The 25 Best Roadside Attractions in North Carolina
Ranked by Roadtrippi users — the people who've actually been there. Updated June 2026. Roadtrippi catalogs 423 roadside attractions in North Carolina.
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1. Museum of the Cherokee People
Cherokee, NC — ★ 4.0 (1 review)
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2. Kayak Ranch
Bryson City, NC
The kayakers of western North Carolina have their own version of Cadillac Ranch, with a row of colorful kayaks buried nose down next to the highway.
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3. Eskimo Dairy Queen Sign
Charlotte, NC
The truth revealed! Dairy Queen was an eskimo. Even if she wasn't, this is a great retro sign.
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4. Human Body Themed Playground
Raleigh, NC
Human-body-theme playground at a health education center. Last one down the colon slide is a rotten egg!
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5. Big Yogi Bear
Chocowinity, NC
A 1960s vintage Yogi from a Jellystone Campground now stands on a pole outside a storage facility with "Bear" in its name.
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6. Auto Parts Sculpture
Burlington, NC
An impressive robotic car part giant made of dozens of real mufflers.
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7. Big Chairs
Hillsborough, NC
A big rocker and an equally large Adirondack chair and foot rest. Made of wood. Sits in a field, but on the far side of a fence.
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8. The Cherokee Trader
Cherokee, NC
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9. O. Henry Office Memorial
Asheville, NC
Famous author O. Henry scribbled his short stories somewhere near this sidewalk-embedded plaque. Not right on this spot. Artistic license?
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10. Big Red Rocker
Maggie Valley, NC
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11. Giant Milkshake
King, NC
A 1940s Dairi-O restaurant, upgraded in 2011 with a giant milkshake cup as its entrance, with two red straws sticking out of the top. 30 feet tall. Owner Jeff Speaks designed it himself after failing to find an architect who understood what he wanted.
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12. Pigfoot: Bigfoot Walking a Pig
Germanton, NC
Mass produced statues of Bigfoot and a pig, individually not worth your time, but here joined in a creative configuration.
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13. Graves of the Gentleman Giant, Singing Ghost Tony
Southport, NC
There's also a headstone in this haunted cemetery engraved "Joe's Legs."
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14. Asheville Radio Museum
Asheville, NC
Ten enthusiastic volunteers knowledgeably entertain visitors with Asheville's contribution to radio history.
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15. Two-Headed Car (Gone)
Raleigh, NC
The front ends of two 1957 station wagons, welded together back to back, slowly rusts in an obscure car lot. The car was last driven in a parade in 1994.
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16. Tin Man
Sandy Ridge, NC
Winking farm field man with an oil barrel body, conical hat, and painted red heart.
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17. Vollis Simpson Whirligigs: Original Location
Lucama, NC
Most of the giant wind-animated sculptures of Vollis Simpson were moved to nearby Wilson, but a few have been left in place to tempt Vollis whirligig completists.
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18. Iron Mike Statue
Fayetteville, NC
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19. Yard Protest for Guardrail (Gone)
Toluca, NC
When the state refused to install a guard rail at a road turn, the property owner made her own unique warning for motorists.
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20. Head of Woo Woo Harker
Morehead City, NC
Woo Woo was a beloved sea fishing captain. His bronze head, with rope trim and a bell, faces the water, but drunks kept abusing it, so the town has secured the monument behind a seven-foot tall iron fence.
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21. Tweetsie Railroad
Blowing Rock, NC
Family theme park with Wild West action, characters, and a train that's a vacation institution in North Carolina.
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22. Pepsi Mural
Catawba, NC
Large outdoor mural celebrates Pepsi's creation in North Carolina. Doesn't mention that it was a different town.
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23. Old Pioneer Statue
Edneyville, NC
A bearded pioneer giant, pointing skyward.
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24. Goon with a Top Hat
Kenly, NC
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25. Yogi Bear Graveyard (Gone)
Halifax, NC
Once the dumping spot for a bunch of damaged and neglected fiberglass characters from Yogi Bear cartoons; a weird pop culture killing ground.
Browse all 423 attractions in North Carolina on Roadtrippi.