A Guide to LGBTQ+ Travel in the USA
Explore the country’s queer-friendly locations and experiences.
Every state and territory in the United States is home to the LGBTQ+ community. This community is as lively and varied as the establishments and activities that pay tribute to its past and encourage individuality. Here is a small selection of the locations, events, festivals, and attractions where everyone is welcome and love is unconditional.
Where To Go
In many places across the USA, you can find LGBTQ+-friendly neighborhoods, especially in areas with lots of people that are ready to be explored. In San Francisco, California’s Castro District, the streets are lined with shops, bookstores, bars, and restaurants that fly rainbow flags. To see street art, taquerias, and coffee shops, go east to the friendly Mission District.Chicago, Illinois, has two LGBT areas. Boystown is in East Lakeview and is gay-friendly and party-happy, while Girlstown is in Andersonville and is less flashy. The Legacy Walk is located on North Halsted in Boystown. It is made up of forty rainbow poles with metal plaques that honor LGBTQ+ people who have made important contributions to history.
You can learn about history, society, and nightlife while you look into the roots of the LGBTQ+ movement today. The Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village, New York City, was named the Stonewall National Monument in 2016, making it the first historical LGBTQ+ site in the city. Just north are Chelsea and Hell’s Kitchen, two areas that used to be gay but have become artsy havens with lots of boutiques and brownstones. The American LGBTQ+ Museum will open in 2024, just north of Hell’s Kitchen. It will have exhibits and events that honor and preserve the rich history of this diverse community.
The Montrose area, which is just west of downtown Houston, Texas, has been known as the center of LGBTQ+ culture in the city since the 1970s. It has everything from small bistros and art galleries to world-class museums and parks with views of the skyline. Capitol Hill is a neighborhood in Denver, Colorado, that is home to many LGBTQ+-owned shops and restaurants. It is also the site of the yearly PrideFest parade.Every June, Washington, D.C.’s Pride Festival takes place in the Dupont Circle neighborhood. The walk goes through streets decorated with rainbow flags and shops that are welcoming to LGBTQ+ people.
Couple seeing the sights in Millennium Park while on vacation in Chicago, Illinois
What To Do
The Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art in New York City or the ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives in Los Angeles, California, are both great places to learn about the art and culture of LGBTQ+ Americans. Harvey Milk was the first openly gay leader to be elected in California. His home in San Francisco, where he lived, is still a place of honor for him.
Independent shops like Women & Children First in Chicago or Giovanni’s Room in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, are great places to get books for LGBTQ+ people. On the other side of the state, in Pittsburgh, the Andy Warhol Museum is the biggest museum in the world that is solely dedicated to one artist. It has thousands of works of art by the famous gay artist. Drink at famous places like Twin Peaks Tavern in San Francisco, Kit Kat Lounge & Supper Club in Chicago, where drag queens hang out, or Cubbyhole in New York City, which is a neighborhood pub. The Castro Theatre is an art deco landmark in San Francisco that is known for having sing-alongs with an old pipe organ at the end of the night. Kremwerk is a queer-focused nightclub in Seattle, Washington, where you can dance all night. There is a different room every night for DJs, stand-up comedy, or burlesque shows.
Enjoying some tasty wine and food at a Houston, Texas, eatery
When To Go
Almost every city in the US has its own pride festival, which generally includes a rainbow-colored parade, musical performances on the street, and a lot of dance parties. To name a few: Late June is Pride month in New York City, San Francisco, Detroit, and Chicago. Puerto Rico’s main city, San Juan, hosts the Gay Pride Festival every summer. Around the same time, Key West, Florida’s LGBTQ+-friendly island, hosts Key West Pride.The Pride Festival in Atlanta, Georgia, takes place every October on the weekend before National Coming Out Day.
Even more events happen all year long. For example, in September, you can party with the leather crowd at San Francisco’s Folsom Street Fair, or in August, you can embrace your inner nerd at Flame Con, the world’s largest queer comic convention, which takes place in New York City. Many people call Southern Decadence “Gay Mardi Gras meets New Orleans Pride.” It’s a six-day event in August or September in New Orleans, Louisiana, that celebrates the community in the style of Mardi Gras, with parades, parties, and bright floats. Put on your cowboy hat and boots to get into the spirit of the International Gay Rodeo, which happens every year from February to August in many western states. In January, the Sin City Classic, the biggest LGBTQ+ sports event of the year in the world, comes to Las Vegas, Nevada. The beautiful Colorado mountain town of Aspen also hosts Gay Ski Week. In Hawaii’s capital, Honolulu, the Rainbow Film Festival happens every September or October. Through visual stories, the festival gives people power.
Rainbow Pride Flag being brought down the mountain during Aspen Gay Ski Week in Colorado
