Everything OddWay knows about. Narrow it down by what you're after, or where you're going.
Giant objects, odd monuments and things built for no clear reason.
Rugby, ND
This freestanding tower holds a collection of bells gathered from schools, churches and other local institutions. The stacked bells turn community history into a vertical outdoor sound-and-metal monument.
Bismarck, ND
North Dakota's Art Deco capitol rises as a narrow high-rise rather than the domed classical building expected of most statehouses, earning the nickname 'Skyscraper on the Prairie.' Public access uses the south entrance with security screening, and guided tours are offered on posted schedules.
Rugby, ND
An 88.5-foot illuminated steel tower is painted in metallic colors as a tribute to the aurora borealis. At night the structure becomes an intentionally artificial echo of one of the northern Plains' most dramatic natural phenomena.
Medora, ND
An I-94 exit suddenly opens onto striped, eroded badlands that can look almost detached from the surrounding prairie. The overlook and visitor center provide one of the easiest lawful places to see Theodore Roosevelt National Park's bizarre erosion forms without a long hike.
Regent, ND
A colossal pheasant family stands above the prairie beside the Enchanted Highway. The birds are built from welded metal and are deliberately exaggerated into a classic North Dakota photo stop.
Turtle Lake, ND
Turtle Lake's namesake roadside mascot is a two-ton turtle positioned on the south side of town. It is part of North Dakota's unusual concentration of giant turtle monuments.
New Salem, ND
A 38-foot-high fiberglass Holstein stands on a hill above New Salem as a monument to the area's dairy industry. Its hilltop position makes the enormous cow visible from miles away along I-94.
Minot, ND
This outdoor park gathers replicas and monuments representing Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Iceland, including a stave-church replica and the giant Dala horse. The concentration of transplanted Nordic architectural forms makes it a particularly unusual urban park.
Minot, ND
A towering painted Dala horse stands inside Scandinavian Heritage Park as a monument to Swedish folk tradition. North Dakota Tourism identifies it as the largest Dala horse in the United States.
Regent, ND
This large metal tableau depicts Theodore Roosevelt on horseback with a stagecoach and other Western figures. It brings the state's Roosevelt mythology into the same outsized scrap-metal language as the rest of the Enchanted Highway.
Bottineau, ND
Tommy is a giant turtle riding an equally oversized snowmobile, a deliberately strange tribute to Bottineau's winter recreation. North Dakota Tourism describes him as the world's largest snowmobile-riding turtle.
Dickinson, ND
Traditional embroidery, decorated eggs, textiles and folk art document the Ukrainian immigrant communities of western North Dakota. The collection gives a concentrated look at cultural practices that remain visually distinct from the surrounding Plains landscape.
Minot, ND
Working grain silos became an enormous mural complex in Minot, turning utilitarian agricultural infrastructure into public art. The scale is best understood from the surrounding public areas where the full painted cylinders can be seen together.
Medora, ND
This preserved 1880s house is connected to the family of Medora de Vallombrosa, namesake of the town. Its domestic rooms provide a smaller and more personal counterpart to the grand Chateau de Mores nearby.
Dunseith, ND
More than 2,000 painted wheel rims were assembled into this enormous turtle at the edge of Dunseith. The recycled construction gives the roadside giant an unmistakable skeletal, mechanical look.
Wahpeton, ND
This 40-foot-long catfish pays tribute to the giant channel catfish associated with the Red River of the North. Its exaggerated scale makes it one of southeastern North Dakota's strongest roadside-photo stops.
Garrison, ND
A 26-foot fiberglass walleye marks Garrison's claim as a major Lake Sakakawea fishing town. The giant fish is a straightforward piece of oversized roadside Americana.
Williston, ND
A 35-foot wheat-themed monument uses black granite panels to commemorate the farmers and settlers of the region. It is an unusually monumental treatment of the crop that reshaped much of North Dakota's prairie economy.
Rolla, ND
A large roadside wheat sculpture celebrates the grain agriculture surrounding Rolla. Its scale and stylized metal form give an everyday crop the treatment normally reserved for civic monuments.
Amidon, ND
At 3,506 feet, White Butte is North Dakota's highest natural point, rising from privately owned ranchland and pale badlands formations. Follow the established access arrangement, respect the property and avoid treating the summit approach as unrestricted public land.
Jamestown, ND
Jamestown’s 26-foot, 60-ton concrete buffalo was created by sculptor Elmer Petersen in 1959 and received the name Dakota Thunder in a public contest in 2010. It still overlooks the Frontier Village and is open year-round as a free-will-donation public attraction.
Steele, ND
“Sandy,” Steele’s 40-foot metal sandhill crane, was built in 1998–99 by self-taught ironworker James Miller. The bird stands in a landscaped area just off I-94 and remains an easy roadside stop celebrating the large crane migrations through central North Dakota.
Regent, ND
Three gigantic farm-family figures made from metal tanks and pipe stand beside the road south of Regent. The deliberately homemade-looking giants are among the most recognizable pieces on the Enchanted Highway.
