Last summer I took a trip to Toronto with several stops along the way. Driving through provinces I hadn’t visited in years, I was reminded of how beautiful our country is!
While traveling by vehicle across Canada, you are bound to come across a few of the roadside attractions that have been built to draw tourists into communities. While these may not be among the most popular tourist attractions, they certainly do draw people into exploring some less famous, but equally beautiful areas of Canada.
Driving east following the #16 highway leaving Edmonton, one of the first roadside attractions is in Vegreville, Alberta. A large replica of a Ukrainian Pysanka (raw egg decorated using a traditional method) can easily be seen. The 8 meter long, 9 meter high aluminum decorated egg spins like a weather vane. Further down the highway, in the town of Innisfree, Alberta stands an 8 meter tall Penguin, named Ernie, “the Cut Bank Penguin”. It’s a scaled down version of a roadside attraction in the city of Cut Bank, Montana. It was built by the production crew in 2013 after filming the movie “Cut Bank” in Innisfree.
Along my route through Saskatchewan, I saw the 7 meter tall coffee pot tilted towards a huge cup that stands outside of the town of Davidson on the #11 highway. Long considered the official halfway point between the cities of Saskatoon and Regina, it has become a favorite place for many drivers to stop for a break, usually at least one cup of coffee. Continuing on from Regina after visiting family there, I passed by the “Eiffel Tower” which is south of the Trans Canada (#1) highway in Montmartre. Yes, there is a 9 meter tall replica of the world famous tower in a town in Saskatchewan that has branded itself as the “Paris of the prairies”. In this area of southern Saskatchewan, tourists can also see the world’s largest red paperclip at 4.5 meters and weighing 1,380 kg. The story behind this attraction is that in 2005, the town of Kipling became famous when a house in the community was involved in a series of 14 online trades started by a Canadian blogger who managed to successfully trade a single red paperclip for a house within one year (https://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/). Apparently, the town now holds an annual Red Paperclip Festival.
Crossing into Manitoba, notable roadside attractions could draw tourists into Morden, home to the Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre. A few life sized replicas of fossils have been erected in the community after being found in the area. Morden is famous for the world’s longest publicly displayed fossilized Mosasaur, known as Bruce (https://discoverfossils.com/meet-bruce/). Equally as scary is the life sized sea creature, xiphactinus, named Xooey. Mounted on a tall pole, the 4.5 meter replica displays a mouthful of dagger-like teeth. Visitors can walk up the steps beneath it, put their head through a hole at the bottom of the jaw and pose for pictures while looking out of this prehistoric fish’s mouth.(https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/62839)
Finally, entering Ontario, I stopped in Kenora where I saw the 2 ton, 10 meter tall replica of the muskellunge (or muskie), a large freshwater predatory fish commonly found in the lakes around Kenora. I had noticed that various sizes of Inukshuks were constructed along both sides of the highway in the area, but the largest was at Vermillion Bay, Ontario. These figures of stone were first created by the Inuit people to convey the message “someone was here” or “you are on the right path”. Inukshuk means “in the likeness of a human.(https://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/48741).
Eager to get to Toronto, I didn’t stop to see any other roadside attractions until my return trip back to Edmonton. In Saulte St Marie (highway #17) there is a bust of Roberta Bondar, Canada’s first female astronaut. Roberta was born there and in 1992, she was a part of the crew aboard the Space Shuttle mission as a Payload Specialist. From the highway near the town of Wawa, it’s easy to see Grady, the largest Canada Goose in Canada at 7 meters tall, 6.7 meters long and has a wingspan of 6 meters. It is the most photographed landmark in North America according to Northern Ontario Travel and was built to draw travelers into the community after the highway was diverted from going through the downtown of Wawa as laid out in the original plans.
The pinnacle of roadside attractions along my journey though had to be the large replica of a mosquito in flight, carrying a man. Mounted at the top of a large pole at the edge of the small township of Upsala in northern Ontario, it is likely a testament to the seasonal activity of the mosquito population in the area. This metal insect has a wingspan of 4.8 meters and is holding a knife in one appendage, fork in another while carrying a bald mannequin of a man in two others. (https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/mosquito-eating-a-man)
I’ll have to plan another road trip to see a few of the roadside attractions of southern Ontario, Quebec and possibly the eastern provinces. I’ve discovered that there’s an Ice Hotel in Valcartier, Quebec where everything is constructed out of ice. I don’t know about staying the night, although they do provide a goose down sleeping bag for overnight guests. Then there’s all the roadside attractions in B.C and the territories to explore. So many Canadian roadside attractions to add to my bucket list!.
References:
https://roadtripalberta.com/alberta-roadside-attractions/
https://www.roadsideattractions.ca/roadside/sask https://www.todocanada.ca/15-roadside-attractions-for-a-road-trip-in-manitoba/
https://www.atlasobscura.com/things-to-do/canada/roadside-attractions
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_red_paperclip#:~:text=One%20red%20paperclip%20is%20a,t he%20childhood%20game%20Bigger%2C%20Better.
https://northernontario.travel/algoma-country/fun-facts-about-famous-wawa-goose
