United States of  America

Five of the most visited states in US

Based on tourists 'visits and residents' opinions

NEVADA

Nevada is a western U.S. state defined by its great expanses of desert, and by the 24-hour casinos and entertainment for which its largest city, Las Vegas, is famed. Las Vegas is home to elaborate theme hotels and luxury resorts that line its main thoroughfare, the Las Vegas Strip. The city's also home to museums such as the Mob Museum, extravagant live shows and upscale shopping malls and restaurants.

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The city of Reno is also noted for its casinos, plus the contemporary Nevada Museum of Art and the MidTown District of shops and restaurants. Between Reno and the capital, Carson City, Virginia City preserves its mining days in Old West–style shops, saloons and museums. Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area has rock climbing, while nearby Mount Charleston offers hiking and skiing. Hoover Dam, a popular draw, forms sprawling Lake Mead, a destination for boating and fishing. Lake Tahoe offers water sports and golf. Great Basin National Park is home to mountains, alpine lakes and unusual rock formations within Lehman Caves.

ARIZONA

Arizona, a southwestern U.S. state, is best known for the Grand Canyon, the mile-deep chasm carved by the Colorado River. Flagstaff, a ponderosa pine–covered mountain town, is a major gateway to the Grand Canyon. Other natural sites include Saguaro National Park, protecting cactus-filled Sonoran Desert landscape. Tucson is University of Arizona territory and home to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum.

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Phoenix, the capital, and surrounding towns like Scottsdale are home to golf resorts, spas and high-end dining. Sedona is known for its arts scene, red-rock formations and “vortexes,” sites that some believe emit spiritual energy. National monuments such as Canyon de Chelly, Montezuma Castle, Navajo, Wupatki and Tonto are home to Native American ruins like cliff dwellings and artifacts. Tombstone, site of the infamous Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, is a preserved 19th-century mining town with a street lined with boardwalks and saloons. Outdoor activities range from white-water rafting the Colorado River to backpacking Havasu Canyon.

NEW YORK

New York is a state in the northeastern U.S., known for New York City and towering Niagara Falls. NYC’s island of Manhattan is home to the Empire State Building, Times Square and Central Park. The Brooklyn Bridge connects Manhattan with the borough of Brooklyn. The iconic Statue of Liberty stands in New York Harbor. To the east, Long Island has beaches, the Montauk Lighthouse, the ritzy Hamptons and Fire Island.

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North of NYC, the Hudson Valley is known for Gilded Age mansions, arty towns and forest trails. The region is bordered by the Catskill Mountains to the west and extends north to Albany, the state capital. To the west, Cooperstown has the National Baseball Hall of Fame. The Finger Lakes region is known for its forests, lakes and vineyards. In the state’s north, the vast protected Adirondacks region encompasses Lake George, the High Peaks, 19th-century summer retreats known as Great Camps and the town of Lake Placid. At the Canadian border, Lake Ontario flows into the St. Lawrence River, home to the 1000 Islands archipelago.

WYOMING

Wyoming is a western U.S. state defined by vast plains and the Rocky Mountains. Its famed Yellowstone National Park, a nearly 3,500-sq.-mile wilderness recreation area, is home to hundreds of animal species, dramatic canyons and alpine rivers. The park's gushing geysers include the iconic Old Faithful. To the south is Grand Teton National Park, known for backcountry skiing areas, forested trails and Snake River.

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The Jackson Hole valley, close to both national parks, is an attraction in its own right, with challenging ski runs, upscale resorts and dude ranches. Cody, a former frontier town known for its summer rodeos, is reachable from Yellowstone via the famed Buffalo Bill Cody Scenic Byway. State capital Cheyenne hosts its own rodeos, including massive outdoor events during the popular annual Frontier Days festival. In the Black Hills National Forest to the north is the iconic Devils Tower, a 1,267-ft. stone monolith.

CALIFORNIA

California, a western U.S. state, stretches from the Mexican border along the Pacific for nearly 900 miles. Its terrain includes cliff-lined beaches, redwood forest, the Sierra Nevada Mountains, Central Valley farmland and the Mojave Desert. The city of Los Angeles is the seat of the Hollywood entertainment industry. Hilly San Francisco is known for the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz Island and cable cars.

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Just north of Mexico, San Diego is renowned for its zoo and surfing spots. In the north is Redwood National Park, with its towering trees, and the famed vineyards of Napa and Sonoma valleys. Inland are the capital, Sacramento, skiing and boating destination Lake Tahoe and iconic Yosemite National Park. Outside San Francisco is the nation’s technology hub, Silicon Valley. The central coast is site of Monterey’s renowned Monterey Bay Aquarium, the scenic wilderness of Big Sur and extravagant Hearst Castle in the town of San Simeon. Disneyland is in Orange County, and Joshua Tree National Park straddles 2 deserts.

State capitals and largest cities in the United States

State capitals are often centrally located in a state. But as you can see below, the largest city is not always the capital.