Visitor Guides to Each State

Interested in exploring the country from the comfort of your home? Nearly every state provides a comprehensive map in their free visitor’s guide! Physical maps are an excellent tool for enhancing map reading and geography skills, including understanding cardinal directions, interpreting symbols and legends, and measuring distances. Additionally, the visitor’s guide can help improve reading comprehension, provide information about cities, museums, and landmarks, and inspire discussions about your next travel destination.

Here's a complete list of free state maps and guides you can snag from state tourism departments, plus some cool facts about each state:

Alabama–Located in Huntsville, Alabama, is NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. 

Alaska– Alaska is home to 17 of the 20 tallest peaks in the United States. 

Arizona– Every year, Arizona produces sufficient cotton to create two T-shirts for each person in America, totaling 599 million shirts. 

Arkansas–At Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas, visitors can search through fields managed by the park and are permitted to keep any diamonds they find.

California– If considered a country, it would possess the world's eighth-largest economy, surpassing Italy, Russia, and India. 

Colorado– Colorado is referred to as the Centennial State since it was established in 1876, exactly 100 years following the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Connecticut–The Hartford Courant in Connecticut is the oldest continuously published newspaper in the United States.

Delaware– Delaware ranks as the second-smallest state in the nation. It extends nearly 100 miles in length and is just 35 miles wide at its broadest point. 

Florida – Florida has the most golf courses of any state—more than 1,250. 

Georgia– Georgia is recognized as the Peach State, yet it also leads the nation in producing pecans, peanuts, and Vidalia onions. 

Hawaii– Hawaii is the only state fully within its own time zone, the Hawaii-Aleutian, and it does not observe daylight saving time. 

Idaho– The official nickname is the Gem State. Some 72 different precious and semi-precious gemstones have been found there. 

Illinois– Illinois was home to Presidents Lincoln, Grant, and Obama.

Indiana – There are nearly 100 historic covered bridges in the state of Indiana. 

Iowa– There are more hogs than humans in Iowa. As of 2013, the state’s hog population was 21.2 million animals, whereas the human population was just north of three million. 

Kansas– Nicknames for Kansas include the Sunflower State, the Jayhawk State, the Midway State, and the Wheat State. 

Kentucky– Underground vaults at Fort Knox hold one of the largest stockpiles of gold in the country.  

Louisiana – Louisiana has one of the highest alligator populations in the country, with an estimated two million in the wild and another 300,000 on alligator farms. 

Maine– Maine is the single state whose name is just one syllable, the lone state that borders precisely one other state, and the only state whose official flower, the pinecone, is not a flower. 

Maryland –  An impressive 41 percent of Maryland’s land is covered by forest. 

Massachusetts – Boston is home to America’s oldest public beach, public park, and subway system.

Michigan – No matter where you stand in Michigan, you will never be farther than 85 miles from one of the Great Lakes. 

Minnesota – Minnesota has over 11,000 lakes and is home to the country’s largest mall, the Mall of America.  

Mississippi – Jackson, the capital of Mississippi, is named after General Andrew Jackson in honor of his victory at the Battle of New Orleans in January of 1815. 

Missouri – The 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis introduced the masses to a number of new treats, including the waffle cone, cotton candy, and Dr. Pepper. 

Montana –  Established in 1872, Yellowstone National Park, which extends from the southern part of Montana into northern Wyoming, was the first national park in the United States. 

Nebraska – Nebraska has the only unicameral legislature in the United States, meaning that it has a single-house system. It’s also nonpartisan—there are no party affiliations listed on voting ballots. 

Nevada – With fewer than 10 inches of rain per year, Nevada's the driest state in the U.S. 

New Hampshire – Of all the coastal states, New Hampshire has the shortest shoreline, stretching no more than 18 miles. 

New Jersey – New Jersey played a crucial role in the Revolutionary War. More battles were fought in New Jersey than in any other colony.  

New Mexico – The White Sands National Monument sports over 275 square miles of white gypsum sand.  New York – New York City was the nation’s capital from 1785-1790. North Carolina –  The Wright Brothers tested various prototypes for a flying machine in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, because the remote location provided them with privacy, soft grounds, and steady winds. 

North Dakota – Lewis and Clark spent more time there than in any other state. They spent the winter of 1804-1805 at a North Dakota camp they called Fort Mandan. 

Ohio – The state flag of Ohio is unique in a particular way—it’s the only flag out of all 50 states' that isn’t rectangular. 

Oklahoma –  The nation’s first Tornado Warning was issued in Oklahoma on March 25, 1948.

Oregon – Crater Lake in south-central Oregon is the deepest lake in the United States (and one of the top 10 deepest in the world). Formed by the collapse of a volcano around 7700 years ago, the lake is close to 2000 feet deep.  

Pennsylvania – America’s first gas station was opened in Pittsburgh in 1913. 

Rhode Island – Rhode Island's the smallest state in the U.S. But its population density—an estimated 1,050,292 people—is second only to New Jersey. 

South Carolina – “America’s First Museum” was started by the Charleston Library Society in 1773, 12 years before the nation’s first public museum opened in Philadelphia.

South Dakota – South Dakota’s most famous landmark is Mount Rushmore National Memorial, a larger-than-life sculpture that was carved into the side of a granite mountain in the Black Hills between 1927 and 1941. 

Tennessee – Tennessee boasts the third-most visited house in the country (after the White House and Biltmore Estate): Graceland Mansion, the former home of Elvis Presley. 

Texas – Over the years, Texas has flown the flags of six different nations: Spain, Mexico, France, The Republic of Texas, the Confederate States of America, and the United States.

Utah – The Great Salt Lake is the largest saltwater lake in the Western Hemisphere. 

Vermont – Vermont's the largest producer of maple syrup in the U.S., producing over 500,000 gallons a year. 

Virginia – It doesn’t have any major professional sports teams, making it the largest state without a major league sports franchise.

Washington D.C. – The D.C. Metro is the second busiest subway system in the United States. 

Washington – Washington is the biggest producer of apples, raspberries, and sweet cherries in America. 

West Virginia – West Virginia is home to the New River, which, despite its name, is one of the five oldest rivers in the world. 

Wisconsin – Wisconsin is nicknamed “America’s Dairyland.” As of 2015, the state had a total of 10,290 licensed dairy farms. Together, they produced 13.5 percent of the nation’s milk and 25.4 percent of its cheese. 

Wyoming –Wyoming is the leading producer of coal in the United States, accounting for 40 percent of the nation’s total coal production in 2010. 

National Park Maps – This website has over 1,600 high-res scans of national parks! You can search by state or alphabetically, as well as download many of them.