Without making stops at roadside attractions, what would a road trip be? Every family vacation can be so much better with these stops. These fun attractions have a lengthy history; several were constructed in the 1920s and 1930s. So, keep scrolling to learn about 30 of the oldest roadside attractions still operating in America.
1. General Sherman Tree (Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park, California)
Stop at the General Sherman Tree, a massive sequoia, if you’re searching for an unman-made roadside attraction. In terms of volume, it is the largest living thing on Earth, in addition to being the largest living tree. It is estimated that General Sherman is 2,100 years old. When it comes to roadside attractions, it doesn’t get much older than that.
2. Route 66
This famous route, which stretches more than 2,400 miles from Chicago to Los Angeles, is the source of numerous roadside attractions even though it isn’t a destination in and of itself. To see some of the more than 250 buildings and other locations along Route 66 that have been added to the National Register of Historic Places, drive a portion of the route.
3. Cabazon Dinosaurs (Cabazon, California)
This is your opportunity to observe dinosaurs by the side of the road. These giants, which feature a T. Rex and a brontosaurus, are located next to Interstate 10 in the Palm Springs area. In order to draw attention to his restaurant, Claude Bell commissioned the first one in 1964. In the early 1980s, the second was added.
4. Weeki Wachee Springs Mermaids (Weeki Wachee Springs State Park, Florida)
Weeki Watchee Springs State Park has featured underwater performances by “mermaids” for over 60 years. It is a traditional roadside attraction that showcases the splendor of this Florida state park’s aquamarine springs.
5. World’s Largest Buffalo Monument (Jamestown, North Dakota)
Since 1959, this enormous statue of a buffalo has stood over Jamestown. Visitors are also welcomed to the North American Bison Discovery Center, Frontier Village, and a live herd of buffalo at the 26-foot-tall, 60-ton structure.
6. Dinosaur Park (Rapid City, South Dakota)
Roadside attractions with dinosaur themes are pretty common, such as this famous park from the 1930s. When dinosaur tracks and bones were found in the area during the Great Depression, the park was first established as a Works Progress Administration initiative.
7. Golden Driller Statue (Tulsa, Oklahoma)
The Mid-Continental Supply Company initially created the 76-foot-tall Golden Driller at the 1953 International Petroleum Exposition. The statue was given to the Tulsa County Fairgrounds Trust Authority after the performance, and in 1979 it was designated as a state monument.
8. World’s Largest Catsup Bottle (Collinsville, Illinois)
The World’s Largest Catsup Bottle may be seen along Route 159. The water tower, which was constructed in 1949 for the G.S. Suppiger Catsup Bottling Company, which produced Brooks Old Original Catsup, is a quintessential example of American roadside art. The National Register of Historic Places has it on its list.
9. Dinosaur Land (White Post, Virginia)
A visit to Dinosaur Land is an unforgettable experience if you enjoy stone dinosaurs. More than fifty life-size dinosaur statues that still look as good as they did when the park first opened in 1963 can be found there.
10. World’s Largest Chest of Drawers (High Point, North Carolina)
The World’s Largest Chest of Drawers, which stands 36 feet tall, was constructed in 1926 to draw attention to High Point’s status as the world’s furniture capital. The region’s tradition of producing hosiery is honored by two enormous socks.
11. Rock City (Lookout Mountain, Georgia)
Garnet Carter originally envisioned Rock City as a residential neighborhood in 1924. However, Frieda, his wife, had different plans and began working on a rock garden, which by 1932 was open to the public. In order to paint “See Rock City” on the roof of a farmer’s barn, Carter then recruited the assistance of a sign painter who roamed the country. Throughout the 1930s, the signs could be seen as far north as Michigan and as far west as Texas.
12. Grotto Of The Redemption (West Bend, Iowa)
A shrine that portrays events from Jesus’ life is called the Grotto of the Redemption. Father Paul Dobberstein made it completely out of rocks, minerals, and precious and semi-precious stones. The grotto is on the National Register of Historic Places and was built over 52 years, starting in 1912.
13. World’s Largest Ball of Twine (Cawker City, Kansas)
Frank Stoeber, a farmer, started this ball in 1953 as a means to keep all the old twine off his barn floor. In 1961, the enormous ball was given to Cawker City, Kansas. Although others have since claimed the title, it was officially recognized as the largest ball of twine in 1973 by Guinness World Records.
14. Shell Gas Station (Winston Salem, North Carolina)
Built in 1930, this brilliant yellow structure was formerly a Shell filling station. Even if it’s privately held now, it’s still worth a fun picture.
15. Enchanted Highway (Regent, North Dakota)
Artist Gary Greff started constructing a series of enormous metal sculptures along I-94 in the late 1980s. After decades of economic and population loss, he aimed to revitalize Regent, his hometown. Fish, deer, grasshoppers, flying geese, and members of the tin family are among the sculptures.
16. Largest Pheasant Sculpture (Huron, South Dakota)
This 22-ton, 28-foot-tall fiberglass and steel pheasant was erected in 1959 to recognize the area as a pheasant-shooting capital. Since then, it has been a favored photo opportunity.
17. Hole N’ The Rock (Moab, Utah)
This old 5,000-square-foot mansion, appropriately named Hole N’ the Rock, can be found along U.S. Highway 191. It was founded about a century ago by the Christensen family. 50,000 cubic feet of sandstone had to be removed from the rock in order to display the home’s 14 rooms, fireplace, and original paintings.
18. Cadillac Ranch (Amarillo, Texas)
Ten Cadillacs are buried nose-down in a field at the same angle as the Pyramids of Giza in Cadillac Ranch, which was created in 1974 by an artist collective known as the Ant Farm. Originally positioned on the highway, the display was eventually moved as the city of Amarillo grew, but the idea was to honor the iconic Route 66.
19. Braum’s Milk Bottle Building (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma)
Located directly off of the famous Route 66, the red brick, wedge-shaped structure was constructed in 1930. The milk container was introduced in 1948. It’s interesting to note that over the years, the building has hosted several enterprises. The location is included on the National Historic Places Register.
20. Paper House (Rockport, Massachusetts)
The Paper House was started as a pastime in the summer of 1922 by Elis F. Stenman, a mechanical engineer who created the machinery that produce paper clips. You can go there now to see the house and its paper furnishings.
21. Desert of Maine (Freeport, Maine)
Twenty acres of undulating sand dunes make up the Desert of Maine, which was created by subpar 19th-century farming methods. After being abandoned in the late 1800s, Henry Goldrup, an entrepreneur, bought the area to turn it into a tourist attraction. For a century, tourists have been coming to this privately owned tourist destination.
22. Carhenge (Alliance, Nebraska)
On the Nebraska prairies, an automobile duplicate of Stonehenge appears to be a strange discovery. But this monument was made in 1987 by Jim Reinders, who researched the layout and function of the original Stonehenge.
23. Wall Drug Store (Wall, South Dakota)
Originally situated essentially in the middle of nowhere, Wall Drug quickly gained notoriety as a landmark destination for visitors to Rapid City, Mount Rushmore, and the Badlands because of its provision of “free ice water.” By 1935, the Hustead family’s inventiveness had transformed a remote halt into a well-liked tourist attraction. Even now, people still visit and love it.
24. Haines Shoe House (Hellam, Pennsylvania)
This house was constructed in 1948 and has a work boot-like shape. Originally constructed by Mahlon Haines to advertise his shoe stores, it has since served as a museum, an ice cream shop, and, most recently, a holiday home.
25. Bodie Ghost Town (Bridgeport, California)
A ghost town from California’s gold rush is Bodie State Historic Park. When gold was found in 1875, the town had about 8,000 residents and 2,000 buildings. However, by 1881, the town had failed, and by the 1940s, it had been abandoned.
26. Teapot Dome Historic Gas Station (Zillah, Washington)
Currently on the National Register of Historic Places, this charming petrol station was constructed in 1922 following the Teapot Dome Scandal, which entailed the unlawful sale of oil fields during the Harding Administration.
27. Big Duck (Flanders, New York)
In order to sell the ducks they raised to passing cars, Riverhead duck farmer Martin Maurer and his wife Jeule decided to build a huge duck-shaped structure in 1931. The structure is 20 feet high and 30 feet long from beak to tail.
28. Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox (Bemidji, Minnesota)
Unveiled in 1937 as a celebration of the Bemidji Winter Carnival, Paul Bunyan and Babe instantly became a tourist attraction. Moreover, did you know the National Register of Historic Places has them on its list?
29. Lucy the Elephant (Margate City, New Jersey)
James V. Lafferty, Jr. built Lucy the Elephant, a six-story structure, in 1881 to draw tourists and real estate investors to his properties. The National Register of Historic Places also has it on its list.
30. Mitchell Corn Palace (Mitchell, South Dakota)
For almost a century, tourists have been able to enjoy Mitchell Corn Palace, which is built with natural grasses and 13 varieties of corn. It was founded in 1892 and has long offered free tours of its artwork and maize paintings.
