It seems like ever since the pandemic forced people to spend time outdoors and see the flaws of city-living, people have “discovered” our Vacationland here in Maine.

Our state has been hitting lists in major publications for having iconic national parks, the best foodie scenes, and has even landed itself on the list for best places to live.

For these reasons alone, it’s not surprising that we just landed ourselves on another list that’s worth bragging about.

The 10 Most Beautiful States in the U.S.

That’s right, travel writers placed Maine on a top 10 list of our country’s most beautiful states. Veranda, an American lifestyle magazine, asked professional travel writers to share their top picks for the most visually appealing states in the country and Maine’s diverse landscapes and varied terrain made the cut.

The list isn’t numbered so I don’t actually know what order the travel writers ranked the top 10 states in but Maine was the very first one mentioned. So, since I’m biased, I’m going to say that Maine is their No. 1 choice for the most beautiful U.S. state.

While I agree wholeheartedly that Maine deserves to be on this list, I am questioning some of their other choices.

The other nine states listed as the most visually appealing are:

  • Arizona
  • West Virginia
  • North Carolina
  • Wyoming
  • New York
  • California
  • Oregon
  • Utah
  • Minnesota

I will not explain in-depth my reasoning but I do not agree with West Virginia, North Carolina, New York, or Minnesota. Those ones took me by surprise.

If I were a professional travel writer, which sometimes I like to pretend I am, this would be my list of the most beautiful states in our country, in no particular order:

  • Maine
  • Montana
  • Utah
  • Arizona
  • Wyoming
  • California
  • Alaska
  • Hawaii
  • Colorado
  • Oregon

I may be a New Englander but I clearly have a soft spot for the west.

This list is also entirely dependent on what I have seen on Google Images but I still stand behind my opinion.

What states in the U.S. do you think are the most beautiful?

The 10 Safest Places in Maine to Live Right Now

Breaking down stats relating to violent and property crime, here are the 10 places in Maine that are the safest to call home right now according to SafeWise.com.

RANKED: Here are the most popular national parks

To determine the most popular national parks in the United States, Stacker compiled data from the National Park Service on the number of recreational visits each site had in 2020. Keep reading to discover the 50 most popular national parks in the United States, in reverse order from #50 to #1. And be sure to check with individuals parks before you visit to find out about ongoing, pandemic-related safety precautions at www.nps.gov/coronavirus.

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