West
By Travelog Editorial Team ยท Updated August 8, 2026
The West is one of the US Census Bureau's four official regions, made up of Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. On Travelog it's anchored by California's Yosemite National Park, UNESCO-listed in 1984 for its granite cliffs and glacially carved landscape, and Half Dome, whose cables require a lottery-based permit.
California, Nevada, and Hawaii complete all ten Tier 1 USA states plus DC. Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Washington, and Wyoming complete all ten Tier 2 states. Every West Tier 3 state, Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Utah, is now complete, making the West the second fully built USA Census region alongside the South.
Live now
- California Yosemite National Park, UNESCO-listed in 1984, and Half Dome, whose cables require a lottery-based permit.
- Nevada Hoover Dam, a National Historic Landmark managed by the Bureau of Reclamation rather than the National Park Service.
- Hawaii Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, UNESCO-listed in 1987, home to two of the world's most active volcanoes.
- Arizona Grand Canyon National Park, UNESCO-listed in 1979, and Taliesin West, part of Frank Lloyd Wright's 2019 UNESCO listing.
- Colorado Mesa Verde National Park, UNESCO-listed in 1978, home to over 600 cliff dwellings, including the 150-room Cliff Palace.
- New Mexico Taos Pueblo, UNESCO-listed in 1992, a living community continuously inhabited for over 1,000 years, owned and operated by its own people.
- Washington Olympic National Park, UNESCO-listed in 1981, spanning ocean coastline to glaciated peaks, home to the Hoh Rain Forest.
- Wyoming Yellowstone National Park, UNESCO-listed in 1978, the first World Heritage Site in the US, home to Old Faithful.
- Alaska Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park in Skagway, free to enter, where 1898 stampeders carried a full ton of supplies over Chilkoot Pass.
- Idaho Craters of the Moon National Monument, where Apollo astronauts trained in volcanic geology in 1969 before their moon missions.
- Montana Little Bighorn Battlefield, where an Indian Memorial honoring Native American participants wasn't dedicated until 2003, 127 years after the battle.
- Oregon Crater Lake, formed by an eruption ancestors of the Klamath people actually witnessed 7,700 years ago, confirmed by archaeological evidence.
- Utah Arches National Park, home to over 2,000 documented natural stone arches, the densest concentration anywhere in the world.
