Prepare to have your mind blown by landscapes that appear only in your wildest dreams—or so you thought! The United States, renowned for its bustling cities and historical landmarks, hides otherworldly terrain that challenges everything we consider normal. Did you know places right here rival Mars’ landscapes? Welcome to a visual journey through data-backed, awe-inspiring spots that blur the line between Earth and alien terrain.
Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada
Just an hour from Las Vegas, Valley of Fire looks more like Mars than the Mojave Desert. Massive red Aztec sandstone formations glow at sunrise and sunset, with twisted shapes and wave-like patterns carved by wind over millions of years. It’s dramatic, quiet, and surprisingly easy to explore on short hikes.
Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness, New Mexico
This remote stretch of high desert feels like stepping onto an alien planet. Strange hoodoos, cracked mud hills, and bizarre rock formations scatter the landscape in every direction. There are no marked trails, which adds to the surreal, anything-could-happen feeling.
Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah
The Bonneville Salt Flats are so flat and blindingly white that they barely look real. After a thin layer of rain, the surface turns into a giant mirror reflecting the sky. It’s minimal, vast, and strangely hypnotic, especially at sunrise when the light feels almost otherworldly.
The Wave, Arizona
If ever there was a landscape that felt as if Neptune himself painted it, it’s The Wave. This intricate sandstone formation plays tricks on your eyes, flowing with reds and oranges that shimmer under the Arizona sunlight. Sculpted by nature itself, it’s rare enough to be the holy grail of the lucky visitors who win a permit lottery—it’s a destination and a prize in one. Snap your picture-perfect ‘gram with swirls and undulations reminiscent of the oceans frozen in time and space.
Antelope Canyon, Arizona
Imagine beams of light cutting through a narrow slit in the ground, illuminating vivid hues of red and orange. This is Antelope Canyon, where you aren’t just exploring slots in the earth, but immersing yourself in a dynamic, kaleidoscopic light show. This geological absurdity photographs like a dream and captures hearts worldwide, with formations and textures replicating an artist’s brushstrokes in stone. Feel like you’ve traveled to another dimension, where spaces transform through each shift of the sun.
White Sands National Park, New Mexico
Envision a serene seabed where no ocean resides. White Sands National Park spreads across New Mexico with dunes of gypsum—a unique marvel of shimmering white that seems more like a distant moon than Earth. Its brilliance under the sun becomes a blank canvas for both mind and soul while you wander the waves of sand. Feel the sands on your toes, as surreal and unexpected as hiking amid a hallucination of snow in the desert.
Bryce Canyon, Utah
Picture a bounty of rock spires—hoodoos—that rise majestically towards the heavens like fantastic castles of a forgotten realm. Bryce Canyon is the kingdom of imagination turned to stone. This geological wonder captivates with panoramic landscapes that seem plucked straight from a storybook, colored by an artist’s eye. Explore this natural theater of formations that tell tales in every crevice, where sunlight dances to its own tune.
Grand Prismatic Spring, Wyoming
More vibrant than a spaceship control panel, the Grand Prismatic Spring emanates color like Earth’s psychedelic masterpiece. This natural hot spring in Yellowstone packs a punch of reds, yellows, greens, and blues, visible even from space! It’s a kaleidoscope in geothermal form where the bacteria and minerals paint an ever-evolving alien mural. Dare to walk on the boardwalk, feeling like you’ve slipped through a portal into a universe crafted by a vivid palette and restless imagination.
Badlands National Park, South Dakota
The Badlands are forged from an ancient magic of erosion, an arid landscape where ground and sky seemingly meet in a stark embrace of otherworldliness. Its sharp buttes, deep gorges, and diverse fossils are like the library of time written in layered rock volumes. Meander through paths where Earth’s narrative is carved into each scar, reflecting tales of millions of years in a fantastical landscape.
Devil’s Tower, Wyoming
Considered sacred and surreal, Devil’s Tower rises unexpectedly from the Wyoming prairie—a monolithic giant with hexagonal columns reaching for the sky. This mystical volcanic relic bears witness to ages, standing tall like a sentinel of stories etched in basalt. Climb or simply stand in awe, as some say it’s a mystical elevator to the stars, pulsating with untold secrets of the universe.
Mono Lake, California
Perhaps, in a landscape of another planet, lies Mono Lake—where columns of tufa stand in silence alongside a saline sea, offering a spectral scene of shadow and light. This ancient remnant of Earth’s antiquity surprises with its bizarre limestone formations rising within the tranquil waters, a testament to slower tides of nature. Watch as the sunset paints vivid colors on a world that seems trapped in a serene, ethereal era of its own.
Craters of the Moon National Monument, Idaho
A lava-scape reminiscent of lunar exploration, Idaho’s Craters of the Moon enchants with a stark, dark elegance. The vastness of the rugged terrain speaks of Earth’s fiery, chaotic past, preserved in swirls, cones, and caves of volcanic rock. Explore fields of frozen lava waves and feel as if you’re an astronaut traversing a forbidding but beautifully barren landscape.
Maroon Bells, Colorado
The Maroon Bells sound their surreal siren song; twin peaks reflecting in a crystal-clear glacial lake, enveloped by verdant valleys. When snow caps these mountains, they’re the ivory crowns upon the regal brow of nature’s monarch, Colorado’s pride and joy. This sanctuary breathes tranquility and the visually soothing, seemingly sketched canvas of the planet’s pure heart.
Joshua Tree National Park, California
A slice of the surreal Sci-Fi realm is Joshua Tree’s desert where weather-worn rocks and bristled yuccas gather like ancient sculptures under a dome of celestial wonders. This environment echoes a landscape molded by the most imaginative dreams—a meet-ground for stargazers and daredevils alike. Stroll or gaze upwards at twilight as the expanse invites a fascination with the vast cosmos and our place within it.
Laura Lynch, creator and writer of Savored Journeys, is an avid world traveler, certified wine expert, and international food specialist. She has written about travel and food for over 20 years and has visited over 75 countries. Her work has been published in numerous guidebooks, websites, and magazines.