Haven’t visited the biggest ball of twine in Minnesota yet? This is your sign.
Who doesn’t need a little extra entertainment while driving through middle America? When the flat roads seem to stretch on and on, ad infinitum, roadside attractions are an ideal antidote to monotony.
Minnesota’s roadside attractions range from the familiar “cherry in the spoon” and one-time largest ball of twine to the strange. Whether you have yet to visit odd odes to Minnesota culture, such as the SPAM Museum, or are in search of a new spectacle, like the world’s largest Dilly Bar, you’ll want to experience these Americana eccentricities for yourself.
Here are 13 weird and wonderful roadside attractions for your next pit stop!
1. Biggest Ball of Twine (in Minnesota) | Darwin
Chart a course for a Weird Al-worthy trip to the glorious, huge, majestic sphere of string in Darwin. How did this orb of twine come to be? For four hours each day for 23 straight weeks, Francis A. Johnson constructed the ball. He even recruited a crane to assist his wrapping once it grew too large, ultimately reaching a diameter of 13 feet and weighing in at 17,400 pounds.
While this coil of cord no longer holds its superlative Guinness World Records title, the ball of twine will always hold a superlative place in Minnesota’s heart.
2. Pottyville | Glenwood
Coming in at number two is a special collection of artful outhouses known as Pottyville. Decorating the yard of a Glenwood home, the shacks are outfitted with a specific theme in mind, complete with funny photo ops. Toilet art: Has it gone too far(t)?
3. Lake of the Isles Pencil | Minneapolis
An illustrious 20-foot statue of a #2 pencil stands proudly on the lawn of a Lake of Isles home, and each summer since its erection, the homeowners host a well-attended annual pencil-sharpening ceremony.
4. Minnesota’s Largest Candy Store | Jordan
A bright yellow beacon beams from the roadside of 169, between Mankato and Minneapolis, known as Minnesota’s Largest Candy Store. Once inside, the structure seems to stretch for miles, absolutely stacked with tiny, technicolor packages. Treat your sweet tooth to something nice!
5. Frank Lloyd Wright Gas Station | Cloquet
Downtown Cloquet is home to a gem of Midwestern architecture: a strange-looking gas station that feels straight out of “The Jetsons,” created by none other than Frank Lloyd Wright. Inspired by his ideas of what a city could be, Wright designed this singular monument to his dreams of utopian suburbia.
You can still fill up your tank at the R. W. Lindholm Service Station while admiring the angular architecture and eccentric details of the visionary structure.
6. Spoonbridge and Cherry and the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden | Minneapolis
Minneapolis’s most iconic cultural touchstone, besides Prince, just might be the Spoonbridge and Cherry fountain. Just outside of downtown, the sculpture is unmistakable as seen from Hennepin Avenue. Walk the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden and stretch your legs.
Confounded by the contemporary art of it all? Artist Claes Oldenburg (who made Spoonbridge in collaboration with his wife, Coosje van Bruggen) often created artworks of common items made larger-than-life, such as the oversized cloth fries spilling from a bag in the collection of the neighboring Walker Art Center. Spoonbridge is grand, whimsical, and unmistakable.
7. SPAM Museum | Austin
An ode to the quintessential Minnesota-made mystery meat, the Spam Museum puts Austin on the map. Tour the museum all by yourself or with a SPAM™bassador and get to know the military delicacy. Guided tours are typically 30 to 45 minutes. And do not neglect to exit through the gift shop!
8. Swedish Coffee Pot Water Tower | Lindström
Quite a few water towers with Minnesota spirit are scattered around the state. They commemorate corn, fishing, and more, but Lindström’s has to be the most charming.
Hoisted above the Swede-settled town is a cute little coffee pot, inscribed with a kind greeting, Välkommen till Lindström. As if it wasn’t sweet enough, steam billows from its spout at traditional Scandinavian coffee hours, 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.
9. The World’s Largest Dilly Bar | Moorhead
One of the earliest Dairy Queen franchises has been doing business in Moorhead since 1949, where the world’s largest Dilly Bar resides. A large statue of the quintessential DQ treat greets patrons, popsicle stick, shiny chocolate coating and all.
10. Paul Bunyan and Babe the Big Blue Ox | Bemidji
Mythical figures Paul Bunyan and his pet Babe the Big Blue Ox tower over Bemidji. The statues of this lumberjack and his bovine companion are an all-American photo op—considered to be one of the earliest, pioneering roadside attractions.
11. Jarrett Rock Garden | Millville
Sometime in the 1920s or 1930s, an eccentric recluse named Jakey Reimer built unusual rock structures on a plot of land off the Zumbro River. Although he passed away several decades ago, the Jarrett Rock Garden is now tended by a local husband-and-wife duo. Thanks to their efforts, thoughtful landscaping surrounds the mysterious sculptures, transforming the area into an enchanted garden.
12. World’s Largest Walleye | Rush City
Minnesota’s roadsides boast many of “The World’s Largest” fish and waterfowl. Muskies, northern pike, prairie chickens, loons—you name it! But The World’s Largest Walleye in Rush City sums them up well, representing Minnesota’s official state fish. Stop for gas at the Holiday off I-35—or do you have bigger fish to fry?
13. Ergot Museum | Dassel
The flat land of the Midwest is known for its bounty of grain, and by association its… ergot? Ergot is a fungus that commonly grows on barley and wheat—perhaps most (in)famously used in the synthesis of LSD. The mold has poisoned untold numbers of people since at least the Middle Ages, and some suggest the symptoms of “ergotism” contributed to the folklore surrounding curses and witchcraft.
The town of Dassel became a major source of ergot in the 1930s, harvesting the fungus for the pharmaceutical industry. The processing facility, known as Universal Laboratories, is now a museum dedicated to the devilish fungus.
