7 Old-School Roadside Attractions You Need To Visit Before They're Gone For Good

What makes something a roadside attraction? Well, for one thing, it's on the side of a road, meaning that it's something or someplace you visit on your way somewhere. A fun addition to your road trip, but not necessarily "destination worthy" in its own right. But beyond the technical definition, we tend to think of roadside attractions as epitomizing the weird, wonderfulness of rural Americana. These can be kitschy, cool, weird, spooky, awe-inspiring, delightful, or even downright creepy. Whatever their nature, we love to hit the brakes for them.

Sadly, some of these charming wayside treasures are something of an endangered species. Just last year, literary journal The Paris Review declared "the end of roadside attractions" in America, in a wistful article bemoaning the closure of such gems as the World's Largest Cheese in Neillsville, Wisconsin, and the Poultry Hall of Fame in Beltsville, Maryland. With social media driving us to seek out peak experiences, the author implies, we seem to be leaving less room in our lives for the serendipitous discovery of delightful oddities.

Here are seven examples of blink-and-you 'll-miss-it small wonders, including The Cabazon Dinosaurs and The Uvalde Cutouts, that deserve your attention for as long as it takes to get out of the car and stretch your legs. As for our methodology, we selected attractions that are vintage classics, long-standing traditions, or have authentic old-school vibes, are quick detours on the way to great destinations, and are at some danger of disappearing.

The Cabazon Dinosaurs on Highway 10 between Los Angeles and Palm Springs have yet to go extinct, but this beloved Park built in the 1960's is showing its age. "Is it ridiculously campy? Yes. Is it a little run-down and needs some TLC? Also, yes. But it's fun," writes one Google reviewer. Arkansas' Dinosaur World, once the world's largest dinosaur theme park, closed in the 1990's, and Ohio's Prehistoric Forest closed in the 2000s after a decline. So if you want to see a T. rex in a Santa Suit, get to Cabazon before it goes the way of the dinosaurs.

Travelers line up to visit Al Johnson's Swedish Restaurant in Wisconsin's scenic Door County, and not just for the Swedish pancakes with lingonberry jam. Since its founding in 1949, this themed restaurant has had one charming and unusual feature: a sod roof where a herd of goats grazes. You wouldn't think such an iconic restaurant could ever close, but California's equally legendary roadside restaurant, Pea Soup Andersen's, did in 2024, so never say never. Go get your goat while you still can.

Many born-and-raised Californians have great nostalgia for childhood road trips to the coast, where the family sedan drove through a tunnel carved into the trunk of a giant living redwood tree. California has three of these tree-tunnels left; the Shriner, Chandelier, and Klamath Trees. Redwood trees can live for thousands of years, but some that were turned into tunnels died before their time, like Yosemite's one-time Wawona Tree. Turned into a tunnel in the 1880's, the weakened tree toppled in the winter of 1969. So we may not have these beloved oddities around forever.

Billboard-sized likenesses of Cowgirl Dale Evans, Tejano band Los Palominos, and actor Matthew McConaughey greet visitors to Uvalde, Texas. Artist John Cerney's work is a kitschy-cool cross between signage and art, with nostalgic 1950's vibes. While it may not be old, it's definitely old-school. All are located along scenic Highway 90, a road National Geographic has compared to Route 66, deeming it "equally spectacular." This attraction's obsolescence is already planned, as they're constructed out of paint and plywood, these installations are expected to last a dozen years at most.

The roadside attraction known as Christmas Tree Pass, located on a dirt road cutoff en route from Las Vegas to the underrated gem of Laughlin, Nevada, is highly controversial and may soon be gone for good. Locals have a decades-old tradition of decorating the high desert road's juniper trees and cacti with tinsel and Christmas ornaments every holiday season, and these decorations used to line the scenic road year-round. Rangers at the Lake Mead National Recreation Area bitterly wish they'd stop doing so, and now clean it all up as best they can every year. Attraction nuisance? Probably, alas, the latter.

The 70s and 80s TV show "The Dukes of Hazzard" gave us many cultural touchstones, like Daisy Dukes, Boss Hogg, and the General Lee, the Duke brothers' souped-up hot rod. At the Dukes-themed restaurant Cooter's Place in the Tennessee resort town of Pigeon Forge, a popular stop on any road trip through the Great Smoky Mountains, you can actually sit in the General Lee for a selfie. The restaurant is owned by Ben Jones, who played Cooter, the auto mechanic, on the show. This retro-themed nostalgia is definitely going away, though, as it's set to close December 31, 2026, after a farewell tourist season.

Many roadside attractions are the brainchild of one obsessed individual, and that is definitely the case with the Mother Goose House in Hazard, Kentucky, in the heart of Appalachia. George Stacy built the goose-shaped house between 1935 and 1940, using green shingles for feathers, and car headlights for eyes that light up at night. In 2021, the goose's head fell off in a storm. It was quickly restored, but who knows what deferred maintenance on this privately-owned historic gem could mean for its future.