The Best Places to Eat and Do in the United States

A mile-and-a-half paved path cutting through the Phoenix Mountain Preserve, Dreamy Draw is where the city comes to jog, bike, and pretend the heat is fine. Boulders break up the trail for anyone who needs a dignified excuse to stop, and drinking fountains appear often enough that you won't have to choose between cardio and survival. It opens at five in the morning, which makes it a genuinely good place to catch the sunrise before the desert decides to cook you.

Psychic readings, lights-out museum tours, and Victorian seances hosted by a local spiritualist named Flitter Mouse: East Valley Paranormal runs a haunted museum and ghost-hunting operation in downtown Mesa that treats October as a suggestion, not a deadline. Neighborhood ghost tours go by way of Day of the Dead-themed rideable animals, which is a sentence that shouldn't work but does. Open to skeptics, believers, and everyone still deciding.

Nine outdoor pickleball courts sit inside a sprawling indoor-outdoor complex with cabanas, firepits, a DJ, and a bar that takes mocktails as seriously as cocktails. The crowd skews young enough that nobody here grew up watching their grandparents play. When the courts fill up, bocce, cornhole, and table tennis keep the restless busy. The globally inspired menu runs breakfast through sushi, pizza, and tacos, so nobody goes hungry between games.

Three outdoor basketball courts sit inside a sprawling desert park just north of downtown, and the nets, backboards, and paint are all in shape, which is rarer on free public courts than it should be. Pickup games happen, but there's room to run drills alone without waiting anyone out. The park around them adds a pool, bike paths along ponds, and a nine-hole golf course, so a full afternoon assembles itself without much planning.

A 15-mile paved loop cuts through the sawgrass, and at the far end an observation tower puts the whole river of grass beneath you in one sweep. Shark Valley is the Everglades entrance closest to Miami, reachable in under an hour, with trails for walking or renting a bike and enough alligators sunning on the path to make you reconsider the bike. The city evaporates fast out here, which is the whole point.

Shelves of wine bottles line every wall of this small, happily unpretentious wine bar tucked into a strip mall on Indian School. The vibe is couch-and-conversation, the kind of place where you sit down next to strangers and somehow end up closing it down with them. The food menu runs to pimento cheese and Moroccan spiced meatballs, which is a perfectly reasonable way to soak up a second pour. Phoenix New Times named it one of the top 100 bars in the city.

Serious lap swimmers fill all eight lanes before sunrise, so the fit retirees queuing at the gate before 6 a.m. know exactly what they're doing. This public pool in Flamingo Park runs every day, holidays included, with Ocean Rescue crews doing dawn drills beside casual weekend floaters. A kiddie pool, lounge chairs, and hot showers round it out, and the surrounding park adds a track and outdoor gym for anyone who wasn't already tired.

A gas station liquor store that actually gives you something to browse, Food & Things pairs Shell fuel and a solid six-pack selection with a snack and treat aisle deep enough to lose track of time in. The quirky range of goods skews more corner-store-with-personality than pit stop, and the whole operation runs with the easy warmth of a place that would rather keep you than just move you through.

A retrofitted vending machine that dispenses original art for $5 a pull sits in the lobby of FOUND:RE Phoenix hotel downtown. The Art-o-mat project converts defunct machines into small-art dispensaries, stocking them with polymer clay earrings, tiny paintings, and whatever else artists send in. There are only two in the Valley, so the bar for feeling culturally enriched is refreshingly low this week.

A red-lit LED path winds through Markham Park to a small dome where volunteer astronomers from the South Florida Amateur Astronomers Association let you look through their telescopes on cloudless Saturday nights. Light pollution from six million neighbors does its worst, but Saturn's rings tend to win the argument. The volunteers outside bring their own gear and seem genuinely delighted to explain what you're seeing. Free, unhurried, and a little wonderful.

Mat-based Pilates studio where the infrared heat is cranked up and the playlist runs Bad Bunny into Adele without apology. The aesthetic lands somewhere between Tulum spa and a very tidy minimalist bedroom, all neutral tones and Bala weights arranged just so. Group classes mix Pilates and sculpt and are built to work across levels, so no one's just decorating the back row. The sustainably sourced water bottles are a nice touch, or a very on-brand one.

Free tables, complimentary water, and a posted code of conduct that explicitly covers hygiene: Gamers Guild AZ is a tabletop gaming store and lounge that has thought hard about why these spaces go wrong and decided to do the opposite. The North Phoenix location runs to an enormous footprint with private lounges, quiet rooms, and an in-house bar. A massive library of board, card, and tabletop games is available to play or buy, and the ban-hammer is real.

Milk crates of used vinyl occasionally block the aisles here, which tells you everything about the organizational philosophy. Ghost of Eastside Records is an old-school Tempe record shop where browsing is really excavating, and you come in hunting a Sun Ra reissue and leave with an armful of Thelonious Monk. The selection runs from punk to local indie releases to VHS tapes. Go with time to spare and no fixed agenda.

Globe pendant lights, brass accents, and two misters-in-summer courtyards make this woman-owned taproom on Roosevelt Row feel like the anti-brewery brewery. The flagship pale ale is called Herstory, which tells you everything about the vibe. Rotating experimental brews sit alongside core taps, and if you get hungry, a QR code on the table summons food from nearby spots. Trivia nights and live music fill the calendar, and Phoenix New Times named it one of the city's top 100 bars.

A record store that decided to become a hardcore and heavy metal venue, and the local scene decided right back. The space is small, the sound is loud, and the crowd shows up ready to mosh. Bands like Tactosa and Implosive Disgorgence have played here alongside local acts, and the annual Sweat Fest TX does exactly what the name suggests. Gritty, consistent, and absolutely not for the noise-averse.

Haraz is a Yemeni coffee shop in East Nashville, part of a chain that has grown from one Dearborn storefront to dozens of locations. The draw is mufawar, a cardamom-infused coffee served hot or cold, plus Turkish coffee and a short pastry case with sweet and savory options. Order at the counter and ask questions, because the staff will happily explain anything unfamiliar. Nashville Scene named it Best Overlooked Coffee Shop.

Reclining seats, genuine leg room, and a full bar serving cocktails make this Scottsdale multiplex feel less like a trip to the cinema and more like a minor lifestyle upgrade. Harkins Camelview 14 runs blockbusters alongside art house titles, and the outdoor patio pulls double duty as a pre-show gathering spot and, during cooler months, an actual screening venue. Phoenix New Times named it the valley's top luxury movie theater in 2025.

A letterpress studio and stationery shop tucked into the Bragg's Pie Factory complex on Grand Avenue, where the walls are papered with local artists' prints and vintage concert posters. You can buy cards, notebooks, and coasters off the shelf, commission custom work, or roll up your sleeves in a printing workshop. A free print in the newspaper stand by the door has a way of making the decision for you.

A colorful resale shop in uptown Phoenix stocked with gently used kids' clothing, shoes, toys, and furniture at prices that won't require a second mortgage. You can bring in the outgrown baby Nikes and walk out with cash or store credit, which is a genuinely civilized arrangement. The Phoenix New Times named it Best Children's Resale in 2025. Follow along online for dollar days and sale events before you make the trip.

A squad of Dax robots, three feet tall and rolling on tank-like treads, patrols this 18-acre campus near Tempe Town Lake. Spot one during business hours and it might tilt its head or flash digital heart eyes. Show up after dark and the flirty energy evaporates into a stern warning. One local filmed himself blowing smoke in their faces; nine million Instagram views later, he was banned. The "yet" at the end of that story is doing a lot of work.

An 11-mile paved path running along Hayden Road through Scottsdale, the Indian Bend Wash Greenbelt draws cyclists, joggers, and walkers in numbers that ensure you'll never feel like you've discovered anything. Parks, ponds, and the occasional heron break up the route, and restrooms appear often enough that you won't have to make any difficult decisions. Flat, shaded in stretches, and loaded with infrastructure, it's a reliable weekend afternoon loop for anyone who finds mountain trails more punishing than fun.

Billiards-themed portraits of legendary players guard the bathroom doors at this East Valley pool hall and bar, which recently got a full revamp. League nights fill the tables, but plenty of people come just for the extensive craft beer list or the generously poured drinks from behind the full bar. The food holds up too, which is more than you can say for most places where the pool is the main event.

The park's underwater claim to fame is a stretch of living coral reef you can snorkel, dive, or view from a glass-bottom boat without getting wet. Campgrounds at John Pennekamp come with full hookups and grill setups, and the primitive group sites suit the kind of people who still know ghost stories. Mangrove paddle trails and reef dives fill the daylight hours, and boaters can moor overnight and wake up on the water, about an hour from Miami.

Flat-rate pricing by rack runs this midtown Phoenix thrift and vintage shop: $6 buys a T-shirt, $13 a jacket, and $20 is about as steep as it gets. The store's own flyer forgives the odd missing button by blaming Grandma's casino trip, which tells you exactly what kind of place this is. Vintage guitars hang beside the clothing racks, and the curios section covers old maps, childhood dishware, figurines, and board games.

A compact Japanese gift shop that ships nationwide, so you don't have to feel bad about ordering the fountain pen ink from your couch. In person, the Tempe storefront runs deeper than it looks, with notebooks, journals, loose-leaf teas, kettles, gel and ballpoint pens, and a sticker selection that will test the self-restraint of anyone under twelve, and most people over it.

The sour program leans into nostalgic flavors both real and invented, with a pastel blue Star Wars-inspired sipper sitting comfortably beside a margarita sour. This neighborhood craft brewery in northeast Phoenix rotates its taps aggressively, and the owner's laugh tends to reach you before he does. Food trucks cover the kitchen gap while a ramen bar next door remains perpetually forthcoming. A good room for people who treat tap lists the way others treat wine menus.

A specialty fish store that doubles as a free, no-guilt aquarium visit: the tanks run floor to ceiling with coral, sea creatures, and fish you can get close enough to stress out. Staff leave you alone until you need them, prices are labeled, and the selection covers everything from starter setups to the kind of elaborate saltwater tank your houseguests will pretend not to be impressed by.

A taco shop with a salsa bar that Phoenix New Times named the city's best in 2025, including a cilantro crema and a strawberry salsa that have no business working as well as they do. The menu is short, tacos and quesadillas and burros, but the kitchen pulls from across Mexico: cochinita pibil, Oaxacan black mole, Mexico City chicken tinga. Order the pecan horchata with fresh fruit before you leave.

A living reef sits about 100 yards offshore here, close enough to snorkel to from the sand without chartering anything. This small coastal village north of Fort Lauderdale runs on pastel lifeguard stands, Adirondack chairs at the Beach Pavilion, and an unhurried pace that most of Florida's coast quietly abandoned decades ago. Anglin's Square keeps ice cream and tiki drinks within a sandy shuffle, and El Prado Park fills with people who seem to have nowhere pressing to be.

This Gaslamp patisserie lets you do France on a lunch break: grab a croissant at the counter and keep walking, or sit down for a quiche Lorraine or a crêpe folded around Nutella and strawberries. The cases are lined with macarons, and the iced coffees come in flavors like coconut and cinnamon brown sugar, which is not how anyone in Lyon takes their coffee. Dress is whatever got you through the Gaslamp.

Wood-paneled walls and old neon beer signs set the tone at Lee Harvey's, a classic Dallas dive bar that's been knocking the edge off long weeks for as long as anyone can remember. The patio is roomy enough to bring the dog, and the onion rings with chipotle aioli are the kind of thing you eat standing up and then immediately order again. Cold beer, no pretense, no dress code.

The basketball courts at Legion Memorial Park were repainted by local artist Najja Moon in purples, oranges, and yellows that make every other court in Miami look like a parking garage. Two full courts, recently renovated, draw serious pick-up runs and plenty of people who just want the backdrop. In a city where most outdoor courts are institutional green or gray, these read more like public art that someone also happens to be playing on.

Little Rey is a fast-casual taco counter on West End from the Atlanta restaurateur Ford Fry, and the sauce-and-salsa bar is the real draw, with two green salsas, one mild and citrusy, one spicy and creamy. Smoky steak tacos and whole rotisserie-style chickens come out fast, George Jones plays overhead, and there's free parking and a patio you wouldn't expect on this stretch. Nashville Scene named it Best New Fast-Casual Joint.

Thirty miles east of Phoenix, the Superstition Mountains block out enough city glow to remind you the sky has depth. Lost Dutchman State Park is a desert hiking and camping destination where the Flatiron peak silhouettes every photo whether you planned it or not. The dog-friendly campground works for an overnight, and the darkness is patient: give your eyes twenty minutes and the stars do the rest. Phoenix New Times named it the valley's top stargazing spot.

A cash-for-gold shop on West Northern where the metals testing happens right on the counter in front of you, which is either reassuring or fascinating depending on your chemistry background. Staff walks you through every step, and the prices offered have a way of surprising people who expected to get lowballed. Phoenix New Times named it the best place to sell gold in 2025, which tracks with the repeat-customer energy in the room.

A nail salon in the Town & Country plaza that takes sterilization as seriously as the nail art, which is saying something given the menu runs from classic manicures to Jelly Spa Pedicures involving jelly baths, mud masks, hot stones, and fruit masks. The artistic options lean elaborate, think glittery coffin shapes and sunset sets, though subtler choices exist for the quietly vain. Prices stay genuinely accessible, which keeps the appointment book full.

Mac repair shop in Old Town Scottsdale that's been around forever, predating Apple's own retail stores and the genius bars inside them. The pitch is that Apple stores are busy showrooms; MacMedia is where you go when you need someone who actually knows your machine, including the older ones Apple would rather you forget. House calls for Wi-Fi setup are on the table too, which the Genius Bar decidedly is not.

An indoor forest or a digital ikebana show are about as good a reason as any to cross the county line into Dania Beach. MAD Arts is an immersive, technology-forward art museum where the installations lean experimental and the programming runs from shadow puppet dioramas to cult film screenings to small press fairs. It's the kind of place that's genuinely hard to describe to someone who hasn't been, which is basically its pitch.

A plant shop where you might walk in for a small succulent and leave negotiating a 4-foot cactus into your car. The team sources everything from Arizona growers, so nothing here has that slow-death-in-a-big-box-store look. They'll pot your pick on the spot and hand you an actual care plan. The space reads more like a desert gallery than a garden center, which makes the impulse adoption feel almost reasonable.

Kayak rentals sit at the edge of Biscayne Bay here, just south of Coral Gables, and a single push off the dock puts you somewhere palm trees and waterfront mansions have replaced Miami traffic entirely. The park has been around forever, and vendors keep it accessible for anyone who didn't come prepared. The city doesn't disappear so much as go quiet, which, if you've driven Miami's highways lately, feels like a small miracle.

A two-storey guitar neck and synthesizer climb structure announces this Sunset Harbour park before you even find a spot on the grass. Named for the Bee Gee who called South Florida home, it sits between a yacht marina and Purdy Avenue with west-facing views of the Venetian Islands and the Miami skyline. Grab takeout from a nearby spot, spread a blanket, and watch the light go soft over Biscayne Bay.