TRAVEL

Illinois is famous for Chicago’s skyline and Abraham Lincoln’s legacy, but hidden across the Prairie State are dozens of abandoned towns frozen in time. These forgotten communities once buzzed with…

I stumbled upon Ellijay during a wrong turn on a fall road trip, and honestly, it was the best mistake I’ve ever made. Tucked away in Georgia’s Blue Ridge Mountains,…

I’ll admit it—I’ve never been one to believe in ghosts. That all changed the night I took the Alton Hauntings Ghost Tour in Illinois. What started as a casual evening…

Connecticut’s shoreline has always carried a quiet rhythm, a blend of fishing villages and summer retreats tucked along Long Island Sound. But lately, residents notice something shifting beneath the surface….

Autumn in Connecticut hits different, and there’s no better way to soak it all in than from a train window. Forget fighting traffic on winding back roads or craning your…

Last November, I ditched my usual couch marathon for a road trip through Mississippi, and it turned out to be the best impulse decision I’ve made in years. Small towns…

I remember the first time someone told me about a tunnel where a creek runs through the road and ghosts supposedly stop your car. My skeptical brain said no way,…

I found White Rock Overlook Park on a day I needed to breathe, and discovered a secret locals keep with quiet pride. Perched above a canyon carved by the Rio…

Tucked into the mountains of southwestern New Mexico, Silver City is quickly becoming a favorite spot for retirees who want to stretch their savings without sacrificing quality of life. With…

Eckley Miners’ Village in Pennsylvania feels like stepping into a piece of living history. It’s a small place tucked deep in coal country, where old miners’ homes and narrow streets…

Last autumn, I stumbled upon a trail in Michigan that made me feel like I’d wandered straight into the pages of a fairy tale. The towering pines, golden light filtering…

Tucked away in Colorado’s San Isabel National Forest, Pitkin is the kind of place where time seems to have stopped somewhere around 1890. I first stumbled upon this forgotten gem…

Last May, I drove two hours down a forgotten gravel road in north Alabama, convinced my GPS was pranking me. Then the trees opened up, and there it was: Brushy…

I first heard about Suches from a friend who rides motorcycles through the North Georgia mountains every fall. She kept calling it her secret reset button, the place she disappears…

There’s something truly magical about watching a movie under the stars, and for me, that magic comes alive every weekend at Hull’s Drive-In. Located right here in Virginia, this place…

Nestled in the mountains of southwest Virginia, Abingdon offers retirees a rare combination of culture, natural beauty, and wallet-friendly living. This charming town delivers big-city amenities without the big-city price…

Maine’s Schoodic Peninsula offers one of those rare coastal drives where you actually feel like you’ve stepped into a postcard. This 29-mile stretch winds past working fishing villages, wave-battered granite…

I stumbled upon Sperryville completely by accident during a road trip gone wonderfully wrong, and let me tell you, getting lost never felt so right. Nestled in the Blue Ridge…

I’ll never forget the first time I drove through the gates of Silver Moon Drive-In in Lakeland, Florida. My car radio crackled to life with the movie soundtrack, and suddenly…

I came to Cedar Key by accident three summers ago, chasing a wrong turn that turned out wonderfully right. This tiny Gulf island refuses to play dress-up for tourists, and…

Walnut Creek sits in Holmes County, Ohio, like a postcard that forgot to hurry up and modernize. The storefronts still have rocking chairs, the bakery opens before sunrise, and on…

I’ve explored my fair share of Texas, but few places have captured my heart quite like Wimberley. It’s a town often whispered about, a true Hill Country gem that locals…

Winding through 444 miles of wilderness, the Natchez Trace Parkway is one of America’s most beautiful drives by day and one of its most unsettling after dark. This two-lane ribbon…

Like many travelers, I had been searching for an escape from the noise of the world, a place where the only sound was rushing water and wind. When a fellow…

Down in South Texas, there’s a stretch of road that folks don’t like to drive alone after dark. It’s called Farm to Market Road 666, and around here, people just…

Night falls fast in Tennessee. One moment the world hums with the sound of crickets, and the next, silence wraps around you like a secret. Locals say the state’s haunted…

I still remember my first night in a supposedly haunted inn, the way every floorboard groaned like it had a secret to tell, the shadows that seemed to breathe, and…

Texas holds more than cattle ranches and wide-open skies. Scattered across the state, forgotten settlements sit quietly under the sun, waiting for October to roll around. When Halloween season arrives,…

October in North Carolina brings more than just cooler temperatures and changing leaves. The state transforms into a Halloween wonderland where entire towns shut down streets, light up historic districts,…

I still remember the first time I stood on Yellow Rock, wind in my hair, staring 300 feet down at the valley below—and wondering how Arkansas managed to keep this…

I’ll admit it: I used to think trains were just for kids’ birthday parties and classic movie montages. Then I climbed aboard the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad in Cumberland, and…

Tucked along Lake Michigan’s eastern shore, Saugatuck is a charming harbor town that packs art galleries, dune-backed beaches, and a walkable Main Street into one perfect day trip. Just a…

The thrill of walking through a truly abandoned place is unmatched for any dedicated historian or urban explorer. Missouri holds a surprising number of these silent settlements, relics of a…

Cape Disappointment State Park sits right where the Columbia River meets the Pacific, and it’s one of those places that feels different once summer ends. The crowds fade, the air…

The Columbia River Gorge is packed with stunning waterfalls, but the popular spots can feel like Times Square on a Saturday. Luckily, this Oregon treasure hides plenty of lesser-known trails…

There’s something otherworldly about Michigan’s western coast in late October. The air turns crisp and electric, the waves of Lake Michigan breathe fog like a living thing, and the lighthouses—especially…

I’ll never forget the first time I stumbled upon Georgia’s covered-bridge loop during peak fall season—it felt like stepping into a postcard. This scenic drive combines two of autumn’s greatest…

I stumbled upon Lake Junaluska entirely by accident last October, rerouting off a jam-packed stretch of the Blue Ridge Parkway that had turned into a parking lot. What I discovered…

When Texans talk in hushed tones about a true fall escape—one with real color in the hills and a main street that still feels personal—they’re usually talking about Fort Davis….

I still remember the first time I escaped the bustle of a packed California fall weekend and wandered onto a quiet pier, the waves murmuring beneath my feet, no crowds…

Lately, I’ve felt this undeniable pull to disconnect. You know the feeling – the constant hum of notifications, the endless scroll, the relentless pace of modern life. I craved a…

There are some trails you hike, and then there are trails that transform you. For me, the Fiery Gizzard Trail in South Cumberland State Park falls firmly into the latter…

Just 90 minutes from Portland, Cannon Beach, Oregon, feels like stepping straight into a postcard. The moment you see Haystack Rock rising through the coastal mist, you’ll understand why travelers…

I stumbled upon Wenatchee, Washington, during a road trip three years ago, and I still kick myself for not discovering it sooner. Nestled in the heart of central Washington’s Chelan…

Last October, I took a wrong turn off Route 311 and stumbled into Paint Bank, Virginia, a village so small my GPS gave up and suggested I just ask a…

It was a cloudy Tuesday when I first stumbled into Darien, looking for gas and maybe a sandwich. What I found instead was a town that moved at the speed…

I still remember standing at the rim of Havasu Canyon, gazing down at red cliffs that seemed to stretch forever, swallowing the sky in color and silence. Somewhere below, hidden…

Last October, I sat on a terrace with a mug of coffee, watching morning fog lift off a lake framed by mountains blazing in every shade of red and gold….

I stumbled into Oceanside by accident one misty morning, following whispers about a beach so beautiful locals refused to give directions. What I discovered was a clifftop village wrapped in…

New York City is full of ghost tours, but few earn the genuine respect-and nervous recommendation-of lifelong residents. The Greenwich Village Ghost Tour is the one locals recommend, and perhaps…