(I'm looking forward to Portland in June, to see that waterfall)

The 51 stars of the United States

By Tom Uhlenbrock
January 9, 2005

We were rooting for the World's Largest Ball of Twine - the
pride of Cawker City, Kan.

But the keepers of the twine don't count all the folks who
show up to gawk at it, so the title of most visited tourist
attraction in Kansas went to the Sedgwick County Zoo in
Wichita.

In preparing an unofficial list of the top tourist spots in
all 50 states, plus the District of Columbia, we relied on
information from state tourism folks. Some choices were best
guesses because not every destination keeps attendance
figures. Here's what we came up with.

Alabama
U.S. Space and Rocket Center
The past, present and future of space exploration are
explored at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville,
Ala.

Alaska
Inside Passage The coastline of southeastern Alaska is
dotted with islands, inlets and waterways, collectively
known as the Inside Passage.

Arizona
Grand Canyon National Park
A vast chasm carved over millenniums through the rocks of
the Colorado Plateau.

Arkansas
Hot Springs National Park
The park protects hot springs that flow from the
southwestern slope of Hot Springs Mountain. People have used
the hot-spring water in therapeutic baths for more than 200
years to treat rheumatism and other ailments.

California
Disneyland
"The happiest place on Earth:" need we say more?

Colorado
Rocky Mountain National Park At least 60 mountains in the
park exceed 12,000 feet. The park has a hiking trail system
that, if linked together, would stretch from Denver almost
to Santa Fe, N.M.

Connecticut
Mystic Seaport
A family destination with spectacular tall ships, a re-
created, 19th-century coastal village and lots of
activities.

Delaware
Winterthur
Winterthur is the former home of Henry Francis du Pont, an
avid antiques collector and horticulturist. In the early
20th century, du Pont designed Winterthur in the spirit of
18th-and 19th-century European country houses. Visitors can
tour the fields, farmland and 60-acre naturalist garden and
inspect its museum collections of antiques and Americana to
experience our country's heritage.

Florida
Walt Disney World
In Lake Buena Vista, Fla., Walt Disney World is a 47-square-
mile entertainment and recreation center.

Georgia
Savannah Historic District
A National Historic Landmark, the district is known for its
18th-and 19th-century architecture.

Hawaii
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
Established in 1916, the park displays the results of 70
million years of volcanism, migration and evolution.

Idaho
Sun Valley Resort
Since 1936, skiers from all over the world have been
discovering the slopes of Sun Valley.

Illinois
Navy Pier
Situated on Lake Michigan east of downtown Chicago, the
pier is home to restaurants, shops, exhibition facilities
and a 150-foot Ferris wheel.

Indiana
Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore
About 50 miles southeast of Chicago in northwest Indiana,
the lakeshore runs for nearly 25 miles along southern Lake
Michigan. The 15,000-acre park contains miles of beaches,
sand dunes, bog, wetlands, woodland forest and an 1830s
French Canadian homestead.

Iowa
Amana Colonies
A National Historic Landmark in the rolling hills of
eastern Iowa, the Amana Colonies were established after the
Civil War by a group of German-speaking European settlers
who belonged to a religious group known as the Community of
True Inspiration. They began a communal system of living
divided into several villages, encompassing more than 20,000
acres of land.

Kansas
Sedgwick County Zoo
The 247-acre zoo opened in Wichita in 1971 and has been
ranked among the top zoos in the world.

Kentucky
Mammoth Cave
Mammoth Cave is the longest recorded cave system in the
world, with more than 348 miles explored and mapped.

Louisiana
French Quarter
The best way to experience the French Quarter, the old
district of New Orleans, is by foot or by carriage.

Maine
Acadia National Park
The first national park established east of the
Mississippi, Acadia is on the rugged coast of Maine. The
park encompasses more than 47,000 acres of granite-domed
mountains, woodlands, lakes and ponds and ocean shoreline.

Maryland
National Aquarium
Baltimore's National Aquarium has programs to interest
every one.

Massachusetts
Faneuil Hall
A National Historic Park in Boston, Faneuil Hall was built
in 1742 and sits at the site of the old town dock. Town
meetings were held in the old market building from 1764 to
1774 and included Samuel Adams and others leading protests
against the imposition of taxes on the colonies.

Michigan
Mackinac Island
Since the mid-1800s, tourists have visited Mackinac Island
in the summers to escape the heat of the cities and enjoy
the fresh lake breezes.

Minnesota
Mall of America
The largest entertainment and retail complex in America,
the mall has some 42 million visitors each year, making it
the nation's No. 1 attraction. The mall has more than 525
specialty stores, four national department stores, some 50
restaurants, seven nightclubs and 14 movie theaters.

Mississippi
Tunica casinos
The arrival of 10 Las Vegas-style casinos turned the once-
sleepy town of Tunica into a land of opportunity, with
lowered taxes and new jobs, roads and attractions.

Missouri
Gateway Arch
Standing 630 feet tall on the St. Louis riverfront, the
stainless steel arch was completed in 1965 at a total cost
of less than $15 million.

Montana
Glacier National Park
Situated on the Canadian border, the park preserves more
than a million acres of forest, alpine meadows and lakes.

Nebraska
Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo
The zoo in Omaha has evolved from the small Riverview Park
zoo, established in 1894, into a world-class tourist
attraction and a leader in environmental education.

Nevada
Las Vegas Strip
It has glitter, lights, more glitter, girls, gambling, fine
dining and fantasy.

New Hampshire
Storyland
Situated in the White Mountains at Glen, N.H., Storyland is
a charming, reasonably priced children's' park themed to
classic fairy tales.

New Jersey
Atlantic City casinos
The casinos along the Atlantic City boardwalk are enjoying
a rebirth.

New Mexico
Carlsbad Caverns
This national park contains more than 100 known caves,
including Lechuguilla Cave, the nation's deepest limestone
cave at 1,567 feet and its third-longest.

New York
Statue of Liberty
Situated on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, the Statue
of Liberty was a gift of international friendship from the
people of France to the people of the United States.

North Carolina
Outer Banks
North Carolina's Outer Banks has some of the country's
finest beaches.

North Dakota
Theodore Roosevelt National Park
In the heart of the colorful North Dakota badlands, the
park is home to a variety of plants and animals, including
bison, prairie dogs and elk.

Ohio
Cedar Park Amusement Park
Situated on a Lake Erie peninsula near Sandusky, the park
is home to the largest collection of rides (67) and roller
coasters (16) in the world.

Oklahoma
Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum
The memorial to the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah
Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City includes two
gates at each end of a 400-foot reflecting pool and 168
empty glass and granite chairs in honor of each of the dead.

Oregon
Multnomah Falls in the Columbia River Gorge
On the Oregon side of the gorge, Multnomah Falls is the
second-highest year-round waterfall in America.

Pennsylvania
Independence National Historic Park
Home of the Liberty Bell, the park is in downtown
Philadelphia.  Visitors can also see Independence Hall,
where both the Declaration of Independence and the U.S.
Constitution were created.

Rhode Island
Narragansett Bay
The bay is an estuary and one of the most biologically
productive ecosystems in the world.

South Carolina
Charleston historic district
Considered the cultural capital of the South, the historic
district is a living museum of 18th-century homes and
plantations, museums, a city market and art galleries.

South Dakota
Mount Rushmore
The four figures carved in stone on Mount Rushmore
represent the first 150 years of American history: George
Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore
Roosevelt.

Tennessee
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
The park has ridge upon ridge of endless forest straddling
the border between North Carolina and Tennessee,
representing one of the largest protected areas in the
eastern United States.

Texas
River Walk in San Antonio
The walk is considered a city park, offering 35-minute
narrated boat tours of the San Antonio River. River Walk is
lined with hotels and restaurants.

Utah
Temple Square
Known for its beauty and serenity, historic Temple Square
sits on a landscaped, 10-acre plot of ground in the heart of
downtown Salt Lake City. The centerpiece of the square is
the six-spired Salt Lake Temple.

Vermont
Ben & Jerry's factory
The ice cream factory is just north of the small town of
Waterbury. The 30-minute factory tour teaches everything you
need to know about ice-cream making and ends in the
Flavoroom for samples of the day.

Virginia
Colonial Williamsburg
Williamsburg was the capital of Virginia from 1699 to 1780.
Today, more than 80 of the original structures are preserved
for tours.

Washington
Olympic National Park
About 95 percent of the park is designated as wilderness,
with glacier-capped mountains, the wild Pacific coast and
magnificent stands of old-growth forests.

West Virginia
New River Gorge National River
The New River in southern West Virginia is among the oldest
rivers on the continent. It's a rugged, white-water river
that flows northward through deep canyons. The national
river designation protected 53 miles of the New River as a
free-flowing waterway.

Wisconsin
The Dells
The Wisconsin Dells, 57 miles northwest of Madison, is a
family vacation area that has cornered the market on water
parks.

Wyoming
Yellowstone National Park
Geothermal wonders such as Old Faithful delight the
millions who show up each year.

Washington, D.C.
National Air and Space Museum
The Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum
maintains the largest collection of historic air and space-
craft in the world.