Roadside oddities30.2667° N, 97.7686° W
Austin, TX
One of Austin's surviving 19th-century moonlight towers, an obsolete citywide lighting technology preserved as a distinctive part of the urban landscape.
- Access
- Roadside, no entry
Roadside oddities in Texas
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Roadside oddities54
Suggest a stopGiant objects, odd monuments and things built for no clear reason.
- Roadside oddities29.2528° N, 103.2681° W
Big Bend National Park, TX
A huge boulder improbably wedged between rock towers at the end of the Grapevine Hills Trail.
- Access
- Open to visitors
- Roadside oddities29.7637° N, 95.4205° W
Houston, TX
A small home covered in flattened beer cans, pull tabs, metal curtains and other aluminum decorations created over decades by John Milkovisch.
- Access
- Seasonal or ticketed
- Roadside oddities29.6878° N, 98.3509° W
San Antonio, TX
A protected cave supporting one of the largest bat colonies on Earth. Public access is restricted to scheduled Bat Conservation International events.
- Access
- Seasonal or ticketed
- Roadside oddities35.2036° N, 101.1067° W
Groom, TX
A deliberately tilted water tower beside old Route 66, originally positioned at an angle to attract motorists. It remains one of the Panhandle's classic roadside-photo stops.
- Access
- Roadside, no entry
- Roadside oddities35.1872° N, 101.9871° W
Amarillo, TX
The Ant Farm art collective created Cadillac Ranch in 1974 for Amarillo millionaire Stanley Marsh 3, burying ten Cadillacs nose-first in a field at matching angles. The installation was moved west in 1997 as Amarillo expanded, and today it remains free to visit, with travelers walking out into the field and commonly adding their own spray paint.
- Access
- Roadside, no entry
- Roadside oddities34.4103° N, 101.0559° W
Quitaque, TX
The park protects the Texas State Bison Herd, descendants of animals preserved by rancher Charles Goodnight from the Southern Plains bison collapse.
- Access
- Open to visitors
- Roadside oddities31.7773° N, 106.4481° W
El Paso, TX
A private home transformed over decades with elaborate hand-sculpted concrete ornament inspired by Mexican and religious imagery.
- Access
- Roadside, no entry
- Roadside oddities29.7354° N, 98.6989° W
Boerne, TX
A historic Hill Country show cave with guided tours through limestone chambers, formations and a deep underground room.
- Access
- Open to visitors
- Roadside oddities30.2269° N, 97.7716° W
Austin, TX
A towering backyard environment built from bicycles, electronics, bottles, signs and other discarded objects. Visits are by arrangement because it remains on private residential property.
- Access
- Seasonal or ticketed
- Roadside oddities29.9493° N, 98.6937° W
Boerne, TX
A decorated show cave whose unusual name came from a 1939 contest winner who said the cavern was too beautiful to have a name.
- Access
- Open to visitors
- Roadside oddities30.5559° N, 100.8119° W
Sonora, TX
A highly decorated living cave known for dense calcite formations and delicate helictites, toured in small guided groups.
- Access
- Open to visitors
- Roadside oddities34.3309° N, 101.1075° W
Quitaque, TX
An abandoned railroad tunnel on the Caprock Canyons Trailway shelters a large seasonal bat colony and can be reached by a remote hike or bike ride.
- Access
- Seasonal or ticketed
- Roadside oddities30.2616° N, 97.7453° W
Austin, TX
The bridge houses one of the world's largest urban bat colonies. On warm-season evenings, huge streams of bats emerge at dusk.
- Access
- Seasonal or ticketed
- Roadside oddities35.2054° N, 101.1054° W
Groom, TX
A 190-foot white cross rising over the plains beside I-40, surrounded by bronze Stations of the Cross and other religious sculptures.
- Access
- Open to visitors
- Roadside oddities30.0419° N, 100.0260° W
Rocksprings, TX
A vast vertical cavern drops hundreds of feet into the Edwards Plateau and hosts a major seasonal Mexican free-tailed bat colony. Entry is by authorized tour.
- Access
- Seasonal or ticketed
- Roadside oddities30.7468° N, 98.3711° W
Burnet, TX
A deep, narrow swimming hole framed by pink granite at Inks Lake State Park, reached by a short trail through exposed rock.
- Access
- Open to visitors
- Roadside oddities32.3865° N, 96.8485° W
Waxahachie, TX
The ornate 1890s courthouse is covered in carved faces, creatures and grotesques, including famously expressive stone heads around the upper exterior.
- Access
- Roadside, no entry
- Roadside oddities29.2189° N, 102.9432° W
Big Bend National Park, TX
A dramatic natural rock basin carved into colorful limestone in a remote canyon. High-clearance access and desert-road conditions make the visit limited.
- Access
- Seasonal or ticketed
- Roadside oddities30.0850° N, 94.0980° W
Beaumont, TX
A massive working fire hydrant donated by Disney stands outside the state fire museum, which also displays antique engines and firefighting equipment.
- Access
- Open to visitors
- Roadside oddities28.0647° N, 97.0393° W
Fulton, TX
A striking 1870s mansion built with unusual technology for its era, including indoor plumbing, central gas lighting and advanced ventilation.
- Access
- Open to visitors
- Roadside oddities30.6658° N, 95.5555° W
Huntsville, TX
A 67-foot white statue of Sam Houston towers beside Interstate 45, making it one of Texas' most visible roadside giants.
- Access
- Roadside, no entry
- Roadside oddities29.5486° N, 98.7563° W
San Antonio, TX
More than 100-million-year-old dinosaur tracks lie along a rugged backcountry route in Government Canyon and are often visited on ranger-led hikes.
- Access
- Seasonal or ticketed
- Roadside oddities28.6135° N, 96.6265° W
Port Lavaca, TX
A compact 1850s screw-pile lighthouse that once stood in Matagorda Bay is now preserved on land near the Port Lavaca causeway.
- Access
- Open to visitors