Circling the Big Island has been named a "2009 Best of the Road trip" by Atlas guru Rand McNally.

Atlas editors hand-picked destinations along the route where visitors can stop to ride horses, tour by ATV, or swap the driving wheel for a wagon ride across cattle ranch country. Down south travelers can stop off and roast their own coffee beans at Ueshima Coffee Farm in Captain Cook and learn how the Big Island came into existence with the help of Pu'uhonua o Honanau and Hawai'i Forest & Trail adventures. Editors have chosen places both known and off the beaten track.

The Big Island is one of five "Best of the Road" winners featured in the 2009 Road Atlas (all trips are under 200 miles) accompanied by descriptions and photos. Other winning road trips spin through the Pacific Northwest, Missouri, Boston and Rhode Island, and the Florida coastline.

NEW YORK

ART PROJECT ADDS FOUR BIG WATERFALLS TO BIG APPLE'S SIGHTS

It's not often that you find waterfalls in inner cities, but in New York this summer there are four: two in Brooklyn, one in Manhattan and one on Governors Island. The New York Waterfalls is a public arts project by the Danish artist Olafur Eliasson, consisting of four man-made cascades, each between 90 and 120 feet tall. They will be installed on the East River from June 26 to Oct. 13. The falls will operate from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily and be illuminated at night. New York Water Taxi offers a one-hour harbor tour that includes all four waterfalls for $35. www.publicartfund.org.

SAFETY ABROAD

GOVERNMENT LAUNCHES WEB SITE TO HELP YOUNG U.S. TRAVELERS

Exchange students and young U.S. travelers now have a "go to" Web site for international travel help. The State Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs site, http://studentsabroad.state.gov, is designed to promote safe travel by students. Site information includes what to do in a natural disaster and other emergencies (like losing your credit card), whom crime victims should contact, locations of U.S. Embassies, and the latest travel alerts and warnings. Nonemergency info includes passport and visa information, tips on being a welcome visitor, and — crucial this year — how to vote in November's U.S. election while abroad.