Virginia's 'Best Roadside Attraction' Is A Family-Friendly Retro Forest With Giant Creatures

After dotting America's highways throughout the first half of the 20th century — taking the form of oversized objects and giant animal statues — roadside attractions have steadily moved towards extinction. However, a handful of the most unique roadside stops for your next long drive across America are still standing tall. California's largest gas station in Yermo features a larger-than-life ice cream sundae-shaped building. Branson, Missouri boasts the "World's Largest Titanic Museum," a giant, immersive attraction that's shaped like the ship itself. Virginia, which also features a quirky garden of giant presidents' busts, is home to a forest of giant creatures known simply as Dinosaur Land.

Luring tourists off the busy highway with built-to-scale dinosaurs, the theme park in White Post, Virginia has been a beloved family-friendly attraction since the 1960s. Its paved pathway is lined with over 50 giant fiberglass creatures — mainly prehistoric — offering educational self-guided tours back in time, as well as a kid's toy shop and a gift shop. If you're looking for a unique roadside stop in Virginia, get lost in a marvelous maze of life-size creatures in Dinosaur Land.

Back in 1963, when entrepreneur Joseph Geraci planted five fiberglass dinosaurs at a busy intersection to draw tourists to his gift shop, was the dawn of Dinosaur Land. Over the next few years, Geraci added more dinosaurs to his property, stocked the gift shop with prehistoric-themed souvenirs, and officially opened the park in 1967. Decades later, the unique theme park continues to welcome families of tourists to a wonderland of roadside attractions, ranging from life-size dinosaurs to giant insects.

One of the park's original creations is a 35-foot Tyrannosaurus rex that beckons motorists from the road. If you heed its dinosaur call and spend the $9 to stroll through the park, you'll encounter an array of creatures that include a 70-foot octopus, a 60-foot shark, an enormous praying mantis, and — most uniquely — a 20-foot Cessna statue holding King Kong. Of course, the dinosaurs are the stars of the show, represented in towering replicas of stegosauruses, triceratops, wooly mammoths, and more. Though many of the structures are showing signs of aging after decades of stoically posing in tourists' photos, the park oozes with a retro charm and kitsch that keeps visitors coming back years later.

If you're journeying through Dinosaur Land, the gift shop is an attraction all on its own. Walk through its tooth-lined door frame in the shape of a prehistoric creature's mouth, and you'll find yourself in the memorabilia-filled belly of the beast. Lining its shelves are dinosaur-themed T-shirts, mugs, jewelry, rocks and minerals, and a treasure trove of historical items to dig through. If you're traveling with little ones, make sure to check out the toy shop, which features educational books and posters for young dinosaur enthusiasts.

If you're planning a visit to Dinosaur Land, the best time to go is during the summer when the park is open and the dinosaurs are merely frozen in time (but not literally frozen). You can visit from 9:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. Just bear in mind that the last entry is admitted at 4:30 p.m. Located off of Stonewall Jackson Highway in White Post, the park isn't hard to find. Per the website, just "Look for the Dinosaurs."