North Carolina Roadside Attractions
This stretch of North Carolina ended up being a mix of Mt. Airy, Winston-Salem, and a handful of roadside stops in between — some planned, some not.
A few of these have their own posts now, but this pulls that stretch together in one place.
Mt. Airy, NC – Our First Stop
Our first stop was in Mt. Airy, NC where we found The Whittling Wall. This was an exceptional piece of art. The bricks were laid out perfectly, the grout was placed just right on each figure, and they are based on real people.
Mayberry Connection
While driving around Mt. Airy, we realized quickly that Mayberry was everywhere. Andy Griffith came up constantly while we were researching things to do, so it made sense once we saw it in person.
It’s a really easy town to walk around. Not overly crowded, and there’s plenty to see without having to rush through it.
World’s Largest Granite Quarry
We also made a quick stop by the World’s Largest Granite Quarry. There’s not a lot you can do there besides drive by, but the main office alone is worth seeing — it’s built entirely out of granite.
A surprising amount of the town uses granite, so once you notice it, you start seeing it everywhere.
On our way out of town, this guy looked like he was sending us off. Pretty sure at one point his hand waved. He was parked outside Young Enterprises, which didn’t look operational, but it made for a memorable exit.
The Big Things in North Carolina
Our first “big thing” stop was The World’s Largest Duncan Phyfe Chair in Thomasville. It’s big. And the backstory is way more interesting than you’d expect from a chair.
From there we went to The World’s Largest Chest of Drawers in High Point.
How Did We Miss This?!?
And somehow we completely missed the World’s Largest Highboy Dresser just a few miles away. And their claim to fame doesn’t end with the Highboy, they are also the World’s Largest Furniture Store, AND they have a tank that was built by the guys at ATM (the Tanked series guys)! So yeah… we’ll be back through here at some point.
Winston-Salem Adventures
We headed into Winston-Salem next and found a solid mix of roadside stops — big things, weird things, and a few we didn’t expect to find.
We definitely missed a lot, but it was cold and I do not handle cold well. So we kept it short and left a few things for next time.
Shell-Shaped Shell Station
We found an incredibly cool Shell gas station. It’s no longer in use, but it’s very well maintained — someone clearly takes care of it.
That guy in the window definitely caught me off guard when I looked inside. That one’s on me.
Coffee…No Coffee
Our last stop in Winston-Salem was The Mickey Coffee Pot. It looked huge in photos, but in person it’s smaller than expected.
I was hoping it was an actual coffee shop, but the history behind it still makes it worth stopping for.
How do we plan a day trip of short stops?
I usually start by finding 20–30 things to do within about a 30-mile radius of where we’re staying. Then I narrow it down to 4 or 5 stops for the day, grouped by location so we’re not constantly backtracking.
When I first open my Google Maps, it’s chaos — flags everywhere. I’ve got them grouped into categories like Big Things, Weird Things, Herb Shops, and Campgrounds.
It looks ridiculous, but it works.
🧭 Keep Exploring
More weird stops are scattered all over North Carolina.
Roadside Attractions by State — our growing guide to the odd, oversized, and unexpected stops we’ve found across the country.
Roadside Attractions Blog — more posts covering the strange and random things we stop for along the way.
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