For every wonderful attraction you can find in the United States, there are surely a few that are truly tacky. Some are well-known while others are more obscure. Here is a list of some of the tackiest places in the country. If you are hitting the road, make sure you get the best travel insurance.
Once Elvis’ beloved home in Memphis, Tennessee, this stately mansion has now been turned into a tourist trap. Visitors can sign up for special “VIP tours,” some of which are labeled “platinum.” They also have an Elvis museum and display custom jets belonging to Elvis and Lisa-Marie. The place even offers weddings at a chapel in the woods!
The Dollywood theme park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee was conceived by country legend Dolly Parton. In addition to the standard thrill rides at other parks, the attraction has music and traditional crafts reminiscent of the Smoky Mountains area. If that’s not enough country for you, right next door is Dollywood’s Splash Country and a chain of Dixie Stampede dinner theaters.
Located in western Nebraska near Alliance, this tacky assembly of rusted metal is meant to mirror England’s legendary Stonehenge. Instead of huge stones in the ground, Carhenge is constructed completely of old American cars that were spray-painted gray. Tourists can visit and have their pictures taken but most people just bring chairs and set up camp around it.
If you’re looking for a tacky diner, you don’t have to look any further than the Roadkill Café in Seligman, Arizona. If you don’t mind eating in a place with a bunch of wall-mounted stuffed heads of animals supposedly killed on the road, you should also take a look at the menu , which offers dishes such as “Slab of Lab,” “Rack of Raccoon,” and “Chunk of Skunk.”
In Dillon, South Carolina, there stands an attraction that’s a combination between gas station, motel, restaurant, and theme park. It has a small assortment of rides and its mascot is Pedro, a banal Mexican bandido. You can even take a ride to the top of Sombrero Tower or hit Pedro’s Pleasure Dome which offers a wedding chapel, Jacuzzi, and bar. However, Pedro isn’t the reason it’s named South of the Border. The place is situated just south of the South Carolina/North Carolina border, get it?
Mitchell, South Dakota has the world’s only Corn Palace, which is rather corny. A popular tourist attraction, it’s decorated with designs and murals made from corn. Its origins date back to 1892 when South Dakota settlers would display some of their harvest on the walls to boast about a good season – and the theme has continued on today.
Although a monument to four of the country’s greatest presidents, Mount Rushmore is not without its tacky side. Restaurants around the place have salt and pepper shakers shaped like the presidents’ heads. Plus, scores of souvenirs in the gift shops were very obliviously manufactured in China, so it really doesn’t get much tackier than that!
The Wall Drug Store, referred to as Wall Drug, is an attraction in Wall, South Dakota that’s basically a huge shopping mall that operates as a single entity. What really gives it a claim to being one the “tackiest places in America” is how heavily they advertise themselves. Huge billboards and signs can be seen for literally hundreds of miles in all directions leading to the place, and they even have a giant dinosaur sculpture.
In Gatlinburg, Tennessee there stands a museum, devoted entirely to the Dukes of Hazzard. Run by “Cooter” himself, it displays a huge collection of old Dukes memorabilia including costumes, props, Cooter’s tow truck, Rosco’s police car, and even The General Lee.
Office Shaped Like a Bulldozer
In Turlock, California, there rests a 2-story yellow building constructed in the shape of a bulldozer. Owned by United Equipment which sells – you guessed it – heavy machinery, tourists can stop off and see a wall of articles published about the building (as long as they don’t play on the rocks behind the place).
Geographic Center of North America
In Rugby, North Dakota, there is a giant statue with the claim that it sits on the “Geographical Center of North America.” Since every measurement scale is different, many scientists dispute the claim and even the town itself acknowledges that the center may not be where the actual statue is. However, brochures in the city still boast that Rugby the “Center of it All!”
The Extraterrestrial Highway, a 98 mile stretch of road in Nevada, is basically a whole lot of nothing – at least until you get to the one town on the side, Rachel. Close to Area 51, it has restaurants that tout it as one of the most visited areas in the country. A little restaurant even has the words “Earthlings Welcome” painted on the side, an “Alien burger,” and souvenirs which are almost all alien.
In Margate, New Jersey, there’s a building constructed of wood and tin sheeting. It’s shaped like an elephant with a howdah on its back. Around the building, visitors can find a souvenir shop and an “I Love Lucy” sandwich shop. Lucy was constructed during the 1880s to attract people to the small town.
In Blue Earth, Minnesota, along the I-90, there is a giant statue of a huge green man dressed in a tunic of leaves. A symbol of the Green Giant food company, the city paid $43,000 in 1979 to erect the huge statue which is visible from a good distance away and marks the entrance into the city, where many tourists stop to have their picture taken.