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When it comes to the best places in America to check out during a road trip, one New Jersey landmark towers over the rest.

According to USA Today‘s 2025 readers’ choice awards, Lucy the Elephant in Margate City ranked as the No. 1 Best Roadside Attraction.

Awarded annually, the recognition aims to provide trusted recommendations across several travel and lifestyle categories, such as food and drink, shopping, sports, outdoors, lodging and attractions. An expert panel selected finalists and readers voted on the winners, USA Today said.

Other Best Roadside Attraction honorees include:

• No. 2 – Wheat Jesus Colby, Kan.
• No. 3 – Dalmatian Fire Hydrant Beaumont, Texas
• No. 4 – The Easel Project Goodland, Kan.
• No. 5 – Wall Drug Store Wall, S.D.
• No. 6 – Dinosaur Gardens Ossineke, Mich.
• No. 7 – Bonnie and Clyde Ambush Museum Gibsland, La.
• No. 8 – Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox Bemidji, Minn.
• No. 9 – Paul A. Johnson Pencil Sharpener Museum Logan, Ohio
• No. 10 – The World’s Largest Ball of Twine Cawker City, Kan.

A local landmark

Lucy the Elephant is one of the oldest surviving roadside tourist attractions in the U.S. It was originally built in 1881 to help promote real estate sales and attract visitors to the area.

On an annual basis, the six-story, elephant-shaped building draws about 40,000 visitors, according to the Save Lucy Committee, the nonprofit that runs Lucy.

The National Historic Landmark’s exterior previously underwent a $2.5 million restoration between September 2021 and December 2022. The Save Lucy Committee hopes the latest recognition will help bring it donations as it prepares for the third phase of a major renovation project scheduled to bring this fall.

In a social media post celebrating the honor, the group wrote, “We did it! Lucy the Elephant has officially been named America’s #1 Best Roadside Attraction by USA Today. Thank you so much to everyone who shared about the contest and voted! ❤️ We couldn’t have done this without you. We’re over the moon!”

Lucy isn’t the only Jersey Shore destination that ranked well with USA Today readers. The Wildwoods Boardwalk, Atlantic City Boardwalk and Ocean City Boardwalk recently appeared in the publication’s top 10 Best Boardwalks in the nation.