Planet Forward: Smart people, smart iedas. Online and on TV.

Free to See: 10 U.S. Historic Sites

Posted by Intelligent Travel on October 31, 2011
(2)
More »
Cliff Palace, Mesa Verde National Park (Harry Segelken/My Shot)
Cliff Palace, Mesa Verde National Park (Harry Segelken/My Shot)

The U.S. is filled with “it happened here” historic sites, and many have no admission fees. Get a sneak peek at our 20 favorite spots below, then find the complete list online. Plus, we want to hear from you. Tell us about a free historic site near you.

Mesa Verde National Park Colorado

It typically costs $10 to $15 per car (depending on the season) to see these spectacular cliff dwellings of the ancestral Pueblo people. As home to some of America’s most important archaeological sites, dating to A.D. 600, Mesa Verde is worth every cent. But several times a year you can see it for free, including National Public Lands Day in September and the weekend of Veterans Day in November. (Entry fee is waved, but fees still apply for optional, ranger-led tours.)

U.S.S. Arizona Memorial Honolulu, Hawaii

The date, December 7, 1941, really does live on in infamy, and the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center makes sure the memory of Japan’s attack on the United States will never fade. Visitor center exhibits provide fascinating context on the attack, and the center is the pickup point for free boat trip tickets to the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial.

St. Paul’s Chapel, Parish of Trinity Church New York, New York

The oldest public building in continuous use in New York City—George Washington attended services here following his 1790 Inauguration—narrowly escaped destruction in the September 1776 blaze that broke out when the British retook New York. On September 11, 2001, the World Trade Center collapsed across the street, and the debris-filled but unharmed chapel became an oasis for ground zero recovery efforts. Exhibits tell the incredible 9/11 story.

Baranof Castle State Historical Site Sitka, Alaska

Sitka was the capital of Russian Alaska, and a good swath of that domain can be seen in the outstanding views from the hilltop Baranof Castle State Historical Site, where first native Tlingit peoples and then Russians erected fortifications. Russia handed over Alaska to the United States on this hill in 1867. Interpretive panels tell the story.

Read more.

Help us build our list! Tell us about another historic site that’s free to visit. Leave the details in the comments section below.

Photo: Harry Segelken/My Shot

Sponsored by Toyota Venza

Previous: 10 Free U.S. Places to Tour

Keywords: , , , , , ,
(2)
More »

Related Links

Comments

  1. Mara
    United States
    October 31, 2011, 6:56 pm

    New Castle, Delaware is a seven-block stretch along the Delaware River where William Penn first landed in America. The first capital of Delaware was in the Court House from which Mason an Dixon measured from to draw the unusual semi-circle northern border of the state (every point on the semi-circle is exactly 12 miles from the building). The Court House museum is free. You can also wander and look at the perfectly preserved row houses for free or pay a few dollars to visit the town’s museums, one of which, the Read House, once was home to a signer of the Declaration of Independence.

  2. Robert
    United States
    November 1, 2011, 12:09 pm

    Great list of sites to see. Mesa Verde is a wonderful National Park. I use http://www.easymilitarytravel.com for cheaper airfare when I’m visiting places like these. As far as a suggestion I really enjoy Mammoth Cave National Park. It’s the longest known cave system in the world. The area around it is free, while the guided cave tours are a very reasonable anywhere from $5-12 for the normal tours.