Iowa Paved a Road Around a Tree and That Tree Became a Local Legend

Interstate 80 in rural Iowa has a massive cottonwood tree standing right in the middle of a four-way intersection, and the road simply bends around it.

I stumbled across that quirky landmark on a long drive and could not believe it was real. Roughly 170 years old and nearly 100 feet tall, the tree has its own Google Maps listing, Facebook page, and a devoted fan base of road-trippers who detour just to see it.

Green signs labeled “Tree in the Road” guide you off the highway toward it, which tells you everything you need to know about how seriously Iowa takes this living landmark.

I pulled over and spent a good ten minutes walking around it, trying to imagine the conversations that must have happened when someone first suggested building a road around a tree instead of through it.

The story behind it is just as fascinating as the sight itself, rooted in a tale of a surveyor, a cottonwood sprout, and a community that refused to cut it down. This is one of those places that sounds almost too strange to be true, but once you see it, you completely understand why people keep coming back.

The Legend Behind the Tree

Back in the 1840s, a land surveyor named Umphrey Parker was out in the middle of what is now Audubon County, Iowa, doing the unglamorous work of marking county boundary lines. He needed a temporary marker, so he grabbed a cottonwood sprout and stuck it into the ground.

Simple enough, right?

Except that sprout had other plans. It took root, grew, and kept growing until it became the towering giant you can visit today.

Whether Parker ever imagined his makeshift marker would outlive generations of Iowans is anyone’s guess, but the result is one of the most oddly poetic stories in the entire state.

The tree is now estimated to be over 170 years old, though some visitors believe it could be even older. Its trunk stretches roughly 18 feet wide, and the canopy reaches close to 100 feet into the sky.

A surveyor’s throwaway stick became a county landmark. That alone makes the detour worth every mile of gravel road you have to cross to get there.

What It Actually Looks Like Up Close

Nothing quite prepares you for the moment the tree comes into view. You are driving down a quiet gravel road through flat Iowa farmland, cornfields stretching in every direction, and then suddenly, there it is, a colossal cottonwood standing right in the center of the road like it owns the place.

Because honestly, it does.

The trunk is enormous. It reportedly takes about five people linking hands to fully wrap their arms around it.

The bark is deeply furrowed and weathered, carrying the kind of texture that only centuries of Iowa winters and summers can carve into a tree.

Four gravel roads branch off from the intersection, each one bending slightly to accommodate the tree rather than cutting through it. Stop signs mark each approach, making this arguably the most unusual four-way stop in the country.

The quiet around it is striking too. On most visits, you might not see another car the entire time you are there.

Just open sky, flat land, wind through the leaves, and one very stubborn, very magnificent old tree holding its ground in the middle of the road.

Iowa’s Most Unusual Roundabout

The locals have a nickname for this spot that perfectly captures its vibe: the Iowan Round-About. Technically, it functions exactly like a roundabout, with traffic approaching from four directions and naturally flowing around the central obstacle.

The difference is that most roundabouts are made of concrete and painted lines, and this one is a living, breathing, 170-year-old cottonwood tree.

Drone photographers absolutely love this place, and it is easy to see why. From above, the four gravel roads radiating outward from the tree create a pattern that looks almost intentional, like someone designed a nature-themed traffic feature for a quirky small town.

The aerial perspective makes the whole setup look even more surreal.

What makes it genuinely special is how organic the whole thing feels. There was no city planner who sat down and said, let us design a tree roundabout.

The road just grew around the tree over the years because people refused to remove it. That kind of quiet, stubborn community decision to preserve something natural over something convenient is honestly kind of beautiful, and it feels very Iowa in the best possible way.

Getting There: The Road Less Paved

Getting to the Tree in the Road is part of the experience, and it is worth knowing what you are signing up for before you turn off the highway. The tree sits at the intersection of 350th Street and 710th Street near Brayton in Audubon County.

From Interstate 80, green signs marked ‘Tree in the Road’ will guide you toward it, which is genuinely helpful because GPS apps have a habit of routing visitors onto unmaintained dirt tracks that turn into muddy nightmares after rain.

The roads surrounding the tree are classified as Level B roads, meaning they are gravel, minimally maintained, and can get seriously rough depending on the season. After a rainstorm, they can be slick and muddy.

In winter, they may not be plowed at all. Most visitors recommend an AWD or higher-clearance vehicle if possible, especially in wet conditions.

Follow the green signs rather than blindly trusting your navigation app. Several visitors have learned this the hard way after getting routed down a two-track mud path that tested both their patience and their car’s clearance.

The gravel road approach is straightforward and well worth the short drive off the interstate. Plan for a 15 to 20 minute detour from I-80 each way.

The Graffiti Problem and the Community’s Pride

There is a bittersweet side to visiting this landmark, and it is hard to ignore once you see it. The tree’s trunk has been tagged with graffiti over the years, and many visitors have noted their disappointment when they arrive to find spray paint marking up the bark of a tree that has been quietly standing there for over a century and a half.

The graffiti does not ruin the visit, but it does add a layer of sadness to an otherwise magical spot. A tree this old, with this much history attached to it, deserves a little more respect than what some passersby have given it.

Several reviewers have called for better protection around the trunk to prevent future vandalism.

Despite this, the local community clearly cares deeply about the tree. It has its own Facebook page, its own Google Maps listing with a 4.7-star rating from over 200 reviewers, and green highway signs guiding people to it.

That level of local investment says a lot. The hope among visitors and locals alike is that increased awareness will lead to better stewardship of this living piece of Iowa history before more damage is done.

Why Road Trippers Keep Stopping Here

There is something about this tree that road trippers just cannot resist, and it goes beyond the novelty of seeing a tree in the middle of a road. People drive from Virginia, from Omaha, from Des Moines, and from points far beyond just to stand next to it for a few minutes and take a photo.

Families make it a detour on cross-country trips. Couples stop on whims.

Solo drivers pull off the interstate just because a green sign told them something interesting was nearby.

Part of the appeal is how unassuming it all is. There is no gift shop, no entrance fee, no tour guide, and no crowds in most cases.

You just drive up, park on the gravel, and stand there looking at a very old tree that somehow ended up in the middle of a road. The simplicity of it is refreshing in a world where attractions tend to be loud and over-produced.

The tree is open 24 hours a day, every day of the year, which means early morning visits are genuinely peaceful. Some visitors have arrived at dawn and had the entire intersection to themselves, just birdsong, wind, and the quiet enormity of a cottonwood that has been here longer than anyone alive can remember.

Tips for Making the Most of Your Visit

A few practical things can make your visit much smoother and more enjoyable. First, always follow the green highway signs rather than your phone’s GPS.

Navigation apps have been known to route visitors down unmaintained dirt roads that are fine in dry weather but can be seriously problematic after rain. The signed gravel route is the reliable one.

Bring a camera, and not just your phone. The tree photographs beautifully from multiple angles, and if you have a drone, this is one of the most photogenic aerial subjects in rural Iowa.

The four roads fanning out from the tree look incredible from above. Morning light hits the cottonwood in a particularly warm and dramatic way.

If you are visiting with kids, the tree is a genuinely fun stop that sparks real curiosity. Why is there a tree in the road?

How did it get there? Those are great questions that lead to a fun little history lesson about surveyors, county lines, and the kind of community stubbornness that preserves something beautiful.

The road directly behind the tree is a dead end, so when you are ready to leave, turn left to find your way back to I-80. Address: 2401-2449 350th St, Brayton, IA 50042.