Millions of people have been to bucket-list attractions like Gettysburg and the Grand Canyon. Far fewer have had the privilege of visiting a building shaped like a giant muskie. Every state in the country has offbeat attractions, from the amusing to the inspiring to the disturbing. If you feel like you've been there, done that, seen it all, check out one of these quirky places on your next road trip.
Alabama
The Ave Maria Grotto in Cullman is also known as "Jerusalem in Miniature." Handmade by a Benedictine monk, the grotto is home to 125 miniature replicas of historic buildings, events, and shrines from around the world. Many of the pieces were made with donated materials — everything from colored glass and pieces of marble to bathroom tiles. Visitors marvel at the detail.
For more great travel guides and vacation tips, please sign up for our free newsletters.
Alaska
Dolls of all sizes and kinds populate the free Aunt Claudia's Doll Museum in Juneau, the state capital, a few doors from the Alaskan Hotel, the oldest operating hotel in the state.
Arizona
At Casa Grande Ruins National Monument, about an hour's drive southeast of Phoenix, visitors can see the remains of one of the largest prehistoric structures in North America and tick a national monument off their list. The Casa Grande and surrounding buildings and walls date back to about 1350. Entrance to the monument is free.
Arkansas
In Eureka Springs, an unusual theme park draws large crowds of Christians. The main feature is "The Great Passion Play," a nearly two-hour re-enactment of the last week in the life of Jesus Christ. Special effects and live animals complement the 150-person cast. There is also a 67-foot, 2 million-pound Christ of the Ozarks statue and, somewhat inexplicably, a section of the Berlin Wall.
Related: 25 Amusement Parks That Aren't Horrible for Parents
California
After a bridge in the San Gabriel Mountains was completed, a flood wiped out the road leading to it. With the road never replaced, it's now the "The Bridge to Nowhere" — only two hours from Los Angeles but accessible only by a manageable, if not epic, 5-mile hike with a free permit.
California
Beaches near Fort Bragg were once used as garbage dumps, until cleanup programs commenced in 1967. Although most of the trash was removed, small pieces of broken glass remained on the beaches, and the ocean smoothed their edges over time. Removing sea glass from the beaches is against the law (which may seem odd but isn't one of the weirdest laws out there). Luckily, the International Sea Glass Museum offers free admission and sells sea glass jewelry.
Colorado
Sculptor Peter Toth has one of these 20- to 40-foot giants in each state, but Colorado's stop on the Trail of the Whispering Giants in Loveland — "Redman," carved in 1979 from a 100-year-old fallen cottonwood tree — gets special attention because it's on the path to the visually stunning Rocky Mountain National Park.
Connecticut
The nearly 500-foot Thread City Crossing spanning the Willimantic River would be unremarkable if not for its four 11-foot frog sculptures. The Frog Bridge commemorates a night in 1754 when everyone thought French troops were attacking the town — but the horrible racket was drought-panicked frogs fighting to the death over pond water.
Delaware
Maybe it's no Nashville, but Dover is where recorded music came to be: Eldridge Reeves Johnson created the Victrola here. The free Johnson Victrola Museum has some spectacular talking machines, along with an exhibit devoted to Nipper, the RCA mascot, and a recreated record shop circa 1910. Reservations must be made in advance.
Florida
Want to see wild animals up close? Aptly named, Monkey Island in Homosassa is inhabited by three monkeys: Ralph, Ebony, and Emily. Florida Cracker Riverside Resort, which owns the island and takes care of the animals, offers boat tours and dinner cruises that promise an up-close look at the monkeys.
Florida
The Danville B&B in Geneva is a whole tiny town, including a pub and theater, self-contained in an airplane hangar. It's a popular wedding rental and also has six unique lodging venues including a yurt, man cave, treehouse and old Florida homestead. Rates range from $90 to $300.
Georgia
For those who think Bigfoot is out there somewhere, a trip to The Sasquatch Museum in Cherry Log ($8 for adults, $6 for kids) will delight, with food allegedly seen being eaten by Bigfoot, his butt-print on a bed, up-to-date sighting maps, and more.
Georgia
In Elbert County stand the Georgia Guidestones, five massive granite blocks that were erected in 1980. Sometimes referred to as the "American Stonehenge,"the stones are inscribed with instructions that urge humanity to live in tune with nature. These "commandments" appear in multiple languages, including Sanskrit and Egyptian hieroglyphics.
Related: 30 Incredible Photos of Ancient Ruins Across North America
Hawaii
Hawaii's Pala'au State Park in Molokai features Phallic Rock. It has stood erect for generations overlooking Kalaupapa, a former leper colony.
Hawaii
Near the southern tip of the Big Island, another natural wonder, Papakolea Beach, stuns visitors with awesome views of its blue waters and green sand. It takes about 90 minutes to drive to the beach from the Kahaluu-Keauhou area, followed by a lengthy trek. The sand takes its coloring from olivine sand eroded from the nearby volcanic cone.
Idaho
Dog Bark Park Inn in Cottonwood promises patrons a chance to stay in the belly of a beagle: Chainsaw artists built the inn to resemble the canine breed. Media outlets have declared the structure one of the world's wackiest hotels. Lodging costs about $158 a night if you're looking for a reasonably-priced summer vacation spot, but visits and gawking are free.
Idaho
The Museum of Clean in Pocatello ($6 for adults, $5 for kids) celebrates cleanliness and whatever makes it happen. There are almost 1,000 vacuums (from the years 1869 to 1969), a "Texas-sized trash can," a look at toilets through the ages, and more.
Illinois
Chicago's International Museum of Surgical Science, in a historic, four-floor lakeside mansion, has more than 7,000 medical artifacts, including an Austrian amputation saw with reversible blade from 1500 and X-rays taken by radiology pioneer Emil Grubbe from 1910, as well as paintings and sculptures depicting healing practices. Admission is $17 for adults, $9 for kids.
Illinois
The Leaning Tower of Niles doesn't have the same cachet as its inspiration in the village's sister city of Pisa, but it certainly is an odd attraction to find outside Chicago (where you need to stop for a quick bite). At half the size of the original, Niles' tower isn't overly impressive, according to reviews on TripAdvisor, but it's worth a quick stop and photo.
Indiana
The town of Santa Claus doesn't disappoint visitors. Visit Frosty's Fun Center miniature golf course, the Santa Claus Museum, the Santa Claus Post Office, Santa's Candy Castle, and Santa's Stables (with horses rather than reindeer) for a festive time.
Related: From Santa Claus to Mistletoe: 20 Towns With Festive Names
Iowa
To break up a cross-country road trip, retrace the path of Kevin Costner and James Earl Jones to the Field of Dreams (yes, that one), a free attraction in Dyersville. School groups sometimes claim the field for games, but when it's open, everyone can take a turn running the bases or playing catch. Watch for ghost players to join the fun and remember to get some real baseball tickets when you can.
Kentucky
The Kentucky Castle is a medieval-style inn on scenic grounds (in Versailles, of course) built in 1969 and used as a bed and breakfast with 10 luxury rooms and suites, a library, game room, music room, grand dining hall, ballroom, swimming pool, and more. Rates range from $155 to $575.
Kentucky
At the Apple Valley Hillbilly Garden and Toyland, visitors fondly remember their childhoods while perusing a museum chockablock with toys. Visual puns on the grounds (such as an outdoor living room for old tires — a "retirement home") are groaning good fun. Although entrance to this Calvert City attraction is free, donations keep the place running. Be warned — you might just be inspired to buy some retro toys after your visit.
Louisiana
DeRidder's historic buildings include a Gothic jail immortalized in song as "The Hangman's Jail" for the two condemned men hanged there in 1928, leading to stories that the jail's old cells, spiral staircase (and hanging site), and tunnel are haunted. Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for children.
Louisiana
The actor Nicolas Cage may be alive and well, but a 9-foot stone pyramid holds his celebrity burial spot in New Orleans' famous St. Louis Cemetery No. 1. It is inscribed with "Omnia Ab Uno" (Latin for "Everything From One") and adorned with lipstick kisses from visitors.
Maine
Portland's International Cryptozoology Museum ($10 for adults, $5 for kids) is allegedly the only one of its kind — appropriate for the study of unknown or mysterious animals, including monsters such as Bigfoot, Nessie, the Montauk Monster, and the Jersey Devil, which are well represented in displays.
Maryland
Mallows Bay in Charles County is a ship graveyard that's home to hundreds of abandoned vessels, many of them former wooden steamships intended for battle during World War I. Visitors enjoy canoeing or kayaking between the wrecks for a boating adventure and fishing for bass and snakehead that call the ships home.
Related: 21 Eerie Shipwrecks Around the World
Massachusetts
People don't usually expect to climb high while shopping for furniture, but Jordan's Furniture in Reading has a challenging ropes course that invites visitors to have a thrilling adventure by tackling zig-zag beams and spaghetti hand lines for $9 ($15 if they want to try the additional zip line) and even walking a plank 24 feet above ground.
Michigan
Said to have been discovered in the 1950s by surveyors who became lightheaded and couldn't get equipment to operate there, the Mystery Spot in St. Ignace seems to mess with gravity, make tall people seem smaller, and cause plenty of other confusing phenomena. A maze, zip line, and other attractions have been added nearby.
Michigan
Artist Tyree Guyton began decorating blighted houses on Heidelberg Street in Detroit in 1986. Today the Heidelberg Project is a nonprofit focused on arts, education, and community development, as well as an outdoor art project visited by hundreds of thousands each year.
Minnesota
Minneapolis artist Allen Christian has used bowling balls (and other stuff) as art at his House of Balls for more than a quarter-century, and might let people in to see it at any hour. Even if you can't get in, there's interactive art accessible 24 hours a day. Donations are appreciated.
Related: Circus World and Other Weird Museums Across America and Beyond
Minnesota
Darwin, west of Minneapolis, is host to the world's largest ball of twine made by a single person. The massive ball weighs 17,400 pounds and took 29 years to complete. It's housed in the town gazebo, and, like many wacky museums, it's free to view any day of the year.
Mississippi
Eat like a king — the King — at Johnnie's Drive-In, the restaurant in Tupelo where Elvis Presley spent much of his time after school. Get lucky and you'll be seated in his booth (just look for the picture).
Mississippi
Near Port Gibson and Alcorn State University, 23 barren columns mark the site of a mansion built in the mid-19th century and unintentionally burned to the ground by a guest. The Windsor Ruins are on the National Register of Historic Places and a favorite backdrop for local photographers.
Missouri
A giant is stirring in Chesterfield. The 70-foot-long, 17-foot-high "Awakening" sculpture is made up of several aluminum pieces depicting a giant digging himself out of the ground. Near the city's Central Park, the sculpture is a replica of an original outside Washington, D.C.
Missouri
Here's one fork that will never get lost. In fact, it's fit for a giant. A full 35 feet tall and weighing 11 tons, the world's largest fork is in Springfield, leaning toward a three-story ad agency building after being rescued from a failed restaurant, according to Roadside America.
Montana
Our Lady of the Rockies, the largest Virgin Mary statue in North America, is 90 feet tall, weighs 80 tons, and sits on a 425-ton base along the Continental Divide some 3,000 feet above Butte. Bus tours from the Butte Plaza Mall are $25 for adults and $10 to $20 for kids.
Montana
The Merry Widow Health Mine near Basin has been helping people with pain for more than 50 years, according to its website. Relief from hay fever, asthma, eczema, migraines, arthritis, and other ailments have been recorded by visitors who have breathed the radon gas and sipped the mineral water inside the mine.
Nebraska
Buried in Seward County is the world's largest time capsule (certified by Guinness in 1977). Its contents include a car and thousands of other items collected by an eccentric resident. The vault isn't supposed to be opened until July 4, 2025, 50 years after it was sealed, but those passing by in the meantime can see the large monuments that mark the site.
Nevada
The National Museum of Organized Crime and Enforcement, better known as the Mob Museum, has three stories of exhibits, from Dick Tracy comics merchandise to a look-alike of an electric chair from Sing Sing. Non-Nevada residents can buy tickets online for $30, and advanced reservations are strongly suggested. Not planning to be in Vegas? Try an online nickname generator anytime.
New Hampshire
Chutters has been in the candy business in Littleton for more than 100 years and boasts the world's longest candy counter (112 feet). Locals and tourists enjoy stopping by to fill up a bag with just about any type of candy or buy some of the store's famous fudge.
Related: 25 Candy Stores That Will Make You Feel Like a Kid Again
New Hampshire
Long before Pokemon Go there were Pac-Man, Frogger, and Donkey Kong. The American Classic Arcade Museum in Laconia has more than 300 classic arcade games to play across 10,000 square feet (and players must stay 6 feet apart). It's located in the even vaster Funspot Family Fun Center, which is free to enter.
New Jersey
Lucy the Elephant, six stories of tin and wood, stands on the New Jersey coast in Josephine Harron Park in the town of Margate. The enormous pachyderm was built in 1881 as a scheme to attract land buyers to the area. The structure has been used as a hotel, private mansion, and tavern. Guided tours are available.
New Jersey
Also big but on a small scale, the world's largest miniature railway, Northlandz ($30 for adults, $22.50 for kids) in Flemington has 8 miles of tracks, 400 bridges and trestles (up to 40 feet), and a half-million lichen trees. Its massive substructure uses enough lumber to build about 40 houses. Masks are required and visitors are encouraged to buy tickets online.
New York
In Chestnut Ridge Park in upstate New York, a natural eternal flame burns behind a waterfall, fueled by a stream of natural gas (although it does need to be relit occasionally). One reviewer who visited in winter described the experience on Roadtrippers and compares the setting to Narnia. The falls were frozen, he says, but the flame continued to burn.
New York
Syracuse's Tipperary Hill feels like a visit to Ireland — a local traffic light even has green on top — but Coleman's Authentic Irish Pub is the real corker. Leprechauns have their own booth, separate entrance, phone booth, and taxi stand. (And don't miss the tiny park.) Inside are two clocks, one giving the time in Syracuse, the other in Dublin.
North Carolina
Hills of Snow in Smithfield is serious about snow cones, which cost $1.25 to over $6 depending on size. The place has 101 flavors to mix and match and a secret family recipe for perfect snow-like ice. The stand is hard to miss: It's shaped like a giant snow cone. Check out the menu online, as they currently can't hand out printed copies as a sanitary precaution.
North Dakota
The 32-mile Enchanted Highway in western North Dakota offers travelers eight larger-than-life roadside sculptures. Located every few miles on a two-lane highway between Gladstone and Regent, Gary Greff's sculptures include giant grasshoppers, "The World's Largest Tin Family," and "Geese in Flight," named the world's largest metal sculpture by Guinness in 2000.
Ohio
Cincinnati's American Sign Museum ($15 for adults, free for kids 12 and under) showcases late-1800s pre-electric signs and iconic American symbols such as the McDonald's arches. It takes 19,000-plus square feet of space and 28-foot ceilings to accommodate the large exhibits. Masks and reservations are encouraged.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma's only prehistoric Native American site that allows visitors, Spiro Mounds comprises 12 earthen dwellings. The 150-acre area also houses an archeological center and small gift shop.
Oklahoma
Whatever you think of pigeons, at the American Pigeon Museum & Library in Oklahoma City (free), they're "man's oldest feathered friend." Along with the books, artifacts, and memorabilia are exhibits on homing pigeons and their use in wartime. There are live pigeons, too.
Oregon
On the coast in Cape Perpetua, Thor's Well appears to be a bottomless sinkhole in the ocean, although speculation says it's only about 20 feet deep in reality. It can be dangerous to get close and mesmerizing to gaze inside.
Oregon
Bar and hotel basements are linked by a Portland Underground network called the Shanghai Tunnels, supposedly because that's how people were taken to the docks and forced to work on seafaring ships. Tours are $23 for adults, $19 for kids.
Pennsylvania
The inspiration behind many a creepy movie, Centralia was once home to more than 2,000 people. Nearby coal mines caught fire in 1962 and continue to burn. Today Centralia is one of America's ghost towns, with sulfurous steam spewing out of the ground. It's best to visit in the fall and winter, when low temperatures make it easier to see the steam.
Pennsylvania
The Mütter Museum in Philadelphia ($20 for adults, $15 for kids) is a storehouse of 20,000 medical "wonders" — abnormal body parts preserved in fluid or oak frames, an 1889 electrometer donated by Marie Curie, even the death cast of "Siamese Twins" Chang and Eng, whose autopsies were performed there. Tickets must be purchased in advance and masks are encouraged for all visitors.
Rhode Island
Folks in Newport have asked for ages who built the mysterious, 28-foot fieldstone tower in town. Most agree it was the base of a former colonial windmill, though some speculate it was put up by Vikings, or Knights Templar from medieval Scotland. It's free to visit and puzzle over.
South Carolina
Four stories high and weighing a tornado-proof 675,000 pounds, "Busted Plug Plaza" is billed as the world's largest fire hydrant. It's actually a sculpture, and formerly a fountain, in a parking lot in Columbia. Visitors can take snapshots with the same artist's trippy "Tunnelvision" mural in the background.
South Dakota
It doesn't cost anything to see the 6-ton prairie dog at the Ranch Store in Philip, which has been sniffing the horizon for more than five decades with no signs of tiring. There's a colony of real prairie dogs to the north of the store to feed peanuts.
South Dakota
Many cities commission murals, and almost every major city has its fair share of graffiti. Rapid City takes this a step further, making Art Alley fair game for local artists, who cover the walls, stairs, and telephone pole with cartoons, quotes, portraits, and tags.
Tennessee
The Lost Sea in Sweetwater is America's largest underground body of water. The extent of this freshwater lake is unknown, but its upper chamber covers nearly 5 acres at depths of 70 feet. Admission, including a glass-bottom-boat tour, is $24 for adults, $14 for kids. Buy tickets online, as they sell out quickly.
Tennessee
"The Mindfield" is an outdoor sculpture made of salvaged steel that stretches to cover about an acre and reaches more than 125 feet into the air. It's the work of Billy Tripp, a local Brownsville artist who began construction in 1989 and has said he will continue to add to the sculpture until he dies.
Texas
Cadillac Ranch was formed in 1974 when Stanley Marsh, an eccentric millionaire, planted 10 vintage Cadillacs, nose down, into a deserted stretch of dirt outside Amarillo. They sit off Interstate 40, between exits 60 and 62. Common practice is for visitors to bring spray paint, or use a can left there, and leave their mark on the cars.
Texas
Another Texan who made his mark in metal, John Mikovisch began some home improvements to his place in Houston in 1968, much of it aluminum siding — made of beer cans, which is why it's called the Beer Can House ($5 for adults, free for kids under 12). Ripley's estimates more than 50,000 cans were added over 18 years.
Utah
The Hole N' the Rock in Moab ($6.50, under 4 is free) is more than a hole; it's a 5,000-square foot home with 14 rooms, excavated out of sandstone over 12 years starting in the 1940s. The owners have added a petting zoo and other attractions.
Vermont
The Flavor Graveyard in Waterbury marks something a little different: the resting place of ice cream flavors no longer made by Ben & Jerry's. It's part of the ice cream brand's factory tour ($4 for adults, free for kids 12 and under). While tours are on hold, you can still order ice cream for pick-up from the scoop shop.
Vermont
Some of the puppets in the Bread and Puppet Museum in Glover — a crammed storage barn for the Bread and Puppet Theater troupe — are impressive, others creepy. The sign on the door says "Enter at Your Own Risk," and puppeteers ask visitors to wear masks and "turn out the lights when you are through." Donations are welcome.
Virginia
Considered by some to be one of the ugliest buildings in the world, the Markel Building in Richmond was inspired by a baked potato. Commissioned in 1962, the round building looks a bit like New York's Guggenheim Museum wrapped in foil.
Virginia
Recently made a state park ($89 for adults, $6 for kids), this 215-foot tall limestone Natural Bridge (backdrop for a nightly Biblical light show since the 1920s) is among six miles of hiking trails and the 30-foot Lace Falls. It was once surveyed by George Washington and owned by Thomas Jefferson.
Washington
The Market Theater Gum Wall is a 15-by-50-foot wall in Seattle's Post Alley covered with globs of chewing gum. The wall was given a thorough degumming and cleaning in 2015, but visitors are back to work adding pieces to the mix. (Tip: Bring a bottle of hand sanitizer.)
Washington
About 200 metal people and animals reside in downtown Raymond and along State Route 6 and Highway 101. They were put up by artists starting in 1993, bulking up a town with only about 3,000 real people.
West Virginia
Berkeley Springs State Park is a beautiful place to stroll, but one offbeat attraction sets it apart. On the west side of the park, a spring-fed stone tub has been dubbed George Washington's Bathtub, to recognize the way the first president likely bathed during his visits in the 1700s.
West Virginia
The Mothman Museum in Point Pleasant ($4.50 for adults, $1.50 for kids 10 and under) is dedicated to the legend of the mysterious winged creature first spotted in the 1960s. It tracks the mythos from original handwritten accounts to Hollywood's versions.
Wisconsin
A statue of King Gambrinus, called "the patron saint of beer," stands watch over the former Pabst Brewing corporate offices in downtown Milwaukee, now home to Best Place Tavern. The statue is on permanent loan from Pabst. While the bar, tours, and gift shop in the tavern are closed, a coffee shop (that also serves liquor) has just been opened.
Wisconsin
Hayward has a giant muskie 4.5 stories tall and as long as a Boeing 757. Of course, it's not a real fish, but rather the fiberglass shell of the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame ($9 for adults, $7 for kids). Visitors enter through the tail to see exhibits (including a real 69-pound muskie caught in 1949) and stop at an observation platform in the building's "jaw."
Wyoming
This was the first site named a National Monument — by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906 — and is instantly recognizable from "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." How it got its mysterious shape isn't fully understood, which has led some to supernatural explanations. Some people come just to climb it.
Wyoming
Westbound travelers on Interstate 80 will find an odd monument to Abraham Lincoln at the Summit Rest Area east of Laramie. A bust more than 13 feet tall towers over visitors from its perch atop a 30-foot granite pedestal. The bust is a nod to the fact Interstate 80 closely tracks the route of the old Lincoln Highway, the first coast-to-coast road built for cars.
Rhode Island
Outside the Seabee Museum and Memorial Park in North Kingstown, the Fighting Seabee statue draws attention with its fierce sneer, large hammer, machine gun, and sailor's cap. The bee is the mascot of the U.S. Navy's Construction Battalion.