nhastings Loc: Telluride, CO

South Island of New Zealand. Going there in May. Iceland. Next June. Norway. Best photographic drive I have ever been on and would highly suggest is the Ice Highway between Banff and Jasper.

sleepy51 Loc: Makoshika Park--Montana

Route 66 in a old car with a good air conditioner, and a couple of friends to enjoy the ride with. Heard they are rebuilding alot of the old buildings, motels and gas stations along the way. I go to a few car shows with a friend in his car, and travel as a group ( 8 to ten cars ) we have a blast every trip. Some wear the sixties clothing, paislies and poodle skirts etc, others drive VW vans all decorated up with peace signs, or a old Rat Rod you wonder how it still runs. It's fun to watch the other peoples reactions on the road, they don't want to pass till they get their pictures, or they pull over on the other side of the interstate to take pictures. It would be fun to go as a group, just for the Photo ops...You asked- P.S. Then take the roads less traveled home.....

BlueMorel Loc: Southwest Michigan

Hwy 101 along Oregon Coast from Cannon Beach south to Brookings, then, if you have time, down to Crescent City, Calif. to see the redwoods. My favorite place is Cape Perpetua south of Yachats for the accessible tidal pools. Check tide charts for lowest tides to see the most. Also great views from above of Devils Churn and other sites, whale viewing sometimes in February.

jackm1943 Loc: Omaha, Nebraska

You could kill several birds at one time this Spring by going to central Nebraska to see the Sandhill Crane migration, then not too far away are the Nebraska Sandhills, then a little farther north to the Blackhills and Badlands of S. Dakota, all within easy driving distance.

foathog Loc: Greensboro, NC

Apellation Trail???? where the hell is that??

jaycoffman Loc: San Diego

One thing I've learned in my 14 years of retirement with extensive travel throughout North America and the world is that almost everywhere has very interesting places and wonderful photo opportunities. The thing you have to decide is what do you really like?

For me, I grew up in the midwest with many trips to New England but since I went out into the world I find I best love the deserts, mountains and seashores of the west so I spend more time there. I also love tropical islands, deserts, mountains and rainforests in the rest of the world. But whenever I see something in another region that interests me I try to fit it into my travel/photo schedule.

Don't worry about "Bucket Lists" just try to enjoy those things that interest you and that you can fit in.

Sam Dog

Well I see you are from Utah so I can only assume you've probably done just about everything in the Southwest. You can always start here. https://www.thedenverchannel.com/lifestyle/discover-colorado/7-great-colorado-waterfalls-with-little-to-no-hiking Then head North to the Badlands, or just reverse it. I have no been to the Badlands or Arches but plan to in July.

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

Totally agree.
That is why I take the road less traveled.
Thousands of unique and wonderful places just in AZ that are not overrun with tourists and are quite inspirational. It would take a lifetime to just explore that one state to see all the incredible places off the beaten path.
Take the road over 4 peaks to Punkin Center then along Tonto Creek to the dam.
Takes a whole day if you hurry.

mlj Loc: Anderson, SC

How about an African Safari?

J2e Loc: Canandaigua, NY

Oregon coast
Maine coast

Edia Loc: Central New Jersey

As Dinah Shore used to say "See the USA in your Chevrolet". Anywhere you go, you will find photo Ops. All you need is a camera and a photographic eye.

jim44444 Loc: Norteast Ohio

for my realistic bucket list I have Niagra Falls in winter, Alaska, Smoky Mountains in Autumn, Everglades.
For the semi-realistic bucket list there is the East Coast Greenway between Maine and Key West, Dalmatian Coast of Croatia, Ireland.

karno Loc: Chico ,California

Well said!

nhastings Loc: Telluride, CO

After reading all these posts and replying already something dawned on me. I live in a spectacular photogenic place. A few years ago I was watching college football in early October wondering where I would go on Sunday to photograph the beautiful fall foliage in the San Juan Mountains. Heck, I've been on every road, dirt road, hiking trail within 100 square miles capturing every Aspen tree and the many changing colors of fall. I wanted something new, was totally uninspired. Without even thinking I grabbed my camera and tripod and walked outside into my backyard. Never dawned on me that there might be something within walking distance of my living room. A new world opened up without going anywhere. Here is a sample of what I captured that afternoon. The moral of the story? Just have your camera and be ready. As Galen Rowell once said, "f8 and be there."

SusanFromVermont Loc: Southwest corner of Vermont

I have done quite a bit of travelling, unfortunately a lot of it before I got serious about photography. From Vermont to Florida, over I-10 through the southern states. Everglades, deserts, mountains. Then to Kingman, AZ to Las Vegas, where there is a very windy road that goes up to Reno, NV. [Always take that road in daylight.] One year we followed the old Route 66 as much as possible across the country. There was another time we left Reno and went east on I-80, leaving that to head north into Idaho and to Yellowstone National Park before heading east again through Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa. Never enough time to stop a lot of places. There is beauty to be found just about everywhere. A lot depends on what kind of photos you enjoy taking. Some like city-scapes, sea-scapes, land-scapes, people-scapes, wildlife-scapes, etc. [-scapes is not actually a real add-on for some, but I thought it made for good consistency!] As a "generalist", I like it all, although not so often shooting a lot of people images - exception being at Saratoga Race Track, but that has horses, people are just background...

From your post, it sounds like you like nature in general, and New England in the fall is a good place to be. I live in the SW corner of Vermont, known as the "tri-state area", where VT meets NY and MA. Northern New England will have better color than the southern part in years when the summers have not been conducive to bright foliage. The Appalachian Trail passes through this area as well as in parts of VT more north of here, and there is also the Long Trail which is specific to the Green Mountains and the state of Vermont. No matter where you go, you can find photo opportunities, but when on a trip it is preferable not to have to spend a lot of time searching for them. But those "back roads" can be full of surprises. There are several south-to-north roads that are nice, rather than the interstates. Route 7 on the west side, Route 100 west of the middle, and the road along the Connecticut River on the east side. West-to-east roads are Route 9, Route 4, and Route 2. All these roads have lots of scenery, Route 100 is a favorite and Route 4. Plus there are a lot of others that are more in the category of "back roads" where there are great views and hiking trails as well as farms. And quite a few waterfalls and covered bridges to be found.

If you want to take pictures of the well-publicized places, those will be easy to find online so you can read up on them. And there are usually other good opportunities in the surrounding areas. There are not a lot of National Parks here, Acadia National Park being a wonderful destination, but kind of crowded. [Plenty of room for most in the fall, though.] That was the problem with visiting Yellowstone, too many people and cars! Every state has State Parks, all different sizes with different attractions. Upstate New York has some, Vermont has many local ones as well as the far-stretching Green Mountain National Forest. Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut also have plenty of parks. Maine has parks, mountains, and lots of wild areas. If you are interested in boats and harbors, the coastal route is good. I loved my trip to Acadia National Park, taking the coastal route. It can take longer than I had to spend, taking the roads that lead right down to the shore, visiting all the different towns and lighthouses. Most on the coast have working harbors where fishermen have their boats, a lot of them are lobster boats. And there are the Bait buildings where the boats stop to pick up their barrels of bait early in the morning. Those harbors also have pleasure boats owned by locals. Sunrises and sunsets are beautiful! I had some interesting conversations with the guys moving the bait barrels and some lobster fishermen.

I could talk about more, but you could look at my photos page and see a lot of photos from the Northeastern US. Mostly Vermont and Maine. Planning a trip can be exciting. Rather than tell you about where I would like to go, it is better to tell you about and for you to see where I love to go.

Susan