2141 County Road 59, Alliance, Nebraska 69301 USA
Road Trip Classic
Away from Interstate highways sits a surprisingly popular homage to England’s Stonehenge. Though some find it to be overly eccentric or an eyesore, it nonetheless has spawned a civic-run visitors center and an adjacent car-art sculpture park. The mastermind behind it had lived in England and studied Stonehenge, so the 38 rescued cars are arranged to match the proportions of the famed original. Only you can decide if it’s junk, genius, or both.
The ruins of England's Stonehenge recreated...from old cars embedded into the ground and stacked atop one another. Carhenge is, like it's ancient British brother, aligned with the solstices, and has even been featured in a few films. Carhenge, which replicates Stonehenge, consists of the circle of cars, 3 standing trilithons within the circle, the heel stone, slaughter stone, and 2 station stones, and the Aubrey circle, named after Sir John Aubrey who first recognized the earthworks and great stones as a prehistoric temple in 1648. It was not until excavations undertaken in the 1920's that they were found to be holes cut to hold timber uprights. A total of 56 holes were discovered and named the Aubrey Holes in honor of John Aubrey's observation. The artist of this unique car sculpture, Jim Reinders, experimented with unusual and interesting artistic creations throughout his life. While living in England, he had the opportunity to study the design and purpose of Stonehenge. His desire to copy Stonehenge in physical size and placement came to fruition in the summer of 1987 with the help of many family members. Thirty-eight automobiles were placed to assume the same proportions as Stonehenge with the circle measuring approximately 96 feet in diameter. Some autos are held upright in pits five feet deep, trunk end down, while those cars which are placed to form the arches have been welded in place. All are covered with gray spray paint. The honor of depicting the heel stone goes to a 1962 Caddy. Remember: While Carhenge is open 24/7/365, the preferred times for visiting are during the daylight hours. Absolutely no camping is allowed at the site; however, Alliance offers several overnight accommodation options.
Carhenge is weirdly cool to stop at! Having been to the real stonehenge I found this one slightly refreshing as it wasn't absolutely crawling with people! But basically it is a bunch of real cars that are setup like stonehenge and it looks awesome!
Make sure that you bring a sharpie or spray paint as they have a few cars up on the hill that you can sign!
A must see. A quiet, majestic meditation on the industrial immortality of man.
We had to stop when we saw the billboard. Haha I can't say I've seen anything like it! Definitely work pulling off the highway to check out! Carhenge was certainly a memorable part of our roadtrip . Also, it's a short trip to a DQ from Carhenge. :)
It’s pretty cool. We play with car. And its interesting car art.
A barren post apocalyptic wasteland somewhere between Mad Max and the scene at the end of Planet of the Apes where Charleton Heston falls to his knees at the sight of the statue of liberty awaits you.
I visited on the first day of winter and the chill breeze and thin layer of snow on an overcast Nebraska day made me appreciate a working vehicle that was not stuck in the soil even more.
I guess I do not have to go to the real Stonehenge now.
Loved walking around it. Good for a few pics for Facebook.
Only in America could such a grand place exist. A testament to American ingenuity. If within 250 miles you owe it to yourself to see it, you will not be sorry!
This place is awesome and totally worth the visit. We got there around sunset and it was great.
Driving from The Badlands, my family and I needed a stop along Highway 2 on our way to Denver. Carhenge was an interesting and novel destination. It recreates Stonehenge in a truly American style with old cars. It provides wonderful picture taking opportunities. Unfortunately, the graffiti artists had been there before us. I do hope that the town repaints the cars to return them to their former glory. The gift shop was adequately stocked with drinks and snacks. It is a must see if you are anywhere near there on a trip.
One of the places that's made me love roadtrips so much. My family and I stumbled across Carhenge about 8 years ago while driving across the state on Highway 2. A friend told us about it and we knew we had to visit. Carhenge's main attraction is of course the old cars arranged to be identical to the actual Carhenge. But the location has so much more, including "The Ford Seasons" (Fords stacked to resemble the four seasons), and a station wagon made to resemble a conestoga wagon. Carhenge is one of those bizarre, off-the-beaten path locations that make traveling through America by car so unforgettable.
As others have noted, this is a pretty rad roadside attraction. It's a car-themed stonehenge. Loads of people visit every year. There are 38 cars piled atop one another. The site is maintained by some locals. Definitely worth a stop for some weird photos.
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