The wide open spaces of North Dakota are the perfect place for an Enchanted Highway full of larger-than-life metal sculptures.
What is the Enchanted Highway?
The Enchanted Highway is a 35-mile stretch of road in western North Dakota where you can see the world’s largest scrap metal sculptures. The northern end of the Enchanted Highway, at the exit from I-90, is the world’s largest scrap metal sculpture, Geese in Flight. And at the southern end is the world’s largest tin family.
History of the Enchanted Highway
Local artist Gary Greff started building his first statue in 1989. The idea behind the statues was to create a destination and save his hometown, Regent, from further decline.
When Gary Greff first dreamed up this idea back in 1989, he knew that “nobody’s going to drive 30 miles for normal sculptures but they might drive for the world’s largest“. The problem- he wasn’t a welder or an artist so he had to ask for help. Most Midwestern farmers and ranchers are good welders (a skill learned to maintain their property and equipment) so he asked people from Regent to help him learn.
His first creation – the Tin Family.
The money for materials, upkeep, and land rental for display have all come primarily from Gary himself. In 2020 the North Dakota state legislature approved some money to help pay for upkeep of the project.
He has struggled in recent years to rent land from owners along the Enchanted Highway to host new sculptures and is hoping to open an art park in Regent to host more sculptures and make Regent even more of a destination.
Listen to Gary Greff tell his story
In this short video from Great Big Stories, Gary tells his story of the Enchanted Highway. Worth watching!
There’s a castle too!
At the southern end of the Enchanted Highway is the Enchanted Castle Hotel. The hotel was opened in 2012 – in the town’s old high school building! I love that repurposing of an old building into something creative!
The Enchanted Castle is also the home of the most recent sculptures – the knight and dragon. This is what they looked like when we visited on Big Trip 15 in 2021. By now they are probably complete.
Did anyone notice that I also got the cool water tower in the photo?
Sculptures of the Enchanted Highway
Here’s a list of the current sculptures along the Enchanted Highway which starts at exit 72 on I-94.
- Mile 0 – Geese in Flight
- Mile 3 – Deer Crossing
- Mile 15 – Grasshoppers in the Field
- Mile 19 – Fisherman’s Dream
- Mile 24 – Pheasants on the Prairie
- Mile 26 – Theodore Roosevelt Rides Again
- Mile 30 – World’s Largest Tin Family
- Mile 32 – Enchanted Castle Gift Shop (Regent)
- Mile 32.5 – Enchanted Castle Hotel, Knight and Dragon Sculpture in progress
This video from the Dickinson Visitors Bureau gives a quick look at a few of the sculptures.
It’s worth the drive!
When we were planning our drive, I wasn’t sure if we would have the time or energy to take the detour of the Enchanted Highway after a full day of driving across the entire state of North Dakota. After all, we would be driving more than 60 miles out of the way (32 miles down the Enchanted Highway then back to our hotel near Roosevelt National Park) but it was 100% worth it. I’m so glad we decided to do the Enchanted Highway drive.
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