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2517 of 7093 places

Roadside oddities2,517

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Giant objects, odd monuments and things built for no clear reason.

  • Roadside oddities34.8830° N, 82.4216° W

    Greek Revival Folk Art Chicken Coop

    Greenville, SC

    Behind an antique shop and artist studios sits a chicken coop built to resemble a miniature Southern Greek Revival mansion. Look closely and the formal architecture turns into folk art: golf clubs, alphabet blocks, toy cars, seashells and other found objects are worked into the structure. Because the coop is in the back garden of an operating shop/studio property, visit only during business hours and respect any access restrictions.

    Access
    Seasonal or ticketed
  • Roadside oddities41.6055° N, 71.2707° W

    Green Animals Topiary Garden

    Portsmouth, RI

    Dozens of shrubs have been clipped into oversized animals and geometric forms across this historic estate, including bears, birds, a camel and a giraffe. The collection dates back more than a century and is considered the oldest topiary garden in the United States. Admission and operating dates follow the Preservation Society's seasonal schedule.

    Access
    Seasonal or ticketed
  • Roadside oddities38.4331° N, 79.8398° W

    Green Bank Telescope

    Green Bank, WV

    The Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope is one of the largest fully steerable radio telescopes on Earth and dominates the landscape inside the National Radio Quiet Zone. Visitors can explore Green Bank Observatory through its science center and public programs, although access immediately around the telescope itself is controlled rather than a casual walk-up.

    Access
    Open to visitors
  • Roadside oddities36.1650° N, 82.8302° W

    Greeneville Cumberland Presbyterian Church Cannonball

    Greeneville, TN

    A Civil War cannonball remains embedded in the exterior of this Greeneville church, turning battle damage into a permanent architectural artifact. It is a tiny but unusually direct physical remnant of wartime violence in the middle of town.

    Access
    Open to visitors
  • Roadside oddities36.7866° N, 91.3475° W

    Greer Spring

    Alton, MO

    Greer Spring is one of the largest springs in the Ozarks, releasing an enormous volume of clear water that quickly forms a substantial stream. A roughly one-mile trail descends from the public parking area to the spring branch.

    Access
    Open to visitors
  • Roadside oddities37.7327° N, 122.4685° W

    Gregangelo Museum

    San Francisco, CA

    A private house has been transformed into a maze of themed rooms, hidden passages and immersive installations accessible only through timed experiences.

    Access
    Seasonal or ticketed
  • Roadside oddities41.3720° N, 71.6612° W

    Greta Granit — Rhode Island Troll Trail

    Charlestown, RI

    Greta Granit crouches in the woods of Ninigret Park at the end of a marked search from fellow troll Erik Rock. Built with community volunteers and recycled wood, she is distinguished by a long bamboo ponytail. Greta and Erik are separate permanent installations and each functions as its own routable stop.

    Access
    Open to visitors
  • Roadside oddities42.3694° N, 78.6915° W

    Griffis Sculpture Park

    East Otto, NY

    More than 250 large-scale sculptures are scattered through fields, forests and ponds across one of the oldest outdoor sculpture parks in the country. The main Mill Valley Road section is generally open from May through October and involves walking trails over varied terrain.

    Access
    Seasonal or ticketed
  • Roadside oddities34.1184° N, 118.3004° W

    Griffith Observatory Tesla Coil

    Los Angeles, CA

    A large historic Tesla coil produces dramatic high-voltage electrical discharges during scheduled demonstrations inside the observatory.

    Access
    Seasonal or ticketed
  • Roadside oddities35.0664° N, 83.1199° W

    Grimshawes Post Office

    Cashiers, NC

    This tiny wooden post-office building measures only about five by six feet and is commonly described as the smallest historic post office in the United States. Its miniature scale makes it look more like a shed or playhouse than functioning postal architecture.

    Access
    Seasonal or ticketed
  • Roadside oddities37.4529° N, 111.8234° W

    Grosvenor Arch

    Cannonville, UT

    A massive double arch of pale sandstone rises at the end of a paved spur road in Grand Staircase-Escalante. Its paired openings and isolated setting give it a monumental, almost constructed appearance.

    Access
    Open to visitors
  • Roadside oddities44.4718° N, 110.8418° W

    Grotto Geyser

    Yellowstone National Park, WY

    Its bizarre, knobby cone encloses old tree stumps and resembles a stone grotto assembled by hand.

    Access
    Seasonal or ticketed
  • Roadside oddities40.2368° N, 74.7189° W

    Grounds For Sculpture

    Hamilton Township, NJ

    Hundreds of large-scale sculptures are scattered through landscaped gardens, ponds and wooded paths at this 42-acre art park. Some installations recreate famous paintings as life-size three-dimensional scenes, producing deliberately surreal encounters around the grounds.

    Access
    Seasonal or ticketed
  • Roadside oddities43.8736° N, 69.6607° W

    Guardians of the Seeds Trolls

    Boothbay, ME

    Five enormous wooden trolls created by artist Thomas Dambo are hidden along trails at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens. The sculptures form the “Guardians of the Seeds” installation and turn a garden hike into a giant-creature scavenger hunt.

    Access
    Seasonal or ticketed
  • Roadside oddities45.4963° N, 69.3577° W

    Gulf Hagas

    Bowdoin College Grant East Township, ME

    Nicknamed the “Grand Canyon of Maine,” Gulf Hagas is a remote slate gorge filled with waterfalls, narrow rock walls, old-growth forest, and dramatic drops along the West Branch of the Pleasant River. Reaching the best features requires a substantial wilderness hike with no reliable cell service.

    Access
    Seasonal or ticketed
  • Roadside oddities47.6084° N, 122.3404° W

    Gum Wall

    Seattle, WA

    Layers of chewed gum cover brick walls beneath Pike Place Market, turning a once-unwanted habit into a constantly renewed participatory landmark. The wall has been cleaned before, only to refill.

    Access
    Open to visitors
  • Roadside oddities38.9094° N, 77.0574° W

    Gun Barrel Fence

    Washington, DC

    A Georgetown iron fence has long been identified as being made from recycled gun barrels, though the exact origin remains debated.

    Access
    Roadside, no entry
  • Roadside oddities41.8251° N, 71.4076° W

    Gun Totem

    Providence, RI

    Artist Boris Bally built this roughly 3,500-pound obelisk from more than 1,000 firearms surrendered during a gun buyback. The weapons were crushed and welded into a towering public sculpture outside Providence's federal courthouse. From a distance it resembles a dark stone monument; up close the individual gun parts become visible.

    Access
    Open to visitors
  • Roadside oddities42.7019° N, 73.1152° W

    Gunnar Schonbeck Exhibit

    North Adams, MA

    More than 200 wildly unconventional instruments at MASS MoCA include a nine-foot banjo, aircraft-fuselage drums and giant sound towers. Visitors are encouraged to play many of them, fulfilling artist Gunnar Schonbeck's belief that everyone can make music.

    Access
    Seasonal or ticketed
  • Roadside oddities40.6782° N, 119.3611° W

    Guru Road / Doobie Lane

    Gerlach, NV

    DeWayne 'Doobie' Williams turned a dirt road outside Gerlach into a folk-art corridor of hand-built shrines, carved sayings, stone arrangements, and desert jokes.

    Access
    Roadside, no entry
  • Roadside oddities32.8563° N, 79.9583° W

    H.L. Hunley Submarine

    North Charleston, SC

    The Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley became the first combat submarine to sink an enemy warship and then vanished with its crew in 1864. After being recovered from the ocean floor in 2000, the real vessel was placed in a conservation tank where weekend visitors can see it alongside recovered artifacts.

    Access
    Seasonal or ticketed
  • Roadside oddities34.7484° N, 92.2693° W

    H.U. Lee International Gate and Garden

    Little Rock, AR

    An ornate Korean gateway and garden honor taekwondo pioneer H.U. Lee in downtown Little Rock. The monumental gate was constructed in Korea and reassembled in Arkansas.

    Access
    Open to visitors
  • Roadside oddities37.9748° N, 92.7631° W

    Ha Ha Tonka Colosseum

    Camdenton, MO

    The Colosseum is a huge collapsed sinkhole, roughly 150 feet deep, created by the same karst processes that shaped Ha Ha Tonka's caves and natural bridge. The feature is reached from a signed state-park trail rather than by entering the collapse itself.

    Access
    Open to visitors
  • Roadside oddities37.9745° N, 92.7632° W

    Ha Ha Tonka Natural Bridge

    Camdenton, MO

    This massive natural limestone bridge is one of several karst features concentrated inside Ha Ha Tonka State Park. A maintained trail reaches the arch and makes it an easy addition to the nearby castle ruins and spring.

    Access
    Open to visitors