Take a break from your road trip at these 6 weird, quirky Michigan roadside attractions

Amelia Benavides-Colón, Detroit Free Press
Updated ·3 min read

From private gnome villages built in front yards to giant tires along the highway, Michigan has a host of fun roadside attractions.

Here are just a few to check out. Do you have other attractions we should include? Reach out to us.

Gnome Village

  • Location: Wolverine — off of Old Sturgeon Road

  • Cost: Free

In an April social media video, TikTok user MckormickRadio randomly stumbled across a gnome village off Old Sturgeon Road in Wolverine, and couldn't believe the find.

The collection of tiny houses is unique and whimsical and features a small church and other community buildings.

Eiffel Tower

  • Location: Paris Park, about 5 miles north of Big Rapids

  • Cost: $6 park entry

Visit the Eiffel Tower without ever leaving the state with a visit to Paris Park in northern Michigan. The 20-foot-tall tower is constructed of steel, built in 1980 by welding students from the Mecosta-Osceola Career Center in Big Rapids.

The town historical park in Paris features a much smaller replica (20 feet) of the Eiffel Tower (1,063 feet).
The town historical park in Paris features a much smaller replica (20 feet) of the Eiffel Tower (1,063 feet).

The park is also home to the state's first fish hatchery dating back to 1881 and operated until converted into a park in 1964. Behind the hatchery is a drawing of a Chippewa Chief carved in 1937.

Cross in the Woods and Nun Doll Museum

At Cross in the Woods in Indian River, an outdoor 55-foot tall cross has a 7-ton Jesus Christ sculpture.
At Cross in the Woods in Indian River, an outdoor 55-foot tall cross has a 7-ton Jesus Christ sculpture.

  • Location: 7078 M-68, Indian River

  • Cost: Free

Along I-75 in northern Michigan is a spiritual site with the world's largest crucifixion of Jesus Christ, sculpted by Michigan's own Marshall Fredericks, responsible for the Spirit of Detroit among other monuments. The bronze 28-foot statue is just one spiritual stop of the park's seven holy shrines.

In addition to the holy sculptures, the Cross In the Woods Catholic Shrine at Indian River is home to the largest number of dolls dressed in traditional habits of men and women in religious communities in the country. On display in the doll museum is 525 dolls and 20 mannequins from around the world.

More: 8 unusual Michigan museums to visit this summer

Dinosaur Gardens

Talk a walk on the wild side with a visit to Dinosaur Gardens in Ossineke, Michigan. The park has 27 dinosaur sculptures along with a range of dinosaur-themed activities.
Talk a walk on the wild side with a visit to Dinosaur Gardens in Ossineke, Michigan. The park has 27 dinosaur sculptures along with a range of dinosaur-themed activities.

  • Location: Ossineke

  • Cost: $10 and up

Take a walk on the wild side with a trip to Ossineke Michigan's Dinosaur Garden, first opened in 1923, which more than 20 dinosaur sculptures call home.

The park is a half-mile walk and self-guided tours start at $10 with children under 2 years old free. For an added $3 per child, kids can dig for their fossils and take home their favorite three. The park also has an 18-hole putt-putt golf course overlooking the nearby Devil's River.

The Miner's Sluice packages range from $10.95 to $21.95 and give families the experience of picking a bag of mining mix and washing the contents in a live, water-operated miner's sluice.

Nearly 200 miles south of Dinosaur Gardens in Irish Hills is the site of the long-abandoned Prehistoric Forest, a similar dinosaur park that thrived in the early 1980s.

Uniroyal Tire

The huge Uniroyal tire on 94.
The huge Uniroyal tire on 94.

  • Location: Dearborn, westbound I-94

An 80-foot-tall Uniroyal tire, originally built as a Ferris wheel for the 1964 New York World's Fair, has welcomed incoming metro Detroiters off of I-94 for decades.

See inside: I-94's giant Uniroyal tire

Allen Park was awarded the giant tire, worth $750,000, made of polyester resin and fiberglass in 1965 as long as they converted the moving and set up costs — which estimated to be about $300,000.

Detroit's Hollywood-style Sign

On Tuesday, April 16, DTE installed LED lights into the new "Detroit" sign on the side of eastbound I-94 so that the letters now glow after dark.
On Tuesday, April 16, DTE installed LED lights into the new "Detroit" sign on the side of eastbound I-94 so that the letters now glow after dark.

Detroit's newest roadside attraction, a Hollywood-esque light-up sign, was built in early April to welcome visitors for the 2024 NFL draft.

Opinion: Detroit sign on I-94 should have included more residents, input from artists | Letters

The 10-foot-tall letters received mixed reviews from community members after its installation. Mayor Mike Duggan blamed the negative response on a misleading rendering that went viral on social media after the Free Press' original reporting.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan roadside attractions: 6 fun, quirky places to visit