This story is free to read.

Here are a few cemeteries to see before you die

Cave Hill Cemetery (Louisville, Kentucky): Spanning nearly 300 acres, this Victorian-era cemetery was also considered a recreation destination when it opened in 1846, before large-scale city parks became popular. An arboretum as well, Cave Hill features more than 500 varieties of trees and shrubs. The cemetery contains the graves of boxer Muhammad Ali and fried chicken's most famous colonel, Harland Sanders. Leave your mark by sticking a spork into the ground in front of his tomb. Cave Hill Cemetery (Louisville, Kentucky): Spanning nearly 300 acres, this Victorian-era cemetery was also considered a recreation destination when it opened in 1846, before large-scale city parks became popular. An arboretum as well, Cave Hill features more than 500 varieties of trees and shrubs. The cemetery contains the graves of boxer Muhammad Ali and fried chicken's most famous colonel, Harland Sanders. Leave your mark by sticking a spork into the ground in front of his tomb.

By Emily Crisman October 1, 2016 1 min read

Photo Gallery

Cemeteries to see before you die

St. Louis No. 1 (New Orleans, Louisiana): Famously captured in the film Easy Rider, New Orleans' St. Louis No. 1 is worth a wander. Its historic markers and crumbling preserves lend an eerie elegance, even if you're not on mind-altering substances. Any day but Fat Tuesday you can take a tour of its whitewashed crypts and above-ground tombs, necessitated by the city's location below sea level. Visit the grave of voodoo priestess Marie Laveau, who is rumored to haunt the cemetery, and at whose grave people often leave offerings. Guided tours for St. Louis No. 1, which opened in 1789, are offered by Save Our Cemeteries (saveourcemeteries.org).

Bonaventure Cemetery (Savannah, Georgia): Bonaventure Cemetery's moss-covered oak trees, sculptures (at one time including The Bird, featured on the cover of the book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil) and beauty draw many visitors each year. Though The Bird has since flown the coop to Savannah's Telfair Art Museum, the cemetery features plenty of other notable reasons to stop. Found amidst its Southern Gothic architecture are the final homes of poet Conrad Aiken and lyricist Johnny Mercer.

Spring Grove Cemetery (Cincinnati, Ohio): Winding across 733 acres among tall trees and scenic lakes, Spring Grove is the country's second-largest cemetery. Established in 1845, it is one of seven cemeteries in the U.S. that is considered a National Historic Landmark. Walking, tram and bus tours of the cemetery are available April-October.

Magnolia Cemetery (Charleston, South Carolina): In 1850, this 130-acre former rice plantation opened as a cemetery, and its tombstones have read like a

Oakland Cemetery (Atlanta, Georgia): Oakland Cemetery near downtown Atlanta features 55 mausoleums and four sculptures listed with the Smithsonian, and is the final resting place of Gone with the Wind author Margaret Mitchell, along with about 70,000 others. Oakland could be described as a park and botanical and sculpture garden, in addition to a cemetery designed in the Victorian style. The cemetery holds its Capturing the Spirit of Oakland Halloween Tours for several weekends every October, the only time of year it stays open past dark. But as of press time, tickets for the popular events were all sold out, aside from the extra tour added on Oct. 30, for which tickets go on sale to the general public Oct. 1. No spots left? Head down to Oakland on Oct. 2 for the 37th annual Sunday in the Park, a Victorian street festival featuring kids' activities, food, live music throughout the cemetery, a costume contest and more from noon to 6 p.m. Or, take part in the Run Like Hell 5k, the country's largest cemetery race, Oct. 15 at 9 a.m. You must register in advance — and early, since it always sells out — online at active.com.

Closer to home

Forest Hills Cemetery in St. Elmo is the resting place of many of Chattanooga’s most prominent leaders, as well as unnamed orphans, Civil War generals and slaves buried before the war in a section for African-Americans. It’s a great place for a walk or to take a drive, especially in the fall.

I love a Sunday stroll through a cemetery, especially when visiting a new place. They are often the most beautiful – and certainly the most peaceful – attractions on offer.

If a cemetery doesn’t seem like a destination worth driving to, you probably haven’t been to any of these.

So, in honor of Halloween, we bring you the cemeteries that belong on your bucket list, all located within a few hours’ drive.