Paul Bunyan and Babe Castle Rock

St. Ignace, Michigan, United States

·

Characters and mascots

✓

Current

Listed, not yet checked · Oct 2026

This Big Thing is recorded as still being here.

A seated Paul Bunyan, 15 feet high, with Babe the Blue Ox about 8 feet tall beside him, stands at the base of Castle Rock just north of St. Ignace, Michigan. Michigan BLUE reported in 2015 that they are seen from Interstate 75.

Private to your Passport.

PLAN YOUR VISIT

No recommended arrival yet

We have not checked a recommended place to arrive or stop here yet.

This takes you to the Big Thing itself. If stopping, choose a safe and legal place nearby.

Paul Bunyan and Babe Castle Rock

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

Site-level location · 45.9106° N, 84.7415° W

FIELD GUIDE

The story

Michigan BLUE magazine suggested in 2015 that the Paul Bunyan and Babe statues at the base of Castle Rock may be viewed by more Michiganders than any others in the state, because they are seen from Interstate 75 just outside St. Ignace. Paul sits, about 15 feet high, with Babe the Blue Ox about 8 feet tall beside him. The magazine says you reach them through the Castle Rock gift shop, where painted footprints on the floor lead the way.

The St. Ignace News reported in 2020 that the statues have greeted visitors since 1959 and were built by hand by a relative of the Castle Rock owner, using a frame of rebar and chicken wire under a concrete skin. St. Ignace tourism, writing in 2025, calls the statue perhaps the best-known work of the founder of the Historic Totem Village.

The statues belong to a longer-running stop. Castle Rock’s website says the rock rises almost 200 feet, that the Ojibwa knew it as “Pontiac’s Lookout”, and that it opened to tourists in 1929. It adds that the gift shop’s birch bark ceiling and walls were hand crafted by local Native Americans in the early 1950s. St. Ignace tourism says that in 2025 a climb up the steps to the summit still cost $1.00.

The statues were repainted in September 2020, which the St. Ignace News said was their first new coat in about two decades. Cracks in the concrete had been patched the summer before, and Mr. Bunyan wore a mask for much of that summer to promote pandemic safety.

Add a photo

PRACTICAL

Plan your stop

WHAT TO EXPECT

The statues stand at the foot of the rock and are reached through the Castle Rock gift shop. St. Ignace tourism listed the climb to the summit at $1.00 in 2025.

ACCESS

Castle Rock, about 3 miles north of St. Ignace according to its own website, is reached from I-75 exit 348; check with the attraction for current hours. The statues are reached through the gift shop and, per Michigan BLUE, can be seen from I-75.

COMMUNITY

Visitor Log

WHAT'S NEXT

Find another Big Thing nearby

✓

Current

Wienerlicious hot dog

Mackinaw City, Michigan

A 63-foot-long hot dog sculpture of steel, spray foam and fiberglass sits on top of the Wienerlicious restaurant in Mackinaw City, Michigan. WGRD says it was created in 2014 by Ron Berman; he gives its weight as about 2.4 tons.

Roadside giants

·

14 km away

TRANSPARENCY

Sources & research

Something not right?

If this Big Thing has changed, moved or gone, telling us keeps the guide honest for the next traveller.

Suggest an update →Report a problem →