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.
Vineland, NJ
George Daynor originally built his bizarre "palace" from junk, mud, concrete and discarded materials after losing his fortune during the Great Depression. Volunteers have spent years reconstructing the folk-art landmark; access is restricted and visitors should follow current tour or event information rather than enter uninvited.
Mammoth Hot Springs, WY
Flowing thermal water paints steep travertine terraces with shifting white, orange and brown mineral and microbial bands.
Silver Bay, MN
A massive volcanic cliff rises directly above Lake Superior and can be reached by a steep seasonal access road and short walk. The exposed height and columnlike rock make this one of the North Shore's most dramatic geological stops.
Garretson, SD
Split Rock Creek cuts through billion-year-old Sioux quartzite, forming vertical pink-red cliffs and narrow rock formations unlike most of eastern South Dakota. The park also preserves traces of a vanished mill town and a short-lived nineteenth-century silver rush.
Canyon, TX
The park's signature hoodoo resembles a stone lighthouse rising from the canyon floor. It is reached by the Lighthouse Trail and is one of the most distinctive natural formations in the Panhandle.
Panama, NY
Towering conglomerate formations create narrow passageways, caves and crevices through an old-growth forest at this privately operated park. The one-mile rock trail is open seasonally with paid admission, and visitors can walk directly among the formations rather than viewing them from a distance.
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.
Baltimore, MD
Papermoon is less a normal diner than a giant assemblage artwork with mannequins, toys, Pez dispensers, dolls, brightly painted objects and bizarre decorations covering nearly every available surface. The restaurant is still operating, so travelers can actually go inside rather than merely photographing the exterior.
Des Moines, IA
More than two dozen major contemporary sculptures occupy an open downtown park, including monumental works by internationally known artists. The oversized forms make the park feel like an outdoor cabinet of strange modern objects.
Walnut Ridge, AR
A retired Boeing 737 became part of a restaurant complex near Walnut Ridge’s airport, creating one of the state’s more surreal aviation roadside sights. The aircraft itself is the attraction even when the business changes.
Lawton, OK
Thousands of red cedars were planted in eerily straight rows about six feet apart as part of erosion-control work. The perfect spacing gives an ordinary forest an unnatural visual rhythm that has also inspired local ghost stories.
Merrimac, WI
A narrow sandstone-and-quartzite gorge shelters cool-climate plants and a stream that winds between high rock walls. Flooding has repeatedly changed the trail infrastructure, so visitors should expect a natural route rather than a manicured boardwalk.
North Bennington, VT
On the grounds of the Park-McCullough Historic Governor's Mansion is an elaborate child-sized Victorian playhouse built with far more architectural ambition than an ordinary backyard toy. Access follows the historic estate's public schedule and rules.
Teton Wilderness, WY
At Two Ocean Pass, a creek divides so that water can ultimately reach both the Atlantic and Pacific drainage systems.
Buena Vista, GA
Visionary artist St. EOM, born Eddie Owens Martin, transformed his rural home into a brightly colored environment of walls, faces, figures and invented symbols. Columbus State University now preserves the site, allowing visitors to walk through one of the most singular outsider-art environments in the United States.
Windsor, VT
Large outdoor sculptures are arranged along a riverside route to symbolize stages and experiences across a human lifetime. The walk includes conceptual pieces and landscape installations rather than a conventional formal sculpture garden.
Big Pine, CA
A rough high-elevation road reaches an even more remote grove of ancient bristlecone pines, including the massive Patriarch Tree.
Bunker Hill, WV
A tall grain silo beside Patriot Fireworks has been transformed into a fake missile labeled as a giant roadside weapon. The "Mega Missile" is visible from the road and business parking area, making it a quick photo stop rather than an attraction that requires entering the structure.
Baltimore, MD
Built in 1891 as an observation tower, this brightly painted four-story structure is popularly called a pagoda despite being designed in a fanciful Victorian interpretation of Asian architecture. The exterior can be visited in Patterson Park year-round, while interior stair access is limited to scheduled open hours and events.
Rumford, ME
Rumford’s Paul Bunyan is an approximately 18-foot fiberglass Muffler Man that has stood in the area since at least the mid-20th century and was later donated to the town and rebuilt with internal supports. Babe the Blue Ox joined him at the visitor-center site much later, and travelers can photograph the pair for free beside Route 2.
Ossineke, MI
This record refers to the concrete Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox now standing in Ossineke, not Hubbard Lake. Paul N. Domke built the pair in the 1940s; after being moved to a site near Hubbard Lake/Spruce for years, they were returned to their original Ossineke roadside location in 2006, where travelers can see them today.
Battleboro, NC
A towering fiberglass Paul Bunyan stands beside Interstate 95 at a log-home sales center, accompanied by Babe the Blue Ox. The figure began life as a classic Muffler Man and was later transformed into a lumberjack advertising landmark. Current business: https://www.logcabinhomes.com/
Nitro, WV
A giant fiberglass Paul Bunyan and blue Babe the Ox stand along First Avenue outside a local supply business in Nitro. These classic oversized advertising figures are visible from the road and are best treated as a quick public-road photo stop.
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.
