These 6 Quirky Midwest Roadside Attractions Deserve a Spot on Your Next Road Trip
The Midwest has no shortage of wide-open highways, but what makes a plains-state drive memorable are the gloriously strange things waiting just off the interstate. Corn-covered buildings, car sculptures and a 17,000-pound ball of twine — the region has a knack for turning the ordinary into the unforgettable.
Here are six attractions across the heartland that sometimes prove the best reason to pull over is the weirdest one.
The Corn Palace — Mitchell, South Dakota
The Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota, is exactly what it sounds like — a massive building covered in murals made entirely from real corn, grain and grasses. Established in 1892, it has been drawing visitors for more than a century. The murals are redesigned every year around a new theme, so there is always a reason to come back. An annual festival rounds out the experience with food, entertainment and carnival rides.
The World’s Largest Ball of Twine — Cawker City, Kansas
A farmer named Frank Stoeber started the World’s Largest Ball of Twine in Cawker City, Kansas, in 1953. Stoeber had leftover twine from years of feeding his cows bales of hay and figured rolling it into a giant ball would be a fun activity and good exercise. It didn’t take long for the growing ball to land a spot at the county fair and the city’s Centennial parade, turning it into a full-fledged attraction.
Today it weighs over 17,000 lbs. Visitors who want to leave their mark can contact Ball of Twine Caretaker Linda Clover by phone or email — she will give you a tour, a history lesson and some sisal twine to add to the ball yourself.
The Spam Museum — Austin, Minnesota
Love it or laugh at it, Spam has earned its own museum. The Spam Museum in Austin, Minnesota, is a free attraction entirely dedicated to the canned pork product. Interactive exhibits cover the brand’s history, its uses and its popularity during World War II. A gift shop stocked with fun and quirky Spam merchandise ensures nobody leaves empty-handed.
Carhenge — Alliance, Nebraska
Carhenge in Alliance, Nebraska, is a full-scale replica of Stonehenge built entirely out of vintage American cars painted gray. Jim Reinders created it in 1987 in memory of his late father, who used to live on the farmland where the sculpture now sits. It is open year-round from dawn to dusk, planted squarely in the middle of the Nebraska plains. A seasonal gift shop operates on-site.
American Gothic House — Eldon, Iowa
The American Gothic House in Eldon, Iowa, is the actual farmhouse from Grant Wood’s iconic 1930 painting “American Gothic.” The visitor center is open year-round, Wednesday through Sunday — check their events calendar online for any holiday closures or schedule changes. Visitors can borrow a pitchfork and period costume from the visitor center and pose in front of the house for photos. Even when the visitor center is closed, the house is accessible for photo ops from dawn to dusk.
Gemini Giant — Wilmington, Illinois
The Gemini Giant in Wilmington, Illinois, is a 28-foot fiberglass “Muffler Man” astronaut holding a silver rocket. Named after Project Gemini, NASA’s second human spaceflight program that ran from 1961 to 1966, the statue stood outside a Route 66 diner from 1965 to 2024. In 2024, the Joliet Area Historical Museum acquired it with the goal of preserving it and moved it to Wilmington’s South Island Park. It remains a roadside memory of the Space Age craze.
This article was created by content specialists using various tools, including AI.
