Photogenic Places
15 places · Ranked by visual impact
Washington DC, DC
Lincoln Memorial
One of America's most iconic monuments, the Lincoln Memorial offers sweeping reflective pool views and dramatic columns at any hour. Dawn and dusk transform the white marble into gold and rose.
Washington DC, DC
Tidal Basin Cherry Blossoms
The most celebrated spring spectacle in the mid-Atlantic - over 3,700 Japanese cherry trees ring the Tidal Basin in pale pink each late March through April.
Washington DC, DC
Jefferson Memorial
A neoclassical masterpiece on the Tidal Basin shore, the Jefferson Memorial is framed by cherry blossoms each spring and reflects beautifully in the water at blue hour.
Washington DC, DC
Washington Monument
The world's tallest obelisk dominates the Mall skyline and serves as a compositional anchor in nearly every DC landscape shot. The surrounding reflecting pools double the drama.
Washington DC, DC
WWII Memorial
The symmetrical oval of granite pillars and rainbow pool sits at the center of the National Mall axis. The 56 state and territory pillars frame the Washington Monument perfectly.
Seneca Rocks, WV
Seneca Rocks
A dramatic quartzite fin rising 900 feet above the North Fork Valley - one of the most distinctive geological formations in the eastern United States, and a landmark rock climbing destination visible for miles in every direction.
Washington DC, DC
Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial
The 30-foot Stone of Hope emerges from the Mountain of Despair in a striking sculptural composition on the Tidal Basin. Powerful at any hour.
Arlington, VA
Marine Corps War Memorial
Felix de Weldon's massive bronze recreation of the Iwo Jima flag-raising towers over the landscape - a monumental sculpture with DC skyline as its backdrop.
Washington DC, DC
Korean War Veterans Memorial
Nineteen stainless steel soldiers patrol through juniper bushes beside a granite mural wall that reflects them - creating a ghostly double of the patrol in stone.
Arlington, VA
Arlington National Cemetery
624 acres of white marble headstones on rolling hills above the Potomac - both a place of profound respect and extraordinary visual symmetry that photographers find compelling.
Potomac, MD
Great Falls - Olmsted Island
A series of boardwalk bridges connects the Maryland shore to Olmsted Island, putting visitors directly above the churning Great Falls gorge - the closest vantage to the falls.
Davis, WV
Blackwater Falls State Park
The amber-colored Blackwater River plunges 57 feet over a sandstone ledge in a hemlock and red spruce canyon that feels like the Deep North - the tannin-darkened water, misty canyon, and fall foliage create some of the most dramatic waterfall photography in the East.
Washington DC, DC
Vietnam Veterans Memorial
Maya Lin's sunken black granite wall holds 58,000 names and creates an extraordinary reflective surface that mirrors both sky and visitors. Deeply moving and photographically rich.
Natural Bridge, VA
Natural Bridge
A 215-foot natural arch carved by Cedar Creek over millions of years - George Washington surveyed it, Thomas Jefferson owned it, and it inspired generations of landscape painters.
Harpers Ferry, WV
Harpers Ferry Historic Town
Thomas Jefferson called this confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers the most stupendous scene in nature - the historic town and Jefferson Rock still justify his rapture.