I was looking for them online and my American friends says “if they’re online either they’re not hidden or they’re not gems”.

Do you generally find this to be true?

And are there any hidden gem locations?

48 comments

  2. I think there certainly are hidden gems everywhere, but your friend is also right.

    If I find it on a list of “Northern Virginias Top 10 Hidden Gems,” they’re actually going to be well-known and not at all hidden.

  3. I don’t buy what your friend said. We are a huge and very diverse country, from both a physical and human(I’m including urban vs rural in this) geography standpoint. There are tons of hidden gems because things will fall through the cracks just because of the sheer scale of this country. Examples and ideas for ehat constitutes a hidden gem will depend almost entirely on what you’re looking for but we have them in basically every type of tourist place you can look for.

  4. I would disagree – That might have been true 15-20 years ago, but everything is online now. I think it’s a matter of asking a local vs. looking down the top 10 list on Tripadvisor, but if the ‘hidden gem’ is something like local made goat ice cream or oak museum, they’ll still have a FB or Instagram page, or something like that.

  5. There’s like thousands just in the Southwest I’d say. Somebody is bound to post something about them though.. Even in the most remote parts of Alaska, somebody’s been there and posted something.

  6. >And are there any hidden gem locations?

    regardless of the accuracy of online lists (I think there’s some merit to what your friend is saying, but I wouldn’t write them off entirely), there definitely are hidden gems in the US. I’ve lived in Wisconsin for 8 years & I still find cool spots that are new to me all the time. and that’s just in one state.

  7. Yes, but they’re hidden. Part of being hidden is that not many people know about them. Advertising them online makes them not hidden.

  8. I think the easiest way to find that is a region there is REALLY great stuff and people can’t resist the easier/more popular place.

    In New England there are a dozens of quaint and fun beach resort towns with gorgeous shores. I pass all those and keep driving a few hours past where most people go. There’s less tourism infrastructure (like there’s not a million hotels and restaurants). I spend time on beautiful secluded beaches with great hikes and quaint little lobstering towns.

    I’m sure there’s lots of places in California like this. Some of that National parks are so popular and famous (and we only have so much vacation times), I assume some of the lesser known parks that are a bit off the beaten path are way less traveled and a more chill experience.

    I just went to a cool place – Monhegan Island. There were other tourists there, but not too many. We traveled over by ferry, an hour an a half over rough seas. Not everyone wants to do that extra step because of kids/time, etc.

  9. As someone else pointed out, everything is online, however that doesn’t mean everybody knows about it. Maybe locals but out of state people not so much.

    Pinecrest Lake resort is probably well known but not sire how many people outside Northern California know about it. An even bigger example is an area of the Clavey River nearby that has a nice swimming hole. Used to hike there from the scout camp in that area. Its only accessible by car via some small dirt roads.

  10. If you take “hidden gems” to mean “largely unknown” as opposed to “completely unknown whatsoever,” there are plenty of them out there. Even if evidence of them is online, they can still be “hidden,” IMO.

    [RoadsideAmerica](https://www.roadsideamerica.com/) and [Waymarking](https://www.waymarking.com) are great places to find all sorts of “unknown” stuff.

  11. Of course, but I’d never share my spots here. I’ll be at the beach this weekend, not the crowded one.

  12. Oh yeah. All over. Nothing is more annoying than when I see one of my favorite places get mentioned online.

    This isn’t unique to the US . Hemingway wrote about it about Paris a hundred years ago. Albeit not online, but in periodicals.

  13. I’ve traveled a lot. There are definitely some, but more often than not someone who claims a “hidden gem” is probably somewhat known

  14. I wouldn’t say “hidden”, because it is somewhat well-known in the US, particularly the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions (and even in eastern Canada), but gets unfairly maligned nationally: the Jersey Shore, particularly the southern portion. The most well-known town actually is an awful dump (Atlantic City) that deserves its poor reputation, but most of the towns are really nice, particularly Ocean City and Cape May, the former of which is a great destination for families. I love this region in the summer, because the temperatures aren’t blazing hot like in the south (usually about 5-15 degrees cooler than the nearby inland cities), and the water temperatures are refreshing. Not cold, like New England beaches, but not warm bath water like in the south.

    In New England, Lake Winnipesaukee is gorgeous. Once again, well-known regionally, but less prominent nationally. As a regional bathing and boating option, it tends to get overshadowed by Cape Cod. The lake is an easy 90 minute drive from Boston.

    Also in New England, the White Mountains were once a famous tourist destination that have now largely faded from the national consciousness. These are some of the most impressive mountains east of the Rocky Mountains, and the prominence (if not the absolute height) of some of the peaks rivals the Rockies. The White Mountains are probably overlooked because they do not contain a National Park, the designation of which automatically adds a free layer of national prominence. As such, New England’s only large National Park, Acadia, gets more attention.

  16. Depends.

    There’s plenty of obscure or lesser known things that are online that aren’t swamped with tourists. Often these are things only locals know about. Even in NYC there’s lesser known museums, parks and restaurants.

    However, if you see something in several top 10 lists and YouTube videos, it’s definitely isn’t a hidden gem anymore.

    Of course you have a lot of cities that don’t get nearly as much tourism and can be considered a hidden gem unto themselves in many ways.

    Hell, sometimes it’s fun to visit a city and find places on page 20 of trip advisor or using Google to find great lesser known restaurants.

    Or just exploring small towns or different neighborhoods.

    Most people are limited on time on vacation and want to experience the best however.

    Like consider Buffalo. How many people know about:

    * The waterfall with a natural gas seep you can light on fire?
    * The Lackawanna Basilica
    * Teddy Roosevelt Inauguration Museum
    * Bird Island Pier
    * Niagara Terminal Artist Studios
    * Pierce Arrow Art Gallery
    * Urban farms on the Eastside
    * Silo City
    * Griffis Sculpture Park

    Or take Niagara Falls where there’s a TON of tourists, but not hard to find lesser known gems:

    * Whirlpool/Devils Hole State Parks with trails descending the Niagara Gorge with stunning views
    * Niagara Science Center
    * Era G Ross Aerospace Museum

  17. Most hidden gems are not hidden, just that they are more local in scope. People outside the region either don’t know or don’t care about them. So while the out-of-state tourist goes to the big famous national park (as they should!), the locals would know about a beautiful state park in the same area that’s only a tenth as crowded.

  18. Are you talking about cities or activities? Even in a major tourism city you can find museums and shows and stuff that aren’t highly marketed and kind of under the radar. Most tourist focused cities will be well known – even if it’s only to local travelers. Example I don’t expect most Americans to know about a lake in Iowa with an amusement park but if I visit I do expect it to be packed with Iowans.

    Now if you are looking for any recommendations my mother and I stumbled across this beautiful state park Lake Lurleen in Tuscaloosa Alabama a couple summers back. We were just traveling through and had no idea it was there till it the GPS recommended it.

  19. Central Texas is really awesome. Austin is a cool city and San Antonio is cool The hill country has a ton of vineyards you can tour. Some really cool springs you can swim in and a ton of camping at a variety of states parks.

  20. Go to the subreddit for a state and ask for recommendations. Every city and town has something that only the locals know about.

  22. Probably not many but I bet they do exist. Like another user said, a lot are well known regionally but not nationally. If I were to think of one off the top of my head though, I would say northern Michigan.

  23. Its simply a matter of scope and perspective. There are hidden gems everywhere, but if you ask locals, they probably won’t see it as a hidden gem because they experience it every day.

    For example. If you are going onto the Las Vegas Strip for the first time, there is a bar called the Stage Door. Its by Flamingo. Beers are super super super cheap there, and amongst Casino employees, it is (or at least was in 2017 :D) a great after work drinks spot. However, for your average Las Vegas tourist, they would probably walk past it unless they knew about it from research. Normal Local spot for those in Vegas, hidden gem to the tourist who stumbles into it after they have been paying $15 a drink and losing all their money in Vegas.

    Another one is Charleston, SC. In the Southeast, everyone knows about it. However, to the international tourist, its nowhere near the top of the list of places to visit and that is an absolute shame because the food there is outstanding and the beaches are nice. When I lived in Vegas, nobody knew about Charleston SC lol. Hell, even when I lived in NYC, no one knew about it.

    That said:

    Charleston, SC

    Asheville, NC

    Mount Charleston outside of Las Vegas.

    The entire New England area

    The Blue Ridge Mountains

    The entire Southwest is a gem as well

  24. [https://www.roadsideamerica.com/](https://www.roadsideamerica.com/) has lists of unusual tourist attractions. When you visit one be sure to ask people there about other things you may be interested in. The locals know the places that normal tourist misses.

  25. Oh yes

    -Pittsburgh PA

    -The Upper Peninsula of Michigan

    -Doing outdoorsy stuff in pretty much any part of Nevada other than Las Vegas.

    -Salt Lake City (and vicinity)

    -Houston TX as an urban destination

  26. Sort of yes. I know that tourists sometimes won’t go to certain areas due to crime rates. An example would be Belle Isle in Detroit. It’s got a museum and a very nice Conservatory among other things. But my relatives from out of state refuse to go because they think they will get robbed because it’s in Detroit. ( yeah they are overly cautious and a bit paranoid )

  27. Hidden gems is a relative term. For example, Black Canyon of the Gunnison is a hidden gem in terms of national parks generally, because it’s one of the newest and least visited, but most people in Colorado are still readily familiar with its existence at least.

    On the other hand, there’s a little small trail off near Pikes Peak that doesn’t even show up on Alltrails which I think only a handful of people in the area really know about that is really pretty.

    A hidden gem for you in Colorado is probably different than a hidden gem for me. And that’s okay

  28. Detroit is a hidden gem. Not a place where tourists are drawn to but an interesting city with things to do and a good food scene.

  29. I keep finding new places in my home state where I’ve lived for 52 years! America is VAST and there will always be more to see that’s cool than you will ever be able to get to.

  31. The country is MASSIVE but the well known “gems” you’ve heard of are absolutely packed.

    Most of the nation is hidden gems people hold secret.

    I used to live in one of those gems and it only took one article in an airplane magazine to turn it into a jam packed tourist destination.

  32. Where are you traveling? You might be able to go on some feed from Reddit or Facebook that is run by locals.

    I live in a very touristy area but I know the local gems

  33. Take a place like Utah. It has a few of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. But because utah is relatively remote for most people, when tourists go there they focus on Zion, Arches, Canyonlands, capitol Reef, Bryce Canyon, Park City, etc. And those places are massive, so they can occupy a tourist for their entire trip. This leaves the rest of the state (which is jam packed with amazing places) for locals or the most hard core travelers. And utah has much more to offer than its greatest hits. Some of the best songs are deep cut album tracks, not singles.

  34. People from the coasts think everything between them is a corn field with no electricity, so pretty much everything out there is a hidden gem. America is like a massive gem mine where most of the people think all of the gems are sitting on the surface.

  35. The only place that comes to mind is kinda kitschy, it’s the Cadillac Ranch outside of Amarillo Texas.
    It’s an art installation kinda thing, been there since the mid 1970’s.

    It was a fun, free side trip.

  36. Galveston, TX is a pretty sweet location for a few days of vacation. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time there the few times I’ve been.

  37. There are, but you have to go looking for them. There are lots of excellent little museums, but not always in big cities, or near them. We went to the Garst Museum in 2019. Greenville, Ohio. Excellent, but not even worth a mention in the AAA guide. Golden Spike National Historical Park is maybe an hour and a half north of Salt Lake City. It gets something like 50,000 visitors a year. Disneyland can get that in a day.

  38. Soaks Hole in NW Wyoming. It’s not on any map, list, or anything. You have to know exactly which dirt road to turn on. Super fun waterfall and swimming hole.

  42. Midwestern and Rust Belt cities are filled with gems and fun neighborhoods to explore – not everything is hidden in the sense that you can’t find out about it, but they’re definitely less popular places to visit. (With Chicago being the obvious exception – it’s great, but is a very popular tourist spot.) I’m thinking of Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, Detroit, Buffalo, etc.

    Cuyahoga Valley National Park, which is just outside of Cleveland, is gorgeous, and, while it’s hard to consider a national park hidden, to me, it’s hidden in the sense that people don’t really travel to visit. As of this year, there are a few cabins and tents available to rent, as well, so you can camp within the park.

  43. Wherever you go just talk to the locals. They know more than any website you will come across.

  44. There are thousands.

    Arizona gets millions of tourists to the Grand Canyon every year. Most drive to the south rim and take a few pictures then leave for Vegas or Sedona or Scottsdale.

    But we have tons of canyons with hidden waterfalls and swimming holes and heart wrenching beauty that even many locals dont know about. There is a 12600 foot peak very near the Grand Canyon that requires no special equipment to climb, you can do it as a day hike. There are historic telescopes open to the public in a few places in the state. So many more.

  45. Stanley, Idaho used to be one until about 5 years ago. Now it’s another overcrowded beautiful mountain and forest landscape.

    I don’t drive 4 hours into remote land to sleep closer to strangers than I do in my own home in a city.

  46. I would say the hidden gems are within the well known gems. i.e. California Giant Redwoods. You have to go there and spend some time to find the little areas that are really special.

  47. Utah has Zion National Park, but that’s not really “hidden.”

    San Diego is nicer than Los Angeles and closer to the Mexican border, but – again – not really “hidden.”

    There is a [100 Things To Do in ________ Before You Die](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=100+Things+to+Do+Before+You+Die) book series that lists some partially hidden things that may not be obvious to the average tourist.

  48. There are over 6000 state parks in the US. The vast majority of them are pretty unknown. Some are pretty meh but most are not.

    There’s a lot of hidden gems out there

Leave a Reply
You May Also Like