Most beautiful natural wonders of the Midwest

This natural sandstone bridge extends 90 feet across a verdant ravine inside Shawnee National Forest. The easy hiking trail leading to the Pomona Natural Bridge passes through a forest of beech, oak and hickory trees along the way.

McCormick’s Creek State Park, Indiana’s first, protects the eponymous creek as it flows through a spectacular limestone canyon. Hike along the creek to see its impressive waterfalls.

Near the end of the last ice age, winds formed dunes of soil along the Missouri River flood plain on the western border of Iowa. Today, the hills cover more than 1,080 square miles, accessed by the 220-mile Loess Hills Scenic Byway.

Considered one of the Eight Wonders of Kansas, the Monument Rocks are comprised of Cretaceous chalk formations, some standing up to 70 feet tall, that look a bit like a natural Stonehenge.

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore gets its name from the towering sandstone cliffs along the shores of Lake Superior. These cliffs, measuring between 50 to 200 feet tall, stretch for nearly 15 miles.

The stunning Minnehaha Falls plummets 53 feet into a gorge in Minnehaha Falls Regional Park. This urban park, one of the most popular in the Minneapolis area, features views of the Mississippi River.

Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park in Missouri gets its name from the series of private pools formed over thousands of years as the Black River gradually eroded the volcanic stone.

For much of America's history, the rocky formations within Scotts Bluff National Monument served as a landmark for travelers along the Oregon, Mormon Pioneer, Pony Express and California Trails. The bluff towers 800 feet above the plains of Nebraska.

If you’re driving through the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park, be sure to pull over to see the Cannonball Concretions. These geologic oddities measure nearly 10 feet in diameter and were created by centuries of river erosion.

The Rock House, the only true cave in Hocking Hills State Park, sits midway up a sandstone cliff. The corridor-like cave features cutouts that serve as windows looking out over the surrounding landscape.

The geologic deposits here contain one of the world's richest fossil beds. Visitors to this 244,000-acre national park can often spot bison, bighorn sheep and other wildlife on the mixed grass prairie; visit a working paleontology lab; or enjoy ranger-led night sky programs.

The windswept shore of Lake Superior is home to the stunning Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. Comprised of 21 islands and 12 miles of mainland, the park is known for its rocky shoreline and sandstone cliffs, best explored by kayak.