Who’s up for a road trip to visit nine of the best roadside attractions in northwestern Pennsylvania?!
This 358 mile driving tour hits nine of the best roadside oddities in northwestern PA, and is sure to appeal to those with a sense of adventure and an appreciation of the quirky.
Along the way you’ll pass through miles of beautiful countryside and some of the coolest little towns in this part of the state.
And the best part is I’ve done the legwork for you – simply click on the button below to open/download a copy of the route map for yourself.
I’m starting my description of this road trip at the Snowman in Portersville (Butler County), but because I’ve plotted this route as a loop, you can start/end anywhere you choose!
Simply click on the blue text links in the descriptions of each destination listed below to view a more in-depth article about that attraction.
1. The Snowman
Stop number one on this “Best Roadside Attractions Northwestern PA” adventure is The Snowman near Portersville in Butler County, a one-of-a-kind, 13 foot-tall concession stand that dispenses delicious frozen treats from his round white belly!
The Snowman currently serves 24 flavors of shave ice, sundaes (the biggest seller), milkshakes, ice cream, and frappuccinos.
Even if you’re not a fan of ice cream and/or shave ice, the Snowman is certainly a sight to behold and a throwback to the 1970s when he was first built in New Mexico.
2. The PennDOT Road Sign Sculpture Garden
The PennDOT Road Sign Sculpture Garden is a 1200-foot long art installation along Smock Highway outside PennDOT’s Crawford County maintenance building.
Officially known as “Read Between the Signs,” this art installation is constructed of old road signs and was built between 2000 and 2010.
The PennDOT Road Sign Sculpture Garden is free to visit and is located just outside of Meadville, PA.
3. Schaefer’s Auto Art
Schaefer’s Auto Art has been a roadside attraction in Erie for over 25 years, and contains nearly a dozen large sculptures created from repurposed car parts.
Located on a private lawn (but open to the public), you’ll find industrial-looking versions of spiders, bees, dinosaurs, and more, all built out of recycled metal and automotive parts.
Schaefer’s Auto Art in Erie is free to visit and parking is alongside Hershey Road.
4. Sherman Memorial Lighthouse
The Sherman Memorial Lighthouse, sometimes referred to as the Tionesta Lighthouse (as it is located in Tionesta, the county seat of Forest County), is the tallest lighthouse in Pennsylvania!
Not only is the Sherman Memorial Lighthouse beautiful in its own right, but the wonderful Peace Park that surrounds the lighthouse allows you to take a leisurely stroll around “Lighthouse Island” and view other patriotic sculptures, statues, and historic replicas.
Installed in 2020, a beautiful replica of the Statue of Liberty is one of many statues and sculptures surrounding the Sherman Memorial Lighthouse.
5. Decker Chapel
Stop number five on this “Best Roadside Attractions Northwestern PA” road trip is Decker’s Chapel in Elk County, the smallest church in Pennsylvania, and one of the smallest churches in the entire United States!
The one-room chapel measures 12 feet by 18 feet, and features 4 “kneelers” and an altar surrounded by various religious artifacts.
The Elk County Historical Society has owned the chapel since 1990, and it is open to visitors every day.
6. Doolittle’s Dinosaurs
Doolittle’s Dinosaurs is an animatronic dinosaur museum, open on the weekends for a $5.00 admission fee.
And if robotic dinosaurs aren’t your thing (or if they freak you/your kids out), you can walk around the outside of the museum and see plenty of stationary dinosaurs and dragons for free.
Doolittle’s Dinosaurs is part of Doolittle Station, an eclectic mix of restaurants, museums, a brewery, and a bed and breakfast, all housed in historic train cars!
7. Punxsutawney Phil’s Burrow
Punxsutawney Phil, the most famous groundhog in Pennsylvania, lives in a deluxe man-made burrow attached to the Punxsutawney Library.
You can peer into Phil’s burrow through viewing windows outside the library, where he lives the life of a rockstar rodent.
Scattered around Punxsutawney you’ll find “Phantastic Phils”, statues of Phil in various costumes.
8. Cowboy Sam at the Cadet Restaurant
Stop number eight on this “Best Roadside Attractions Northwestern PA” road trip is Cowboy Sam, a 30 foot-tall burger-wielding statue outside the Cadet Restaurant in Kittanning.
Cowboy Sam was first installed outside the Cadet Restaurant in 1962
A throwback to the era of “roadside giants”, Cowboy Sam keeps a close watch over Route 422 in Armstrong County.
9. Mars Flying Saucer
The Mars Flying Saucer is a spaceship-themed roadside attraction in the small town of Mars, Pennsylvania, 25 miles north of Pittsburgh.
The town is believed to me named after the Red Planet, which in turn was named after the Roman god of war.
The Mars Flying Saucer occupies a prominent spot in a downtown park, next to a ship’s bell from the USS Mars, a Vietnam War-era Navy ship named after the town.
So there you have it – 9 of the best roadside attractions in northwestern Pennsylvania!
Related Attractions
The Kecksburg UFO is a roadside attraction in Westmoreland County, a fiberglass replica of a UFO reported to have crashed nearby in 1965.
The Bedford Coffee Pot in Bedford County is a unique 18 foot-tall “roadside giant” built along what was known at the time as the Lincoln Highway, America’s first coast-to-coast highway.
The Haines Shoe House, one of PA’s most recognizable roadside attractions, was constructed as a promotional gimmick by the owner of a shoe store chain, and has at various times been a honeymoon retreat, a museum, and an ice cream parlor.
The abandoned Westinghouse Atom Smasher, an iconic relic from the dawn of the atomic age in the United States, is a roadside attraction in Allegheny County.
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