Discover Hidden Gems: Virginia’s Kitsch-iest Roadside Attractions

This June, it’s time to roll past the usual and dive headfirst into the delightfully odd. We’re talking oversized office supplies, foam dinosaurs, and yes – Optimus Prime. These lovable roadside attractions may not be in guidebooks, but they’re full of personality and perfect for an offbeat summer escape. Even better? They’re all reachable via Virginia Breeze.

Hop on board. Weird Virginia is waiting.

🦕 1. Dinosaur Land – White Post

Route: Valley Flyer

There are museums, and then there’s Dinosaur Land – a prehistoric fever dream filled with towering fiberglass dinosaurs, giant insects, and the occasional yeti. You haven’t lived until you’ve posed in a green stegosaurus mouth in front of a gift shop.

Closest stop: Front Royal

✏️ 2. The Giant Pencil – Wytheville

Route: Highlands Rhythm

Dangling above a quiet sidewalk in downtown Wytheville is a pencil large enough to take down a woolly mammoth. Part small-town charm, part pure kitsch, this beloved local icon proves Virginia takes its stationery very seriously.

Closest stop: Wytheville

🛼 3. Giant Roller Skate –  Bealeton

Route: Piedmont Express

Yes, there is a giant roller skate perched in a gravel parking lot near Warrenton. Yes, it’s exactly what it sounds like. No, we don’t know why it exists. But it’s weird, wonderful, and an absolute must for your photo collection.

Closest stop: Warrenton

🤖 4. Optimus Prime –  Roanoke

Route: Highlands Rhythm

Standing tall, a massive homemade statue of Optimus Prime guards a pizza restaurant like a patriotic Transformer bouncer. Made from car parts, scrap metal, and sheer imagination, he’s proof that heroes do live among us (just off I-81).

Closest stop: Salem

🪑 5. The Big Chair – Martinsville

Route: Capital Connector

In the center of Martinsville’s uptown is a huge wooden chair – an 8.5-foot-tall, 2,000-pound symbol of the town’s once-booming furniture industry. It’s big, proud, and strangely majestic. Sit nearby, snap a photo, and reflect on how small you are in a world full of oversized furniture.

Closest stop: Martinsville

✨ Plan Your Offbeat Adventure

This summer, forget fancy. Go fun. The Virginia Breeze can take you to all these perfectly strange, unapologetically kitschy places without a single U-turn. Let’s get (or stay) weird, Virginia.

🎟️ Book now at virginiabreeze.org

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This post was written by Virginia Breeze Team