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.
Wendover, UT
Karl Momen's 87-foot concrete tree rises improbably from the Bonneville Salt Flats beside Interstate 80. There is no legal stopping area at the sculpture, so it should only be viewed while passing.
Mexican Hat, UT
A broad flat sandstone cap appears to balance on a much narrower pedestal above the San Juan River valley. The formation is visible from public roads and nearby BLM land.
Moab, UT
More than a hundred life-size dinosaur models line an outdoor trail near fossil-bearing landscapes, while indoor exhibits cover tracks and paleontology. It is intentionally theatrical but grounded in Utah dinosaur science.
Monroe, UT
Mineral water is diverted through outdoor bathtubs and pools surrounded by brightly colored travertine deposits. The privately operated site blends a natural spring with deliberately eccentric human additions.
Salt Lake City, UT
A full-size humpback whale appears to breach from a traffic circle in a landlocked neighborhood. Salt Lake City formally embraces the sculpture as a local public-art landmark.
Lake Powell, UT
The thinnest and oldest-looking of the monument's three major bridges appears almost impossibly delicate compared with the canyon walls around it. A short trail reaches its base.
Richfield, UT
This grove of quaking aspens is genetically one organism connected by a shared root system, making it one of the most massive known living organisms on Earth. Trails and roads in Fishlake National Forest pass through the clone.
Mona, UT
Paul Bunyan’s Woodpile is a natural geologic formation of columnar volcanic rock, not a man-made Bunyan prop. The “logs” formed roughly 30 million years ago, and travelers reach them on BLM land by driving about 3.5 miles on a dirt road and then hiking roughly one mile to the formation.
Manti, UT
A small museum celebrates Ed 'Big Daddy' Roth, creator of the grotesque hot-rod mascot Rat Fink, in the Utah town where he spent his later years. Memorabilia connects custom-car culture, monster art and underground illustration.
Lake Powell, UT
One of the world's largest natural bridges spans a canyon in Natural Bridges National Monument. A steep trail descends to its base while viewpoints offer easier access.
Rozel Point, UT
Robert Smithson's 1970 earthwork coils more than 1,500 feet into the Great Salt Lake from black basalt shoreline. Water level changes can leave the spiral submerged, exposed or surrounded by pinkish salt water.
Salt Lake City, UT
A modern pyramid beside the freeway belongs to Summum, a small religious organization known for its teachings about mummification and its modern mummification practices. The exterior is easily seen, but interior access is controlled by the organization.
Lucin, UT
Nancy Holt's four giant concrete cylinders frame the rising and setting sun around the solstices, while smaller holes map constellations onto the tunnel interiors. The remote desert site requires careful travel planning.
Castle Dale, UT
An overlook on the San Rafael Swell reveals the San Rafael River winding through a deep canyon system often nicknamed Utah's Little Grand Canyon. Public BLM roads reach the rim.
Bryce Canyon, UT
A tall hoodoo capped by a broader block resembles an enormous stone hammer rising from Bryce Canyon's amphitheater. It is visible from the Navajo Loop area.
Big Water, UT
White and red mushroom-shaped hoodoos stand above a short desert wash, including formations capped by darker boulders. A signed trailhead off U.S. 89 gives straightforward public access.
Moab, UT
A circular structure in Canyonlands exposes dramatically tilted rocks, long debated as a salt dome before evidence favored a meteorite impact origin. Trails lead to overlooks above the crater-like formation.
Vernal, UT
Full-size dinosaur replicas surround the state museum, including a towering Tyrannosaurus and Stegosaurus. Inside, fossils and a working laboratory connect the outdoor roadside spectacle to regional paleontology.
Mexican Hat, UT
A dirt-road loop winds among isolated sandstone towers, buttes and pinnacles that resemble a miniature Monument Valley. Road conditions can become poor after storms.
Big Water, UT
Tall pale pinnacles capped with darker stone have been nicknamed the White Ghosts. The remote hike is exposed and should only be attempted with desert-weather awareness and adequate water.
Green River, UT
A giant painted watermelon slice pays tribute to Green River's long association with melon farming and the annual Melon Days celebration. It is a straightforward roadside photo stop.
