Hawaii isn’t just beaches and volcanoes—it’s also home to some utterly bizarre roadside attractions that make perfect photo ops and fascinating detours. Here are 11 of the weirdest stops worth pulling over for on your Hawaiian road trip.
1. Kukaniloko Birthing Stones (Oʻahu)
Located near Wahiawa, these ancient stones mark the sacred site where Hawaiian royalty gave birth for centuries. Recent research suggests they may also function like a Pacific Islands henge for astrological observations.
2. Lava Tree State Monument (Big Island)
This eerie park preserves tree trunk molds created when lava flowed through a forest in 1790, encasing living trees in rock. The 0.7-mile loop trail lets you walk among these petrified trunks.
3. Ax-Wielding Abe Lincoln Statue (Oʻahu)
In Ewa Beach stands “Lincoln the Frontiersman,” the last bronze monument cast in the U.S. during World War II. This ax-wielding Lincoln, surrounded by tree stumps, was created to inspire school children.
4. Teddy Bear World (Oʻahu)
More than 800 animatronic teddy bears fill this 20,000-square-foot museum—the only animatronic teddy bear museum in North America. It’s as surreal as it sounds.
5. UFO Peace Park (Big Island)
Created by followers of the Raelian UFO religion in Volcano, this small sculpture park features a model of their proposed “galactic embassy.” The group believes humans were created by aliens called Elohim.
6. Coco Palms Resort Ruins (Kauaʻi)
Once the backdrop for Elvis Presley’s Blue Hawaii, this abandoned resort was devastated by Hurricane Iniki in 1992. The crumbling, vine-covered structure now looks like a post-apocalyptic movie set.
7. Three Ring Ranch Exotic Animal Sanctuary (Big Island)
On five acres above Kailua-Kona, you’ll find exotic animals including Zoe, a rare golden zebra with gold stripes and blue eyes—only the third reported in history when she was born in 1998.
8. Cactus Garden (Oʻahu)
Founded in 1988 by Moriso Teraoke at Kapiolani Community College, this free garden features thousands of cacti he personally ordered from catalogs. The octogenarian founder still tenders the garden with volunteers.
9. Dole Plantation Maze (Oʻahu)
Declared the world’s largest pineapple garden maze by Guinness in 2008, this 3-acre labyrinth contains nearly 2.5 miles of paths. Admission is just $6, and it’s surrounded by the world’s largest pineapple gallery.
10. Corsair Plane Wreck (Oʻahu)
This WWII-era Corsair plane sits 100 feet deep off Oʻahu’s coast, guarded by eels and rays since 1946. Scuba divers can explore this underwater wreck near Portlock—though it’s not for casual roadside viewing.
11. Kalaupapa Leper Colony (Molokaʻi)
Isolated by 1,600-foot cliffs on one side and the ocean on the other, this former quarantine prison for leprosy patients was described by Robert Louis Stevenson as “a prison fortified by nature.” At its peak, 1,200 people were exiled here.
SOURCES :
- https://wanderlog.com/list/geoCategory/843440/crazy-and-offbeat-roadside-attractions-in-honolulu
- https://sillyamerica.com/blog/best-hawaii-roadside-attractions/
