The term "roadside attraction" often conjures up images of tourists in brightly-colored clothes gaping at a scenic vista, ready to get that perfect snapshot. Despite this stereotype, simply being a tourist can be a lot of fun. Here are some of the country's most unique -- and distinctly American -- tourist stops.
- Graceland: Memphis, Tennessee
- Wall Drug Store: Wall, South Dakota
- Dinosaur Park: Cabazon, California
- Four Corners Navajo Tribal Park: Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona
- Mt. Rushmore: Keystone, South Dakota
- Winchester Mystery House: San Jose, California
- Old Faithful: Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
- Plymouth Rock: Plymouth, Massachusetts
- Fisherman’s Wharf: San Francisco, California
- Mystery Hill: Salem, New Hampshire
- Grand Ol’ Opry: Nashville, Tennessee
- Chandelier Drive-Thru Tree: Leggett, California
Graceland: Memphis, Tennessee
Get a taste of Elvis Presley’s lifestyle by visiting Graceland, located at 3764 Elvis Presley Boulevard, where you can tour his mansion, view a portion of his car collection and step aboard his private planes.
The tour of Elvis' 14-acre estate includes a walkman-guided tour of the living room, dining room, kitchen, TV room, pool room and the infamous "Jungle Room," as well as his business office, racquetball building and trophy building, which houses his gold records, movie and stage costumes, and several personal knick-knacks. The tour ends in the Meditation Garden, the resting place for Elvis and members of his family.
The Elvis Presley Automobile Museum does not have all of Elvis’ cars, but it does include the 1955 Pink Cadillac he bought for his mother Gladys, and his motorcycles and cars from the 50s through the 70s. The middle section of the museum features a “Drive-In Theater” with real car seats and clips of Elvis' movies on the big screen.
Although Elvis flew several times in the 1950s, it wasn't until years later that he became comfortable enough to travel by plane regularly; until then he preferred to ride by bus or train. But when he flew, he flew in style, after purchasing two planes for his personal use. The Lisa Marie, Elvis’ personal jet, is amazing. Elvis himself referred to it as his "flying Graceland." You’ll know why when you see the living room, conference room and the private bedroom he had installed. The Hound Dog, though a much smaller plane, should not be overlooked.
Wall Drug Store: Wall, South Dakota
Wall Drug Store, known by locals as “the geographical center of nowhere,” got its start not from selling pharmaceuticals, but by offering free ice water to thirsty travelers during the Depression. That tradition continues today.
Since 1931, billboards along South Dakota’s highways have lured travelers with the slogan, "Get a soda . . . Get a root beer . . . turn next corner . . . Just as near . . . To Highway 16 & 14. . . Free Ice Water. . . Wall Drug."
After driving through the Badlands for hours, Wall Drug is the perfect rest stop. It offers a bite to eat, an art gallery, shopping, a free glass of ice water (really!) and the Back Yard, a fun place for kids who have probably been droning, “Are we there, yet?”
The Back Yard houses a giant, fiberglass jackalope (a six-foot tall rabbit on wheels – a native species of South Dakota); a replica Indian village that comes to life with a quarter; and a miniature Mount Rushmore, offering the perfect “tourist trap” photo-op.
Today, over a million visitors stop at Wall Drug every year – 20,000 on a good summer day.
Dinosaur Park: Cabazon, California
From Interstate10 east of Los Angeles, the uncommon view of two giant dinosaurs are an irresistible magnet. But tourists are not the only ones compelled to stop. The Cabazon dinosaurs became celebrities in the 1980s, appearing in everything from Coke commercials and rock videos to the film “Pee Wee's Big Adventure.”
The dinosaurs are part of a rest area near a gas station in the San Gorgonio Pass. Built by Claude Bell, who ran the Wheel Inn on I-10, the dinosaurs took 11 years to construct. Dinny, a giant apatosaurus, is arguably the largest dinosaur in America. A small museum in Dinny's belly still sells souvenirs.
The dinosaurs, whose eyes light up at night in green and red shades, provide a great backdrop for photographs. Don't drive by without stopping to take a closer look.
Four Corners Navajo Tribal Park: Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona
Located near the point at which Highway U.S. 160 (traveling north in Arizona) crosses the San Juan River, a sign directs travelers a quarter mile or so to the Four Corners Navajo Tribal Park and monument. Marking the point at which the corners of Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona intersect, the monument is a large slab of concrete with the official seals of the four states. The Four Corners Region is a geological wonderland and the only place in the United States where four states perfectly intersect. Now controlled by the Navajo Nation, public access is permitted at a nominal fee during daylight hours.
Mt. Rushmore: Keystone, South Dakota
Considered the four most famous guys in “rock,” Mount Rushmore features the sculpted faces of four American presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. Between 1927 and 1941, Gutzon Borglum and 400 workers sculpted the four U.S. presidents to represent the first 150 years of American history. The monument also memorializes the birth, growth, preservation and development of the United States of America.
Visitors to the memorial come primarily to view the granite sculpture, but also of interest is the Sculptor's Studio. Built under the direction of the artist, Borglum, in 1939, the studio displays unique plaster models and tools related to the sculpting process.
Winchester Mytery House: San Jose, California
Of all the world-famous tourist attractions, none may be stranger than the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, California.
Most intriguing for visitors to the home is its bizarre construction. With stairways that lead nowhere, doors and cabinets that open into walls, skylights placed into floors, a chimney that ends inches below the ceiling, and a secret seance room at the heart of the house, it’s a strange spectacle. Several of the home fixtures and rooms repeat the number 13 – hence the 13 fireplaces in one suite, 13 gas lamps on a chandelier, 13 holes in the kitchen drain, and the reason some of the 160 rooms have 13 windows.
Why? The house’s history begins at the height of the Civil War when Sarah Pardee met and married William Wirt Winchester, the son of the manufacturer of the famous Winchester Repeating Rifle. They had one child, Annie Pardee, who died of marasmus about one month after her birth. Then, about 15 years later, William died of pulmonary tuberculosis, which left Sarah an inheritance of more than 700 shares of Winchester stock. With her cash inheritance, her income after her husband's death amounted to about one thousand dollars per day.
Deeply upset by the deaths of her husband and daughter, Sarah consulted a Boston spiritualist. Through this specialist, she came to believe that her family had been killed as an act of revenge by the ghosts of people shot by Winchester rifles. This spiritualist also informed her that she could escape the wrath of these ghosts, and save her own life, by moving west and building a mansion that would never be finished. As long as she never ceased building, Sarah would remain unharmed.
She followed the instructions by moving into an eight-room farmhouse in San Jose in 1884. Each night, she is said to have communicated with good spirits in her home, who told her what to build and how. Sarah employed up to 25 carpenters and dozens of other servants around the clock until her death in 1922 in a house that covers six acres. Except for servants and her secretary, Sarah lived alone in her mansion from 1884 until 1922, talking mostly to people she believed were dead.
Old Faithful: Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Old Faithful is probably the most photographed geyser in the world and often the only geyser people visit on a trip to Yellowstone. Though it does not have the highest eruption, have the most regular geysers (despite its name), or discharge the largest amount of water, it remains a popular site.
Eruptions at Old Faithful last anywhere from one to five minutes, and sprays water and steam up to 184 feet vertically. The average interval of Old Faithful was every 76 minutes, however, an earthquake in the winter of 1998 affected the time interval of Old Faithful. Eruptions now occur approximately every 80 minutes.
Nighttime eruptions under a full moon can be unforgettably beautiful and there are usually fewer people. Likewise, a visit in early spring after the roads open or in late fall just before the roads close are perfect times to visit. No matter when you see it, the scenery and the eruption are hard to forget.
Plymouth Rock: Plymouth, Massachusetts
Each year, nearly one million people from all over the world visit Plymouth, where, in1620, Europeans first made a home in new England. It is also where tradition tells us the passengers on the Mayflower first set foot upon Plymouth Rock in the New World.
While there are no contemporary references to the Pilgrims' landing on a rock at Plymouth, there are two primary sources written by the Pilgrims who described the landing in Plymouth: William Bradford's journal Of Plymouth Plantation and the 1622 book Mourt's Relation. Both simply say that the Pilgrims landed, but neither mentions any rocks in their account of the landing.
Nevertheless, the simple glacial boulder on the shore of Plymouth Harbor has become a world famous symbol of the courage and faith of the men and women who founded the first New England colony.
Mystery Hill: Salem, New Hampshire
Located across 30 acres of hillside, Mystery Hill, also known as “America's Stonehenge,” is a site that has puzzled archaeologists for almost a century. Unlike the neatly arranged English Stonehenge, Mystery Hill seems a jumble in comparison. Also, the stones at Stonehenge are up to 45 tons, while the stones at Mystery Hill are smaller – the largest weighs about 11 tons.
While no one knows who constructed Mystery Hill, possibly the oldest megalithic enigma of North America, the rocks have been dated as far back as 1000 BC through the testing of pottery fragments.
In addition to the oracle chamber and the sacrificial stone, the site has a number of artificial caves and passages, though the purpose of many of the stones are unknown.
Administered by the America’s Stonehenge Foundation, Mystery Hill is open to visitors at a fee, which is used to preserve and research the site.
Fisherman’s Wharf: San Francisco, California
Fisherman's Wharf is San Francisco's most popular destination. The long coastal row of seafood restaurants, street vendors and souvenir stores is combined with a major fishing pier. Often crowded with visitors, it’s a great way to spend an hour or two perusing the shops, checking out the "tourist traps," and savoring clam chowder in a fresh sourdough bowl – a signature San Francisco dish.
Other novelties near the wharf include: San Francisco's fishing fleet docked on the Jefferson Street promenade; a variety of specialty shops and restaurants located at the Anchorage and The Cannery (a former Del Monte peach-packing plant); and, Ghirardelli Square (once home to the world-famous chocolate factory), which offers an open-air center filled with specialty shops, international restaurants, an ice cream parlor and displays of the original chocolate-making machines.
Grand Ol’ Opry: Nashville, Tennessee
The Grand Ol’ Opry, which has been part of Opryland since 1974, remains the nation's oldest continuous radio show. Each weekend, top performing stars are broadcast from the world's largest broadcast studio – with seating for 4,424 people.
Sporting a shiny new backdrop, the Grand Ol’ Opry House remains the stage that country stars aspire to perform in. In fact, it’s where Dolly Parton and many others got their start. On Fridays and Saturdays, Opry mainstays like Porter Wagoner and Jimmy Dickens entertain the tourists. Though it’s broadcast on WSM 650-AM and the Internet, no weekend visit to Nashville is complete without catching it in person.
Occasionally, the Opry House hosts a Gospel concert or a church convention, and sometimes you can catch free music on the Opry Plaza. In October, today's hottest country artists attend the Country Music Association (CMA) awards show at the Grand Ol’ Opry. And because most of them live in Nashville, sometimes they drop in for an Opry performance.
Chandelier Drive-Thru Tree: Leggett, California
Chandelier Drive-Thru Tree, located in South Leggett (north or Fort Bragg) on none other than Drive-Thru Tree Road, is the most famous of the drive-thru trees. In fact, it’s the same tree the Griswold family in the movie “National Lampoons Vacation” sent a postcard from.
The drive-thru tree’s hole was chiseled out and cross-cut sawed in 1934 by Charlie Underwood who owned the property where the tree stands. Following World War II, Underwood enlarged the tree’s hole following the introduction of the Hudson Sedan. Because the tree slightly resembled an old-fashioned chandelier, the kind that hung from the ceiling and held candles, it was named Chandelier Drive-Thru Tree.
Today, the drive-thru tree, which is more than 2,400-years-old, stands 315-feet and has a 21-foot diameter. Don’t forget to get a picture of your car going through the tree!