Frog Rock W H Croaker

Waynesville, Missouri, United States

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Animals and creatures

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Current

Listed, not yet checked · Oct 2026

This Big Thing is recorded as still being here.

A granite boulder beside Historic Route 66 in Waynesville, Missouri, painted as a frog and credited to local artist Phil Nelson, who started on it in 1996. Known as Frog Rock or W.H. Croaker, it is celebrated each autumn with Frogtoberfest.

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Frog Rock W H Croaker

This pin marks the Big Thing itself. If stopping, choose a safe and legal place nearby.

Site-level location · 37.8272° N, 92.1926° W

FIELD GUIDE

The story

Frog Rock, nicknamed W.H. Croaker for Waynesville Hill Croaker, is a granite boulder beside Historic Route 66 between Waynesville and St. Robert, painted as a frog. The Pulaski County Tourism Bureau describes it as overlooking the highway and welcoming visitors to the town.

Its origin has been told two ways. The tourism bureau says the rock was discovered in the 1990s when the Missouri Department of Transportation widened Route 66 to three lanes, while also crediting Nelson with sculpting and painting it. The Waynesville Daily Guide, in a report reprinted by Route 66 News in 2012, said that contrary to popular belief the boulder did not take its shape by magic after the widening: it was carved by local tattoo artist and former Army medic Phil Nelson, starting in 1996.

Nelson told the paper he had imagined a tiger head to match the Waynesville mascot, but the city wanted a frog because, as he put it, someone on the city council liked frogs. He turned down payment, asking only for sculpting tools, and spent his mornings from roughly 6:30 to 9:30 a.m. on the job for nine months.

Route 66 News reported in 2016 that the rock had been added to the federal Geographic Names Information System, listed as Frog Rock with W.H. Croaker as its other name, and that it had recently been repainted and given new supports made to resemble lily pads. A Waynesville visitor guide updated in September 2026 says the townspeople maintain the frog and that the annual Frogtoberfest celebrates it every autumn.

The same guide warns that there is no safe pull-off for photographs on this stretch of Route 66, so it is best enjoyed by driving slowly past rather than stopping in traffic.

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PRACTICAL

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WHAT TO EXPECT

A painted roadside boulder you can see from Historic Route 66; no entry or tickets. The Missouri Division of Tourism lists free admission. A September 2026 visitor guide says there is no safe pull-off for photographs, so drive slowly and do not stop in traffic.

ACCESS

Beside Historic Route 66 between Waynesville and St. Robert, Missouri. It is seen from the road; a September 2026 visitor guide says there is no safe place to pull over for photographs.

COMMUNITY

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WHAT'S NEXT

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Current

Big Route 66 Shield

Waynesville, Missouri

Tourism listings place an 8-foot by 8-foot Route 66 shield, listed at over 1,000 pounds, on the square in Waynesville, Missouri. They say it was built in August 2020 with contributions from area businesses and individuals.

Roadside giants

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0.4 km away

TRANSPARENCY

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