Meet wooden giants, stand beneath Babe Ruth’s supersized bat, or find a literal fork in the road at these unusual roadside attractions in Kentucky.
Where Uhls Road meets Bunch Road in Franklin, Kentucky, a 21-foot dinner fork rises from the grass. A high school welding class built it in 2018, turning a familiar expression into a permanent roadside joke.
In Munfordville, Chester Fryer hauled boulders out of a valley to build his own Stonehenge.
In Clermont, Danish artist Thomas Dambo turned discarded wood into a family of giants.
These are some of Kentucky’s quirkiest roadside attractions. Some landmarks give travelers a reason to pull over. Others can fill an afternoon.
1. The Fork in the Road
Where: South-central Kentucky at 1430 Uhls Road at Bunch Road in Franklin, Simpson County, south of Bowling Green near the Tennessee border (I-65 Exit 6)
Visit: Free outdoor photo stop. Park clear of the intersection and watch for traffic.
Franklin’s Fork in the Road weighs 680 pounds, and it even has its own Facebook page. Senior welding students at Franklin-Simpson High School built the stainless steel sculpture under teacher Jeremy Loveall, whose classes have left their work throughout town.
Their projects include horses assembled from horseshoes, a space capsule, and a tree where couples attach love locks. Each graduating class leaves something for the town to keep. The fork delivers its joke at a glance, planted where two roads meet.
2. Kentucky Stonehenge
Where: South-central Kentucky at 201 Lynn Ave., in Munfordville, Hart County, north of Mammoth Cave National Park
Visit: Free. Respect the private property and its rock displays.
Chester Fryer searched 1,000 acres of nearby Hatcher Valley for the boulders that became Kentucky Stonehenge. Inspired by England’s prehistoric monument, he arranged them along compass points, with horizontal slabs resting across upright stones.
Fryer’s collection extends into other rock gardens on display, including the Garden of Gethsemane. Visitors find it on a residential street in the small town of Munfordville, off I-65, Exit 65.
3. Dinosaur World
Where: South-central Kentucky at 711 Mammoth Cave Road, Cave City, Barren County, near Mammoth Cave National Park. Take I-65, Exit 53.
Visit: Daily passes cost $18.95 for adults and $14.95 for children. Coolers and leashed dogs are welcome. Open daily from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central Time, except Christmas Day.
A Tyrannosaurus rex beside Interstate 65 marks Dinosaur World. Beyond that roadside figure, hundreds of life-size replicas stand among the trees along an outdoor walk.
Children can stand beside creatures they know from books and see how they measure up against a dinosaur’s leg or head. Interactive exhibits and a dinosaur-themed playground give them more to investigate.
Between nearby cave tours, families can spend a few hours outdoors here and unpack a picnic.
4. The Big Bat
Where: 800 W. Main St., Louisville, in Jefferson County, downtown near the Ohio River and Indiana border
Visit: Free sidewalk viewing. Tickets cover the museum and factory tour.
Babe Ruth’s 34-inch Louisville Slugger supplied the proportions for the 120-foot bat outside the museum. The steel replica weighs 68,000 pounds, and it’s the world’s largest baseball bat.
Inside the working factory, wooden Louisville Sluggers are still made in the city that shares their name. Stop beneath the Big Bat for a photograph, or head inside to watch real bats take shape.
5. Forest Giants
Where: North-central Kentucky at Bernheim Forest and Arboretum, 2075 Clermont Road, Clermont, Bullitt County, south of Louisville
Visit: Hours vary by season. Bernheim currently opens from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Recommended admission is $15 per car for nonmembers, and members receive free daily admission. Check for holiday closures. Pick up a map at the visitor center. Parking near Mama Loumari and Little Nis allows for a shorter visit without walking the full 2-mile round-trip route.
Mama Loumari leans against a tree, pregnant with another giant. Her children, Little Nis and Little Elina, occupy their own places nearby. Danish artist Thomas Dambo created the family and wrote the fairy tale that explains its presence.
Dambo built the Forest Giants from recycled regional wood for Bernheim’s 90th anniversary in 2019. Walk up close to see how he assembled discarded pieces into faces, hands, and feet.
6. The Big Twigs
Where: Western Kentucky at Lake Malone State Park, 331 State Route 8001, in Dunmore, Muhlenberg County, near Greenville.
Visit: Free, dawn to dusk, mid-March through mid-November
Happy Malone has a marshmallow to roast. Bobber has fish to catch. Paige has a book. These sculptures are scattered around Lake Malone State Park in Western Kentucky.
Artist Steve Brauch created the original Big Twigs. The family now includes six figures ranging from 10 to 17 feet tall. Finding them takes visitors through different parts of the park. Along the way, take in lake views, sandstone bluffs, and the hardwood forest.
7. The giant batter bowl
Where: Western Kentucky at Hopkinsville Visitor Center, 1730 E. Ninth St., Hopkinsville, Christian County, north of the Tennessee border
Visit: Free indoor photo stop. Check the visitor center hours before going.
The brownie mix in your grocery cart may have a connection to Hopkinsville. Local manufacturers produce Ghirardelli brownie mix, Krusteaz mixes, and Red Lobster Cheddar Bay biscuit mix.
The city celebrates that work with a 4-foot batter bowl where visitors can pose for photographs. Its Batter Capital of the World campaign traces production from wheat fields to packaged foods. At one operation, flour moves through pipes from the mill to a neighboring mix plant. The bowl brings a little of that production story into the visitor center, where travelers can pose inside it before heading back on the road.
8. Ark Encounter
Where: Northern Kentucky, at 1 Ark Encounter Drive, Williamstown, Grant County. Take I-75, Exit 154, then head west on Kentucky Route 36
Visit: Paid admission and parking. A one-day adult admission starts at $54.99.
A wooden ship longer than a football field sits on a Kentucky hillside. The Ark Encounter’s model of Noah’s ark measures 510 feet long, 85 feet wide, and 51 feet high.
Answers in Genesis operates the Christian attraction. Three exhibit decks present the organization’s interpretation of the biblical account, including how Noah’s family and the animals might have lived aboard.
The shuttle ride from the parking area makes the visit more involved than a roadside photo. Check the attraction’s calendar and ticket options before planning a stop.
A few good reasons to stop
The many quirky roadside attractions in Kentucky have stories of their own. They reveal what people make, what their towns take pride in, and sometimes just what makes them laugh. Consider these landmarks an invitation to get out of the car and look around.
