As summer descends on the United States, the mercury begins to soar in many places, with daily temperatures reaching into the triple digits. While you could embrace the heat like a lizard or retreat behind air conditioning for the next few months, perhaps you should consider a refreshing getaway to cooler climes. Here are 10 of our favorite places for beating the worst of the summer heat.

Flagstaff, Arizona

During summer, “cool” is one of the last things you’d expect in Arizona, but altitude keeps things chill in Flagstaff, located 7,000 feet above sea level. While the desert sizzles, Flagstaff provides a cool getaway to beat the summer heat, with the average temperature in summer reaching only 73 degrees Fahrenheit. 

For recreation without breaking a sweat, Arizona Snowbowl Ski Resort offers a high-altitude escape. Located on the state’s highest mountains, it’s the perfect summer retreat with cool temperatures and incredible views. Topping out at 11,500 feet, the Arizona Gondola offers sweeping vistas of the San Francisco Volcanic Field and Sedona’s red rocks — or even the Grand Canyon on exceptionally clear days. 

Buffalo and Niagara Falls – New York

Buffalo is legendary when it comes to record-breaking blizzards and subarctic winter temperatures, but it also makes a great destination for those looking to beat the summer heat. While the city is world-renowned as the home of hot wings, you can enjoy an ice wine, a regional specialty, to cool down. 

In 2025, Buffalo celebrates the 200th anniversary of the completion of the Erie Canal with the “Waterway of Change” exhibit on the waterfront and the Seneca Chief, a replica of the boat that once traveled on the canal and will serve as a floating museum. And at Niagara Falls, just 25 miles away, let the mist from the powerful waterfalls cool you off as you visit the Cave of the Winds or take a boat ride on the famous Maid of the Mist. 

Leadville, Colorado

Since higher altitudes lead to lower temperatures, the highest incorporated city in North America is a no-brainer for a heat-escaping summer getaway. Situated at 10,158 feet above sea level and surrounded by Colorado’s largest and second-largest mountains (Mount Elbert and Mount Massive), Leadville is a Victorian-era mining town that boasted 30,000 residents at the height of the silver boom in the late 19th century.

Visitors can catch a show at the historic Tabor Opera House, which was one of the most expensive buildings in Colorado when it was built in 1878, or take a refreshing ride along the Continental Divide on the Leadville Colorado and Southern Railroad, which has gorgeous views of the San Isabel National Forest. There are plenty of opportunities for enjoying the surrounding nature, too — kayak, windsurf, fish, or take an icy dip at Turquoise Lake, just five miles out of town. At the end of the day, belly up to the historic bar at the Legendary Silver Dollar Saloon, and don’t miss the pizza at High Mountain Pies.

Bluefield, West Virginia

Nicknamed “Nature’s Air-Conditioned City,” Bluefield is known for its cool mountain air and mild summer temperatures, averaging in the upper 60s and 70s from May through August. Between 1960 and 1982, the city recorded only one 90-degree day. When temperatures finally reached 90 degrees again in 2024 — the first time in seven years — Bluefield resumed a beloved local tradition of handing out free lemonade to locals and visitors. 

Bluefield and surrounding Mercer County offer a refreshing Appalachian summer escape, filled with waterfalls, shaded swimming holes, scenic hiking, and mountain overlooks. In the evenings, catch a movie under the stars at Pipestem, one of West Virginia’s last remaining drive-in theaters.

Newport, Rhode Island

This Atlantic Ocean enclave has been attracting the rich and famous for more than a hundred years. Step back in time with a tour of Gilded Age mansions like the Breakers and stroll along the Cliff Walk, a National Recreational Trail where breathtaking ocean views and the refreshing sea breeze create the perfect coastal escape. 

Newport’s beaches offer something for everyone. Surfers should head to Sachuest Beach or Easton’s Beach for some incredible waves and prime surfing conditions. For those looking to explore beyond the shore, Newport also offers plenty of other water-based adventures, including sailing and kayaking along its scenic coastline.

Talkeetna, Alaska

Denali — the tallest peak in North America at 20,310 feet above sea level — towers over the tiny town of Talkeetna, which is located just two hours north of Anchorage. Famous as the inspiration for the fictional town of Cicely in the ’90s television drama Northern Exposure, Talkeetna has a quaint two-block downtown filled with historic storefronts, a brewery, and a general store — which is also home of the town’s honorary feline mayor.

After Alaska’s long, chilly winter, summer (and its many hours of daylight) is the ideal time to explore the area’s nature — there are also miles of hiking and cycling trails and three rivers to explore outside of town. (And that’s not counting the hearty folks who challenge themselves on Denali.) After a day of exploration, make yourself at home in front of the grand fireplace at the Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge.

San Francisco, California

“The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco” is often (mis)-attributed to Mark Twain, but — like many of his supposed quotes — there’s no evidence of his authorship. But perhaps the phrase caught on for a reason — the city by the bay is (usually) blessed with a temperate marine climate that sees cool summers, and more than one tourist has hurriedly purchased an overpriced sweatshirt to deal with an unexpected chill.

Cable cars, Alcatraz, and the Golden Gate Bridge — there’s no shortage of iconic sights in San Francisco to enjoy (as long as you remember to pack a light jacket). Summer is also filled with events, from the Fillmore Jazz Festival and Outside Lands to Giants games at Oracle Park and a Japanese film festival. 

Bar Harbor, Maine

Rocky beaches, glacier-scoured granite peaks, vast forests, and a mild coastal climate are the hallmarks of this northeastern corner of the United States — all of which makes Maine ideal for a summer escape. Along the wave-tossed Atlantic Ocean, the charming town of Bar Harbor on Mount Desert Island is a convenient base from which to explore the 47,000-acre Acadia National Park — which became the first national park east of the Mississippi River in 1919. A whale-watching excursion is a must, followed by a traditional New England lobster roll. 

Bellevue, Washington

Bellevue is nestled between Lake Washington and the Cascade Mountains, offering a refreshing balance of outdoor adventure and urban sophistication. The city is located about 15 minutes east of Seattle, so you’ll be close to popular Emerald City attractions such as the Space Needle and Pike Place Market. But you can also enjoy shaded hikes to Poo Poo Point, lush greenery at the Bellevue Botanical Garden, and ample opportunities for swimming, boating, and kayaking right at your doorstep. Seattle has previously topped reports of the best U.S. cities to visit for comfortable summers, but heading to nearby Bellevue makes an ideal getaway to stay active while keeping cool.

Apostle Islands National Lakeshore – Wisconsin

Covering a stretch of shoreline and 22 islands on Lake Superior at the northern tip of Wisconsin, the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore offers an excellent antidote for muggy Midwestern summers. Sea caves, 19th-century lighthouses, and the rich culture of the Ojibwe peoples provide a true retreat from the heated rush of summer. Take the ferry to Madeline Island (the largest of the Apostles) and enjoy hiking, shopping, and a night of live music at Tom’s Burned Down Cafe, where a 1992 fire destroyed the building but didn’t put a stop to the fun. Back on the mainland in Bayfield, enjoy a traditional Wisconsin fish boil at Greunke’s Restaurant.

Though the national lakeshore is a great destination to visit in summertime, be sure to come back in winter to explore the Mainland Ice Caves, a collection of ethereal caves that occur when the lake freezes over and the water that drips from the rocks turns into needle-like icicles. Visitors can explore the caves by hiking on the iced-over lake and even crawling inside to peer through glass-like floors.

Picture a beach and you’ll probably think of sugar-white sands, warm blue waters, and maybe even a palm tree or two. There’s certainly nothing wrong with this classic ideal of a beach, but the world is also filled with wonderfully weird beaches to soak in — ones with unusually colored sands, interesting rock formations, and even toasty hot waters. Grab your sunscreen and explore the 15 of the planet’s most unique beaches. 

Papakōlea Beach – Hawaii

Color other beaches green with envy: This emerald-hued stretch on Hawaii’s Big Island is one of only a handful of green sand beaches in the world. Papakōlea’s stunning sands are the result of small crystalline particles that were formed when the Mauna Loa volcano erupted about 50,000 years ago. These olivine silicates are heavy and don’t wash out to sea as easily as lighter crystals, tinting the beach a lovely deep green.

Lake Laugarvatn – Iceland

Eating sandwiches on the beach isn’t uncommon, but sandwiches made with bread baked on the beach itself — in sands heated by volcanic lava — is something else. Lake Laugarvatn is located in a region of Iceland where cracks in the tectonic plates allow water scalded by the volcanic hotbed to make its way up to the lake’s shore. Locals dig a hole in the boiling sands, nestle rye dough in a metal pan, and wait for the delicious results. Hardboiled eggs (also cooked in the sand), a bit of butter, and a slice of smoked fish make for an unusual — and tasty — picnic.

Playa del Amor – Mexico

Playa del Amor wouldn’t be out of place in a James Bond movie — in fact, this secluded strip of sand may be the world’s most picturesque bomb site. Located on the Marietas Islands off the coast of Puerto Vallarta, the crater that reveals “Hidden Beach” is said to have been created when the Mexican military used the deserted islands for target practice. To access Playa del Amor, visitors must swim through a short tunnel before emerging onto the secret sands. Don’t forget to bring a thermos of martinis (shaken, not stirred).

As Catedrais – Spain

There are plenty of churches in the Lugo province of northwestern Spain, but only one Cathedral Beach. Over millennia, the Cantabrian Sea has sculpted the rocks into a natural monument of towering arches, flying buttresses, soaring stone pillars, and hidden caves, which can be explored when the tide is low.

Giant’s Causeway – Ireland

Legend has it that this unusual beach was formed by giants walking across the sea from Northern Ireland to Scotland. Geologists, however, say that this UNESCO World Heritage Site was formed 50 to 60 million years ago, when volcanic activity pushed up about 40,000 black basalt columns that jut from the sea. It resembles a carefully paved avenue — fit for a giant’s jaunt off to the next pub.

Shell Beach – Australia

Don’t even think of a barefoot stroll along this stretch of beach off Western Australia’s Shark Bay — Shell Beach requires shoes, and sturdy ones at that. The waters off the coast of this UNESCO World Heritage Site contain just the right amount of salt for cockle clams to flourish without predators. This leaves Shell Beach blanketed with millions (billions, probably) of mollusk shells for a stretch almost 40 miles long and 30 feet deep.

Koekohe Beach – New Zealand

Game of Thrones fans will groove at the massive spherical boulders on this protected scientific reserve on New Zealand’s Otago Coast. Created of mud, silt, and clay over five million years, the Moeraki boulders have a calcified outer layer that has cracked on top, giving rise to the nickname “Dragon’s Egg Beach.”

Cox’s Bazar Beach – Bangladesh

Love long walks on the beach? How about really long walks? Visitors to Cox’s Bazar Beach on the Bay of Bengal can stroll 93 miles before reaching the end of one the world’s longest beaches. Stretching 600 feet wide at high tide, the beach can also contain that childhood nightmare — quicksand — during ebb tides. As long as you carefully avoid it, the beach is otherwise lined with many hotels and restaurants interspersed with long miles of blissfully uninterrupted sand.

Skeleton Coast – Namibia

Butting up to the frigid waters of the Atlantic Ocean, western Namibia’s Skeleton Coast runs 300 unforgiving miles of shipwrecks, skulls, and dense fog that rises up to obscure the desert dunes. This rarely visited and remote area is also home to an enormous colony of seals at Cape Cross, covering every available inch of sand. Rare desert lions prowl, taking down the fat seals and the occasional seabird. Because of the dense fog and inhospitable weather, this stretch of coast was the site of countless shipwrecks, with rusting remnants partially covered in the sands.

Sea of Stars – The Maldives

Tiny creatures about a millimeter long called ostracod crustaceans (also known as seed shrimp) create a magical nighttime show in the Maldives, illuminating the waves so that the glowing surf shimmering against the sand appears to contain a galaxy of stars. One of the best places to see this is Mudhdloo Island in the Baa Atoll. Visit in late summer to observe this unearthly phenomenon.

Maho Beach – St. Maarten

On the Dutch side of this Caribbean island, the beach is natural but the attraction is 100% human-made. Maho Beach is adjacent to Princess Juliana International Airport, close enough to the runway that beach goers can be blown about by the jet blast. This up-close-and-personal proximity makes the beach popular with aviation buffs as well as sun worshippers, and plane spotters come from all over the planet to take in the iconic site (and snap an incredible photo).

Hot Water Beach – New Zealand

On the east coast of the Coromandel Peninsula, thermal springs filter up through the sands of Hot Water Beach between high and low tides. Bring a shovel (or rent one) and dig your very own hot tub, right on the shore. Don’t get too relaxed, though: The hot springs are quite close to the water even at low tide, and no one wants their soak interrupted by an unexpected breaking wave.

Rabida Island – Ecuador

This small island is the only place in the Galápagos that is home to nine varieties of Charles Darwin’s famous finches. Blue-footed boobies, sea lions, and brown pelicans share the deep red sands, which have their distinctive color due to the high iron content of Rabida’s basaltic lava.

Boulders Bay – South Africa

Whose lifelong dream isn’t to swim with penguins? This secluded beach in a Cape Town suburb is the only place in the world to encounter endangered African penguins up close. You can splash (but not touch) our tuxedoed flightless friends who hang out on the sands here. Started from one breeding pair in 1982, the protected colony now numbers between 2,000 and 3,000, in all their waddling glory.

Horseshoe Bay Beach – Bermuda

The phrase “pretty as a picture” — and pictures themselves — can’t begin to do justice to Horseshoe Bay Beach, but that hasn’t stopped it from becoming one of the world’s most Instagrammed beaches. As soon as you see the bright turquoise water lapping against petal-pink sand, you’ll understand why. The cotton candy coloring is a result of crushed microscopic marine insects, known as foraminifera, and shells.

It’s no wonder Canada has a wealth of stunning natural landmarks — the country is home to a quarter of the Earth’s wetlands, temperate rainforests, and boreal forests. The planet’s second-largest country by area, Canada also houses approximately 20% of its fresh water, and even boasts the longest coastline in the world. While most are probably familiar with sites such as Niagara Falls or Banff National Park, there are countless other lesser-known spots to put on your Canadian travel list. From the iconic Hopewell Rocks to the mystical Smoking Hills, here are six must-see natural landmarks of the Great White North.

Hopewell Rocks – New Brunswick

Perched over the picturesque shores of the Bay of Fundy, in the maritime province of New Brunswick, are the colossal rock formations known as the Hopewell Rocks. The awe-inspiring structures were carved by centuries of shifting sands and the relentless force of the world’s highest tides. At low tide, the monolithic rocks can be seen in all their glory — layers of rusty red and earthy brown sedimentary rock reach as high as 70 feet, with the lower, more eroded portions of the rocks narrowing in and the upper reaches expanding outward. The broad shape at the top of the rocks — as well as the evergreen trees that sprout from the top — have also earned the formations the well-known nickname “flowerpot rocks.”

During low tide, visitors can walk on the ocean floor through arches and caves between and around the giant sea stacks. As the tide rises, the rocks become isolated islands, and kayakers can paddle through their narrow channels. More than 100 billion tons of water flow in and out every six hours on the Bay of Fundy, continuing to shape the landscape around it.

Athabasca Sand Dunes – Saskatchewan

The Athabasca Sand Dunes, located in a remote northern region of Saskatchewan, are the largest sand dunes in Canada and the most northerly dunes in the world. Stretching over 60 miles alongside the southern shores of Lake Athabasca, the dunes reach almost 100 feet in height and stretch for nearly a mile. The dunes are a geological oddity for a province otherwise known for its prairie flats — tucked between a lake and a boreal forest, they’re only accessible by plane or boat. They were formed some 8,000 years ago, when ice from the last glacial period receded. Sand and silt washed into Lake Athabasca, and as water levels dropped over time, the massive deposits were revealed. The Sahara-like dunes were shaped — and continue to be shaped — by strong winds. 

The dunes aren’t just a visual spectacle —  they also harbor a diverse ecosystem. As many as 70 rare plant species, including at least seven that are only known to exist here, inhabit the area. Although there are no on-site services at the Athabasca Sand Dunes Provincial Park, visitors can embark on guided hiking tours, go fishing, and spend the night camping. 

Cathedral Grove – British Columbia

Vancouver, British Columbia, has no shortage of breathtaking old-growth forests, but perhaps no forest is more accessible than the one in Cathedral Grove. Located in MacMillan Provincial Park along Highway 4, between Parksville and Port Alberni, the popular forest teems with towering Douglas firs. Some of the trees are more than 800 years old, have a circumference of almost 30 feet, and soar 200 to 300 feet overhead. 

The towering canopy earns the forest its nickname, and though it remains dense, a devastating windstorm in early 1997 changed the park forever. Hundreds of the gigantic trees snapped and were felled; some parts of the Grove’s trail were wiped out and damaged so badly they couldn’t reopen. Devastating as it was, the loss of these landmarks also provided sunlight, shelter, and nutrients for new generations of plant life. To this day, the park’s diversity continues to evolve.

Spotted Lake – British Columbia

Spotted Lake is a geological wonder located in Osoyoos, the southernmost town in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley. The lakewater holds a wealth of minerals — including calcium, sodium sulfate, and magnesium sulfate — and as the summer heats up, the lake’s water gradually evaporates. What’s left is a mesmerizing sight: vibrant dots of mineral pools scattered like a mosaic and creating an otherworldly landscape. 

The mirage-like effect is more than just a popular sight — it’s considered sacred to the Syilx people, the Indigenous First Nations of the Okanagan region. For centuries, the Syilx have revered this site, utilizing its mud and therapeutic waters for various medicinal and healing purposes. Due to the lake’s cultural and ecological significance, access to the lake itself is restricted. Visitors can instead observe the landscape from the highway or from a designated viewing area.

Sleeping Giant – Ontario

Stretched out in Lake Superior, the Sleeping Giant is a natural rock peninsula that earned its name from its distinct appearance. From the western or northwestern areas of northern Ontario city of Thunder Bay, the shape is most clearly recognizable, with the giant seen lying with its arms gently crossed over its chest. Traveling south towards Squaw Bay, however, the formation starts to shapeshift as it appears to gradually split into smaller sections. Heading further south reveals an intriguing detail: the silhouette of the giant with a visible Adam’s apple.

There are many legends surrounding this Sibley Peninsula landmark. One Ojibway legend identifies the giant as Nanabijou, a powerful spirit who once entrusted the tribe with knowledge of a silver deposit nearby. Nanibijou requested that the mine remain a secret among their tribe; if settlers found out, he would turn himself to stone. Word of the treasures spread, however, and it wasn’t long before a Sioux warrior discovered the coveted mine’s whereabouts. Settlers then also heard word of the mine, but as they approached the peninsula, a storm erupted. With it, a remarkable sight appeared: a stone formation in the shape of a sleeping giant.

Smoking Hills – Northwest Territories

The Smoking Hills are as much a phenomenon as they are a natural landmark. Located where Canada’s Northwest Territories meet the Arctic Ocean, these sedimentary rock deposits have been smoldering for thousands of years, sending billowing clouds of smoke and mist into the air from the red rocky cliffside.

The constant smoke is a result of the landscape: As erosion continues to expose the oil shale rocks, rich in sulfur and coal, the combustible gasses ignite and result in the continuous smoke. Although the hills were already burning when explorer and naturalist John Richardson mapped the area in 1826, Irish explorer Captain Robert McClure is often credited as being the first to record his observations of the enigmatic burning hills, discovered in 1850 while out searching for the doomed Franklin Expedition. Some stories suggest that a sample rock brought back to McClure’s ship burned a hole through his desk. The otherworldly site remains relatively untouched by humans, but researchers have discovered that its mineral makeup is actually similar to that of Mars, and are studying it to learn more about the Red Planet.