Best Roadside Attractions to Look for while Traveling to America
While the people adore the final destinations, the travelers loved the quirky destinations during the trips and America is blessed with all of it. The road trip is the staple of the American vacation experience which is quite an adventure of the lifetime. Be it lasted for a couple of hours or for a couple of days, the journey is often the most cherished experience as of destination.
With more than four million miles of roads and highways sprawled over the USA, there is myriad of attractions to enrapture your wandering soul. From majestic landscapes to the artistic illustrations, explore the most unusual & best roadside attractions while traveling to America for an experience as opulent as the charms of its lands.
List of Best Roadside Attractions in America
Here are some of the most popular best roadside attraction sights which will surely catch your eyes:
Salvation Mountain: Niland California
Nestled in the remote desert of Southern California is America’s most distinctive & one of the best roadside attractions, Salvation Mountains. The labor of the love comes from a native, Leonard Knight who wanted to commission something that could narrate the legends of his devotion to his faith and something relished by everyone.
The mountain located off highway 111 about 80 miles southeast of Palm Springs and is made up of the adobe clay and covered in thousands of gallons of colorful paint, featuring murals, messages, and imagery portraying the verses from the bible. It is open from dawn till dusk but is commendable not to visit in summer owing to the high temperatures.
Hole N” the Rock: Moab Utah
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If you are heading to the Archyes or the Canyonlands National Parks, you may run into Hole N” the Rock which was once the 5000 square foot, 14 room family home that required the 50000 cubic feet of sandstone excavation. The homeowners lived here until the owner’s death in 1957. Today the home is vacant and is available for tours, which has made it one of the best roadside attractions. You can also find the small zoo, a general store along with the plethora of the southwestern souvenirs on site.
Carhenge: Alliance Nebraska
What’s more imposing for the best roadside attractions than the homage to automobiles? That’s what you will find in the Carhenge which can be defined as quite the replica of the Stonehenge. The vintage American automobile painted in the grey hues to imitate the glorifying English landmark of the historic past is well featured here. You can find this interesting adaptation of the UNESCO listed World Heritage Site in the Alliance, Nebraska. The place is open for all the year round.
Prada Marfa: Valentine Texas
This unconventional best roadside attractions in southwestern Texas is quite a treat to the consumers and commuters. While it may appear to be the fancy boutique for once, it is not the official outpost of the brand. Rather it was all settled to carry the message on consumerism and gentrification. It was all settled to inspire the kind of “what if” thinking, though many of the visitors make the trek down to highway 90 just for photo ops.
Enchanted Highway: North Dakota
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Enchanted Highway is all set to enchant your souls with the collection of art installations scattered along the highway. The featured sculptures here depict the local prairie animals along with the nods to the indigenous culture and history. This includes the Teddy Roosevelt rides again installation completed with the horse-drawn carriage along with the World’s largest Tin Family.
Dinosaur Kingdom II: Natural Bridge, Virginia
Image Credit: WDBJ7
Western Virginia’s Dinosaur Kingdom II is not just any other theme park; it’s the perfect collaboration of the history with the science fiction. This imposing yet distinctive attraction features the whole cast of characters fighting the gigantic creatures, dinosaurs including the Yankee soldiers, mad scientists, even Abraham Lincoln.
This unconventional yet entertaining setting will surely leave the visitors in awe and wonder and the add-ons are the wacky tales behind it which can be enjoyed here. This one of the best roadside attractions is open during the summer months and on the selected weekends in May September along with November.
Cadillac Ranch: Amarillo Texas
The attraction of America is the perfect synonymous with the “yesterday’s messed eyeliner is today’s smoky eyes” or the ones man’s trash is another’s treasure. The Cadillac Ranch was conceived when a local billionaire sought to create an art installation that would steal the eyes of the locals, and hence he associates with the group of San Francisco based artists to handle the imagery of the project. The graffiti of the car was not the part of the original commission but is believed to be added by many visitors that have crossed its paths.
Winchester Mystery House: San Jose, California
A total delight for the people with the penchant for spooky should make a detour to the San Jose’s Winchester Mystery House/ the attraction is famed as the peculiar puzzle, as it is filled with stairs and the doors that lead to nowhere. The mystique ambient of the house leads it with the association with many legends, but the most popular is that the owner Sarah Winchester, the widow of the rifle magnate William Winchester was convinced by the medium that the house’s layouts will definitely bewilder the spirits of those killed by the rifle of William and will not haunt her. This wacky attraction is nestled off Interstate 280 in San Jose.
Wall Drug Store: Wall South Dakota
Image Credit: Visitrapidcity
It was initially started off as the place to get the free ice water and is currently a famed roadside shopping complex wherein you can enjoy the coffee in 5 cents along with capturing the moments and the life-sized jack lope in the backyard or can even shop for the cowboy boots.
Dog Bark Park-inn: Cottonwood, Idaho
Image Credit: Theenglishroom
A total feast for the dog lovers, the dog Bark Inn is housed in the belly of the Sweet Wily, which also emblazoned as the World’s largest beagle. The rooms here are well adorned with the dog décor and the literature. You can enjoy the stay or simply relish the ambiance along with the picturesque prairie backdrop.
