Beautiful places you have been

[mommyoffive]

List them!

The Tahiti talk has me dreaming. And yet  another dreary dreay day really has me wanting to be somewhere else.  So what pretty places have you been that you loved?  

[Drama Llama]

Lake Louise.  

[wintermom]

Flam, Norway. Specifically, bike down to Flam, on the shore of the Aurlands fjord, then hop on a ferry across the fjord and back, then take the Flam railway up to the top again. Simply amazing!

https://www.norwaysbest.com/flamsbana/flamsbana---the-flam-railway/

Edited April 5, 2022 by wintermom

[Tap]

Waldo Lake Oregon.....about 10 years ago!  Lol. DD23 and I went to spend some time there this past summer, and out little secret beach..isn't so secret anymore.  IT was absolutely overran with people. Think Disney bad.

It broke my heart to see it being so over ran with people. It is one of the cleanest lakes in the USA, but considering the smell of sunscreen in the air, I can only imagine the water quality will start to register the effects of the populace.  😞

[Lecka]

Thousand Islands in upstate New York.

We drove through Trinidad, Colorado recently and it was beautiful.  

[JustEm]

Ecuador and the Galapagos. Ecuador is amazing because there is so much variety.  You've got the city, rain forest, cloud forest, volcano, the galapagos, and beaches.  

[Selkie]

Switzerland

Victoria and Vancouver BC

[KungFuPanda]

Monterey, Savannah, French Riviera, Bavaria, every park I've ever camped in or hiked in, southern WV hills in the fall, the National Arboretum, my neighborhood.  I'm not picky and I'm a huge fan of forest bathing.  In twenty years of homeschooling field trips, I haven't even run out of day trips to do.  

I am itching to go somewhere else since I haven't really travelled in a few years.

[KidsHappen]

Germany, Elko NV in the winter, SLC in the winter, the mountains in ID, historic VA and Boston. 

[prairiewindmomma]

22 minutes ago, Tap said:

Waldo Lake Oregon.....about 10 years ago!  Lol. DD23 and I went to spend some time there this past summer, and out little secret beach..isn't so secret anymore.  IT was absolutely overran with people. Think Disney bad.

It broke my heart to see it being so over ran with people. It is one of the cleanest lakes in the USA, but considering the smell of sunscreen in the air, I can only imagine the water quality will start to register the effects of the populace.  😞

They put a motor ban on the lake in 2011 and now require entry permits Memorial Day - October 31. It’s a little better.

[J-rap]

Dubrovnik, Croatia.  The Old Town is surrounded by stone walls from the 16th century.  Beautiful, like from a fairytale.

[Mrs Tiggywinkle]

Anna Maria Island in Florida.  Clearly DD loves it too. 

[Tap]

2 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:

They put a motor ban on the lake in 2011 and now require entry permits Memorial Day - October 31. It’s a little better.

The motor ban is in place, but I was there in Sept 2021. There was no entry permit required. All the roads off the main hwy up to there are open (no gates or barricades close to the lakes), so I don't know how they would monitor it anyways. 😞  It was sad to see how overcrowded it was. I hope they do something to try to limit it. 

[MrsMommy]

Copper Harbor, MI, in the fall.

[regentrude]

Just spent a week backpacking in the Grand Canyon.
The view from the rim is nice, but there are thousands of people.... down there, almost nobody. Heaven.

 

[Eos]

Oswald West State Park.  Opal Creek Wilderness before it burned.  

[Arcadia]

Switzerland. That was in 2004 and we liked all the cities we visited. Lucerne/Luzern might have been our favorite.

Black Forest, Germany. It has that old world laid back charm. 

[mom2scouts]

Camping in Yosemite and hiking to the top of Vernal Falls. The rainbows on the Mist Trail were beautiful. 

[prairiewindmomma]

 

1 hour ago, Tap said:

The motor ban is in place, but I was there in Sept 2021. There was no entry permit required. All the roads off the main hwy up to there are open (no gates or barricades close to the lakes), so I don't know how they would monitor it anyways. 😞  It was sad to see how overcrowded it was. I hope they do something to try to limit it. 

I think it’s part of the new changes coming to the whole Sisters area this summer…. Maybe I am reading it wrong, but it’s on our list for this summer.

Lost Lake has the same problem. 😞 

Wahclella Falls made me openly gasp the first time I saw it. Car breakins happen daily at the trailhead, though, so I don’t know that we will go back anytime this year. 

 

[whitestavern]

Bernese Oberland area of Switzerland, Acadia National Park, Cinque Terre National Park. Can you tell I love to hike? 🤣

Charleston, SC

Edited April 5, 2022 by whitestavern

[SounderChick]

Eagles nook resort Tofino British Columbia 

[ktgrok]

The highlands of Scotland. Every time we went around a bend in the road we got a new, impossibly beautiful view.  We kept saying it was like Scotland was cheating, no way anywhere could REALLY be this pretty. We probably said that a dozen times. 

I also find the Everglades beautiful, but in a totally different way. 

Edited April 5, 2022 by ktgrok

[lauraw4321]

Antelope canyon

Grand Canyon

Zion

Mt. Rainier

Canyonlands 

Glacier National Park

Grand Teton

 

[Stacia]

The Dolomites in Italy (winter and summer)

Mt. Rainier 

Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain

The Alhambra

Charleston, SC

The Pacific Ocean

Kane'ohe, Hawaii

Eta: Anywhere with a clear view of the night sky

Edited April 5, 2022 by Stacia

[Corraleno]

Bali is incredibly beautiful, especially inland away from the touristy beach areas. I spent a really blissful week there pre-kids.

Iceland is magic, there's just nowhere else like it on earth. I would love to go back some day, especially to see the northern lights.

Santorini, especially at sunset. Lucky to have been there twice, once on a college trip and once with my kids.

Venice is amazing and it felt much more exotic and other-worldly than I expected.

The Dordogne/Perigord region of southwestern France is my favorite place I've ever lived, and if not for various family considerations, I would have happily lived there for the rest of my life. 

My favorite place in the US is Ghost Ranch in northern NM. The colors of the landscape there really are exactly as Georgia O'Keefe painted them. That would be my first choice as a place to scatter my ashes.

I've also been to Fiji, Tonga, and NZ (that was all one trip), and I thought NZ was really gorgeous. 

 

[madteaparty]

Was not a fan of Bali but other places in Indonesia remain etched in memory. Wanted to go back for DS senior trip but it remains fairly closed. Komodo national park,  and a bunch of remote beaches there,Borobudur was otherworldly, Central Java enchanting. 

wadi mujib in Jordan.

Various known and totally unknown mountain ranges and beaches in Europe. 

 

 

[YaelAldrich]

Petra, Jordan; Jerusalem, Israel; Tokyo, Japan, Outer Banks, NC (at night when there is a new moon so you can see the entire galaxy - or so it seems)

 

 

 

[Farrar]

Hmm...

Victoria Falls is totally worth the trip. It's incredible.

The top of Table Mountain in Capetown is just breathtaking.

Bryce Canyon utterly blew me away.

I'll totally second night at the Outer Banks.

Huangshan is probably the mountainy place in China that most impressed me, though I lived near this lesser known park called Xiqiaoshan that had a pretty incredible cave.

The dwarf conifers section of the National Arboretum is my favorite part.

The big rose garden in Portland, OR is pretty awesome.

Where you can climb down from the ruins at Tulum and swim in the ocean below is pretty special.

[Bootsie]

Austria--every place I have been in Austria 

[Hannah]

1 hour ago, Farrar said:

Hmm...

Victoria Falls is totally worth the trip. It's incredible.

The top of Table Mountain in Capetown is just breathtaking.

I love that you're listing those!  I grew upon Cape Town.  Southern Africa has so many beautiful places 

Namibia - to sit on a sand dune outside of Swakopmund and see the endless sand of the desert on the one side and endless ocean on the other.

Zimbabwe for the majestic Victoria Falls.

Malawi for the beauty of snorkeling in Lake Malawi - I don't know how it has developed and whether it is still as pristine as when I visited on a student trip 30 years ago.

South Africa  - the beaches of the Garden Route (along the ocean from Cape Town to Mossel Bay) and forests in the Knysna area.   There are nature reserves to hike where you might not see other people for hours on end.   https://www.planetware.com/western-cape/garden-route-saf-wc-gr.htm

- the Kruger National Park and surrounding wildlife reserves for the bushveld (and of course safari) experience and the beautiful scenery of Mpumalanga. https://www.tripadvisor.co.za/Attractions-g312628-Activities-Mpumalanga.html

- the Drakensberg in KwaZulu Natal. https://www.sa-venues.com/destinations/kwazulunatal/drakensberg/attractions/

The old cities in Europe - Edinburgh and Prague are my favourites.

[Laura Corin]

5 hours ago, ktgrok said:

The highlands of Scotland. Every time we went around a bend in the road we got a new, impossibly beautiful view.  We kept saying it was like Scotland was cheating, no way anywhere could REALLY be this pretty. We probably said that a dozen times.

I have to agree.  As an English person who had never gone north of Edinburgh, I was astonished by the beauty of the Highlands when we moved to Scotland, and feel very lucky to be able to visit any weekend I like.  These are from the weekend of 26 March.

Apart from that, the Li river in China stands out for me: https://www.google.com/search?q=li+river&client=firefox-b-d&sxsrf=APq-WBt_GvcTrl2fKgZwaS2YHTFt3qktKA:1649147407576&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiSn6TrwPz2AhXUQkEAHaAKD2UQ_AUoAXoECAIQAw&biw=1675&bih=927&dpr=1

[Elizabeth86]

[Elizabeth86]

And my other favorite place 

 

 

[sweet2ndchance]

Okinawa, Japan... we lived there for 4 years and I feel like we only scratched the surface of living on that tiny island. I would go back in a heart beat given the chance.

 

The English countryside... again I would go back in a heartbeat. We saw so much in 3 week we spent there but still missed so much due to time constraints lol.

My then-3yo daughter watching two lambs play in Oxfordshire, England.

 

I don't have my pictures scanned in yet of the next two but you'll just have to google images or just trust me lol.

Sedona, Arizona... we would go camping in Oak Creek Canyon when I was a kid. Red Rock country is beautiful.

Sonoran Desert, Phoenix, Arizona... It's where I grew up so I may be a bit bias lol

I'll try to post some pics after I've woken up a bit more lol.

Edited April 5, 2022 by sweet2ndchance
pics

[Carrie12345]

There are more exciting places in the world, but I’m still thrilled that I get to live in the Pocono Mountains. Google iimages don’t do it justice, but those are really just for the tourists.

I just got to breathe in incredible views, 200yo mansions, and quaint shops during my necessary tasks yesterday. No special arrangements, just life!
Knowing where the best “secret” waterfalls are is awesome. Continuously learning about the history (and prehistory) of the region is exciting. Catching a view at a new angle after so many years is a thrill. Raising kids to see 2400 square miles as their personal playground has brought me so much joy.

But I’m still a sucker for anywhere that has wild (or semi-wild) ponies.  Deer suck, and I’m sick of them.

(Trying to make sure I got a shot of only my own explorers.)
 

[wintermom]

If we're talking gorgeous waterfalls, I was stunned by the beauty of Gullfoss, Iceland. I'd return to Iceland in a heartbeat. What a cool place to experience, with the sulfur-smelling natually heated showers and hot tubs!

[Laura Corin]

Oh. Tibet. I went in 1986 but it's still strong in my memory.

[Hannah]

5 minutes ago, wintermom said:

If we're talking gorgeous waterfalls, I was stunned by the beauty of Gullfoss, Iceland. I'd return to Iceland in a heartbeat. What a cool place to experience, with the sulfur-smelling natually heated showers and hot tubs!

Wow!!

Iceland is on my bucket list.

[wintermom]

6 minutes ago, Hannah said:

Wow!!

Iceland is on my bucket list.

I'd love to visit South Africa. There's some spectacular scenery and wildlife to see.

[mmasc]

Capri, Italy. It was the most beautiful, turquoise water I’ve ever seen. That was over 20 years ago though, so I hope it still is. 

Biltmore Gardens (NC) in early fall. Not only stunningly beautiful, but I smelled a rose in their garden that I swear was actually intoxicating, like no flower I’ve ever smelled before or since. 

Vermont in the fall. It seemed so beautiful and clean and not people-y (even though it was a crowded time of year, we tried to stay “off the beaten path” so to speak.)

Colorado. The Rockies were as gorgeous as I’d hoped and expected them to be. 

Edited April 5, 2022 by mmasc

[Hannah]

1 minute ago, wintermom said:

I'd love to visit South Africa. There's some spectacular scenery and wildlife to see.

You won't be disappointed in the scenery and wildlife.  There are 10 different biospheres in the country.

[Faith-manor]

10 hours ago, MrsMommy said:

Copper Harbor, MI, in the fall.

This really can't be beat. One year I took my high school senior and junior on a college visit tour that included Michigan Tech. It was two weeks of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan schools in late September and early October. That far north their color was peak or near peak. Heaven. It was like being in heaven, just an explosion of color that was so satisfying.

Other places: Iceland, Northern Lights

Luxor, Egypt on the Nile. Lit up at night, the Nile is amazing. Our hotel was directly east across the water from Hatshepsut's Temple which is also lit.

Paris, especially in the evening. We took a night cruise on the Seine.

Maine. The coast of Maine in the Boothbay area just can't be beat in August/September.

 

[Faith-manor]

The first two are of a felucca ride we took at sunset on the Nile. The second two are of Iceland.

[elegantlion]

11 hours ago, J-rap said:

Dubrovnik, Croatia.  The Old Town is surrounded by stone walls from the 16th century.  Beautiful, like from a fairytale.

I've watched this Hauser video from there many times. It's just beautiful. 

 

[elegantlion]

Costa Rica. This is a picture from our hotel (their picture not mine). Reunion Sugar Beach.

[Kalmia]

The Whitsunday Islands (and Great Barrier Reef) in Queensland, Australia
The Twelve Apostles in Victoria, Australia
A farm stay in Yerong Creek, Australia
Baxter State Park in Maine
Popham Beach in Maine
Kancamagus Highway through NH and into VT in Autumn
Monongahela National Forest in WV
Hampi UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India
Bandipur National Park (tiger reserve) in Karnataka, India
 

 

[elegantlion]

Arches National Park, Moab, Utah - haven't been there in years, but I really loved the experience. 

 

[edelweiss]

I can think of many beautiful places that we have visited, but the one that stands out in my mind as the most beautiful is Salzkammergut (a region right outside of Salzburg, Austria). It took my breath away. I haven't had such a strong reaction since.

The second place that comes to mind is Alaska. So incredibly beautiful.

 

[SKL]

Too many places to list.  I don't think I could have a favorite.

I will give a shout out to Hawaii for having a ridiculous number of beautiful, unspoiled views despite being such a popular destination.

[TheReader]

Oh, gosh....so many. I've been incredibly blessed to get to travel a ton - a lot due to DH's work. Some of my favorites, in no particular order:

Fernando de Noronha (island off the coast of Brazil) 

Florence, Italy

Cozumel

Paraty, RJ, Brazil

Pensacola, Florida

Cloudcroft, NM

lots of other beaches in Brazil 

the Amazon (we were in the area above Manaus, but I assume once your on the river, it's all gorgeous)