Roadside oddities44.8912° N, 110.7300° W
Yellowstone National Park, WY
Columnar basalt forms a wall of tightly packed stone pillars named for the Tukadeka, or Sheepeater, people of the region.
- 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 oddities35.1388° N, 89.8325° W
Memphis, TN
A resident herd of American bison lives inside one of the country's largest urban parks. Seeing massive prairie animals within metropolitan Memphis creates a surreal contrast with the surrounding city and greenway network.
- Access
- Open to visitors
- Roadside oddities41.4901° N, 79.4582° W
Tionesta, PA
A 75-foot lighthouse rises beside the Allegheny River in inland Forest County, far from any place where a navigation lighthouse would normally be needed. Jack Sherman built it as a family memorial and filled its seven floors with lighthouse-related exhibits; Peace Park and the exterior are freely accessible, while tower tours are offered only on selected dates.
- Access
- Seasonal or ticketed
- Roadside oddities41.8997° N, 87.6746° W
Chicago, IL
A deliberately crude bronze coil created by artist Jerzy Kenar as a pointed response to dog owners who refused to clean up after pets.
- Access
- Roadside, no entry
- Roadside oddities39.0766° N, 84.5178° W
Covington, KY
Artist Jonathan Queen reimagined Colonel Sanders as a roughly 20-foot futuristic Japanese-style warrior on the exterior of Earth To Kentucky. The mural is based on a physical Shogun Sanders figure displayed inside the collectible shop, giving Kentucky's most famous colonel a deliberately bizarre pop-culture makeover.
- Access
- Open to visitors
- Roadside oddities38.3665° N, 81.6663° W
Charleston, WV
At the site where Alex Schoenbaum opened the Parkette Drive-In in 1947 stands a small outdoor monument and display telling the story of the chain that became Shoney's Big Boy. It is more roadside kiosk than full museum, but the Big Boy-topped structure and vintage display panels remain accessible from the public parking area.
- Access
- Roadside, no entry
- Roadside oddities42.5952° N, 114.4009° W
Twin Falls, ID
Massive waterfall on the Snake River often called the 'Niagara of the West.' Water volume varies dramatically with season and irrigation, but the city park and overlooks are established public access.
- Access
- Open to visitors
- Roadside oddities32.5174° N, 93.7572° W
Shreveport, LA
The preserved McNeill Street water plant contains historic steam pumps and machinery from Shreveport's early municipal water system. The industrial complex is unusually intact, but public access depends on current museum operations.
- Access
- Seasonal or ticketed
- Roadside oddities40.2682° N, 123.8750° W
Myers Flat, CA
This living redwood contains a narrow automobile passage and sits among other old-school roadside attractions along the Avenue of the Giants.
- Access
- Seasonal or ticketed
- Roadside oddities41.4258° N, 87.4708° W
St. John, IN
This large outdoor devotional attraction uses dozens of life-size bronze sculptures to create an immersive walking route through scenes from the Passion of Christ. Regardless of religious interest, its scale and elaborate staged environments make it an unusually ambitious roadside art installation.
- Access
- Open to visitors
- Roadside oddities34.2210° N, 112.7501° W
Yarnell, AZ
Stone paths climb a hillside past life-size religious sculptures depicting the Stations of the Cross and other scenes. The handmade mountain setting gives the shrine an unusually immersive folk-art character.
- Access
- Seasonal or ticketed
- Roadside oddities42.9639° N, 94.4456° W
West Bend, IA
Nine interconnected grottos built from minerals, fossils, shells and petrified material create a monumental religious landscape unlike almost anything else in the Midwest. Construction began in 1912 and the site remains one of Iowa's signature outsider-architecture destinations.
- Access
- Open to visitors
- Roadside oddities34.0557° N, 86.6886° W
Hanceville, AL
This large Catholic shrine complex combines a Romanesque-Gothic church, cloisters and elaborate devotional architecture in rural Alabama. It remains an active religious site with visitor rules, dress expectations and service schedules.
- Access
- Seasonal or ticketed
- Roadside oddities35.1396° N, 90.0520° W
Memphis, TN
This Beale Street bar became famous for keeping goats in an outdoor enclosure and leaning heavily into eccentric Memphis nightlife tradition. Access follows the operating business and age rules rather than functioning as a standalone animal attraction.
- Access
- Open to visitors
- Roadside oddities30.4492° N, 91.1907° W
Baton Rouge, LA
The riverfront sculpture by Po Shu Wang responds to Mississippi River data with shifting light and sound. It turns the river's changing conditions into a public sensory installation.
- Access
- Open to visitors
- Roadside oddities44.4522° N, 75.8122° W
Hammond, NY
This stone castle on Dark Island was built beginning in 1902 for Frederick Gilbert Bourne, president of the Singer Sewing Machine Company. Guided seasonal tours reveal hidden passageways, concealed doors and secret observation spaces, but reaching the island requires a boat.
- Access
- Seasonal or ticketed
- Roadside oddities42.5706° N, 70.7606° W
Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA
Under the right dry conditions, shuffling across this beach produces a distinct squeak or 'singing' sound as similarly sized sand grains rub together. Summer parking and access are tightly controlled, so check current municipal rules before routing here.
- Access
- Seasonal or ticketed
- Roadside oddities37.6154° N, 110.0038° W
Lake Powell, UT
One of the world's largest natural bridges spans a canyon in Natural Bridges National Monument. A steep trail descends to its base while viewpoints offer easier access.
- Access
- Open to visitors
- Roadside oddities32.2433° N, 104.6974° W
Carlsbad, NM
A spring-fed waterfall and clear pools appear unexpectedly in a dry canyon west of Carlsbad. Seasonal water conditions, fire restrictions and capacity limits can affect access, making it a check-ahead desert-oasis stop.
- Access
- Seasonal or ticketed
- Roadside oddities43.8871° N, 101.1318° W
Midland, SD
A skeletal human figure appears to lead an equally skeletal dinosaur beside Interstate 90 near the 1880 Town. The absurd pairing makes this one of the state's more surreal quick roadside photo stops.
- Access
- Roadside, no entry
- Roadside oddities42.3669° N, 71.0562° W
Boston, MA
Boston's famously narrow 'spite house' squeezes into a tiny North End lot. Local tradition says one brother built it to block another brother's view after a property dispute, although details of the story vary. It remains a private residence.
- Access
- Roadside, no entry
- Roadside oddities44.7678° N, 69.7198° W
Skowhegan, ME
Bernard Langlais created this approximately 62-foot wooden sculpture for Maine’s 1969 bicentennial, and it became one of the state’s most recognizable roadside giants. The weather-damaged sculpture is undergoing an active preservation effort in 2026, so its appearance may change as work continues. Preservation update: https://www.wagmtv.com/2026/08/31/new-local-group-steps-save-restore-famous-62-foot-skowhegan-indian-sculpture/
- Access
- Roadside, no entry
- Roadside oddities41.7144° N, 121.5103° W
Tulelake, CA
One of Lava Beds National Monument's largest lava-tube entrances, named for the pronghorn and bighorn skulls found on its floor. Ice persists on the lowest level year round. Stairs and railings reach the ice viewing platform, and a torch is essential.
- Access
- Open to visitors
- Roadside oddities42.5113° N, 71.0081° W
Lynnfield, MA
A large skull face peers from an exposed rock wall beside the road. The painted or carved-looking feature has become a local visual landmark that makes an otherwise ordinary stretch of stone suddenly resemble a giant human head.
- Access
- Roadside, no entry