Confusion Hill

We do try to keep our journeys rational and high brow. Yet, every once and a while, we can’t help but be pulled in by a pseudoscientific tourist trap:

There just happens to be a vortex in the coastal redwoods of Humbolt county. It just so happens to be located on Confusion Hill, a strange mix of fun house and sideshow that got Huell Howser’s stamp of approval back in the days of California Gold.

Curiosity Hill's Gravity House turns the rules of gravity on its head...or just plays with your perceptions by putting everything else on an angle. — Curiosity Hill’s Gravity House turns the rules of gravity on its head…or just plays with your perceptions by putting everything else on an angle.

The Campbell Bros. Confusion Hill traces it’s origin back to 1949 and had its hey days decades ago with the rise of the automobile, road trips, and the roadside attraction. At that time, the Gravity House—a structure playing on a series of optical illusions—was quite the draw. Today, Confusion Hill is more a point of historic interest than just a roadside attraction. The displays are cheap and kitschy but it was a star in its time.

After walking out of the Gravity House, the water in this sculpture might as well be flowing up.

You can still visit the Gravity House, “Worlds Tallest Free Standing Redwood Chainsaw Carving”, and a Shoe house made of redwood. The sign next to the carving takes special interest in noting that this carving is documented in Ripley’s Believe It or Not. Other carvings are taller but none of those were free standing redwoods carved with a chainsaw. But, maybe you weren’t here for the houses and the carvings. Maybe you just wanted a designated location for some good, old-fashioned rock stacking. Fear not! Confusion Hill has that, too.

Curiosity Hill does everything within its power to confuse your sense of direction.

Frankly, though, this stop is not for everyone. The displays are old and cheap. The premise is pretty simple. But if you have a deep and abiding love for Americana and offbeat oddities like we do then you just might find what makes this place special.