Enchanted Highway

The Enchanted Highway is a paved, two-lane county road that runs about 32 miles from Gladstone, a small town right off Interstate 94, south to the tiny community of Regent. It crosses gently rolling farm and ranch country in Stark and Hettinger counties, land that stays mostly flat and open the whole way. There is no mountain pass to climb and no forest to wind through. The scenery is big-sky prairie, and the sculptures are the show.

You drive it slowly, and that is the point. Seven enormous sculptures are spaced out along the route, and each one has its own paved pullout so you can leave the road, park, walk right up to the metalwork, and read the sign that tells its story. Geese in Flight stands near the north end by the interstate, and from there the figures appear roughly every few miles as you head south: deer, grasshoppers, a fisherman's dream, pheasants, and, at the far end in Regent, the Tin Family. Between them, the road belongs to farm trucks and the occasional tractor.

Driven straight through with no stops, the highway takes well under an hour each way, but almost no one drives it that way. Most travelers give it an hour or two round trip so they can stop at every sculpture, take photos, and stretch their legs on the prairie. The far end in Regent holds the Enchanted Castle, a castle-themed inn built inside a former school, plus a small gift shop where you can buy miniature metal versions of the giants you just met.

Nearly everyone reaches the Enchanted Highway from Interstate 94, the main east-west route across North Dakota. The north end begins at Gladstone, at Exit 72, about 20 miles east of the city of Dickinson. Coming from Bismarck to the east or Dickinson to the west, you take I-94 to the Gladstone exit, then turn south onto the county road. The first sculpture, Geese in Flight, rises right there where the highway leaves the interstate, so the drive starts the moment you exit.

From there the route runs due south, and you simply follow the sculptures from one pullout to the next until the road delivers you into Regent, the town at the far end. If you are coming up from the south, you can reach Regent by state and county roads and drive the highway in reverse, north toward the interstate, though most visitors prefer to start at Geese in Flight and work their way in.

Dickinson, just west of the Gladstone exit, is the nearest full-service town and the best place to fuel up, grab food, or find a room before or after the drive. Once you leave the interstate, services are thin, so it is smart to top off your tank and pack water and snacks in Dickinson or nearby before heading down the highway.

The Enchanted Highway is the work of one man, Gary Greff, a former schoolteacher and principal who had no art training at all. In the 1980s he watched his hometown of Regent slowly dying. The young people were leaving, businesses were closing, and the school where he once taught was emptying out. Greff decided that if a place had nothing to make travelers turn off the interstate, it would keep fading, so he set out to give them a reason. His idea was simple and a little wild: build sculptures so big that people cruising down I-94 would have to stop and see them.

He started in 1989 with the Tin Family, the group of towering figures that greets visitors near Regent, and he learned to weld as he went. Working mostly with salvaged farm metal, old pipe, well casing, culverts, and scrap steel donated or bought cheap, he built one enormous sculpture roughly every few years. Geese in Flight went up in 2001 and became the crown of the route, a flock of metal birds so large it earned a Guinness World Record as the biggest scrap-metal sculpture in the world. Over the decades the collection grew into the seven giants travelers see today.

The Enchanted Highway is a genuine folk-art project, not an official government scenic byway, and that is part of its charm. It was never designated by a state or federal program the way an All-American Road is. Instead it grew one weld at a time, funded by Greff, by donations, and by the sale of small metal miniatures at the Regent gift shop. To help anchor the far end and keep visitors in town, Greff also opened the Enchanted Castle, a castle-themed inn built inside Regent's old brick schoolhouse, so travelers would have a reason to stay the night rather than just pass through.

The story worked, at least enough to matter. The highway has drawn travelers, news crews, and curious road-trippers from around the world to a corner of North Dakota that most maps skip. Greff has spoken openly about wanting the sculptures to outlast him and about hoping others will keep building, so the road can keep growing. What began as one teacher's long-shot plan to save a dying town has become one of the most beloved roadside attractions in the Great Plains.

• Gary Greff, the man behind every sculpture, was a schoolteacher and principal with no formal art or welding training. He taught himself to weld specifically so he could build the giants and save his hometown of Regent.
• Greff started the whole project in 1989 with the Tin Family, then spent decades adding one enormous sculpture at a time, learning as he went.
• Geese in Flight, the sculpture nearest Interstate 94, once held a Guinness World Record as the largest scrap-metal sculpture in the world. It stands many stories tall and weighs many tons.
• The sculptures are welded almost entirely from salvaged and donated farm metal, including old oil-well pipe, well casing, culverts, and scrap steel, giving new life to material that would otherwise rust in a field.
• The Enchanted Highway is not a designated scenic byway. It has no federal or state scenic-road plaque. It is a true folk-art roadside attraction, built and paid for outside any official program.
• To keep visitors in town, Greff turned Regent's old brick schoolhouse into the Enchanted Castle, a castle-themed inn, so the far end of the drive offers a place to stay the night.
• Every sculpture sits at its own paved pullout with an interpretive sign, so you can leave the road, walk right up, and touch the metal safely away from traffic.
• A gift shop in Regent sells small metal miniatures of the giant sculptures, and those sales have helped fund the ongoing work along the highway.

No. The Enchanted Highway is not a designated scenic byway and carries no federal or state scenic-road plaque. It is a folk-art roadside attraction, a 32-mile county road lined with giant scrap-metal sculptures that a local man named Gary Greff began building in 1989 to save his hometown of Regent. The art, not an official designation, is what draws visitors.

The highway runs about 32 miles from Gladstone, just off Interstate 94, south to Regent. Driven straight through with no stops it takes well under an hour each way, but most travelers give the round trip about an hour or two so they can stop at each sculpture, take photos, and read the signs. Allowing extra time makes for a much better visit.

Traveling south from Interstate 94, the sculptures appear in order: Geese in Flight near the interstate, then Deer Crossing, Grasshoppers in the Field, Fisherman's Dream, Pheasants on the Prairie, Teddy Roosevelt Rides Again, and the Tin Family in Regent. Geese in Flight, once a Guinness World Record holder, is the grandest, and the Tin Family, the first one built, closes out the drive.

Yes. Driving the Enchanted Highway and stopping to see the sculptures is completely free. Each figure has its own paved pullout with an interpretive sign, and there is no fee, pass, or ticket required to view them. A gift shop in Regent sells metal miniatures if you want a souvenir, and the Enchanted Castle inn charges for rooms, but the highway itself costs nothing to enjoy.

Late spring through early fall brings the mildest weather and the greenest prairie, which is when most people visit. Morning and late-afternoon light are especially good for photographing the towering metal figures against the big sky. Summer days are warm and pleasant, while winter can be very cold and windy on the open plains, so the warmer months are the easiest and most comfortable time to go.

Yes. The Enchanted Highway is a public paved county road, so it stays open year-round and the sculptures can be viewed in any season. There is no seasonal gate or closure. That said, North Dakota winters bring snow, ice, and strong wind, so during the cold months you should check current road and weather conditions before setting out and be ready for winter driving.

No. The Enchanted Highway is fully paved and the surrounding country is flat prairie, so any ordinary passenger car handles it easily. The sculpture pullouts are paved as well. You do not need four-wheel drive or high clearance in fair weather. In winter, snow and ice can make any rural road slick, so normal cold-weather driving caution applies.

In winter the road itself stays open, but the open prairie can bring blowing snow, ice, and strong wind that reduce visibility fast. Rural county roads are plowed less often than the interstate, so give crews time to clear the route after a storm. Check the North Dakota road conditions report before you go, carry warm clothing and supplies, and be prepared to turn back if a storm blows in.

Services along the 32-mile route are thin, so plan ahead. Dickinson, about 20 miles west of the Gladstone exit on Interstate 94, is the nearest full-service town for fuel, food, and hotels. Fill your tank and pack water and snacks before you leave the interstate. At the south end in Regent you will find the Enchanted Castle, a castle-themed inn, and a small gift shop.

Cell coverage can be spotty on this remote prairie route, especially in the stretches between towns. Do not count on a strong signal the whole way. It is wise to download your maps for offline use before you leave the interstate, tell someone your plans, and keep your tank full so you are not stranded far from help if service drops out.

Yes. Every sculpture on the Enchanted Highway sits at its own paved pullout with an interpretive sign, so you can leave the road, park safely away from traffic, and walk right up to the metalwork. Getting close is the best way to appreciate how Gary Greff welded each giant from salvaged farm metal, old pipe, and scrap steel. Please treat the artwork with care so it lasts for future travelers.