looks like before the rest of the world has figured it out”
- Chattanooga, Tennessee – “Meet the New South!”
- Florida’s Space Coast – “Get a taste of outer space on earth”
- Cincinnati, Ohio – “A new chapter for the city’s artistic icons”
- Midcoast, Maine – “One word says it all: ‘Ayuh’”
- Richmond, Virginia – “Flipped from humdrum to happening”
- Kentucky Bourbon Country – “The state’s distilling heritage runs deep”
- Minneapolis, Minnesota – “In the spotlight for this year’s Super Bowl”
- Southeastern Utah – “Quintessential Americana road-trip country”
While looking over the list, I noticed that I’ve been to 2 of the destinations- Boise and Minneapolis. (I’ve been to Maine but I’m not sure I’ve been to the area LP is highlighting on this list.)
A couple of summers back, Lucas and I visited Boise. We had a great time, checking out some interesting sights while also eating some tasty food. We also enjoyed going to the rodeo. I’d definitely recommend a visit to the city if you haven’t already been.
Minneapolis has gotten a lot of attention thanks to the Super Bowl. Kim, Lucas and I visited the city in the summer of 2013. We enjoyed our visit which you can read about here.
From Lonely Planet’s list, the top three places that I’d like to visit are California’s Redwoods, Cincinnati and Richmond. I’m not sure that I’ll visit any of them in 2018 but these areas are definitely on our radar.
The contest: enter for a chance to win a trip to Cali’s Redwood Coast by March 27, 2018.
Find out more about The Lonely Planet Best In The US List and enter the contest here.
Ric- Interesting! Isn’t Cali an abbreviation for California? One of these days I need to see the Redwoods in person.
I just looked up Wolfe’s Necks Woods State Park. I saw that it’s in Freeport. Is it near the outlets? I wonder if I visited it when I did a couple of LL Bean Outdoor Discovery School activities.
I never hear anyone in California refer to the state as Cali, yet I have seen that term used for California on three different travel blogs this week.
Redwood Coast is amazing. I lived there for more than a decade and drove thousands of miles along the ‘Redwood Highway’. When you see miles and miles of hillsides covered in towering trees it is hard to believe these are second and third generation trees since 95% of the Old Growth redwood trees were felled between 1850 and 1950.
One of my favorite spots in midcoast Maine is Wolfe’s Neck Woods State Park, a place I would frequently stay the night in the back of my SUV.