Take a detour off the Atlantic City Expressway to Margate City and climb inside New Jersey’s beloved 65-foot-high (22-meter) Lucy the Elephant, one of the oldest roadside attractions in the US. Lucy was the brainchild of a real estate speculator who commissioned the structure in 1881 to attract more tourists. It worked, and a hotel business grew up around her. Since then, she’s been home to a tavern, offices, and a restaurant, though today she's a National Historic Landmark.

Make time for tea along US Highway 30—or at least time for a few photos of the Chester Teapot—the world’s largest teapot. Chester, West Virginia, was once home to the world’s largest pottery industry, which the 14-foot tall (4-meter) teapot was built to celebrate, before being turned into a concession stand selling teapots, snacks, and souvenirs. Nowadays, it's a free-to-access roadside attraction.

You can't miss the World's Largest Picnic Basket on Ohio State Route 16, around 40 minutes east of Columbus. Standing 7 stories tall and more than 200 feet (61 meters) wide, the basket opened in 1997 as the headquarters of the basket-making Longaberger Company. Today the roadside attraction’s future is uncertain, as the company has since moved to new offices and plans to convert the basket into a hotel fell through.

Every president gets a library named for them, but only Jimmy Carter has been honored with a roadside attraction. The Indiana Democratic Party built this 13-foot-high (4-meter-high) peanut in honor of Carter's 1976 bid for the Presidency—he’s a former peanut farmer—then shipped it to Carter’s hometown of Plains, Georgia, where it has since served as one of Georgia’s top off-the-beaten-path attractions.

England’s prehistoric monument, Stonehenge, is a place of mystery that, thousands of years after its creation, remains almost as enigmatic as ever. Nebraska’s Carhenge, on the other hand, has a few secrets to tell. Built by Jim Reinders in 1987 as a memorial to his father just outside the town of Alliance in the Western Nebraska Sandhills, Carhenge mirrors the layout of Stonehenge—to scale—using vintage cars, all spray-painted gray.

It took chainsaw artists over four years to create the 30-foot (9-meter) tall Sweet Willy—the world’s biggest beagle which opened to visitors in 2003—along Highway 95 in Cottonwood, Idaho. While you can spot Sweet Willy from the road, if you've got time to stop, you can also visit the on-site studio; sometimes, you'll see the artists who created the structure at work. Plus, it's worth looking around the Dog Bark Park, which features chainsaw dog carvings by resident artists.

After touring the Las Vegas Strip, head to Goldfield, Nevada. This Wild West boomtown-turned-ghost town (literally, the historic Goldfield Hotel is said to be haunted) is the location for the International Car Forest, a roadside attraction and open-air art gallery/junkyard—and one of Nevada’s most bizarre roadside sights. Home to more than 40 cars, each one is now an oversized canvas for visiting artists.

Located just 20 minutes outside of Palm Springs (and a must-stop for those road-tripping from Los Angeles), pull off the I-10 for an up-close look at Dinny the Dinosaur and Mr. Rex towering over the road. The 150-foot (46-meter) Brontosaurus and 65-foot (20-meter) Tyrannosaurus rex, sometimes dressed up in seasonal gear, have greeted drivers for over 35 years. They're also a familiar pop culture image and have appeared in music videos and movies, including Pee-wee's Big Adventure.

After hanging out in Palm Springs, hop in a car and head south towards Niland, California, where the 50-foot-high (15-meter-high), 150-foot-wide (46-meter-wide) roadside attraction of Salvation Mountain sits. Built by resident Leonard Knight, Salvation Mountain is a shrine dedicated to his faith that’s made of adobe bricks, tires, and car parts. It's covered in a jumble of hearts, birds, and flowers, crowned by the words “God Is Love” and a white cross.