VW Slug Bug Ranch

Do you ever play slug bug on long road trips? If so, you might want to protect your arm now. VW Slug Bug Ranch in Amarillo, Texas is a Route 66 roadside attraction that features several of those elusive bug shaped cars buried nose deep in a row.

VW Slug Bug Ranch might not be as famous as its Cadillac counterpart over at Cadillac Ranch down the road, but it is just as fun to visit. The Texas roadside attraction consists of five Volkswagen Beetles buried front first into the ground.

They once were painted yellow and a sign on site encouraged visitors to sign their name. Today, multi-colored graffiti covers the cars.

The Texas Route 66 attraction was erected in Conway, Texas 2002 by the Crutchfield family, who owned the Longhorn Trading Post and Rattlesnake Ranch. They hoped the cars would sway travelers to visit them over other more corporate outfits nearby. Unfortunately, the business closed just a year later in 2003. The buildings lay abandoned and the roadside attraction left unattended for many years.

In November 2022 a new caretaker, Steve Clegg, moved onto the property to look after it. He did some restoration work, including replacing one of the worse-for-wear cars and converting a building into a gift shop.

In 2024 Slug Bug Ranch moved to a new location along Interstate 40, in front of the Big Texan RV Ranch in Amarillo. The new location features the half-buried VWs everyone has come to love, alongside new additions, like the Limo Monoliths, retired Big Texan limos that once shuttled thousands of guests to and from The Big Texan Steak Ranch.

As you continue the drive on Texas Route 66, be sure to also check out The Big Texan Steak Ranch, the Big Texan Motel, Ozymandias on the Plains, and the Midpoint Cafe and Route 66 Midpoint sign in Adrian.

Photos of VW Slug Bug Ranch in Amarillo, Texas

These photos of the VW Slug Ranch were taken on a Route 66 road trip in 2021 before this roadside attraction moved to Amarillo!