A Truly Enchanted Highway

“Geese In Flight” One in a series of metal sculptures along “The Enchanted Highway” between Gladstone and Regent, North Dakota

One of the “must visit” places on our recent trip through North Dakota was a place called The Enchanted Highway.  The Roadside America website gives this brief overview, and you can visit the link for more details:

“Thirty miles south of the nearest major highway, the town of Regent was dying, and Gary Greff decided someone had to do something about it.

A metal sculptor and retired school teacher, Gary started the work in 1990. His master plan was to create ten giant sculptures, one every few miles along Regency-Gladstone Road, paired with picnic areas and playground equipment. All the sculptures face north, toward the oncoming traffic from the interstate. Seven have been completed.

An additional sculpture towers along I-94, essentially an artistic billboard enticing travelers to exit and head south to Regent. Geese in Flight went up in 2001, next to the Gladstone exit — and it is claimed to be the World’s Largest Outdoor Sculpture.”

“Pheasants On The Prairie” One in a series of metal sculptures along “The Enchanted Highway” between Gladstone and Regent, North Dakota
“Tin Family” One in a series of metal sculptures along “The Enchanted Highway” between Gladstone and Regent, North Dakota
“Tin Family” One in a series of metal sculptures along “The Enchanted Highway” between Gladstone and Regent, North Dakota

Our visit occurred on one of the nastiest (relatively in North Dakota terms!) of our trip.  We started off in the morning with rain and 35 degrees, went through 3-4 inches of snow at 31-32 degrees, then finally ended up in Rapid City where it had warmed to a welcome 40 degrees with light drizzle.  You can see the progression of rain to snow in the photos, as the snow increased as we went south on the route.

“Fisherman’s Dream” One in a series of metal sculptures along “The Enchanted Highway” between Gladstone and Regent, North Dakota
“Fisherman’s Dream” One in a series of metal sculptures along “The Enchanted Highway” between Gladstone and Regent, North Dakota
“Grasshoppers In The Field” One in a series of metal sculptures along “The Enchanted Highway” between Gladstone and Regent, North Dakota
“Teddy Rides Again” One in a series of metal sculptures along “The Enchanted Highway” between Gladstone and Regent, North Dakota

It’s easy to see the mud that we found at all of the pulloffs, so I made good use of my “car-pod” to make the photos, only getting out of the car where I could do so without tracking through the muck.

“Welcome to Regent” sign along “The Enchanted Highway” between Gladstone and Regent, North Dakota
“Whirly Gigs” One in a series of metal sculptures along “The Enchanted Highway” between Gladstone and Regent, North Dakota
The Enchanted Castle, a hotel in Regent, North Dakota at the southern end of “The Enchanted Highway”

These photos are a few of the highlights of our visit.  I’ve created a separate gallery on my Adobe Portfolio page for anyone who just needs to see more of The Enchanted Highway!

Series of metal sculptures along “The Enchanted Highway” between Gladstone and Regent, North Dakota

4 thoughts on “A Truly Enchanted Highway”

    1. Thank you, Faye! Sunnier weather might have been preferred, but the gloom of the rain and snow made for an interesting and somewhat surreal atmosphere.

  1. Now, that’s cool! I wish that I had taken the time to visit that area, but, to be honest, I was heading back to Minnesota and had had a few 12 – 14 driving days and I was plumb tuckered! 😀 . Maybe a return trip, with shorter drives is in order!

    1. We tried to keep our days to a more sustainable 8-10 hours at the most, and we did the highway first thing in the morning. If it hadn’t been on the way we might not have done it. But we’re glad we did!

Comments are closed.