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.
Spencer, TN
Deep gorges, caves, rock shelters and one of the tallest waterfalls in the eastern United States make this plateau landscape feel more geologically extreme than a standard state park. Stay on designated overlooks and trails around cliffs and sinkhole terrain.
Chipley, FL
Florida's tallest waterfall drops into a deep cylindrical sinkhole.
Clarksville, IN
When river conditions are low, enormous exposed limestone beds reveal fossils from a Devonian sea that covered the region roughly 390 million years ago. The state park protects one of the world's largest exposed Devonian fossil beds and provides a visitor center overlooking the site.
Fanning Springs, FL
Historic roadside spring and aquifer window along the Suwannee River.
Springfield, MO
Fantastic Caverns is toured in passenger vehicles rather than on foot, making it one of the few ride-through show caves in the United States. Visitors travel through large passages filled with flowstone, columns and other formations on scheduled guided tours.
Ouray, UT
Extremely delicate sandstone has eroded into twisted figures, fins and spires in a compact badland east of Vernal. The shapes are so intricate that many have acquired informal creature-like names.
Battle Creek, MI
After emerald ash borers killed many of the trees at Leila Arboretum, artists transformed the dead trunks into a strange outdoor forest of large carved creatures and figures. The project began in 2015 and now contains more than two dozen sculptures that can be explored on foot for free.
Polk City, FL
Eccentric aviation collection of historic aircraft presented by pilot and collector Kermit Weeks.
Panamint Springs, CA
A volcanic canyon overlook doubles as a famous viewing point for low-level military training flights through Rainbow Canyon, when aircraft happen to be operating.
Fayetteville, NC
An approximately 80-foot Eiffel Tower replica rises above the Bordeaux Center, a shopping complex whose French name inspired the landmark. Built in 1971 at roughly one-twelfth the height of the Paris original, it is one of Fayetteville’s most conspicuous pieces of roadside architecture.
Dubuque, IA
This tiny funicular climbs the bluff above downtown Dubuque on an extremely short, steep track. Riders get a panoramic river view while experiencing one of the country's most unusual pieces of urban transit.
Dublin, OH
Field of Corn, also known as Cornhenge, consists of 109 human-sized concrete ears of corn arranged in rows in Frantz Park. The public artwork was commissioned in 1993 as a reference to the area's agricultural history and remains free to walk around during park hours.
Dyersville, IA
The baseball diamond built for the 1989 film Field of Dreams still sits among Iowa cornfields. Visitors can walk the field, photograph the farmhouse and experience one of the country's most recognizable movie locations.
Derby, KS
A large outdoor attraction fills a Kansas landscape with life-size animatronic dinosaurs, fossil activities, shows, and dinosaur-themed mini golf. It is intentionally theatrical rather than a fossil museum, which gives it the feel of a modern roadside dinosaur park.
Dundee, MI
Two enormous bronze grizzly bears battle over an animal carcass outside the Dundee Cabela's in a sculpture commonly promoted as one of the world's largest bronze wildlife monuments. The roughly 24-foot composition is directly accessible around the store entrance as a free exterior photo stop.
Moab, UT
A maze of narrow sandstone fins, slots and dead ends creates a natural labyrinth inside Arches National Park. Entry is regulated because route-finding is difficult and biological soil crust is fragile.
LaPlace, LA
An enormous wooden alligator sculpture has long served as a roadside landmark on Belle Terre Boulevard. Treat it as a quick exterior photo stop and do not obstruct the surrounding business property.
Falls Church, VA
Artist Courtney Stevens Hengerer created "Pennies from Heaven" in 2008 by covering a miniature fiberglass F-14 jet with roughly 14,000 pennies as part of a public-art project. The sculpture was later moved to Falls Church and now sits in the open-air plaza between office buildings at Seven Corners.
North Kingstown, RI
A muscular bronze Seabee carrying a rifle and heavy tools stands outside the Seabee Museum and Memorial Park near the former Quonset Point naval base. The figure reproduces the famous "Fighting Seabee" image associated with the U.S. Naval Construction Battalions. Check museum and grounds hours before visiting.
Ellsworth, ME
Hidden inside Finn’s is an original 1930s Jerry O’Mahony dining car, complete with its compact metal structure, counter, stools, and distinctive interior details. The modern restaurant was effectively built around the old diner, leaving a historic structure embedded inside another building.
Shelburne, VT
A giant version of the children's toy jack has been welded together from numerous retired fire hydrants beside Route 7. Artist Chris Sharp created the growing sculpture partly as a tribute to firefighters, turning familiar pieces of street infrastructure into an oversized roadside object.
Beaumont, TX
A massive working fire hydrant donated by Disney stands outside the state fire museum, which also displays antique engines and firefighting equipment.
Kadoka, SD
Old fire trucks stand vertically in a Stonehenge-like circle with an aircraft positioned at the center. The intentionally bizarre installation opened as a modern roadside attraction and even embraces tongue-in-cheek extraterrestrial lore in its official story.
Arthur, NE
Arthur County’s first courthouse was an exceptionally small government building, and the nearby jail was built with unusual local materials. Together they reflect the tiny population and improvised civic infrastructure of one of Nebraska’s sparsest counties.
