<p>I'm planning to string together a graduation/college visit road trip. Where do I go for a natural scenic campus? Which campus has or is near the most beautiful gardens, parks or wilderness area?</p>
<p>Universities
UCSC
UC Boulder
UVa
Vermont
Cornell</p>
<p>LACs
Middlebury
Dartmouth
Colorado College
Bowdoin
Williams</p>
<p>([Outside</a> University: The Top 40 | California | OutsideOnline.com](<a href=“http://www.outsideonline.com/adventure-travel/north-america/united-states/california/123393138.html]Outside”>http://www.outsideonline.com/adventure-travel/north-america/united-states/california/123393138.html))</p>
<p>Virginia Tech</p>
<p>University of the South - Sewanee</p>
<p>Bowdoin
Colby
Dartmouth
Williams
Colgate
Hamilton</p>
<p>I’ll second Middlebury.</p>
<p>I’ll second Sewanee. Also, Furman is beautiful along with the Ashville area.</p>
<p>Berry College in Georgia has far and away the largest and most beautiful campus in the US, in my opinion. Few colleges indeed can top 25,000 acres of mostly pristine mountain forest. Its endowment is similarly quite large – probably within the top 15 of LACs, as it’s only slightly below Carleton, roughly on par with Wesleyan, and well above Claremont McKenna and Haverford. </p>
<p>The College of the Atlantic is located in Bar Harbor, Maine and is absolutely lovely, albeit a bit touristy during the summer. As mentioned in TK’s link, Humboldt State has a very nice location as well.</p>
<p>If you wanted Rhodes on the top of a deserted mountain, it would be Sewanee.</p>
<p>St. Lawrence University (NY)</p>
<p>Where are you coming from/wanting to go? What kinds of colleges are you looking for? Are you looking for college towns in rural areas, or truly rural campuses?</p>
<p>If you’re considering the Northeast:
Middlebury is built along a ridgetop with 360 degrees of mountain views. Very rural feel to the campus.
Bowdoin is a bike ride from the coast, small town campus.
Hamilton has a rural feel, small town very nearby. Beautiful views, you feel like you’re in a resort area.<br>
Hampshire College is rural, just outside a small town.</p>
<p>In PA, Dickinson is in a VERY cute town just off the PA turnpike. Campus has a spacious feel, but it’s not really rural though the surrounding areas are heavily populated by Amish. </p>
<p>In OH, Kenyon is very rural and in a TINY TINY but very cute town, Denison in a larger and still very cute town, both very college-y. Muskingum is in the Appalachian foothills, beautiful area, nearby State park, Buckeye trail goes through it, but the town isn’t cute at all. Miami and OU are both in great college towns in the middle of rural areas. Miami’s rural is cornfields, OU’s rural is the Appalachian foothills.</p>
<p>Colgate…</p>
<p>Luther College</p>
<p>I want to be able to see the night sky, so rural areas and rural campuses both apply.</p>
<p>Some others not yet mentioned:</p>
<p>Bard
Juniata
Washington & Lee
Furman
Washington College (MD)
Alfred</p>
<p>So, like, stars? No light pollution? Definitely Middlebury. :)</p>
<p>Are you female? The women’s schools have beautiful campuses–Wellesley, Bryn Mawr and Smith especially. Connecticut College is also pretty, with a big arboretum on campus. University of the Puget Sound is also in a spectacular location.</p>
<p>Bucknell university in Lewisburg pa. There is a charming little town (in fairness some less charming stuff on highway 15, like a Walmart a few miles away, but the students find this a plus from a practical point of view) so you are not QUITE in the middle of nowhere, but it is very rural. The susquehanna river is very senic and runs right next to campus, and you are quite near the poconos which are amazingly beautiful. Also the campus itself is quite beautiful.</p>
<p>Whitman College is in a rural part of Washington.</p>
<p>Sewanee and Kenyon are the nicest rural campuses I have personally seen. They are beautiful. St. Olaf may also fit.</p>
<p>I would agree with Furman being a beautiful campus but I would not really consider it “rural”.</p>