25 Most Exhilarating Travel Destinations in North America

Bigger than a whole heap of countries, Texas is vast, diverse and welcoming: from big-city lights to small-town simplicity, white-sand beaches to high-country hikes.

A famous Diné (Navajo) poem ends with the phrase 'May I walk in beauty.' This request is easily granted at many spots on the Navajo Reservation in northeastern Arizona. At 27,000 sq miles the reservation is the country's largest, spilling over into the neighboring states of Utah, Colorado and New Mexico.

The South was arguably the first region of the United States to be considered that – a 'region' of cultural and geographic distinction, defined by her own cuisine, landscape, accent, literature, music, and under-girding all of the above, history – one that is long and beautiful in places, brutal and bloody in others.

The things that make life worth living – eating, drinking and the making of merriment – are the air that New Orleans breathes.

The jaw-dropping head-turner of America’s national parks, and a Unesco World Heritage Site, Yosemite (yo-sem-it-ee) garners the devotion of all who enter. From the waterfall-striped granite walls buttressing emerald-green Yosemite Valley to the skyscraping giant sequoias catapulting into the air at Mariposa Grove, the place inspires a sense of awe and reverence – four million visitors wend their way to the country’s third-oldest national park annually.

North America's oldest city sits on the steep slopes of a snug and sheltered harbor. With jelly-bean-colored row houses lining the hilly streets, the city begs comparisons to San Francisco – though in miniature. It too is home to artists, musicians, cutting-edge eateries, inflated real estate and young, iPhone-using denizens.

What makes 20,237ft Denali (formerly Mt McKinley) one of the world’s great scenic mountains is the sheer independent rise of its bulk. Denali begins at a base of just 2000ft, which means that on a clear day you will be transfixed by over 18,000 feet of ascending rock, ice and snow. By contrast, Mt Everest, no slouch itself when it comes to memorable vistas, only rises 12,000 feet from its base on the Tibetan Plateau.

Walkable neighborhoods, drink-and-dine delights and memorable cultural and outdoor activities framed by dramatic vistas – there's a glassful of great reasons to love this lotusland metropolis.

This complex of awesome pyramids, set amid what was once Mesoamerica’s greatest city, is among the region’s most visited destinations. The sprawling site compares to the ruins of the Yucatán and Chiapas for significance and anyone lucky enough to come here will be inspired by the astonishing technological might of the Teotihuacán (teh-oh-tee-wah-kahn) civilization.

An unstoppable flow of rushing water surges over the arcing fault in the riverbed with thunderous force. Great plumes of icy mist rise for hundreds of meters as the waters collide, like an ethereal veil concealing the vast rift behind the torrent.

Adventure has always defined the backbone of the United States. Many Native tribes hunted in the Rocky Mountains, but few stayed. Most white settlers regarded the mountains as obstacles, not destinations. Only a few rugged individuals – trappers, prospectors, ranchers – forayed into the wilderness, exploring the hidden valleys and towering peaks.

Completed in 1926, iconic Route 66 connected Chicago and Los Angeles across the heartland of America. During the Great Depression, thousands of migrants escaped the Dust Bowl by slogging westward in beat-up old jalopies. After WWII Americans took their newfound wealth and convertible cars on the road and headed west.

The most famous and best restored of the Yucatán Maya sites, Chichén Itzá, while tremendously overcrowded – every gawker and his or her grandmother is trying to check off the new seven wonders of the world – will still impress even the most jaded visitor. Many mysteries of the Maya astronomical calendar are made clear when one understands the design of the ‘time temples’ here.

Since the Spanish conquest, Mérida has been the cultural capital of the entire Yucatán Peninsula. At times provincial, at others ‘muy cosmopolitano,’ it is a town steeped in colonial history, with narrow streets, broad central plazas and the region’s best museums. It’s also a perfect place from which to kick off your adventure into the rest of Yucatán state.

Witness a city that's in love with festivals, the arts, good food, living well and enjoying life to the hilt.

Grab your coat and a handful of glitter, and enter the land of fog and fabulousness. So long, inhibitions; hello, San Francisco.

They grow their critters and geysers big up in Yellowstone, America’s first national park and Wyoming’s flagship attraction. From shaggy grizzlies to oversized bison and magnificent packs of wolves, this park boasts the lower 48’s most emblematic concentration of wildlife.

The Grand Canyon embodies the scale and splendor of the iconic American West, captured in its dramatic vistas, dusty inner canyon trails, and...

Epicenter of the arts. Dining and shopping capital. Trendsetter. New York City wears many crowns, and spreads an irresistible feast for all.

Visitors to Canada's westernmost province should pack a long list of superlatives to deploy here; the words 'wow,' 'amazing' and 'spectacular' will only go so far. Luckily, it's not too hard to wax lyrical about the mighty mountains, deep forests and dramatic coastlines here that instantly lower heart rates to tranquil levels.

From misty Northern California redwood forests to sun-kissed Southern California beaches, the enchanted Golden State makes Disneyland seem normal.

Welcome to Toronto, the most multiculturally diverse city on the planet: over 140 languages are spoken. It's estimated that over half of Toronto's residents were born outside Canada, and despite its complex makeup, Torontonians generally get along. When the weather is fine, Toronto is a blast: a vibrant, big-time city abuzz with activity.

Bears larger than bison, national parks the size of nations, and glaciers bigger than other US states. The word ‘epic’ barely does Alaska justice.

Prince Edward Island (PEI) is as pretty as a storybook: Lucy Maud Montgomery's classic Anne of Green Gables, to be exact. Like Anne Shirley, the book's heroine, loved the world over, the island too is a redhead – from coast to coast, rich, sienna-colored soil nourishes luminous green pastures and shores are lined with rose and golden sand.

The rocky highland state of Guanajuato (population 5.5 million) is full of riches of every kind. In colonial times, mineral resources attracted...