Roadside oddities38.9306° N, 77.0707° W
Washington, DC
Special tower climbs can reach the National Cathedral's bell room and spaces normally unseen by casual visitors.
- Access
- Seasonal or ticketed
Roadside oddities
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Roadside oddities2,517
Suggest a stopGiant objects, odd monuments and things built for no clear reason.
- Roadside oddities32.4470° N, 84.9798° W
Columbus, GA
A museum devoted to Civil War naval warfare displays major ship remains, full-scale reconstructions, weapons and artifacts from river and coastal combat. The enormous hull sections give the collection a scale far beyond a typical military display case.
- Access
- Seasonal or ticketed
- Roadside oddities39.0121° N, 77.0564° W
Silver Spring, MD
This former women's school developed an extraordinary campus of architectural fantasies including a Japanese pagoda, Dutch windmill, Swiss chalet and English-style buildings before becoming part of an Army medical complex. Much of the property has since been redeveloped as residences, so visitors should stick to public roads, sidewalks and designated public areas rather than entering private buildings.
- Access
- Seasonal or ticketed
- Roadside oddities35.4122° N, 99.4359° W
Elk City, OK
This large museum complex interprets all eight Route 66 states through recreated scenes, vehicles and transportation exhibits. A giant roadside figure at the entrance and an old-town complex extend the experience outside the main galleries.
- Access
- Open to visitors
- Roadside oddities29.9291° N, 90.0745° W
New Orleans, LA
The shrine preserves relics and a museum connected with nineteenth-century priest Francis Xavier Seelos, including objects tied to his ministry during a yellow-fever epidemic. It is an active religious site rather than a curiosity museum, so visit respectfully.
- Access
- Open to visitors
- Roadside oddities35.5921° N, 98.1187° W
Calumet, OK
A rare Native American-styled fiberglass giant stands beside the Indian Trading Post & Art on Route 66. The figure formerly stood at an auto dealership and was moved to this location in 2010.
- Access
- Open to visitors
- Roadside oddities44.5263° N, 110.4558° W
Yellowstone National Park, WY
A 51-foot rhyolite rock bridge reached by trail near Bridge Bay, carved by erosion rather than built by people.
- Access
- Seasonal or ticketed
- Roadside oddities43.3440° N, 89.9293° W
North Freedom, WI
A large sandstone arch spans a wooded hillside above a rock shelter used by people thousands of years ago. The combination of unusual geology and deep human history makes the small state park unusually dense with significance.
- Access
- Open to visitors
- 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 oddities29.6925° N, 98.3428° W
San Antonio, TX
Texas' largest commercial cavern attraction, with vast chambers, active formations and multiple developed underground tour routes.
- Access
- Open to visitors
- Roadside oddities34.0942° N, 87.6133° W
Natural Bridge, AL
A massive sandstone arch spans the forest and is promoted as the longest natural bridge east of the Rockies. The privately operated attraction uses established walking paths; visitors should check current operating hours before making a detour.
- Access
- Seasonal or ticketed
- Roadside oddities35.6561° N, 92.4497° W
Clinton, AR
A massive natural sandstone bridge spans a wooded hollow north of Clinton. The privately operated attraction has been a roadside Ozarks stop for generations.
- Access
- Seasonal or ticketed
- Roadside oddities42.7067° N, 73.0929° W
North Adams, MA
A natural white-marble arch spans a rushing brook inside the remains of an old marble quarry. The unusual combination of natural bridge, carved marble gorge and industrial quarry history makes this one of western Massachusetts' strongest geology stops.
- Access
- Seasonal or ticketed
- Roadside oddities43.7474° N, 73.8519° W
Pottersville, NY
A massive marble arch spans Trout Brook here, forming what is promoted as the largest marble cave entrance in the eastern United States. Seasonal trails lead through caves, potholes and unusual rock formations, with access dependent on the attraction's operating schedule and weather.
- Access
- Seasonal or ticketed
- Roadside oddities36.6970° N, 82.7386° W
Duffield, VA
A naturally carved limestone tunnel about 850 feet long and up to roughly 100 feet high forms the centerpiece of this Southwest Virginia state park, with an active railroad still passing through it. Visitors can hike or use the seasonal chairlift toward the gorge and observation areas, but the railroad tunnel itself is not a pedestrian passage.
- Access
- Open to visitors
- Roadside oddities36.8178° N, 111.6317° W
Marble Canyon, AZ
The original 1929 steel arch bridge spans Marble Canyon hundreds of feet above the Colorado River and now serves pedestrians beside the newer highway bridge. California condors are sometimes seen around the cliffs and bridge structure.
- Access
- Open to visitors
- Roadside oddities35.6623° N, 109.0587° W
Window Rock, AZ
The Navajo Nation operates this small zoo and botanical park with native Southwest animals and culturally informed interpretation. It is the only tribally owned zoo in the United States and connects wildlife displays with Diné perspectives.
- Access
- Seasonal or ticketed
- Roadside oddities40.8081° N, 96.6997° W
Lincoln, NE
The Nebraska Capitol’s interior floors contain elaborate mosaics depicting natural history, cosmic symbolism and the evolution of life. Combined with the building’s unusual tower and integrated art program, the floor turns a functioning government building into a dense symbolic artwork.
- Access
- Seasonal or ticketed
- Roadside oddities42.3620° N, 71.1013° W
Cambridge, MA
Metal Necco wafers appear to spill from a crumpled candy bag onto a boulder near the site of the former New England Confectionery Company factory. The tiny sculpture preserves a candy-making history that once filled this part of Cambridge with sugar and peppermint smells.
- Access
- Open to visitors
- Roadside oddities43.8417° N, 103.5460° W
Custer State Park, SD
A tall granite spire contains a narrow opening that gives the formation its needle-and-thread name. It sits directly beside the Needles Highway, where weathered granite towers create some of the state's most improbable natural shapes.
- Access
- Roadside, no entry
- Roadside oddities43.8415° N, 103.5456° W
Custer State Park, SD
This one-lane tunnel was cut through solid granite immediately beside the Needle's Eye formation. Its extremely narrow opening forces modern vehicles through a passage designed around the landscape rather than removing the rock entirely.
- Access
- Seasonal or ticketed
- Roadside oddities37.7944° N, 81.1877° W
Beckley, WV
Dozens of fiberglass animals, dinosaurs and a Bigfoot fill several residential yards along Conway Street, all part of a collection owned by the same local resident. The owner has welcomed visitors, but these are still private residential properties, so OddWay travelers should view the figures from the public street unless they receive clear permission to enter a yard.
- Access
- Private land, view only
- Roadside oddities35.7097° N, 114.8035° W
Nelson, NV
A crashed airplane used as a movie prop sits among the vehicles and relics at Eldorado Canyon Mine Tours, creating one of the property’s strangest photo stops.
- Access
- Seasonal or ticketed
- Roadside oddities44.9047° N, 66.9841° W
Eastport, ME
Nerida is a bronze mermaid sculpture installed on the Eastport waterfront in 2015. The figure ties the city’s working waterfront to maritime myth and makes an easy stop while exploring the eastern edge of Maine.
- Access
- Open to visitors