Weird outdoor & roadside things to do in Monterey
Weird outdoor and roadside things to do in Monterey — 5 of them, from Giant Artichoke, The Phoenix Shop (Nepenthe) and Deetjen's Big Sur Inn. Folk-art environments, unexplained monuments and roadside oddities worth pulling over for, all outdoors and mostly free. They spread across Castroville, Big Sur, Naval Postgraduate School (former Hotel Del Monte), Monterey and Carmel-by-the-Sea, so two or three can make a whole afternoon. 3 of them cost nothing. Every entry is hand-vetted against real sources — not scraped off a top-ten list or averaged out of crowd ratings.
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Giant Artichoke
Erected in 1963 beside the restaurant of the same name, this oversized concrete artichoke presides over the self-declared "Artichoke Center of the World," with an adjoining farm stand still selling the vegetable a dozen ways — soup, deep-fried hearts, marinated jars — to anyone who pulls off Highway 1 for a photo with it.
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The Phoenix Shop (Nepenthe)
When a coastal live oak on the property died in the 1970s, sculptor Edmund Kara didn't clear the stump — he carved the standing trunk in place into a rough-hewn, bronze-legged phoenix that still perches 800 feet above the Pacific, framed by the gift shop built around it.
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Deetjen's Big Sur Inn
Norwegian immigrant Helmuth Deetjen hand-built this cluster of single-wall redwood cottages starting in 1926, glazing one building with glass he'd made himself in King City and hauled over the mountains by mule, and hand-carving the candlesticks, bowls, and cabinets still scattered through rooms that famously have no wifi, no cell service, and doors that don't quite meet their frames.
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Trident Room
A basement bar inside the 1926 Hotel Del Monte, which was the "Children's Playroom" during Prohibition, became the Del Monte Tap Room the week alcohol was relegalized in 1933, was converted to a WWII soda fountain, and was rechristened the Trident Room by the Navy in 1953. It now sits inside an active Naval Postgraduate School campus, its ceiling still hung with mugs and its walls backed by 1930s stained glass.
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La Playa Carmel
Built around 1905 as a stone mansion by painter Christian Jorgensen for his bride Angela (of the Ghirardelli family) before becoming a hotel, La Playa's original wing — the 200s and 300s rooms above the front desk — is what staff point to when guests report bathroom lights flipping on at night and running-water or rattling-pill-bottle sounds from an empty room. Whether the resident woman is a relative who drowned in the bay or one of the original mistresses is still argued over.
Weird outdoor & roadside things to do in Monterey — FAQ
Which weird outdoor & roadside oddities in Monterey are the strangest?
Ranked by how strange they actually are: Trident Room, La Playa Carmel and Giant Artichoke. Trident Room — A basement bar inside the 1926 Hotel Del Monte, which was the "Children's Playroom" during Prohibition, became the Del Monte Tap Room the week alcohol was relegalized in 1933, was converted to a WWII soda fountain, and was rechristened the Trident Room by the Navy in 1953.
Where in Monterey are they?
Across Castroville, Big Sur, Naval Postgraduate School (former Hotel Del Monte), Monterey and Carmel-by-the-Sea. Each listing gives the neighborhood and address so you can cluster a couple into one outing.
Are any of the weird outdoor & roadside oddities in Monterey free?
Yes — 3 are free to visit, including Giant Artichoke, The Phoenix Shop (Nepenthe) and Deetjen's Big Sur Inn. The rest are mostly low-cost.
Is this a good weird date in Monterey?
That's what the list is built for. Every entry has a specific move rather than a vague recommendation — at Trident Room, for instance: If you know an NPS student, alumnus, or service member who can sponsor you on-base, get escorted in for a beer under the hanging mugs, then walk the outdoor Rose Garden the bar opens onto.
How were these weird outdoor & roadside oddities chosen?
An agentic research system digs for the genuinely obscure — the spots even locals miss — and every one is verified against real sources before it makes the list. We deliberately skip the landmarks already on every Monterey guide.