The United States of America: a favourite travel destination for many Nigerians! Although you’ve visited before and had fun with its many activities, there are so many fun things you still haven’t done in the USA! The size of the country has led to plenty of attractions to satisfy locals and travellers! If you’re wondering what else there is still to explore, take a look at this list of 10 fun things to do in the USA, and get ready to discover a different side of the country.
1. Listen to the Wave Organ
Image courtesy of @d_carter86 via Instagram
Our journey into more fun things to do in the USA starts with this fantastic acoustic sculpture. The structure was created on San Francisco Bay in 1986. With a series of pipes, the Wave Organ plays the ocean’s sounds to listeners at several stations. Depending on the tides, you’ll hear different sounds (although, they all come from the water crashing into the bay!) From the Wave Organ, you can get great views of San Francisco across the channel into the St. Francis and Golden Gate Clubs.
Another great reason to check out the Wave Organ is that it’s completely free to access! Indeed, some of the best fun things to do in the USA are free! So, next time you’re in San Francisco, check out this astounding sculpture along the bay.
How to get there
You can get to the Wave Organ at the end of the piece of land that extends from the Golden Gate Yacht Club.
Address: Yacht Road, San Francisco, California, 94123, United States View Location
2. Explore the underground tunnels of Los Angeles
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Now for one of the more sneaky kinds of fun things to do in the USA. When prohibition laws were in place in the United States, basement speakeasies (shops illegally selling alcohol) and their customers used 11-mile (18 kilometres) long tunnels which became passageways to pass through and drink without a care in the world. One example was King Eddy Saloon, which had been operating on 5th and Main since the 1900s, hiding in plain sight as a piano store! Today, it’s an official saloon, but its basement is still part of the tunnel system.
The tunnels are officially closed to the public, but people have continued to use them. Some areas remain open, and movie and television studios have used them as filming locations. City employees use them as easy shortcuts between buildings, and runners have even used them to train when there’s bad weather in Los Angeles! Exploring these secret passages is just one of the exciting and fun things to do in the USA!
How to get there
Since there is no official way to enter the tunnels, you’ll have to head behind the Hall of Records on Temple Street and find the inconspicuous elevator! The lift will take you below ground level. You’ll be able to admire mysterious street art, discover rusted machinery, while iron gates will limit you to exploring areas that the authorities have cleared as earthquake safe. Be one of few travellers who know about the underground tunnels of Los Angeles and add more to your list of fun things to do in the USA!
Address: 320 W Temple Street, Los Angeles, California, 90012, United States View Location
3. Visit the Dream House in New York
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This psychedelic house is a feast for your senses. Keep your eye out for a black door with a strange white sign that reads “The Dream House”. You’re in for a one-of-a-kind sensory experience and one of the more unusual and fun things to do in the USA!
The Dream House is New York’s trippy and meditative art space. The first thing you’ll notice when entering is a nearly overwhelming aroma of incense. The interior is smoky, making the neon sign on the ceiling (reading “Dream House”) look fuzzy. For a small donation, you can spend as long as you like in the many purple-lit, incense-filled rooms, filled with spacey minimalist music and immersive light displays. Just let your senses relax with strange and fun things to do in the USA like relaxing in the Dream House!
How to get there
When you’re next in New York, get to the Tribeca neighbourhood in Lower Manhattan and make your way down Church Street.
Address: 275 Church Street, New York, New York, 10013, United States View Location
4. Take incredible photos at Antelope Canyon
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Visit one of the most famous slot canyons in the world! This is one of those fun things to do in the USA that will imprint itself on your memory. The Antelope Canyon’s flowing and smooth-shaped sandstone is the result of millions of years of wind and water erosion. This unusual natural formation infamously gets flash floods, meaning you can only access it with guided tours. Maybe that’s why it’s the most-photographed and most-visited slot canyon in all of the American Southwest.
The Antelope Canyon is two separate canyons: the upper and the lower. The Navajo call the upper canyon Tsé bighánílíní (“the place where water runs through rocks”). It’s a narrow passage through 35-metre-high canyon walls. The lower canyon, known as Hazdistazí (“spiral rock arches”) is shallower and V-shaped, making it a strenuous trek for visitors.
There are two types of tours you can take – the sightseeing tour and photographic tour. Touring this canyon is a fantastic activity to add to your list of fun things to do in the USA. You’ll have plenty to tell and show everyone!
The tours range from $46 to $200 (₦16,500 to ₦73,000), depending on the time you want to go, as well as the type of tour. Keep in mind that you’ll need to book your tours in advance.
How to get there
The Antelope Canyon sits in the LeChee Chapter of the Navajo Nation in Arizona. Book a flight to Las Vegas, and then rent a car. It should take a 4-hour drive to the east to reach the Antelope Canyon.
Address: Unnamed Road, Page, Arizona, 86040, United States View Location
5. Take a swim in the Hamilton Pool
Image courtesy of @battlingwanderlust via Instagram
The Hamilton Pool in Texas is a natural spring formed in the limestone bedrock and fed by an underground river, which also leads to small streams and gorgeous flowers that surround the pool. The first thing that will catch your attention is the deep overhang that’s part of the far wall of the water. The overhang is the remains of a natural dome that used to conceal the entire grotto underground until it collapsed more than a century ago. Today, the vast cavern gives you deep shade and a great area to explore.
Water falls from the overhang, 16 metres down into the fresh water below. The effect the falling waters create makes this a beautiful and refreshing location for sunbathing and swimming in the summer! Treat yourself to energising fun things to do in the USA like spending time at the Hamilton Pool.
Reservations are required explicitly for visits between 15 May and 30 September. The price of entering the Hamilton Nature Preserve surrounding Hamilton Pool is $3 (₦1,100, without a car) and $10 (₦3,600 with a car).
How to get there
Book a flight to Austin. from where you can rent a car and drive to the Hamilton Nature Preserve, a 45-minute drive west of Austin.
Address: Hamilton Pool, Dripping Springs, Texas, 78620, United States View Location
6. Get lost in Magowan’s Infinite Maze
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If you’re looking for another treat for the senses, visit this psychedelic labyrinth in San Francisco Bay.
Exploring this confusing dungeon is one of the craziest and most fun things to do in the USA. Discover columns and mirrors, with blacklighting and flashing neon, as well as accompanying rave music. All that will serve to mess with your sense of direction and your idea of what’s real, or a reflection! Once you manage to get to the other side, the staff will recommend you try it again, backwards this time. It’s an excellent activity for the entire family.
The admission fee is $5 (₦1,800) for adults. Children under five years old have free access.
How to get there
Book a flight to San Francisco. You can get to the Magowan Infinite Maze from the Golden Gate (a 35-minute train ride). You’ll find this stunning maze in an unremarkable building on San Francisco’s Pier 39.
Address: Pier 39, Building O-11, San Francisco, California, United States View Location
7. Dive into the historical adventure at the Explorers Club Headquarters
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Do you fancy yourself an adventurer? Or is becoming one part of your list of fun things to do in the USA? Then you should visit the Explorers Club Headquarters in New York. It’s a museum that’s home to artefacts from the “golden age” of exploring (basically, treasures from the last 100 years). Items that may interest you include The Rescue of Greeley (a painting that was created within hours after the rescue in 1884!), a sled from the 1909 North Pole expedition and Percy, the polar bear.
The Explorers Club’s mission is to promote the scientific exploration of land, sea, air and space. At their headquarters, you can enjoy guided tours, presented by speakers who are explorers of today! Make sure to enjoy exciting and fun things to do in the USA by feeding your sense of adventure at the Explorers Club.
The cost of entering the Explorers Club Headquarters is $25 (₦9,000).
How to get there
You’ll find the Explorers Club Headquarters in the Upper East Side, close to Central Park.
Address: 46 E. 70th Street, New York, New York, 10021, United States View Location
8. Discover Las Vegas’s past at the Neon Boneyard
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Since Las Vegas has been around for more than 100 years, you might wonder where all the previous neon signs went. Were they destroyed? No, they all have a unique home in the Young Electric Sign Company’s storage area. You’ll get to see the neon signs that illuminated the streets of Las Vegas in former years.
Some important signs include the Golden Nugget, the Silver Slipper, Binion’s Horseshoe, and the original Aladdin’s Lamp (from the first version of Aladdin Casino!). The Neon Boneyard is home to more than 150 decommissioned non-restored neon signs.
It’s best to book a tour around sunset when you can watch as the signs light up! Watching a storage area come alive with colour is one more highlight to add to your bucket list of fun things to do in the USA.
The cost of a tour is $20 (₦7,000) per adults for the day tour. For entry into the Mob Museum, it’s $32 (₦11,600). Night tours are $26 (₦9,400). You will need to make a group reservation beforehand.
How to get there
The Neon Boneyard is close to Fremont Street. There are trips downtown that you can join, and a trip to the museum can easily be added.
Address: 770 Las Vegas Boulevard North, Las Vegas, Nevada, 89101, United States View Location
9. Meet the charming sloths at the Sloth Center
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If you love animals, get yourself to Rainier in Oregon for more memorable and fun things to do in the USA. That’s where you will find the home of the largest captive population of adult sloths in the world! The mission of the Sloth Center is the care and research of these animals, as well as to ensure the survival of the species and to inform the public through educational programmes and conservation strategies.
You’re welcome to visit the Sloth Center, as tours are provided. You can even get up close and personal with these creatures! Please note that visitors need to take care when interacting with feeding the sloths, so keep an eye on your kids.
The entry fee is $600 (₦216,000).
How to get there
Book a flight to Portland. From the city centre, it takes an hour’s drive to reach the Sloth Center.
Address: 74320 Larson Road, Rainier, Oregon, 97048, United States View Location
10. Step into another world with the House of Eternal Return
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George R.R. Martin (the brain behind the famous “Game of Thrones” TV show) bought this place and then leased it out to a 135-member group of artists, who have a reputation for creating incredible interactive art installations. The result was nothing short of spectacular!
The House of Eternal Return, presented by Meow Wolf, has 1860 square metres of fully explorable space. One of the strangest and most fun things to do in the USA, you’ll get to journey through a full-sized reproduction of a two-storey Victorian house that holds a secret. You’ll get the backstory, which is that the Selig family once inhabited the house, but then “something weird happened, which made them mysteriously disappear and warped time and space!”
Explore the house at your own pace, and watch out for “portals” to other environments! You’ll find them in the strangest places, such as the refrigerator, fireplace or toilet. There are 70 distinct interconnect spaces, including the enchanted forest tree house, a tiny Old West ranch powered by hamsters, luminescent caves, laser harps and mastodon skeleton xylophones! Add this exceptional attraction to your experiences of the most fun things to do in the USA.
Entry into the House of Eternal Return is $25 (₦9,000) for adults. Children under the age of 14 pay $20 (₦7,000) and visitors above 65 pay $23 (₦8,300).
How to get there
Book a flight to Albuquerque. From the city centre, it will take you a 50-minute drive to reach the House of Eternal Return.
Address: 1352 Rufina Circle, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 87507, United States View Location
Image courtesy of @lenavalenova via Instagram
Now you have so much more to add to your bucket list of fun things to do in the USA. Do you know what you want to do next? If so, book your cheap flights to the USA and start packing your bags! Is there any activity you’d like to try? Let us know in the comments.
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Please note that all prices were correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change.
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