The communities along the Dan River in North Carolina and Virginia are home to great outdoor recreation, delicious food, and wonderful shopping. But if you’re looking for something a little more unusual, we’ve got that covered too.
From the pages of “Weird Virginia” and the Roadside America website, we compiled a few suggestions for a different kind of destination.
If you’re a visitor, add a few of these to your itinerary for a more memorable trip. If you’re a local, you might know about these already — but if you didn’t, you do now.
Danville, Virginia: Gravity-defying road
“Weird Virginia,” a collection of oddities across the commonwealth, claims that motorists on Oak Hill Road in Danville will inexplicably be pulled toward a house formerly occupied by a witch. Co-author Ryan Doan claims in the book that he found Gravity Hill, and that his rental car was indeed pulled uphill while in neutral.
Photo courtesy of Virginia State Parks via Flickr
Fairy Stone State Park, Virginia: Fairy crosses
Fairy stones — also known as fairy crosses — continue to be found in and around the land that’s now preserved as Fairy Stone Park. The stones are staurolite crystals, but folklore gives them talismanic power.
Germanton, North Carolina: Bigfoot walking a pig
In front of Creekside Supply, an imaginative soul has paired mass-produced statues of Bigfoot and a pig—and apparently more recently a deer—so it appears the legendary Sasquatch is out walking a pet hog.
Photo courtesy of Dan Drake via Flickr
Danville, Virginia: The Tank Museum
What’s better than a tank? A bunch of tanks, all collected for your viewing pleasure in a museum in Danville.
King, North Carolina: Giant milkshake
A custom-made, 30-foot milkshake cup with two red straws marks the entrance to a 1940s-style Dairi-O restaurant.
Photo courtesy of David Hoffman via Flickr
Martinsville, Virginia: Wedding-cake house
The house at 308 Starling Avenue in Martinsville is beautiful and yet also triggers a certain hunger. That’s because the house, built by George “Cap’n Til” Lester, looks like a giant wedding cake.
Eden, North Carolina: Big milk carton on a pole
At the Vernon Family Dairy, find a large “Pet” milk carton, of the kind that occupied a spot in many a family refrigerator, atop a pole out front.
Bassett, Virginia: Haunted junkyard
People have talked for years about hauntings at an old salvage yard. It’s said that on the right night you can see headlights of abandoned cars flashing. Mechanical malfunctions, the spirits of those killed in car wrecks, or something else?
You decide.
For more cool, hidden, and unusual things to do in the Dan River region, check out Atlas Obscura’s lists for North Carolina and Virginia.