The Best Free Attraction in Every State

America has thousands of attractions that don’t charge admission. CashNetUSA looked at TripAdvisor ratings to figure out which ones visitors actually loved in each state. They filtered results to include only attractions with 750+ reviews (North Dakota got a lower bar at 250 reviews because there are fewer options there).

What came out: one top-rated free attraction per state.

Duncan McClellan Gallery in Florida Takes First

St. Petersburg’s glass art gallery scored 4.95 stars—the highest in America. Duncan and Irene McClellan turned an old fish and tomato packing plant into this gallery, which includes a sculpture garden. People love the weekend glass blowing demos.

Every State’s Winner

In California, the top spot goes to the Mendocino Coast, earning 4.87 stars. The route passes Pacific beaches, old lighthouses, and fishing villages that look much the same as they did a century ago. In New York, Liberty Park at the World Trade Center took the lead with 4.79 stars. While many might expect Central Park to win, Liberty Park came out on top.

Rank	Attraction Name	City	State	Rating
1	Duncan McClellan Gallery	St. Petersburg	Florida	4.95
2	National Museum of the Marine Corps	Triangle	Virginia	4.93
3	National Museum of the U.S. Air Force	Dayton	Ohio	4.92
4	National Infantry Museum and Soldier Center	Columbus	Georgia	4.91
5	Yachats Coastline	Yachats	Oregon	4.88
6	Gettysburg National Military Park	Gettysburg	Pennsylvania	4.88
7	Mendocino Coast	Mendocino	California	4.87
8	Bicycle Heaven	Pittsburgh	Pennsylvania	4.87
9	Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis	Saint Louis	Missouri	4.87
10	Marginal Way	Ogunquit	Maine	4.87
11	Air Mobility Command Museum	Dover	Delaware	4.86
12	Falls Park on the Reedy	Greenville	South Carolina	4.85
13	Dry Falls	Highlands	North Carolina	4.84
14	Yale University Art Gallery	New Haven	Connecticut	4.84
15	Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art	Bentonville	Arkansas	4.83
16	Corona Arch	Moab	Utah	4.83
17	Black Hills National Forest	Hill City	South Dakota	4.83
18	Great Smoky Mountains National Park	Gatlinburg	Tennessee	4.83
19	Cody Dug Up Gun Museum	Cody	Wyoming	4.83
20	Cave Point County Park	Sturgeon Bay	Wisconsin	4.82
21	Chiricahua National Monument	Willcox	Arizona	4.81
22	Boise River Greenbelt	Boise	Idaho	4.81
23	Minneapolis Institute of Art	Minneapolis	Minnesota	4.81
24	Kauai Path	Kapaa	Hawaii	4.80
25	Manito Park	Spokane	Washington	4.80
26	The Walters Art Museum	Baltimore	Maryland	4.79
27	World Trade Center’s Liberty Park	New York City	New York	4.79
28	Nugget Falls	Juneau	Alaska	4.78
29	Garden of the Gods	Colorado Springs	Colorado	4.78
30	Capitol Building	Des Moines	Iowa	4.78
31	Mohegan Bluffs	Block Island	Rhode Island	4.78
32	Presque Isle Park	Marquette	Michigan	4.77
33	Kimbell Art Museum	Fort Worth	Texas	4.77
34	New River Gorge Bridge	Fayetteville	West Virginia	4.77
35	Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden	New Orleans	Louisiana	4.76
36	Princeton University	Princeton	New Jersey	4.76
37	Stowe Recreation Path	Stowe	Vermont	4.76
38	Lincoln Home National Historic Site	Springfield	Illinois	4.73
39	Cave Hill Cemetery	Louisville	Kentucky	4.72
40	Fountains of Bellagio	Las Vegas	Nevada	4.72
41	Sunken Gardens	Lincoln	Nebraska	4.71
42	Boston Public Library	Boston	Massachusetts	4.70
43	Cathedral Ledge	North Conway	New Hampshire	4.69
44	Painted Canyon Overlook	Highway 94	North Dakota	4.69
45	The Keeper of the Plains	Wichita	Kansas	4.60
46	Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi	Santa Fe	New Mexico	4.58
47	Monument Circle	Indianapolis	Indiana	4.57
48	Downtown Bozeman	Bozeman	Montana	4.55
49	Bricktown	Oklahoma City	Oklahoma	4.36
50	The Wharf	Orange Beach	Alabama	4.06
51	Biloxi Beach	Biloxi	Mississippi	3.92

Tips for Saving Money

No admission charge, but you’ll still spend on gas, parking, and whatever catches your kid’s eye in the gift shop.

• Pack food. You can either prepare sandwiches at home or pack some snacks. Most of these locations have dining areas. Have a real breakfast before you leave—hungry kids are whiny kids.
• Carpool. Multiple families going? Pile into one car and split the gas.
• Set a souvenir budget. Give each kid $15 when you walk in. That’s what they get to spend. No more begging, no more “please can I have this.” They pick what matters to them and you’re off the hook.

These tricks won’t make the trip completely free, but they’ll keep it cheap.

Where This Data Comes From

TripAdvisor users left reviews through July 2025. Attractions needed at least 750 reviews to make the cut. North Dakota attractions only needed 250 because there aren’t as many there to begin with.