5 Weird and Wonderful Southeast Roadside Attractions

Fall is here, the holidays are creeping closer, and maybe this year you’re ready to do something a little different.

Instead of spending Thanksgiving stuck around the dinner table listening to the same family stories—or spending Christmas surrounded by wrapping paper and shopping bags—why not pack the car, grab the family, and hit the road?

The Southeast is perfect for a classic road trip. Scenic highways, small towns, mountain views, Florida sunshine, and wonderfully strange roadside attractions are waiting just beyond the next exit.

And that’s the beauty of traveling by car. Unlike flying, you can stop whenever curiosity strikes. So don't let every break turn into another gas station stop. Here are five memorable roadside attractions that can turn the journey itself into part of your vacation.

1. Rock City — Lookout Mountain, Georgia

If you’ve traveled through the South, you may have spotted an old barn or birdhouse painted with the famous words: “See Rock City.”

Well, maybe it’s finally time to see it.

Rock City Gardens opened to the public in 1932 atop Lookout Mountain near Chattanooga. The attraction combines unusual rock formations, gardens, narrow pathways, caves, shops, and storybook scenery.

One of its best-known attractions is Fairyland Caverns, where colorful displays bring classic fairy tales and nursery rhymes underground. There’s also the remarkable Balanced Rock, which looks as though gravity took the afternoon off.

The mountain overlooks a spectacular stretch of Southern landscape, making Rock City especially beautiful during fall when the surrounding forests begin changing color.

2. Dinosaur World — Plant City, Florida

Imagine cruising along Interstate 4 when suddenly a giant Tyrannosaurus rex appears beside the highway.

No, you haven’t accidentally driven into Jurassic Park. You’ve reached Dinosaur World.

Located in Plant City between Tampa and Orlando, this prehistoric-themed attraction is a fantastic stop for families with dinosaur-obsessed kids—or adults who never quite outgrew their dinosaur phase. No judgment here.

Walking trails wind past hundreds of life-size dinosaur models hiding among the trees. Visitors can also explore fossil displays, participate in hands-on activities, and let younger travelers burn off some road-trip energy at the playground.

Best of all, these dinosaurs won’t chase your car afterward. And I hope they don’t have dinosaur bones in Florida. They do have sinkholes, though, and maybe even portals to time travel. Sorry, I was watching LA Brea on Tubi. 

3. Skunk Ape Research Headquarters — Ochopee, Florida

Things get considerably stranger once your road trip reaches the Florida Everglades.

Bigfoot may rule the forests of the Pacific Northwest, but Florida has its own legendary hairy monster: the Skunk Ape.

Local folklore describes the creature as a large, foul-smelling, ape-like animal roaming Florida’s swamps.

At the Skunk Ape Research Headquarters in Ochopee, visitors can explore photographs, newspaper stories, footprint casts, and other pieces of Skunk Ape lore.

The attraction is associated with longtime Skunk Ape enthusiast Dave Shealy, who has claimed encounters with the mysterious creature.

Whether you believe the Skunk Ape is an undiscovered animal, a piece of Florida folklore, or simply Bigfoot enjoying warmer weather, this roadside stop is one you’ll remember.

4. World’s Largest Office Chair — Anniston, Alabama

Occasionally you don’t need roller coasters or dinosaurs. Occasionally you just need a ridiculously enormous chair to sit and relax. One chair could fit a whole family.

Anniston, Alabama, is home to a giant office chair standing more than 30 feet tall. Built in 1981 as a promotional attraction for Miller’s Office Furniture, the wooden chair once earned recognition from Guinness World Records.

It may no longer hold the world record, but it remains a wonderfully strange piece of roadside Americana—and a perfect place for a goofy family photograph.

Afterward, travelers can explore more of Anniston, including its museums and nearby outdoor recreation.

5. Vollis Simpson Whirligig Park—Wilson, North Carolina

If your journey takes you through eastern North Carolina, make room for something truly unusual.

Vollis Simpson Whirligig Park in downtown Wilson celebrates the enormous kinetic sculptures created by North Carolina artist and machinery repairman Vollis Simpson.

Simpson transformed scrap metal, discarded machinery, reflectors, signs, and other forgotten objects into towering works of folk art that spin, twist, and dance whenever the wind blows.

Today, dozens of his restored creations fill the two-acre park.

It’s colorful, eccentric, artistic, and unlike the typical roadside attraction.

Sometimes the Journey Is the Vacation

A family road trip doesn’t have to be about racing from home to a hotel as quickly as possible.

Take the exit. Visit the giant chair. Walk among dinosaurs. Search the Florida swamp for a legendary creature. Stand beneath a spinning sculpture made from pieces of America’s industrial past. And when you see one of those old signs telling you to “See Rock City,” maybe listen.

Years from now, your family probably won't remember which gas station had the cheapest coffee or gas. But they might remember the afternoon you went looking for the Skunk Ape. And occasionally those strange little detours become the best part of the trip.