Issue Date: May 17, 2009
America land of the freebie
Vacations needn't be costly. Our top 10 travel destinations this year are all must-see -- and free!
STROLL THROUGH SCULPTURE: Minneapolis Sculpture Garden
Adjacent to the Walker Art Center (adult admission, $10) lies the astonishing, no-charge Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, an open-air wonderland of contemporary installation art jointly maintained by the Walker Art Center and the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. Showcasing iconic and often whimsical works by Alexander Calder, Louise Nevelson, Richard Serra and Frank Gehry, among other masters, the beguiling 11-acre park is a must-see for anyone who loves art, civic spirit -- or freebies.
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EXPERIENCE THE FALLS: American Falls, Niagara Falls, N.Y.
More than 300 years ago, blown away by its size and strength, the French missionary Louis Hennepin became one of the first Europeans to lay eyes on Niagara Falls. He went on to publish an engraving of Niagara Falls that helped kick-start the fame of North America's most powerful waterfall. Barrel plunges, tightrope walks and daredevil swims inevitably followed. We advise against all such activities, but we do strongly recommend that you take in the awesome spectacle. Neither the thrill nor the price of America's original tourist attraction has changed.
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VISIT A LITERARY LANDMARK: William Faulkner's home, Oxford, Miss.
From 1930 until his death in 1962, Nobel Laureate William Faulkner lived and wrote at Rowan Oak, a stately 1840s Greek revival home in Oxford, Miss. There he completed some of his most enduring works, including "Absalom, Absalom!," "Intruder in the Dust" and "A Fable," the plot outline of which he inscribed by hand on the plaster walls of his office, where it remains on view today. On Wednesdays, for what it costs to check one of the author's books out of your library, the public can visit the National Historic Landmark, maintained as a museum by the University of Mississippi, and mosey into Faulkner's private world. See some of the gardens he designed himself, the office still filled with his personal effects, even the parlor where he liked to spin ghost stories for his children. (Admission is $5 on all other days of the week.) Now that's Southern hospitality!
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SMELL THE ROSES: Rose Gardens, Portland, Ore.
The economy may be tanking, but in the lush gardens of Portland, Ore., everything's coming up -- well -- roses. The city's 4.5-acre International Rose Test Garden features 10,000 plantings of some 550 varieties, making it one of the sweetest-smelling places on Earth. The lovingly tended corners of these lush grounds, including the Gold Medal Garden, the Shakespeare Garden and the Royal Rosarian Garden, are in flower from Memorial Day through Columbus Day. The Portland Rose Festival runs through June.
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GET STEEPED IN TEA HISTORY: Celestial Seasonings factory tour, Boulder, Colo.
In times like these, we all could use a little tea and sympathy -- and there's no better place for it than Boulder, Colo., home of the Celestial Seasonings company. The country's largest maker of specialty teas, which also produces coffee, spices and drink mixes, makes more than 90 heavenly tea flavors, including such perennial favorites as hibiscus- and peppermint- infused Red Zinger, cinnamon-laden Bengal Spice and spearmint- and chamomile-flavored Sleepytime. Free factory tours of the aromatic business, which began in 1969 with herbs harvested by hand in the Rocky Mountains, take guests through the impressive blending and packaging process and include plentiful complimentary samples of the soothing brews.
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WATCH HUMPBACKS FROLIC: Whale-watching, Big Sur, Calif.
With the rugged Santa Lucia mountains rising on one side and the mighty Pacific Ocean crashing on the other, California's scenic Highway 1 ranks among the world's most breathtaking drives. You can see humpback whales in Monterey Bay from late April to early December, but the awe quotient goes through the roof during summer months, when they gather to feed and frolic. Reaching lengths of 55 feet, the endangered and highly animated creatures can be observed from numerous highway pullouts as they leap into the air, slap their massive tails and, in a behavior called spyhopping, tread water vertically with their heads above the waves. Rangers at Big Sur Station can recommend active viewing stations along the coast.
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FLY HIGH IN DAYTON: National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, Dayton, Ohio
Dedicated to military aviation history, the National Museum of the United States Air Force on Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, near Dayton, Ohio, houses acres of exhibitions, including more than 400 aerospace vehicles, many one-of-a-kind, from the early days of aviation through the present. Among the fleet: a Cold War-era B-2 stealth bomber, a prototype of an unmanned drone, and the original Air Force One -- the Boeing 707 that served every U.S. president from Kennedy to Clinton. For the price of admission -- free! -- visitors get to board this highest-flying perk of the Commander in Chief.
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TAKE A WALKING ART TOUR: New Deal Art Legacy Tour, Santa Fe
During the New Deal -- godfather of all stimulus packages -- the federal government hired hundreds of artists in the hard-hit state of New Mexico to create public works of art for the courthouses, libraries and office buildings. The stunning output of vibrant murals, sculptures and frescoes honoring the Southwestern way of life still enlivens the city to this day and can be viewed on a New Deal Art Legacy Tour. Highlights of the free stroll include William Penhallow Henderson's colorful landscape murals in the U.S. Federal Building, celebrated painter Will Shuster's enchanting frescoes on Native American themes at the New Mexico Museum of Art, and the hammered tin chandeliers as well as hand-carved meeting tables and chairs from the National Park Service's Old Santa Fe Trail Building.
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GO BATTY IN AUSTIN: The bats at Congress Avenue Bridge, Austin
Every evening at dusk from mid-March to November, nature puts on an unforgettable show in Austin. A huge swarm of Mexican free-tailed bats from North America's largest urban bat colony -- estimated at 1.5 million! -- takes flight from beneath the city's Congress Avenue Bridge and blankets the sky. The nightly food run has become a cherished performance in a town known for its quirkiness, with aficionados saying August's hot, dry nights produce the best flights. If getting up close to a massive cloud of creatures associated with haunted houses and vampires sounds a little batty, consider this: The animals consume 10,000 to 20,000 pounds of insects nightly. The Caped Crusader himself can't touch that record of public service.
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RIDE THE WAVES: Old Orchard Beach, Maine
Outlet shopping near Old Orchard Beach -- Burberry, Polo Ralph Lauren, J.Crew -- may come at a cost, but there's still no charge for the attraction that made the southern Maine seaside resort famous -- a wide, 7-mile-long stretch of Atlantic sand. Anchored by an amusement-lined pier that juts 500 feet into the ocean, the bustling village knows how to keep people smiling through a downturn. During the Depression, tourists danced their cares away to the big bands that performed at the old Pier Casino. Recession-busting fun these days includes weekly fireworks shows from the pier, free concerts all summer long, and, of course, plenty of sun, sand and surf.
Cover photograph of Niagara Falls by Michele Falzone, JAI/Corbis
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What's your favorite free vacation spot?