Roadside oddities32.7388° N, 117.1660° W
San Diego, CA
A narrow pedestrian suspension bridge built in 1912 sways above a residential canyon and feels unexpectedly remote inside the city.
- Access
- Open to visitors
Roadside oddities
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Roadside oddities2,517
Suggest a stopGiant objects, odd monuments and things built for no clear reason.
- Roadside oddities43.6894° N, 111.1092° W
Driggs, ID
Famous giant potato mounted on an old truck beside the Spud Drive-In, one of Idaho's signature roadside photo stops. View from the business/public area without blocking traffic.
- Access
- Roadside, no entry
- Roadside oddities42.0210° N, 71.4936° W
Bellingham, MA
A large Mr. Potato Head styled as a construction worker stands outside Hilltop Farms only a short distance from Rhode Island. The metal 'Spud of Steel' is one of the few publicly displayed Potato Head statues surviving outside the toy's home state.
- Access
- Roadside, no entry
- Roadside oddities19.4351° N, 155.8883° W
Captain Cook, HI
The small Catholic church is famous for interior murals painted by Belgian missionary Father John Velghe to teach biblical stories visually to parishioners. It remains an active church and cemetery setting, so visitors should enter only when permitted and avoid disrupting worship.
- Access
- Seasonal or ticketed
- Roadside oddities30.2233° N, 92.0234° W
Lafayette, LA
The enormous live oak beside the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist is estimated to be centuries old and spreads across much of the churchyard. Its branches form a natural architectural landmark in downtown Lafayette.
- Access
- Open to visitors
- Roadside oddities42.0571° N, 84.1648° W
Brooklyn, MI
The outdoor Stations of the Cross at this Irish Hills shrine were built from concrete sculpted and painted to imitate logs, roots and rough-hewn wood. Created during the 1930s, the convincing faux-bois work makes the devotional landscape look as if it were constructed from enormous twisted trees rather than cement.
- Access
- Open to visitors
- Roadside oddities38.7585° N, 90.1768° W
St. Louis, MO
Two castle-like stone intake towers rise directly from the Mississippi River near the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge. They are no longer used for water collection and are not open for public entry, but they can be safely viewed from the pedestrian bridge.
- Access
- Roadside, no entry
- Roadside oddities41.1922° N, 73.2147° W
Bridgeport, CT
The grounds of St. Margaret Shrine form a sprawling maze of grottoes, statues, miniature shrines, stonework and gardens inspired partly by European Catholic pilgrimage sites. It feels unexpectedly elaborate for a neighborhood Connecticut shrine and is free to walk during posted hours.
- Access
- Open to visitors
- Roadside oddities39.3091° N, 119.6487° W
Virginia City, NV
Nevada’s oldest active Catholic church is a dramatic Gothic Revival landmark rebuilt after Virginia City’s 1875 fire, with a small museum and deep Comstock history.
- Access
- Open to visitors
- Roadside oddities29.8970° N, 81.3140° W
St. Augustine, FL
Small shrine interpreting the story of early Greek Orthodox settlers in colonial Florida.
- Access
- Seasonal or ticketed
- Roadside oddities31.1357° N, 81.3881° W
St. Simons Island, GA
Carved faces emerge from live oaks around St. Simons, a public-art tradition begun by sculptor Keith Jennings and continued by other carvers. The figures are scattered rather than concentrated at one site; the island visitor information network can help travelers locate publicly viewable examples.
- Access
- Open to visitors
- Roadside oddities41.0019° N, 88.5290° W
Odell, IL
This restored 1932 filling station is one of the most photogenic surviving examples of the small service stations that lined early Route 66.
- Access
- Seasonal or ticketed
- Roadside oddities35.0242° N, 110.6974° W
Winslow, AZ
A downtown corner has been transformed into a public monument to the lyric that made Winslow famous, complete with mural, flatbed Ford and bronze figure. It is a rare case where a single line of a song permanently reshaped a real town intersection.
- Access
- Open to visitors
- Roadside oddities34.2058° N, 77.9073° W
Wilmington, NC
A protected garden displays native Venus flytraps, pitcher plants, sundews, and other carnivorous species in the region where Venus flytraps naturally occur. The site was also targeted in a notorious flytrap theft that helped draw attention to stronger legal protections for the plants. Current city programming: https://www.wilmingtonnc.gov/Events-directory/Flytrap-Frolic
- Access
- Open to visitors
- Roadside oddities44.5381° N, 73.2517° W
Colchester, VT
This cinema-themed motel sits beside the seasonal Sunset Drive-In and leans fully into old-school movie culture. The combination of themed rooms and a functioning outdoor theater makes it more than a standard roadside motel stop.
- Access
- Seasonal or ticketed
- Roadside oddities41.7828° N, 72.6599° W
Hartford, CT
A bronze turkey commemorates Jack, a nineteenth-century bird linked to Abraham Lincoln and the story that helped inspire the presidential turkey-pardoning tradition. The oddly specific monument turns a bit of White House animal lore into a Hartford roadside stop.
- Access
- Open to visitors
- Roadside oddities36.1594° N, 95.9584° W
Tulsa, OK
A glowing Stay Gold sign beside the historic Circle Cinema references S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders and Tulsa's connection to the film adaptation. The theater itself appeared in the movie, giving the neon a direct local pop-culture tie.
- Access
- Roadside, no entry
- Roadside oddities38.5437° N, 75.0859° W
Ocean View, DE
A vintage steam locomotive and old passenger cars remain beside the former train-themed restaurant property in Ocean View. The equipment is fenced, but the preserved train makes an easy roadside visual stop.
- Access
- Roadside, no entry
- Roadside oddities44.7237° N, 110.7032° W
Yellowstone National Park, WY
The world's tallest active geyser, with rare major eruptions that can exceed the height of Old Faithful by a wide margin.
- Access
- Seasonal or ticketed
- Roadside oddities43.6058° N, 72.9817° W
Rutland, VT
A full-size locomotive-like sculpture assembled from scrap metal and discarded industrial parts stands near Rutland's train station. Its deliberately mechanical, steampunk appearance makes the piece look like a fantasy engine built from the remains of real machinery.
- Access
- Open to visitors
- Roadside oddities38.7702° N, 75.3109° W
Milton, DE
A 40-foot steel tree built from recycled industrial material rises at Dogfish Head's Milton brewery. Originally created as a Burning Man art installation, the sculpture later became a private employee drinkhaus and can be seen during eligible brewery visits or tours.
- Access
- Seasonal or ticketed
- Roadside oddities44.8023° N, 68.7850° W
Bangor, ME
Stephen King’s famous red Victorian mansion and its spider-and-bat iron gate are among Bangor’s most recognizable landmarks. King no longer lives here; this is a private property stop, so view it only from the public sidewalk or street.
- Access
- Private land, view only
- Roadside oddities34.6769° N, 86.2283° W
Woodville, AL
Stephens Gap is famous for a dramatic open pit and natural bridge that can be seen from the permitted approach, while technical cave routes require proper equipment and experience. Southeastern Cave Conservancy permits are mandatory; use SCCi’s directions rather than navigating cross-country to the coordinate.
- Access
- Seasonal or ticketed
- Roadside oddities44.5427° N, 89.5757° W
Stevens Point, WI
Large contemporary sculptures are scattered along wooded walking trails, so pieces appear unexpectedly between trees rather than inside a gallery. The free outdoor park blends a nature walk with an evolving public-art collection.
- Access
- Open to visitors