Roadside oddities37.9385° N, 119.0266° W
Lee Vining, CA
Exposed calcium-carbonate tufa towers rise from Mono Lake's shoreline, remnants of underwater springs revealed as the lake level fell.
- Access
- Open to visitors
Roadside oddities in California
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Roadside oddities123
Suggest a stopGiant objects, odd monuments and things built for no clear reason.
- Roadside oddities36.5724° N, 117.1434° W
Death Valley, CA
Flash floods polished multicolored marble into smooth narrows and exposed a natural mosaic of cemented rock fragments.
- Access
- Open to visitors
- Roadside oddities33.9977° N, 118.4622° W
Venice, CA
Artists Cheri Pann and Gonzalo Duran covered their home and garden in an overwhelming skin of handmade tile, mirrors, ceramics and sculpture.
- Access
- Seasonal or ticketed
- Roadside oddities32.8289° N, 117.2815° W
La Jolla, CA
A pod-like concrete beach house built into the base of a cliff looks like science-fiction architecture. It is private property and should only be viewed from lawful beach access.
- Access
- Roadside, no entry
- Roadside oddities37.0173° N, 122.0038° W
Santa Cruz, CA
The Mystery Spot is a classic gravity-house roadside attraction in the redwoods outside Santa Cruz, where tilted structures and forced perspective make visitors appear to lean at impossible angles. It was discovered in 1939 and opened to the public around 1940; today visitors buy tickets for a roughly 45-minute guided experience and can also use the hiking trail and gift shop.
- Access
- Seasonal or ticketed
- Roadside oddities36.2817° N, 116.7700° W
Death Valley, CA
A short desert hike enters a narrow canyon beneath a naturally eroded rock bridge, with dry waterfalls and exposed sedimentary layers beyond.
- Access
- Seasonal or ticketed
- Roadside oddities34.1957° N, 116.2876° W
Joshua Tree, CA
Large assemblages made from televisions, toilets, bicycles and other discarded materials fill the desert site where artist Noah Purifoy worked for fifteen years.
- Access
- Open to visitors
- Roadside oddities34.1850° N, 118.5832° W
Woodland Hills, CA
Concrete frontier figures made by motel owner John Ehn were relocated to Pierce College, preserving a bizarre homemade vision of the Old West.
- Access
- Open to visitors
- Roadside oddities40.0098° N, 123.7901° W
Garberville, CA
A single enormous redwood log was hollowed into a compact mobile home, exhibited around the country and eventually parked permanently beside U.S. 101.
- Access
- Seasonal or ticketed
- Roadside oddities33.6112° N, 115.9913° W
Mecca, CA
A narrow canyon exposes dramatically colored sedimentary layers and slot passages in the Mecca Hills Wilderness; flash-flood and road conditions matter.
- Access
- Seasonal or ticketed
- Roadside oddities37.5276° N, 118.1982° W
Big Pine, CA
A rough high-elevation road reaches an even more remote grove of ancient bristlecone pines, including the massive Patriarch Tree.
- Access
- Seasonal or ticketed
- Roadside oddities41.5845° N, 124.0862° W
Klamath, CA
The enormous Paul Bunyan and Babe statues have greeted travelers outside Trees of Mystery since the mid-twentieth century and remain one of the North Coast's signature roadside photo stops.
- Access
- Open to visitors
- Roadside oddities33.5353° N, 117.7814° W
Laguna Beach, CA
A stone tower built against the cliffs at Victoria Beach looks like a fantasy ruin and is best viewed only when lawful public beach access and tide conditions permit.
- Access
- Seasonal or ticketed
- Roadside oddities41.5684° N, 122.2833° W
Weed, CA
A large lava tube formed by eruptions from the Mount Shasta region can be entered from public forest land; rough footing and darkness require proper equipment.
- Access
- Seasonal or ticketed
- Roadside oddities33.0092° N, 116.9742° W
Poway, CA
A remarkably thin granite slab projects from Mount Woodson like an oversized potato chip, producing one of San Diego County's strangest natural photo stops.
- Access
- Open to visitors
- Roadside oddities33.2228° N, 116.0686° W
Ocotillo Wells, CA
Wind and sand built naturally rounded concretions across the desert floor, creating a field of stone shapes that resemble oversized pumpkins.
- Access
- Seasonal or ticketed
- Roadside oddities33.0800° N, 117.0628° W
Escondido, CA
Niki de Saint Phalle's sculpture garden surrounds visitors with towering mosaic creatures, totems and the mythic warrior queen for whom California was named.
- Access
- Seasonal or ticketed
- Roadside oddities36.6814° N, 117.5628° W
Death Valley, CA
The remote dry lake is famous for stones that leave long tracks as thin ice and wind occasionally move them across the playa. Access requires a long rough road.
- Access
- Seasonal or ticketed
- Roadside oddities33.9300° N, 118.3692° W
Inglewood, CA
A huge concrete donut sits on the roof of the original 1950s drive-in, one of Southern California's most recognizable examples of roadside architecture.
- Access
- Open to visitors
- Roadside oddities34.9050° N, 117.0251° W
Barstow, CA
Inside Barstow's historic Harvey House, exhibits cover Route 66 travel through signs, photographs, vehicles and roadside-business memorabilia.
- Access
- Seasonal or ticketed
- Roadside oddities34.5587° N, 115.7436° W
Amboy, CA
The Googie sign and preserved roadside complex in near-empty Amboy are among the most recognizable surviving visual icons of California Route 66.
- Access
- Roadside, no entry
- Roadside oddities34.1376° N, 117.8658° W
Glendora, CA
Michael Rubel and friends spent decades building a massive folk-art castle from stone, recycled materials and found objects around an old citrus packing house.
- Access
- Seasonal or ticketed
- Roadside oddities33.2542° N, 115.4725° W
Niland, CA
Leonard Knight covered a desert hillside with adobe, straw and brightly painted religious messages, creating one of California's best-known outsider-art environments.
- Access
- Open to visitors
- Roadside oddities37.6364° N, 122.4927° W
Pacifica, CA
A turreted 1908 coastal house modeled after a Scottish castle opens only for occasional historical-society tours and special events.
- Access
- Seasonal or ticketed