The perfect selfie requires only two ingredients: your smiling face and an unforgettable backdrop — which you’ll find all across the USA. What better background than an unbelievable natural wonder or an iconic manmade one? Below are some of the most incredible selfie spots in the USA —
* White Sands, Alamogordo, New Mexico: One of the stranger sights in a state full of oddities fills the Tularosa Basin, just west of Alamogordo: the world’s largest field of gypsum sand dunes, blinding white and ringed by the San Andres and Sacramento mountains. The snow-colored dunes cover 275 square miles of the Chihuahuan Desert, and are constantly changing as they are moved by the steady southwest winds. There you see are chalk-white dunes, some as high as 60 feet, mountains shimmering on the horizon and the blue bowl of sky.
* Ozark National Forest, Arkansas - The Upper Buffalo Wilderness portion of the Ozark National Forest in northwest Arkansas (about 325 kilometers northeast of Little Rock) is chock-full of selfie spots. Make a point to pose on Whitaker Point, a rock ledge that juts out over the Buffalo National River. To get there, follow the Whitaker Point Trail, which is nearly a 5-kilometer round trip.
* Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park, Hawai’i - Prove to your friends and family how close you got to molten lava by commemorating your trip to Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park with a selfie. Located in the southeast portion of Hawai’i's Big Island, the park’s black volcanic rock, oozing magma and billowing steam will add dramatic flair to your photo.
* Toadstool Geologic Park, Nebraska - Toadstool Geologic Park, which is part of the Oglala National Grassland and located in the northwest corner of Nebraska, earned its name from its signature mushroom-shaped sandstone formations. You’ll want to get right up next to those rocks, because a closer look may reveal fossilized remains of creatures that lived there millions of years ago.
* Big Bend National Park, Texas - Big Bend National Park in western Texas won’t disappoint the avid selfie-taker. This expansive park along the Texas-Mexico border provides plenty of backdrops to choose from. There are the imposing walls of the Santa Elena Canyon, traces of long-abandoned settlements and one of the starriest night skies in North America.
* Redwood National and State Parks, California - You need to put yourself in the picture at Redwood National and State Parks to provide scale. These parklands in northern California (about 500 kilometers north of San Francisco, California, near the border with Oregon) are home to the USA’s famous towering redwood trees, which can reach heights of about 100 meters.
* Badlands National Park, South Dakota - “Badlands” may not sound appealing, but this national park in the southwest section of South Dakota (about 120 kilometers east of Rapid City) will inspire some unbelievable selfies. The park is known for its nearly 100,000 hectares of striking geological features, including these striped hills that will lend an otherworldly quality to your photo.
* Monument Valley, Arizona and Utah - These sandstone towers have set the scene for many movies, including Forrest Gump, Back to the Future: Part III and Disney’s The Lone Ranger — and they will make a great backdrop for your selfie. You’ll find Monument Valley along the Arizona-Utah border, roughly 275 kilometers northeast of Flagstaff, Arizona.
* Brooklyn Bridge Park, New York - Sometimes the best way to see New York City, New York, is to get out of the city. A selfie in Brooklyn Bridge Park, across the East River from Manhattan, will allow you to fit both the beautiful Brooklyn Bridge and the New York skyline into your shot. Another plus: You won’t have to fight fellow photographers for the perfect angle.
* Everglades National Park, Florida - If you don’t take a selfie, how will anyone know how much you enjoyed communing with nature (or whether or not you were brave enough to get close to an alligator)? You’ll have the opportunity to do just that during a visit to Everglades National Park in South Florida, just southwest of Miami.
