When planning your road trip, it's easy to miss McLean, a town that covers just 1.2 square miles. As of the year 2000, according to the United States Census Bureau, the town had just under 830 residents.

Located in Gray County, Texas, McLean is a virtual ghost town.

But most of the time, you’ll see the cars in various states of graffiti, and that’s just the way Ant Farm intended. In 2003, the cars were painted black to honor Ant Farm’s Doug Michels’ passing. The cars were painted white for a TV commercial and tourists were thrilled to have 10 blank canvases to spray paint when the commercial shoot was finished. In 2002, Ant Farm painted the cars back to their original colors, a project in conjunction with a larger Route 66 restoration project sponsored by Hampton Inns. They’ve been painted pink on two different occasions-once in 2005 to promote breast cancer awareness and once to celebrate the birthday of Marsh 3’s wife, Wendy. Over the years, the Caddies became a must-see roadside attraction, and the Ant Farm collective and Marsh 3 realized they could have a lot of fun (and support charities) by painting and repainting the cars. Today, spray painting the Cadillacs is a rite of passage for any true roadtripper, and the installation has gone through quite a few makeovers throughout the years.Įrected in 1974 by three artists who called themselves the Ant Farm, and financed by eccentric millionaire Stanley Marsh 3 (he thought Roman numerals were too pretentious), Cadillac Ranch went along relatively unnoticed for some time. Located just outside of Amarillo, the colorful Cadillacs have inspired travelers, filmmakers, and musicians. Of all the roadside attractions in the U.S., Cadillac Ranch may be one of the most iconic and most photographed.

Visitors are encouraged to bring a can of spray paint and add their own mark to this unique roadside art installation. Ten Cadillacs stand along Interstate 40, buried in the dirt at the same angles as the Great Pyramids of Giza.

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