Hidden Historic Destinations Span US, UK

Several lesser-known destinations pair outdoor exploration with traces of the past. In Nevada’s Sheep Range, the hike toward Hayford Peak leads to a cabin built by World War I veteran Clarence Russell, whose 1932 fatal shooting of miner C.P. Moore was ruled self-defense. England’s former Westworth Reservoir, once a Victorian-era drinking-water source, was drained and decommissioned, leaving a grass- and pond-filled basin whose old valve tower draws walkers. Near Orlando, Oakland Nature Preserve offers a free boardwalk through cypress wetlands to an overlook of Lake Apopka, with wildlife including alligators and birds along the route. In Texas, Terlingua’s abandoned mercury-mining buildings and cemetery evoke the town’s decline after the market collapsed, while the former town of Towash lies largely submerged beneath Lake Whitney, with some foundations reportedly visible when water levels fall.