Weird and Whimsical Roadside Attractions to Visit with Your Family

Jun 9, 2025

Today on the blog we’re leaning into the weird and wild side of roadtrippin’ in America: the quirky, whimsical roadside attraction! We remember how hard it was to be a kid taking a summer road trip, forced to sit in the car for long stretches of time with nothing to do but stare out the window. That’s what inspired us to make a fun blog collecting all the weird and wonderful things you can find along the way as you travel with your families this summer. Your kids will not soon forget 100 foot tall dinosaurs, giant elephants, whimsical sculptures of their favorite characters, and all the photos to prove they’ve seen it! Check it out on Classic Toyota of Waukegan’s latest road trip guide to weird and whimsical roadside attractions to visit with your families!

Cabazon Dinosaurs in California is one of the world’s most iconic roadside attractions, for more than 30 years. Featuring more than 100 handmade sculpted and painted dinosaur pals created by Artist Claude K. Bell, and features 2 mega dinos Dinny the Dinosaur and Mr Rex, this unique destination in California is perfect for goofy family photo ops! Plus, it’s been featured in multiple classic movies and has a huge place in pop culture, so it’ll be a great conversation starter for years to come.

Cadillac Ranch is a public art installation and sculpture in Amarillo Texas along Route 66. The installation was created by a group of artistic hippies from San Francisco, and has been an ever-evolving interactive exhibit for more than 2 decades. The vehicles were installed in1974 and were either older cars at the end of their life or used junked cars. Fun Fact: The cars are inclined at the same angle as the pyramids of Giza! Visitors are also invited to join in the collaborative project and leave their mark on the cars with some art of their own.

Luray Caverns is located in Luray, Virginia, and is the largest cavern in the Eastern United States. It features unique natural formations called speleothems including mud flows, stalactites, stalagmites, mirrored pools, and more. It’s a fascinating look at our earth’s natural wonders and features an interior lair with 140 foot natural columns and colorful rock layers. It’s definitely worth stopping by for at least one to three hours to get the full experience.

Lucy the Elephant is a 6 story elephant crafted by James V. Lafferty of wood and tin, located in Margate, New Jersey. Constructed in 1882, this structure stands 6 stories high at 65 feet tall. Visitors can walk around the outside, inside, as well as stop by the local gift shop. Restoration efforts to preserve the art piece are ongoing, but she remains open to the public still!

The Big Duck is a duck-shaped building built in 1931 in Flanders, New York, though its original location was Riverhead. The building was constructed by Martin Mauer and used as a shop to sell his ducks, duck eggs, and dairy products from his farm and promote his duck farming business.

The Original World’s Largest Garden Gnome in Kerhonksen New York is a tourist attraction featuring a 13.5 foot tall gnome known as Gnome Chomsky. Built in 2006 by NYC Artist Maria Reidelbach, he was later unseated as the tallest gnome by two taller entries in Portland and Iowa. It’s still worth a visit as you can get great photo ops and then explore a beautiful Hudson River Valley farm, a unique miniature golf course, and curated gardens on the grounds.

Dr Seuss Memorial Sculpture Garden is located in Springfield Massachusetts, and features a gallery and garden devoted to the beloved children’s book author, first opened in 2002 followed by the Amazing World of Dr Seuss Museum in 2017. It’s filled with whimsical sculptures cast in bronze that fill the courtyard of the Quadrangle museum complex.

World’s Largest Collection of the Smallest Versions of Largest Things is a quirky attraction in Lucas Kansas dedicated to memorializing iconic roadside structures and sculptures. Creator Erika Nelson photographs and visits unique roadside attractions such as “world’s biggest ball of yarn” or “biggest ketchup bottle”, photographs them, and then crafts an accurate scale sized miniature replica of the item. Then she returns to the site of the large sculptural structures with the miniature item, and photographs them together. What once started as a traveling museum and exhibit now has a permanent home base as of 2017 that you can visit today!

The House on the Rock is a tourist attraction located in Spring Green Wisconsin. This building was erected in the 1940s, and officially opened to the public in the 1960s and features 80 architecturally unique rooms built atop a 60 foot rock face. Now, the grounds feature ticketed tours of the home and its curated collections of souvenirs and art. Take a self guided tour and view unique items such as the world’s largest carousel, a 200 foot sea creature, the most incredible views, and so much more. There’s also an on site golf course, spa, restaurant, and entertainment

The Oz Museum is located in Wamego Kansas and is wholly educated to preserve the histopry of all things Wizard of Oz from L Frank Baum’s Oz series of books later adapted to multiple films for Hollywood. Follow the yellow brick road through the museum to learn more about 100+ years of Oz history and view rare artifacts, collectibles, and historic documents!

Honorable mentions go to: World’s Largest Basket, World’s Largest Ball of Twine, World’s Largest Popcorn Ball, World’s Largest Buffalo, World’s Largest Ketchup Bottle, World’s Largest Rocking Chair, World’s Largest Pistachio, World’s Largest Jackrabbit, and World’s Largest Cuckoo Clock