TRAVELERS FANTASIZE ABOUT VISITING the Seven Natural Wonders of the World, an uber-ambitious bucket list beyond the reach of most mere mortals. (Who can endure, let alone afford, a trek up Mount Everest?) Even visiting Mother Nature’s U.S. marvels would have you pinballing between Alaska and Florida, Maine and California, and many points in-between.

Focus instead on the Mid-Atlantic. You’ll find a gorge nearly as grandiose as the Grand Canyon. You’ll discover deep, dark, old-growth forests that rival the West Coast’s towering redwoods. Not to mention a unique body of water—the Chesapeake Bay—that beats all the Great Lakes put together (although we may be a teensy bit biased).

These trips require no more than a long fall weekend. We’ve even included a day jaunt for the time-constrained and suggested local noshes for the road. So go ahead—indulge your natural wonderlust.

Above: Beach scene at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay.

DESPITE THE WATERWAY’S DIMINUTIVE DESIGNATION, Pine “Creek” was perfectly capable of carving a deep, 47-mile-long chasm through north-central Pennsylvania forestland some 10,000 years ago. Today, Pine Creek Gorge—aka the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania—is a marvel, whether you’re peering from picturesque parks on either rim or following a famous trail through the gorge itself.

On the canyon’s east rim, Leonard Harrison State Park has a newly enhanced visitor center with improved overlook access. Guided walks explore the watershed, astronomy, and the gorge’s spectacular fall colors. Hike the short Overlook Trail or the rigorous-but-beautiful Turkey Path Trail one mile to the gorge below (and back). The park has roadside overlooks, as well as viewfinders for colorblind visitors to appreciate fall foliage, too.

1800s log rafts.—Wikimedia Commons/The New York Public Library

On the west rim, rustic Colton Point State Parkwas built in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps, whose handiwork survives. With scant roadside parking, vistas here are best accessed on foot via four miles of trails like the Rim Trail or Colton Point’s Turkey Path Trail, another gorge descent. This one passes a 70-foot, cascading waterfall.

A Native American footpath-turned-timber- toting-railway-turned-recreational mecca, the 62-mile Pine Creek Rail Trail welcomes hikers, cyclists, and horseback riders. At peak color (through mid-October), admire the gorge’s forested flanks on a two-hour wagon ride with Western-garbed guides. You’ll learn about local history, and native flora and fauna. Watch for bald eagles.

In the 1800s, rafts laden with logs floated down Pine Creek to awaiting sawmills. Bob in history’s wake on a guided whitewater rafting trip along this official Pennsylvania Scenic River over Class II and III rapids. Feeling less adventurous? Tour the placid Upper Pine by kayak.

COVERING MORE THAN four million acres and 15 counties, the Lumber Heritage Region honors northern Pennsylvania’s hardwood industry. Yet in this sea of harvestable timber, sacred spaces also exist—awe-inspiring virgin forests. Of the East’s original forests, fewer than one percent remain, according to Maryland ecologist Joan Maloof, founder of the Old-Growth Forest Network. And they’re well worth seeking out.

A National Natural Landmark, Cook Forest State Park's Forest Cathedral became the first forest enrolled in Maloof’s Old-Growth Network. Its stands of eastern hemlock and white pine—150 to 400 years old—are without rival in the Northeast, some soaring to nearly 200 feet. Take the Longfellow Trail (one of eight Cathedral paths) to explore this solemn, time-honored grove. One of the forest’s oldest trees, now fallen, is a 439-yearold cucumber magnolia. The park leaves them in the woods to decay naturally so visitors can still appreciate them—and even count their rings.

The Pennsylvania Lumber Museum.

Forty miles north of Cook Forest State Park,Hearts Content National Scenic Area in Allegheny National Forest has 120 acres of old-growth forest, including a 20-acre stand of white pine and eastern hemlock 300 to 400 years old. Spared by a lumber company in the 1800s, the area is a National Natural Landmark. A one-mile interpretive trail better acquaints visitors with these towering “ancients.”

The past, present, and future of Pennsylvania forests come to life at the not-to- be-missed Pennsylvania Lumber Museum in Ulysses. The visitor center’s main exhibit explores lumbering history, the devastation and revival of Pennsylvania forests, and current forestry management practices. The museum’s campus includes a re-created lumber camp, an operating sawmill, and an original Civilian Conservation Corps-built cabin. Ask about the self-guided lumber history tours for hikers.

HIGH IN THE ALLEGHENY MOUNTAINS, just west of the Eastern Continental Divide, lie two of the region’s most picturesque waterfalls. Each is the tallest of its kind in its state. Both boast a trio of falls. Better yet, Maryland’s Muddy Creek Falls and West Virginia’s Blackwater Falls are virtually engulfed by colorful forests in the fall.

The Youghiogheny River courses through Swallow Falls State Park in Oakland, powering its distinctive falls: Muddy Creek, Maryland’s highest free-falling waterfall at 54 feet; Swallow, a two-tier, 16-foot cascade; and wee Tolliver, whose inviting pool and beach are worth visiting. A 1-mile-plus falls loop trail leads past the site where Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, and Harvey Firestone camped more than a century ago. Don’t miss Youghiogheny Grove, a stand of virgin hemlock and white pine.

Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and Harvey Firestone on an area camping trip. —COURTESY OF THE HENRY FORD MUSEUM

Tinted with hemlock and red spruce needles, the Blackwater River provides the highlight at Blackwater Falls State Park across state lines in West Virginia: its eponymous 57-foot cascade. While it’s one of the Mountain State’s most photographed spots, it’s not the only gem here. Elakala and Pendleton falls and the 3,000-foothigh Lindy Point overlooking Blackwater Canyon are Instagram-worthy, too. View Blackwater Falls from an overlook, descend 200 stairs to splash level, or hike 20 miles of trails. Don’t miss the Almost Heaven Swing, an oversized perch for scenic selfies.

Closer to home, the title of tallest Maryland waterfall goes to Cunningham Falls, a 78-foot cascading cataract in Cunningham Falls State Park near Thurmont. On your way to or from Swallow Falls, the park is a brief detour off I-70. Fed by a creek and small streams in the Catoctin Mountains, the falls can dwindle considerably in drier months. If so, you can also visit the Maryland Department of Natural Resources’ Scales and Tales aviary here.

FLANKED BY MISTY MOUNTAIN RANGES, dotted with flourishing farms, orchards, vineyards, and historic towns, the Shenandoah Valley is plenty scenic. And trust us, its subterranean landscape is equally picturesque. Long ago, curious country boys stumbled upon astonishing limestone caverns here. Today, they’re a tourism mainstay.

A rare combination of seismic activity and underground rivers created Shenandoah Caverns in Quicksburg. Don’t miss the Grotto of the Gods, Diamond Cascade (a popular wedding venue), and a unique formation dubbed “cave bacon”—undulating, draped stalactites streaked with red and white. Up top, there’s elevator service and, oddly enough, a separate museum dedicated to parade floats.

The valley’s most visited showpiece, Luray Caverns—a National Natural Landmark—boasts rooms the size of old-world cathedrals, pools that mirror their intricate surroundings, and limestone columns as tall as flagpoles. Tunes from its 3.5-acre Great Stalacpipe Organ echo eerily throughout the void. For the cave-averse, don’t miss the add-on of a vintage car museum above ground.

Nearly 150 years ago, two boys chasing a rabbit discovered an underground labyrinth whose terminus has yet to be found. New Market’s Endless Caverns feature nearly six miles of twisting passageways opening onto rooms filled with stalactites and flowstone. We have yet to probe its farthest reaches. (Maybe the bunnies have.) The caverns also boast an RV resort and rental cottages.

Another National Natural Landmark, Grand Caverns in Grottoes is the nation’s oldest continually operating show cave. Since 1806, visitors have marveled at Cathedral Hall, which rises multiple stories high. Specialty guided trips include candle-lit history tours, geology tours, and spelunking treks where visitors get to crawl, climb, and squeeze through an undeveloped cave.

THE NATION’S MOST DENSELY POPULATED STATE includes the largest open space on the eastern seaboard. Go figure. The Pine Barrens—aka the Pinelands National Reserve, part of the federal ecosystem protection program—comprise one million acres of precious South Jersey forest and marsh. Flora found nowhere else dwell here. As does, reportedly, the notorious “Jersey Devil,” a forest-dwelling creature of South Jersey folklore.

Batsto Village, the site of an 18th-century ironworks, makes a popular Pine Barrens entry point. The original ironworks are gone, but much of the village they spawned survived, including a mansion open for tours. Take a guided paddle here on the scenic Batsto River, which winds through the pinelands. The visitors center doubles as HQ for the surrounding 120,000-acre Wharton State Forest, home of the tiny, endangered Pine Barrens tree frog.

Mulica River Delta marshland near the Atlantic Ocean.

If it’s rare species you seek, visit Franklin Parker Preserve in Chatsworth, whose 20 miles of marked hiking and multi-use trails cross an old cranberry farm. The preserve’s habitats—including pitch pine forest and cedar swamp—shelter more than 50 rare, threatened, or endangered species such as barred owls, orchids, carnivorous plants, and Pine Barren Gentian, whose delicate blue flowers begin blooming in the fall.

The 50-plus-mile Batona Trail (short for “back to nature”) allows day hikers and backpackers to explore vast portions of the Pine Barrens. Traversing three state forests and Parker Preserve, it not only reveals the area’s natural beauty but speaks to the pinelands’ past, passing ghost towns where, centuries ago, workers made iron, glass, bricks, paper, and lumber in small-but-thriving villages.

As aforementioned, the pinelands’ most famous apparition is the New Jersey Devil, a horsefaced, cloven-hoofed, long-tailed, winged creature. If you dare, search near Leeds Point, where the devil is said to have been born to an exasperated mother delivering (and cursing) her 13th child.

GRANTED, THE GREAT LAKES ARE BIG: five lakes; 10,000-plus miles of shoreline. But consider the Chesapeake Bay: five major river tributaries (and 45 or so lesser ones); more than 11,000 miles of shoreline. For every Great Lakes natural wonder—like Presque Isle’s forested headland, or laidback, carless Mackinac Island, or Sleeping Bear Dunes’ sandy shoreline—the Chesapeake can answer.

At the Bay’s tippy top, Elk Neck Peninsula thrusts like a bowsprit 100 feet above the headwaters of the nation’s largest estuary. Admire the breathtaking panorama from the lantern room of Turkey Point Lighthouse, one of the Chesapeake’s most historic beacons. Elk Neck State Park covers the peninsula’s mostly forested southern tip, a birding hotspot, particularly in the fall, when migrating raptors congregate.

On Smith Island, Maryland’s only inhabited offshore island, life’s pace is decidedly slower—for visitors anyway. Watermen depart early from the docks, but golf carts and bicycles are the only other “traffic.” (Smith is almost entirely car-free.) It’s a wonderful place to unplug and savor the Land of Pleasant Living: fresh seafood, charming villages, marshes rife with wildlife—and, natch, that delectable, multi-story dessert, Smith Island Cake.

Shhhh. Not many people visit Savage Neck Dunes near Cape Charles on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. But at the bottom of the Delmarva Peninsula, this almost-300-acre nature preserve contains Chesapeake Bay’s tallest sand dunes—rising up to 50 feet. A nearly mile-long trail leads from the small parking lot through maritime forest to the wild beach, where the rare northeastern beach tiger beetle scampers. In fall, watch for migrating songbirds, too.