World's Largest Fish, Hayward, Wisconsin

En route from: Minneapolis to Lake Superior

Roadside attraction: The Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame & Museum decided that it needed a building worthy of its name, so it built the Big Musky, the world's largest fish. The hand-sculpted fiberglass muskellunge fish rises more than four stories above an 88,000-gallon pond, is as long as a Boeing 757, and could easily swallow an entire bus. Visitors enter through a door at Musky's tail and wind through a shrine to the world's best fishermen, complete with mounted trophies—yes, they've crammed a fish sculpture full of the stuffed remains of its compatriots—before making their way to the observation deck inside Musky's jaw to survey a sculpture garden of freshwater game.

Should you stop? Perusing exhibits of tackle boxes, lures, and outboard motors probably wouldn't reel in your average tourist. However, the pretty grounds and Musky's goofy gape make road trippers fall for him hook, line, and sinker.

Motor lodge: Head an hour and a half north on Route 53 to stay at Fitger's, a historic inn in a converted brewery on the shores of Lake Superior.

Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame & Museum
10360 Hall of Fame Drive
Hayward, Wisconsin
Tel: 715 634 4440

Fitger's Inn
600 E. Superior Street
Duluth, Minnesota
Tel: 218 722 8826

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