An online itinerary can be helpful if you’re trying to save time and money on your travels, but it’s still a curated version of someone else’s experience.
The Facebook group Quirky Roadside USA is an excellent example of what you get when you flip that on its head.
It’s a place where people share unique treasures they find along America’s highways and tucked into communities off the beaten path.
From giant statues to the most miniature of parks, it’s less about planning and more about discovering.
More info: Facebook
#1 The Smallest Private Property In NYC Is The Hess Triangle, A Triangular 500-Square-Inch Plot In Manhattan’s West Village
It originated from a 1910s dispute where the city condemned a portion of David Hess’s property for subway construction, and a small, overlooked corner was left over. The family refused to donate it, and it remains private property to this day.
Image source: Robert Willhoft
#2 This Giant Bat Sculpture Clings To A Red Brick Wall Near The Louisville Slugger Museum
Image source: R Ika Dewi
#3 Fork In The Road. Near Lebanon Oregon. USA
Image source: Michael Ted Schneider
#4 Arizona
Image source: Frank Pitts
#5 This Is The Longaberger Basket Building In Newark, Oh
Image source: Ruth San Nicolas Hamilton
#6 A Palace Made Completely Of Corn Cobs. Mitchell S D
Image source: Mike Vore
#7 The Sphere, Las Vegas
Image source: Marvin Denson
#8 We Found A Hidden Gallery Under A Bridge In Ashland, Oregon
Image source: Cindy Pealstrom
#9 In 1971, The Guinness Book Of World Records Recognized Mill Ends Park As The World’s Smallest Park. It Measures At Just 452 Square Inches
Image source: James Christi Whitehead
#10 Route 66 Outside Of Oatman Arizona
Image source: Cathy Ann
#11 I Am Currently Obsessed With Troll Hunting. Asheville, North Carolina
Image source: Barb Conroy
#12 Travels West. South Dakota
Image source: Frank Pitts
#13 We Recently Visited The Lady In The Marina In Elberta, Alabama.. So Unique!!
Image source: Kris Machen
#14 The Chest Of Drawers In Highpoint, N Carolina
Image source: Jerry Birge
#15 World’s Largest Potato Masher In Plover, Wisconsin. We Had A Smashing Good Time!
Image source: Sharon Kovach
#16 Love This One In Oregon State
Image source: Kristen Kersey
#17 Hello Midwesterners! Have You Been To Vandalia, IL To See The Kaskaskia Dragon?
He’s huge, and he’s silver, and he actually spews fire from his nostrils. You can get a coin from the liquor store across the parking lot to feed him. 1 coin = 10 seconds of fire. Coins are $1 each.
I fed him 2 coins and wasn’t sure I’d be able to see his flames, because I visited in the bright part of the day and it was windy, but I did get a good look.
I recommend you have your camera ready, because 10 seconds of flames goes pretty quickly when you’re taking photos!
If you haven’t been to see this guy, do you know of another fire-breathing dragon?
Rock Island Ave, Vandalia IL
Image source: Veronica Bareman
#18 Mary Poppins Sculpture In McDonough, Georgia
Image source: Rita Sekmakas Bezdicek
#19 Only In Pennsylvania Would You Find This Camp Ground
Image source: Fay Adams-Hardy
#20 World’s Largest Quilting Needle In Paducah, Kentucky
Image source: Gina Secrist
#21 Largest Zipper In The Us, Barre VT
Image source: John Bruins Fan Latinik
#22 Bigdog/Littledog Road Trip In Davis, California
Image source: Roberta Davids Hagen
#23 Atlanta, IL
Image source: Aimee Irvin Folmer
#24 Everyone Saw Johnny Depp Go To The End Of The World, It’s Really In 29 Palms, California
Image source: Matt McCallum
#25 Rock Garden In Calhoun Georgia. Located Behind The Seventh Day Adventist Church
Built by a man and his wife from small pebbles, pieces of glass, slate, etc. Roman Coliseum, Notre Dame Cathdral, Nottingham Village, city of Bethlehem, Jerusalem and more.
Image source: Sarah Schoettinger Wilson
#26 Sulphur Springs, TX… It Is A Glass Bathroom In The Town Square. It’s Those Mirrors Where People Can See Their Reflection, But They Can’t See You Watching Them From Inside The Potty!
Image source: Shannon Kay Warren
#27 Forest Gump Hill From The Movie And Mexican Hat Near Bye
Image source: Ken Duym
#28 The Trash Rooster Of New Bedford, MA
Image source: Greg Parsons
#29 Florida, Near Orlando
Image source: George Cleaver
#30 World Largest Wiener Dog Sculpture In Preston ID
Image source: Dennis Hinkamp
#31 I’m Not Sure The Reason Behind This, But Vermont Really Does Have The Largest Filing Cabinet Monument
Image source: Bambi Lynn
#32 Biggest Buffalo In The USA! Jamestown, North Dakota
Image source: Donna Bailey McMinn
#33 My Husband With A Giant Guitar On Route 66 In Winslo Near “I Stood On A Corner”
Image source: Elaine Doss Dalton
#34 Worlds Largest Fountain Drink Cup! Cape Girardeau, Missouri
Image source: Hannah Erwin
#35 Pink Elephant Antique Mall Off Route 66 In Livingston, Illinois. Their Lawn Decorations Will Grab Your Attention From Half A Mile Away
Image source: Jonathan Juhasz
#36 Bandonia The Phoenix’ Sculpture Made Of Recycled Garbage. It’s 14 Feet Tall And Has A 22-Foot Wingspan. Spotted Along Highway 101, At Art 101, South Of Bandon, Oregon
Image source: Katrinka Lancer
#37 The Sea Ranch Chapel, Open To All Dawn To Dusk
Image source: Velvet Hughes
#38 Palm Springs
Image source: Frank Pitts
#39 Little Mnt Rushmore. Mesquite, NV
Image source: Blane Farrer
#40 This Is An Artist’s Home And Studio Just Northwest Of Eureka Springs, AR
Someone came out of the house as I was taking a few pictures. I feared she was going to tell me to move along. Instead, she invited me in for a tour. She and her husband were charming. He was the model for the iconic recruitment poster for the USMC in the early 70s. What a treat!
Image source: Connie Funk Jeffries
#41 Kansas City, MO
Image source: Rita Bank
#42 In The Missouri Ozarks. Near Tecumseh. Edit: A Commenter Said That This Has Been Removed To Widen The Road
Image source: Sandee Thompson
#43 I Found A 22ft Tall Optimus Prime In Stillwater, Oklahoma
Image source: Vismel Márquez
#44 The World’s Biggest Fiddle!!! In Nova Scotia
Image source: Amy Nelson
#45 Bigfoot At Kinsley, Kansas
Image source: Monna Gilliland
#46 It’s A Fun Photo Op. The Slingshot. Columbus, Ohio
Image source: April McPhillips
#47 Biggest Pistachio In The World… Alamogordo, NM
Image source: Linda R. Flores
#48 Casey Illinois
Image source: Kathy Bird Christensen
#49 Quirky Find In Goodland, KS
Image source: Brenda Holloway
#50 On Michigan’s Upper Peninsula There Is A Tiny Town Called “Gay,” Which Is Named After A Mining Executive With That Surname
Yes, the bar there is called “The Gay Bar.” And its 4th of July parade is also known as “The Gay Parade.”
Image source: John Ruberry
#51 Springfield, IL
Image source: Shantel Hedlof
#52 Saw This Awesome Sculpture Passing Thru Midland, South Dakota
Image source: Reina Muriel
#53 Giant Silver Thing Outside The Museum Of Contemporary Art In Cleveland
Image source: Martha Anderson
#54 In The Valley Of
Image source: Denise Goodman
#55 Driving Through Tucson Arizona. I Don’t Know If It’s Quirky But It’s Definitely In An Odd Place In An Odd Structure. I Just Thought It Was Cool
Image source: Crystal Johnson
#56 We Drove So Many Hrs Without Seeing Anything Living Or Moving. This Sign At A Little Inn, Gas Station, Casino, Kitchen Actually Made Me Feel Great Knowing It Wasn’t Just Me
Image source: Dan Hays
#57 This Is My Plate From Tony’s Restaurant Off Of I-75 In Birch Run, Michigan. If You Order Anything With Bacon, You Get An Entire Pound Of It
Image source: Jason Maska
#58 Cupid’s Span Sculpture On The Embarcadero Waterfront, San Francisco, CA
Image source: Billy Morgan
#59 Unconditional Surrender Statue AKA The Kissing Statue In San /Diego, CA
Image source: Marci Nellessen
#60 Guardians Of The Rock River In Rockford, Illinois
Image source: Kolette Matilda
#61 “Dakotah” Welded Bison By Sculptor John Lopez, In Front Of Dakotah Steakhouse, Rapid City, South Dakota
Image source: Katrinka Lancer
#62 The “Shine Bright Saginaw Silo Mural Project” Involved Muralists Converting A Series Of Former Grain Silos Along The Saginaw Michigan Riverfront Into One Of North America’s Largest Public Artworks
Completed in June 2024, the project spans roughly 70,000 square feet of surface on the silos in Saginaw’s Old Town commercial district.
Image source: Heidi Harper Lapinski
#63 Not Sure If It’s Quirky Enough But It Was Out Of The Way For Sure!! Lead, SD. Outside Spearfish Falls
Image source: Mary N-ski
#64 Carhenge Nebraska
Image source: Mel Williams
#65 An Exact Replica Of The First In-N-Out-Burger Store Was Built In Baldwin Park, CA Where In-N-Out Started In 1948
It was the first drive thru to feature a 2 way speaker. It is open for photo ops Thursday-Sunday between 11-2.
Image source: Elliot O’Elliot
#66 Shell Gas Station, Winston-Salem, NC
Image source: Mark Rogers
#67 Ark Encounter, Williamstown, KY
Image source: Julie Hunt Lake
#68 Hillbilly Hotdogs In Lesage, WV
Image source: Milan Albicher
#69 Visited All 19 Dambo Trolls In North Carolina Last Week
Image source: Jerry Birge
#70 Ohio — Stopped To See The Gilboa Cow This Morning In Gilboa, Ohio. The Village Has Him Decorated For Christmas With A Rudolph Nose. I Even Booped His Snoot
Image source: Faith Jones
#71 Casey, Illinois. Town With Several Worlds Largest Things. Nice Way To Spend An Afternoon
Image source: Michelle Knauer
#72 I’m Popeye The Sailor Man! I Found This Him In Chester, Illinois. There’s Also Statues Of Bluto, Olive Oil And Others Throughout The Town. Even Wimpy Is There
Image source: Matt McCallum
#73 Bigdog/Littledog Road Trip At The Giant Green Olive In Corning California
Image source: Roberta Davids Hagen
#74 A Beautiful And Evocative Living Memorial Sculpture Garden Rests Upon The Northwestern Slope Of MT Shasta, 13 Miles North Of Weed, California, Off Highway 97
Image source: Katrinka Lancer
#75 This Was A Sign At An Intersection In Arizona That Had Me A Little Bit Flummoxed, But Also Made Me Laugh. There Was Absolutely No Context
Image source: Jessica Shultes
#76 Giant Finn And Jake At The Cartoon Network Hotel In Lancaster, PA
Image source: Gayle Delaney
#77 Going To The @salt & Pepper Museum Has Been On My List For The Last 4.5 Years!! I Was So Totally Stoked And Overwhelmed By The 20,000 Shakers
Image source: Shannon Kahn- Magid
#78 Hello I Wanted To Introduce Myself N Say Hello To Yall. This Was Taken In NYC I Thought A Hippo In A Tutu Was Cute N Funny
Image source: MommaBear DogMom
#79 We Checked Out The Recycled Road Runner Sculpture That Was At A Rest Area We Stayed At Off I-10 Outside Of Las Cruces, NM
The roadrunner is the official state bird of New Mexico. The sculpture was built and placed at the city’s landfill where it stood 20 feet tall and 40 feet long. It was made exclusively of items salvaged from the city’s landfill.
In early 2001, the artist Olin stripped off the old junk, replaced it with new junk, and moved the roadrunner to this rest stop along Interstate 10, just west of the city.
When I was just staring at the roadrunner pointing out all the different objects used to build it, it reminded me of one of those Highlights books that had the hidden pictures you had to find the different objects in the picture!!
Image source: Jayme Bee
#80 A Restaurant In CB Lowa
Image source: Doug Weav
#81 A Photo I Took In Texas
Image source: Marie Smith-Hancock
#82 The “Big Muskie” Bucket In Ohio
Image source: Glen Comeaux
#83 Dick Tracy Statue Along The Riverwalk In Naperville, Illinois
Image source: Gina Secrist
#84 Pops Soda Shop. Great Food And Fun Atmosphere
Image source: Debbie Webb Anderson
#85 Good News. The Blue Whale Of Catoosa (Route 66, Oklahoma) Is Finished And Osha Is Compliant. The Visitor Center Is Still Under Construction
Image source: Mary E Teeter
#86 Cody Wyoming
Image source: Blane Farrer
#87 Full Throttle Saloon, Vale, South Dakota (Near Sturgis)
Image source: Katrinka Lancer
#88 Paul And Matilda Wegner Grotto In Sparta, WI
Image source: Kolette Matilda
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