As a college student who loves traveling and taking road trips, I am always on the hunt to find unusual yet record breaking roadside attractions throughout America. So, if you are like me and want to see some of the weird but great places America has to offer I suggest planning a road trip to my Top 5 American Roadside Icons.
1. Bunyan and Babe in Bemidji, MinnesotaLocated in Bemidji, Minnesota, the fabled lumberjack Paul Bunyan and his trusty blue ox named Babe, greet travelers passing through the curling capital of America. Built in 1937, the Bunyan statue dressed in flannel and blue jeans stands at 18 feet tall, and weighs nearly two and a half tons! As the famed birthplace of Bunyan, Bemidji, built the roadside icon to celebrate and pay tribute to the legendary feller who represented courage, fortitude and
vitality throughout America.
2. Gardens and Concrete Gnomes in Ames, Iowa
Located in the Reiman Gardens in Ames, Iowa, the largest Concrete Garden Gnome weighs nearly thirty-five hundred pounds and stands at fifteen feet tall. The colorfully painted statue of the gnome, now called Elwood, was constructed nearly 400 miles away from Iowa State University by Andy and Connie Kautza in Wisconsin. Once known as the World’s Largest Gnome, Elwood has made multiple appearances in the Guinness Book of World Records, until it was discovered that Poland built a fiberglass, 18-foot gnome. Nevertheless, the purpose of the giant gnome was to attract people to the Ames area as well as recognize the town’s predated association with gnomes.3. Ohio’s got more than farmland in Newark, Ohio
On the south end of Highway 16, in Newark Ohio, resides the World’s Largest Basket headquarters for the Longaberger Basket Company. As a clone of Longaberger’s human sized baskets, the basket stands at 192 feet long and 126 feet wide! Doubling as a roadside icon and corporate office, the seven-story basket opened its doors in December of 1997. Additionally, in Dresden, Ohio resides the World’s Largest Apple Basket. Again, this oversized basket was built by the Longaberger Basket Company in 1999.
4. Beagles, with a Bed and Breakfast in Cottonwood, Idaho
For traveling beagle lovers driving along highway 95, in Cottonwood, Idaho lives two of the World’s Largest Wood-Carved Beagles. The first beagle, standing at 30 feet tall, doubles as a bed and breakfast! With a staircase to the belly of the beagle is one bedroom, one bathroom and a cozy loft located in the beagle’s nose. The overnight stay is priced at a lowly $100 per night. Additionally, there is a puppy which accompanies the Beagle and stands at 12 feet tall.
5. Big Buffaloes in Jamestown, North Dakota
Erected in 1959, the World’s Largest Buffalo inhabits exit 258 in Jamestown, North Dakota. After being nameless for nearly 50 years, the buffalo was recently named Dakota Thunder. Built out of concrete, Dakota Thunder, is 26 feet tall, and weighs approximately 60 tons. The creation of the buffalo was influenced by the late Henry Leuher and made possible by Harold Newman, who desired to build a roadside attraction so unique that it would make travelers want to visit the sleepy Jamestown.
