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.
Birmingham, AL
The colossal cast-iron statue of Vulcan was created for the 1904 World’s Fair and now overlooks Birmingham from Red Mountain. A museum and observation tower explain the giant figure and the iron industry that created it.
Dunseith, ND
More than 2,000 painted wheel rims were assembled into this enormous turtle at the edge of Dunseith. The recycled construction gives the roadside giant an unmistakable skeletal, mechanical look.
Raleigh, NC
This convincing suburban-looking house has shutters, columns, and a front-door facade, but no one lives inside. The city deliberately disguised a noisy municipal water pumping station as a residence to make the industrial facility blend into the neighborhood.
Cuba, MO
The Wagon Wheel has served Route 66 travelers since the 1930s and preserves stone cottages, vintage neon and a classic motor-court layout. It remains an operating motel, making it a rare roadside landmark where travelers can actually stay in the historic property.
Volcano, HI
Rainwater sinks into hot volcanic ground and returns as visible steam along the rim of Kaluapele. The vents demonstrate how close residual heat remains to the surface; stay on marked paths because thin crust, hot ground, and volcanic gases are real hazards.
Wahpeton, ND
This 40-foot-long catfish pays tribute to the giant channel catfish associated with the Red River of the North. Its exaggerated scale makes it one of southeastern North Dakota's strongest roadside-photo stops.
Big Water, UT
Tall pale pinnacles capped with darker stone have been nicknamed the White Ghosts. The remote hike is exposed and should only be attempted with desert-weather awareness and adequate water.
Hāna, HI
Black volcanic sand, sea caves, lava arches, blowholes, and sharp coastal formations crowd a small section of shoreline at Waiʻānapanapa. Nonresident reservations are required, and ocean conditions make this a place to follow barriers rather than improvise routes along cliffs or caves.
Waimea, HI
Deep erosion has cut a multicolored canyon into Kauaʻi's volcanic interior, exposing red rock, basalt layers, waterfalls, and deeply incised ridges. The park is a legitimate geology stop rather than just a viewpoint. All Kauaʻi state parks remain temporarily closed after Hurricane Lowell as of September 10, 2026.
Seattle, WA
A group of cast-aluminum people and a dog eternally wait for a streetcar that no longer comes. Locals regularly dress and decorate the figures, making the artwork change with events and jokes.
Escanaba, MI
Escanaba's downtown contains a 1.3-mile scale model of the solar system beginning with the Sun and continuing past markers for the planets. The distances between the markers are scaled to emphasize just how much empty space separates the worlds in the real solar system.
Wall, SD
What began as a small drugstore became an enormous roadside complex advertised by hundreds of miles of famous highway signs. Inside and around the property are Western displays, mechanical figures, giant photo props and enough deliberate kitsch to make the store an attraction in its own right.
Wall, SD
A huge green dinosaur stands near Interstate 90 as an old-school advertisement for Wall Drug. The giant concrete creature is separate enough from the main store to function as its own roadside landmark.
Pittsfield, MA
A life-size stegosaurus named Wally stands outside the Berkshire Museum. The dinosaur has become a local landmark and a preview of the museum's natural-history collections, appearing unexpectedly along a downtown streetscape rather than in a prehistoric park.
Garrison, ND
A 26-foot fiberglass walleye marks Garrison's claim as a major Lake Sakakawea fishing town. The giant fish is a straightforward piece of oversized roadside Americana.
Garrison, MN
Garrison's giant walleye stands beside Mille Lacs as a monument to the fishing culture that defines the community. The fish is positioned in a public lakeside area and has become one of the state's better-known angling mascots.
Walterboro, SC
This historic water tower has several tiny jail cells built into its base, creating the unusual combination of municipal water infrastructure and lockup. Local stories also claim the cells were later used as emergency lodging for stranded travelers, although that part of the history is less certain.
Middletown, CT
A monumental stylized stone head stands near the Connecticut River as a memorial connected with the Wangunk people who lived in the region. The oversized sculpture is both a public artwork and an unusual visual landmark.
Lowell, MA
Each holiday season, a huge conical framework of lights transforms the top of a mill smokestack into an enormous elevated Christmas tree. The industrial chimney becomes a surreal seasonal landmark visible across Lowell, generally appearing from late fall into winter.
Rogers, AR
The entrance to War Eagle Cavern sits directly on Beaver Lake, leading into a cave with an underground stream, domes and waterfalls. Visitors can even approach the attraction by boat.
Myrtle Beach, SC
Several retired military aircraft are displayed outdoors near the former Myrtle Beach Air Force Base. Interpretive markers connect the jets to the crews and units that operated from the site during the Cold War and later conflicts.
Ely, NV
Six enormous beehive-shaped stone ovens once produced charcoal for White Pine County smelters and now stand intact in a remote state park.
North Port, FL
Warm, mineral-rich sinkhole spring with deep geological and archaeological history.
Bandon, OR
Giant sea-creature sculptures assembled from plastic debris collected on beaches turn marine trash into intentionally strange public art and conservation displays.
