Best Looking States in America?

OK here's the thing, you can only propose states that you've actually been in - because every state has at least one nice face. I want to know which State is the best looking... total.


In my limited experience, (only been to maybe a dozen) I have to say I like Kentucky the most. It's definitely the state I feel is the most like home, BUT - much as I hate it, I think I'm going to have to give it to California mostly on the back of Lake Tahoe. That place is ridiculous. When you couple that with the cool Rocky stuff past San Diego, and the long stretches of coastline... there's too much variance.

My close #2 is Arizona. Problem is the range is too limited.

I've spent almost no time in the Northern states - I'm hoping that I'm missing a real gem up there?

I've been thinking about this a lot and I think the thing that bugs me with certain parts of the states, is that the man-made elements make the whole picture look a little fake.

I think in some places that's a fair critique, but in other places I think I'm being a little unfair. It only looks fake because I'm so used to only seeing it like that on TV. Everything on TV is fake, therefore when I see it in real life it looks fake as well.

I've been to most of the states. All except a few, which are usually at the extreme ends of the country, like Maine, Washington, Alaska, and Hawaii. I never went to these states, because they aren't really on the way to anything, and most of my travelling is done roadtrip style. I have particular preferences to what kind of places I like. I am partial to states with lots of lakes, forests, and mountains. I also am a huge nerd about wildlife and vegetation. Strictly speaking from a zoologist POV, America is the most diverse country on earth for animals, as in we host the largest assortment of breeds and the largest diversity in the types of animals.

I love Kentucky and West Virginia. There are lots of small mountain towns, and the people there are extremely nice and hospitable.

I agree with your sentiment on California. One of the things I like about California is the diversity of people there in places like San Francisco and L.A. I also like the level of activity.

With that said, California is one of the last places on earth I would like to live in. The people are annoying, the stores and restaurants have become so consumerized and lifeless, the people are becoming increasingly material, you can't go anywhere without being exposed to some type of wannabe gangster buffoonery (I know real gangsters which they aren't), and the population has laid waste to their entire enviornment. To make matters worse, there are absolutely no dine-in restaurants outside the cities, so you end up being forced to eat fast food from brands that don't exist out East, and the food is HORRIBLE.

I don't know if I've told you guys this, but I hate Arizona. It wasn't like I didn't like it at first, but I had toured endlessly around that state five times. The desert and mountains make me carsick, and I no longer get anything out of looking at petrified forests, 2000 year old sand, and extremely large rocks out in the middle of no where. Also at the risk of sounding discriminatory, there are too many native Americans. They don't let anyone in on their lands, despite their lands being the actual places which I want to go too, and they are extremely rude. These aren't the peaceful Indian tribes who worship the Great Spirit. These are the mean old spirited Indians that come from warrior societies and are descended from the aztec like chiapa tribes.

I really like the state of Colorado though. It is a winter sports lovers paradise, and the cities such as Boulder are really beautiful. It also has that untouched wilderness vibe that you can only see in huge countries like Russia, China, and the United States. Colorado is also great for white water rafting, even though I swear those rivers are incredibly unsafe.





A state that I've seen a lot of is Virginia. I like the lakes, the mountains, the small towns, the old colonial architecture, and how you are never more than 10 miles away from a historical site or a great battle.
One of the reasons I defend the confederate flag so much is because I fell in love with Virginian culture during my travels there. It is really indescribable. The forests, wheat fields, and everything in between are surreal and homey to me. I just really love it.





Florida is also good if you like beaches, swamps, amusement parks, island hopping, ect. I am not a huge fan of the tropical scene, but others are, which is why Florida is the number two tourist location on earth after France.

Alabama is probably one of the more beautiful and untouched states. Besides a few places torn aside for cotton cultivation and logging, Alabama is great for wildlife lovers like me, because the amount of exploring you can do is endless. I like the sense of adventure knowing that you can step places that in the thousands years people have lived on this continent, have never been touched by the feet of another man.

My favorite place though is the Midwest. My favorite states in the Midwest are Michigan, Montana, and Minnesota. Minnesota has 9000 lakes, which Michigan, my state, has 12,000 lakes. The great lakes also have over 15,000 islands in them. 10,000 of which belong to Michigan.

Regarding my own state, there are actually three Michigans. There is the Coastal Michigan. Lots of harbor towns where everything is painted white, yacht clubs, and various small islands dotted along the coastline which have various lighthouses and structures on them. There are a lot of island hamlets, but there are only a couple of islands that host large settlements on them.

The second Michigan is the north. Michigan has been rated the best hunting destination in America for as long as I can remember. Our largest tourist attraction is a hunting store, not kidding. The north is mostly untouched besides some small towns.

The third Michigan is the part where I live. The industrialized and heavily populated part. I mean, its okay, but it is oh so boring.. There are a lot of suburbs, farms, and small businesses in the white sector of metropolitan Detroit, whereas the closer you get to the black sector the more industrialized it becomes, with a lot of factories and plants.

This is as you can tell my least favorite part of Michigan. First of all I get sad thinking of how beautiful this place probably was before we industrialized it.

I am privileged though that Detroit is probably the best eye opener for how society actually works. This place has shaped so much of how I think of people. Our politically correct society is so used to absolving any group of people from any sort of generalizations, and if I hadn't lived in Detroit I would of probably been much like the PC people I despise. The truth is, stereotypes exist for a reason, and everytime I doubt them, Detroit is right there to set me straight. I'll speak of that somewhere else though.

nzlockie: I get what you mean. I've been to dozens of landscapes that were completely surreal. I couldn't wrap my head around the idea that these places were real, because everytime I see them they remind me of a painting.

States are much like countries in the fact that many people living in them have never left. Like really, there are actually a lot of people in their 50's who have never stepped a foot outside our state. Whenever I show people the pictures from places I went, theres always some guy who will tell me that the pictures are photoshopped, because they are literally incapable of accepting that a place that surreal can exist in real life.

BTW, I've always wanted to plan a trip to the Amur river and the Verkhoyansk Range in Siberia. I don't know why, but this thread reminded me of that. It would be cool to see some of the more extreme and desolate places in the world outside of Wyoming and Montana.

Blackflag: I've driven around the back roads of new Mexico and Nevada andi have to day, nothing days desolate like outback australia.
Imagine New Mexico, but the same size as the continental usa, and that's what THAT'S like!

nzlockie: Neither New Mexico or Nevada are desolate by my accounts.

I'd like to visit Alaska one day and go get lost in its huge wilderness for 3 weeks straight (at least one doesn't need a visa or anything to visit it).
I've never stepped foot on the ground there, unfortunately.

Blackflag: Well I don't know about that. I'd say they were pretty desolate by most people's standards.

I stopped for a drink in one place in Arizona that had a population of three! And it was marked on my GPS and everything.
By contrast, I have a locksmith mate in a small place in outback South Australia. His "town" has five families. He drives one week south in a big loop doing work as he goes. Then he spends a week at home, then he drives a week north in a loop to service the stations up there.

I know another firm in Far North Queensland who have an aeroplane as service vehicle!

nzlockie: So if you committed a triple murder in that town you'd be able to say honestly that you wiped out a whole town?

Dassault Papillon: Haha, yeah I guess!

nzlockie: In fairness, I once found myself in a "town" in the south island of New Zealand that appeared to consist of only a single ordinary house. So yeah, I'm sure there's examples even closer to home than Australia.

admin: Yeah i don't know. I'd be surprised if there was anywhere in NZ where you couldn't find a settlement of 100 people or more within a 1 hour driving radius.

California. It looks like a sock.

Michigan looks like an oven mitt.

nzlockie: California is a great state, in terms of aesthetics.

Here are a few more states with great views:
Oregon - eastern side, the western half is a wasteland.
West Virginia - Fall in this state is exceptional, as well as having friendly people and curvy roads.
Wyoming - Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, a plethora of wildlife, what could be better?

Those are just a few.