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22 of the Best Doors in the USA That Will Make You Want to Plan a Cross-Country Road Trip

I was born in the United States and even though I’ve lived in Ireland and Portugal for over 15 years now, I still visit the U.S. frequently for both work and to visit family. I have photographed hundreds of doors in cities and towns across America.

I run the Door of the Week competition to get feedback from the Doors, Glorious Doors community about doortraits that I’ve taken.

I pick a different theme each time and I’ve been holding this weekly challenge for more than two years–so many doors, so little time!

The competition featured doors from U.S. destinations nearly two dozen times. We can use the results of those competitions to say definitively: these are the best doors in the USA.

Make sure to scroll to the end where you’ll find my bonus editor’s picks of the most Instagrammable doors in America.

Coolest San Francisco Bay Area Door

Let’s start out west. The San Francisco Bay Area is home to some amazing and colorful doors. You can tell homeowners here have invested a lot in their curb appeal.

The winner of best SF Bay Area door was located in The City (San Francisco proper for those who aren’t familiar with the local lingo…don’t call it Frisco or San Fran). This simple craftsman entrance had a lovely garden of succulents lining the steps that the community couldn’t resist.

A ground-level shot of a house entrance with a red door and a brick staircase. The house has a dark brown shingle exterior with white trim. Potted plants line the staircase and the front porch. A cluster of bright pink flowers is visible in the foreground. The house number "1271" is visible on the right side.
Best SF Bay Area Door: Spotted in the City

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Best Doors in Las Vegas

I visited Las Vegas twice for work in 2025. While what happens in Vegas typically stays in Vegas, there is no way I could contain these amazing doors! I’ll share the best door in the Fontainebleau Casino and best overall door in Las Vegas.

Elegant black double doors with gold circular accents and long vertical handles, framed by a striking wall mosaic of blue and black vertical stripes and large gold circles.
Best Door in the Fontainebleau Hotel and Casino
A large, arched wooden door with geometric window panes and brass baseplates, set against a red-riveted wall under warm, moody theatrical lighting.
Best Door in Las Vegas: Bavette’s Steakhouse

Best Street Art Door in Miami

Wynwood Walls is the place to go for street art in Miami and I dedicated an entire segment of the door of the week competition to the doors here. Team Crow won the title of best street art door in Miami in a landslide.

A metal utility door perfectly integrated into a vibrant mural by Tomokazu Matsuyama, featuring a black crow, bright yellow peonies, and sharp geometric patterns in red and blue.
Best Street Art Door in Miami

Top Doors in New York City

I visit New York City quite often and it’s one of my favorite places to go door hunting in the United States. There are so many neighborhoods and types of architecture to explore. NYC doors have featured prominently in the door of the week competition with four different New York doors taking top honors in the door of the week vote.

A sophisticated cobalt blue double door at number 85, featuring an ornate brownstone pediment and a hanging glass lantern.
Top Colorful Door in Greenwich Village
A dark, weathered wooden door with Gothic-style quatrefoil carvings set into a pointed stone archway. Deep snow piles up against the base of the door, surrounding various dormant potted plants and a small white statue of the Virgin Mary.
Top Winter Door in Chelsea
Black door labeled "26". There is lush green foliage running down the left side of the steps. There are white pumpkins and white flowers running down the right side of the staircase along a wrought-iron railing.
Top “Pumpkins of New York”
A close-up shot of an ornately decorated Art Deco doorway. The door itself is dark gray with intricate floral patterns and gold accents. Above the door is a decorative panel featuring a stylized fountain design in gold against a dark gray background. The entire doorway is framed by gray stone panels with vertical ribbed detailing.
Top Door in New York City (All Around Winner)

The Best of Upstate New York

Upstate New York and the Hudson River Valley has an entirely different vibe to NYC. The doors are no less eye-catching though. In fact, one door from Upstate New York beat out competitors across two continents. Upstate New York was featured three times in the Door of the Week competition and these beauties came out on top.

A pair of dark grey-purple doors with diamond-paned glass, situated on a white Gothic Revival house with decorative "gingerbread" trim. The entrance is flanked by purple shutters and white latticework porch supports.
Best Purple Door: Rhinebeck
A red double door with leaded glass inserts is set into a lime green wooden house with a cheerful orange and green painted porch. A scattering of pumpkins and gourds decorates the porch steps.
The Pumpkin Spice Award! Saratoga Springs
Orange and green door set in a brick facade. There are pumpkins to the left of the door. There is a mat in front of the door that reads "We're so happy you're here". The door is framed by ivy that is just starting to turn yellow for the Fall.
Best Autumn Door: Cold Spring

Spookiest Halloween Door

The award for the spookiest Halloween door in America goes to this Irish pub door in New York City, which beat out a tough field of competition covering two continents.

Black door with orange trim and a gold frame. There is a large window next to the door. There is a jumble of skeletons above the door and covering the window

Best All-American Door

An over-the-top peach dream door spotted in San Francisco beat out doors in Florida and Upstate New York to take the prize for best American door.

A whimsical and colorful house facade, painted in various shades of orange and peach, with intricate architectural details. A main orange front door with glass panels and a decorative wreath is centrally located, accessed by steps. The doorway is framed by an ornate archway with carved details. To the left of the door, a window with closed white louvered shutters is visible. To the right, a smaller window with an open frame and a birdhouse hanging above it. The house number "3820" is prominently displayed below the right window. In front of the house, a highly decorative metal gate in shades of orange, gold, and green, with floral motifs, is closed. Numerous potted plants with green foliage and some with pink accents are arranged on the steps and behind the gate, contributing to a lush, welcoming atmosphere.

Most Instagrammable Doors in America

Now I’m going to take a little editorial license and share my personal picks for most Instagrammable door in America. I love a bold color choice, which biased my choices a little, I’ll admit.

Bright blue door surrounded by black and white striped pillars in Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Psychedelic rainbow-colored mural entrance featuring butterflies, mushrooms, and a surfboard sign in San Diego, California.
San Diego, California
Intricately carved pinkish-red panel door next to a colorful mosaic heart mural by Kate Tova on a grey wall in North Beach, San Francisco.
San Francisco, California

USA Doors – Honorable Mentions

There are also a number of doors that I feel deserve an honorable mention. These beauties did not win door of the week honors, but held their own to come in second or third place against a tough set of global competitors.

A charming winter entrance in Buffalo featuring a vibrant pink door with a gold pineapple knocker, framed by a white portico and surrounded by a yard covered in snow.
2nd Place – Doors in the Snow:Buffalo, NY
Door surrounded by green and yellow patterned tiles. The door has a transom light in the shape of an octagon with an ornate lamp attached. The door is set in a white wall
3rd Place – Tiled Doors: San Francisco
A decorative metal gate with a large, fan-shaped design, set in a white-and-yellow-trimmed archway. The archway is decorated with a row of small, yellow medallions.
2nd Place – Gates: San Francisco
Wooden door with a square glass panel in the frame. There is a yellow wreath attached to the door. The door is recessed in an alcove and there is a grand urn of flowers to the front right of the door. The alcove is framed by two grand columns on each side.
2nd Place – Columns: San Francisco
A bold red door numbered 167, featuring a decorative frieze of golden squirrel silhouettes and squirrel-shaped iron fence posts.
3rd Place – Animals on Doors: New York City
A classic light wood door with a heavy brass knocker, framed by a wide grey stone arch and a glass fanlight.
3rd Place: Grand Wooden Doors: New York City

There you have it, a photo-tour of the best doors in the United States from sea to shining sea, covering 19 different themes. Which city had the highest number of winners? New York City!

Which Door Will You Open Next?

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