North America's Strangest Roadside Attractions
We in North America don't seem to put our attractions far away from the road. Maybe it has to do with our gigantic roadways with lots of parking, or maybe it's because we'd rather not walk for miles to get to them. In any case, some of our best attractions that put small towns on the map are by the roadside.
Some are downright cool, but others are just plain odd. Here are 20 of North America's strangest roadside attractions.
Carhenge: Alliance, Nebraska
Why go to Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England when you can see Carhenge in Alliance, Nebraska? Created by Jim Reinders in 1987, Carhenge features cars arranged on end and upright in an homage to Stonehenge. After being carefully placed, Reinders spray-painted the cars gray to complete the piece.
Salvation Mountain: Niland, California
Leonard Knight is the creator of the man-made "Salvation Mountain", spending 30 years covering a mound of mudbrick and straw in messages of peace, love, and hope. Oh, and Bible verses. Lots of them. Salvation Mountain has become a bit of a pilgrimage site for the area's religious people. Still, as a roadside attraction, it will make you look twice.
Joe Decruyenaere, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Enchanted Highway: Regent, North Dakota
The "Enchanted Highway" is a stretch of highway in Regent, North Dakota adorned with massive metal sculptures. Created by local artist Gary Greff, the Enchanted Highway's life-size metal sculptures are impressive works of art. They're so big that you'd be remiss not to snap a selfie—just don't bring a strong magnet with you when passing through.
What's The News?: Rockport, Massachusetts
One of the most interesting roadside attractions is the house that's made of newspapers—yes, really. An engineer named Elis Stenman built the house made entirely of newspapers (everything in the house is made of newspapers—everything!) Now a museum, Elis Stenman rolled and varnished over 100,000 newspapers to create The Paper House.
The Paper House is located off Pigeon Hill Rd in Rockport, MA.
Need Luggage? Visit The Unclaimed Baggage Center: Scottsdale, Alabama
The Unclaimed Baggage Center is a roadside attraction in Scottsdale, Alabama that functions as a second-hand store for the nation's lost and unclaimed baggage. Covering a massive 40,000 square feet, the store features everything from handheld electronics to suitcases, all coming from unclaimed baggage holds at airports nationwide.
The Wigwam Motel: Holbrook, Arizona
The Wigwam Motel is located off Route 66 in Holbrook, Arizona, and is one of three surviving wigwam motels across the United States, with the other two located in San Bernardino, California and Cave City, Kentucky. The motels were built in the 1950s and are a unique experience in any transnational road trip.
RyderAce, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
The Grotto Of Redemption: West Bend, Iowa
The Grotto of Redemption was built in 1912 by Father Paul Dobberstein, made from millions of rocks, crystals, gems, and other precious stones. The grotto is the largest man-made grotto in the world and took 42 years for Father Dobberstein to create. It depicts scenes from the life of Jesus and is a conglomeration of nine grottos.
Ben Franske, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
The UFO Watchtower: Hooper, Colorado
Created by Judy Messoline in 2000, the UFO Watchtower has attracted tens of thousands of alien-chasing hopefuls and UFO enthusiasts in an area that's famous for UFO sightings. Visitors are often encouraged to leave trinkets in the garden of the watchtower.
Plazak, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
The World's Largest Ball Of Twine: Cawker City, Kansas
Cawker City, Kansas isn't famous for much, but it is famous for being the site of the world's largest ball of twine. How large is it? It's 8,507,430 feet long and weighs 27,017 pounds. Started by a man named Frank Stoeber in 1953, it measures a stunning 8.6 feet in diameter and a staggering 10.83 feet high. It was built by the community of Cawker City.
A second ball of twine, built by a single person, is located in Darwin, Minnesota, and was built using baler twine by farmer Francis Johnson. Johnson began rolling the twine ball in 1950 and wrapped every day for four hours, for 29 years, finally finishing the ball of twine in 1979. It weighs 17,300 pounds and is 12 feet in diameter.
The World's Largest Collection Of The World's Smallest Collection Of The World's Largest Things: Lucas, Kansas
Located in Lucas, Kansas, The World's Largest Collection Of The World's Smallest Collection Of The World's Largest Things is an homage to America's fascination with all things gigantic, created by artist Erica Nelson in 2006. For those who enjoy a humorous roadside attraction, this very long one is not to be missed.
The World's Largest Chest Of Drawers: High Point, North Carolina
For those who have a fascination with the world's largest things, the world's largest chest of drawers might be the 'high point' of your transnational road trip to see roadside attractions. Located in High Point, North Carolina, the world's largest chest of drawers measures 38 feet tall and features two gigantic socks hanging from one drawer.
A Gigantic Five Cent Coin: Sudbury, Ontario
The Canadians really love huge roadside attractions, starting with this enormous five cent coin built in Sudbury, Ontario. Celebrating the town's leadership in the mining industry, the massive five cent piece is 12,000 kilograms (or 26,455 pounds) and stands 30 feet tall. Unsurprisingly, it's not considered legal tender.
The Larger-Than-Life Lawn Mower: Enderby, British Columbia
What's one way to get out of mowing the lawn? Build a really big mower. This ginormous lawn mower stands 18 feet high, measures 11 feet wide, and weighs an astonishing 1,458 pounds.
The World's Largest Dinosaur: Drumheller, Alberta
Got a thing for Jurassic Park? Got kids that love dinosaurs? Then pay a visit to Alberta's Drumheller, the fossil capital of the Prairies. There, you'll see (you can't miss it), the world's largest dinosaur, measuring an astonishing 86 feet tall and weighing 146,000 pounds.
Murray Foubister, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
The World's Largest Hockey Stick: Duncan, British Columbia
The world's largest hockey stick in Duncan, BC was created for the Vancouver '86 Expo and measures a stunning 203 feet and weighs an amazing 28,000 pounds. There's also an accompanying puck (because of course there is), and it is also the world's largest hockey puck.
New York City Ain't Got Nothin' On This Big Apple: Colborne, Ontario
In Colborne, Ontario lies the real Big Apple. It was built in 1983 by George Boycott, an Australian immigrant to Canada, and Henry Mensen, a local construction company owner. The Big Apple first opened in 1987 and serves as a roadside attraction, dine-in restaurant, mini-putt course, a petting zoo, and a small kids' amusement park. It stands 40 feet tall and 38 feet wide.
Andrew Currie, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
The World's Largest Canada Goose: Wawa, Ontario
If you thought normal-sized Canada Geese were terrifying, just wait till you see the world's largest Canada Goose, located in Wawa, Ontario. This larger-than-life-sized cobra chicken stands 28 feet tall, 22 feet long, and has a 20-foot wingspan. If geese ever gain sentience, they may look to the World's Largest Canada Goose as their leader.
The World's Largest Axe: Nackawic, New Brunswick
In a celebration of their forestry heritage, the town of Nackawic is home to the World's Largest Axe, which measures 49 feet tall and weighs over 55 tons. The axe head itself is over 23 feet wide. Built in 1991 to commemorate the town's designation as the forestry capital of Canada, the World's Largest Axe also contains a time capsule built into the axe head.
The World's Largest Fiddle: Sydney, Nova Scotia
A lover of fiddle music? Not as much as the residents of the city of Sydney, Nova Scotia. Located on the east coast of Cape Breton, Sydney has a population of 30,000 people—and one giant fiddle. Completed in 2005, the World's Largest Fiddle is an incredible 60 feet tall.
The World's Largest Red Paperclip: Kipling, Saskatchewan
You'd need a massive stack of papers to require the use of this red paperclip. It's crafted from 3,043 pounds of solid steel, standing 15 feet tall, 3.3 feet wide, and an astonishing 45.76 feet long.
The World's Largest Blueberry: Oxford, Nova Scotia
In an homage to the Blueberry Capital of Canada, Oxford, Nova Scotia, the town commissioned the world's largest blueberry, located off Highway 321. Standing 7.8 feet high and 10.8 feet wide
A Burl Burn
A burl, or a growth on the side of a tree often signifies the injury to a tree, or a virus infecting its roots. Burls can be much larger than you'd think possible given the size of most trees. However, in May of 2023, Port McNeill (home to the world's largest burl) was shocked when vandals set fire to the 60,000 pound, 20-foot tall and 20-foot wide burl named The Ronning Burl.
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