20 Enduring Roadside Attractions in the U.S. Waiting for Your Visit
Roadside attractions abound throughout the U.S., each with its charm and some history. And these attractions draw people from around the country, literally from all over the world. Here’s our list of 20 extremely tempting roadside attractions worth a visit.
Amarillo, Texas Cadillac Ranch
A half-buried nose-down classic Cadillac discarded in the Texas dirt constitutes a club—also known as Cadillac Ranch. It was created in 1974 by the San Francisco art group Ant Farm and Panhandle resident Stanley Marsh 3. Visitors can slap their marks on the cars, making the display a changing canvas.
If you’re on Route 66, Cadillac Ranch is a must-see! It may have started with humble beginnings, but the site enjoys thousands of annual visitors and, despite its small population, remains one of the most visited spots along the historic highway.
World’s Largest Ball of Twine (Cawker City, Kansas)
The World’s Largest Ball of Twine in Cawker City, Kansas, began in 1953 when a farmer named Frank Stoeber started one. It now weighs about 20,000 pounds and is 8 feet in diameter. Locals split a straw in the twine ball every year during the annual Twine-A-Thon, thereby making this quirky attraction a place in the hearts of many.
However, it’s an event that visitors can take part in and contribute to this record-holding marvel. This is an actual small-town ball, with the size of the ball and the dedication of the community around it.
Mitchell, South Dakota’s Corn Palace
The Mitchell South Dakota Corn Palace is called the ‘World’s Only Corn Palace.’ This amazing monument is adorned with murals of corn and grains. Built in 1892, it was built to showcase South Dakota’s soil and encourage settlement.
The Corn Palace has a new theme for its exterior artwork to undergo a facelift every year. The Corn Palace hosts almost 500,000 visitors annually and is a tourist destination and venue for local events — such as concerts and basketball games.
Holbrook, Arizona & Cave City, Kentucky – The Wigwam Motels
The Wigwam Motels, featuring their signature tepee-shaped rooms, provide a glimpse at mid-century roadside culture. These motels were built along Route 66 in 1947 to attract road trips for novelty and adventure. According to Traveling With Nikki, only three of the original seven Wigwam Villages are still open and functioning as motels and pieces of Americana.
Carhenge (Alliance, Nebraska)
In Alliance, Nebraska, Carhenge is a funky tribute to the famous Stonehenge in England, composed entirely of vintage cars. In 1987, artist Jim Reinders created this unusual monument featuring 38 vehicles arranged in a circle,’ the Stonehenge of Stonehenge.
But despite its oddity, Carhenge has quickly become one of Nebraska’s most popular roadside attractions, with an estimated 100,000 visitors each year.
Santa Cruz, California—Mystery Spot
The Mystery Spot in Santa Cruz, Calif., is an optical illusion marvel that has boggled people’s heads since it opened in 1941. George Prather designed, built, and managed it for his son Bruce. In the spot’s tiny, very tilted cabin, she finds people appear to tilt at impossible angles and balls roll uphill.
Its cause is a mystery, but there are theories, from extraterrestrial activity to magnetic anomalies. This fun, interactive attraction continues to confuse tourists but has become one of California’s most rewarding roadside stops.
Muffler Men
Gus’s Drive-In East Troy, WI, asserts they are giant fiberglass statues built in 1962 as ad figures for businesses like car repair shops and gas stations. These statues stand over 20 feet tall and have become iconic fixtures that dot the highways of America, with many still standing, decades of wear and all.
These figures were originally meant for commercial use, but they have become cult status, with fans documenting their locations and sharing their finds online.
Wall Drug (Wall, South Dakota)
In 1931, Wall Drug started as a whippersnapper in a small drug store that gave weary travelers free ice water. Now, it’s a huge tourist complex occupying 76,000 square feet that includes everything from cowboy boots to homemade doughnuts. B
ut Wall Drug, which sits near the entrance to the Badlands, is one of the most visited tourist destinations in the Midwest and draws more than 2 million annual visitors.
The Enchanted Highway (Regent, North Dakota)
A 32-mile road in North Dakota with larger-than-life metal sculptures fitted along it is known as The Enchanted Highway. The sculptures, created by artist Gary Greff in 1989, include a massive grasshopper, a pheasant family, and even a giant fisherman.
Each piece was designed to breathe new life into the small town of Regent and attract tourists to the area.
Margate City, New Jersey
Standing six stories tall, Lucy the Elephant is an architectural wonder and has been a must-see since 1881. Originally used as a real estate promotion, Lucy has been to many things, from a tavern to a hotel to a summer home. Today, Lucy is a registered National Historic Landmark and a tourist attraction.
The Fremont Troll (Seattle, Washington)
The Fremont Troll sits under a bridge in Seattle’s Fremont neighborhood. A tremendous giant clutching a real Volkswagen Beetle in his hand, the Troll is an icon beloved by the city of Seattle, which was created in 1990 by Steve Badanes, Will Martin, and Donna Walter Ross Whitehead.
Catoosa (Catoosa, Oklahoma) Blue Whale
According to the Library of Congress, Hugh Davis built the Blue Whale of Catoosa in the early 1970s. Nestled on a Route 66 roadside attraction, it has charmed travelers since then.
Babe the Blue Ox (Bemidji, Minnesota) and Paul Bunyan
Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox stand tall in Bemidji, Minnesota, as iconic symbols of American folklore. These statues were created in 1937 to celebrate the legend of Lumberjack and his companion. They also nod to the region’s logging legacy, which attracts many annual visitors.
Rapid City (South Dakota) – Dinosaur Park
Dinosaur Park is a prehistoric wonderland of endless humongous dinosaur statues perched atop a hill in Rapid City, South Dakota. The park, affiliated with the Works Progress Administration project of 1936, offers life-sized replicas of a host of dinosaur species and lets visitors live in the past.
The Thing (Benson, Arizona)
An oddity, it’s also mysterious and intriguing, having long been a traveler’s curiosity. The Thing — located in Benson, Arizona, since 1989 — has been advertised for miles along Interstate 10 on billboards that tease, ‘What The Thing?’ From the 1950s until now, people have paid a small fee to wonder what is hiding behind those locked doors and go to a museum of oddities before reaching the mysterious exhibit.
The Shoe Tree (Nevada)
The Shoe Tree of the Nevada desert is enormous, with hundreds of shoes dropped on its tree. Throwing shoes into the tree has been a tradition since the 1990s, and the original tree was sacrificed to tragedy in 2010.
But a new Shoe Tree has sprung up nearby, keeping up with the quirky tradition. The Shoe Tree is another example of how road trippers can be quirky, with the sloping pile a continual drawcard for visitors to leave their footwear and another flip on the pile.
Blue Earth Jolly Green Giant Statue (Minnesota)
The 55-foot-high Jolly Green Giant Statue was originally located in Blue Earth, Minnesota, a small town. That statue was erected in 1979 to represent the region’s agricultural heritage and to honor the town’s connection to the Green Giant brand. Attracted to see the towering figure in the statue, the statue draws over 10,000 visitors yearly.
Oklahoma’s Route 66 Ribbon Road
The narrow, winding path that Route 66 Ribbon Road is on is one of the few remaining pieces of the original Route 66. This ribbon road was built in 1926 and is nine feet wide in places. It’s one of the few pieces of unaltered Route 66, allowing visitors a glimpse into what road travel was like 90-odd years ago.
Petrified Forest (Holbrook, Arizona)
According to the National Park Service, some of the world’s most stunning fossilized trees, over 200 million years old, are in the Petrified Forest in Holbrook, Arizona. This national park permits its visitors to witness a great variety of fossil formations and geological appearances, ancient wood turned to stone. The Petrified Forest is a natural wonder and a historical treasure, drawing more than 600,000 visitors a year and providing a look back at Earth’s distant past.
A Uniroyal Giant Tire (Allen Park, Michigan )
The Uniroyal Giant Tire was the original Ferris wheel for the 1964 World’s Fair in New York and is now a highway landmark on I-94 in Allen Park, Michigan. The 80-foot-tall tire, which weighs 12 tons, represents Michigan’s automotive history. Although no longer a Ferris wheel, the tire is still a roadside attraction, pulling people over as a nod to the state’s rich industrial past.
Disclaimer – This list is solely the author’s opinion based on research and publicly available information.
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