The most famous exit on I-95 is in South Carolina and it’s even weirder than the signs suggest

South of the Border’s sombrero still stands tall

You’ve probably seen the signs. Hundreds of them, stretching from Virginia all the way into Georgia, each one counting down the miles with a cartoon character in a sombrero and a pun you can’t quite forget.

By the time you cross into South Carolina on Interstate 95, you’ve been building to this moment for hours.

South of the Border sits right at Exit 1, 350 acres of neon, fiberglass, and nostalgia that has been pulling over road-trippers since 1950. Most people stop thinking they’ll stay 20 minutes.

Most people don’t leave that fast.

A 200-foot sombrero visible for miles on flat Carolina land

The first thing you see is the tower. At 200 feet tall with a sombrero-shaped observation deck at the top, it rises over the flat Carolina countryside like nothing else on this stretch of highway.

A glass elevator carries you up through the shaft, and when you step out onto the brim, you get a full 360-degree view of two states. Below it sits the El Toro Arcade.

TIME Magazine put South of the Border on its list of America’s Top 50 Roadside Attractions, and standing up there, it’s not hard to see why.

One man’s beer stand turned into a highway landmark

Alan Schafer started it all in 1950 with a small beer stand, selling cold drinks to visitors from dry counties just across the border in North Carolina. The stand grew fast.

Through the 1950s, he added a restaurant, a motel, a gas station, and souvenir shops.

He gave it a Mexican theme, invented the Pedro mascot, and built a billboard campaign that eventually stretched from Philadelphia to Daytona Beach.

Then in 1964, the state announced that I-95 would run directly past his property. Schafer hit the gas.

175 billboards counting down the miles to Pedro

The billboard campaign Schafer designed himself became one of the most recognized highway advertising strategies in American history.

At their peak, more than 250 signs lined the roads from the Northeast to Florida, each one featuring Pedro and a corny pun, each one ticking down the miles.

Now about 175 signs remain along I-95 and connecting highways, reaching from Virginia to Georgia. By the time you spot the tower on the horizon, you’ve been reading those signs for hours.

That buildup is part of what makes stopping feel inevitable.

Walk through the largest indoor reptile exhibit in the US

Reptile Lagoon takes up a large building that was once an indoor mini-golf arcade, and what’s inside now is something else entirely.

The collection runs to 15 species of crocodilians and more than 50 species of snakes, plus turtles, tortoises, and birds. Whether you’re a reptile person or not, the scale of the collection catches you off guard.

A gift shop inside sells reptile-themed souvenirs, so you can walk out with a crocodile plush or a snake keychain if the mood strikes.

Gorillas in sombreros and a 97-foot Pedro at the entrance

Scattered across the grounds are dozens of oversized fiberglass animal statues, brightly painted and mostly wearing sombreros.

You’ll find gorillas, dinosaurs, dolphins, horses, and dogs, among others, all in various states of hat-wearing glory. The 97-foot Pedro statue guards the main entrance, and yes, you can drive your car between his legs.

The staff repaints the statues regularly, so the colors stay bold. The whole property functions as a walking photo opportunity, and people take full advantage.

Fort Pedro’s fireworks draw buyers from across the Carolinas

South of the Border started selling fireworks in 1962, and the timing was no accident.

Fireworks were restricted in North Carolina then and still are now, which made this spot just over the state line a natural destination for buyers.

Fort Pedro Fireworks stocks everything from sparklers to large aerial displays, and the stores draw crowds year-round, not just around holidays.

Fireworks sales helped keep the attraction financially stable in its early decades, and the stores remain among the busiest parts of the complex today.

Dozens of gift shops packed with Pedro-themed everything

South of the Border has more than a dozen gift shops, and each one has its own theme.

You’ll find sombreros, maracas, T-shirts, coffee mugs, shot glasses, refrigerator magnets, key chains, oversized pencils, flip-flops, and back scratchers.

The Mexico Shop is one of the largest, with bins overflowing from floor to ceiling. Many items carry Pedro’s face or the South of the Border logo.

The bumper sticker has been a road-trip tradition for decades, and you’ll spot them on cars from Maine to Miami.

Sleep inside a geodesic dome next to an indoor pool

The South of the Border Motor Inn has about 300 rooms if you want to make a night of it.

Motel guests get access to Pedro’s Pleasure Dome, an indoor pool, jacuzzi, and steam room housed inside a geodesic dome. RV travelers can pull into Camp Pedro and set up for the night.

The lobby has a retro starburst chandelier that looks like it came straight out of 1965, and the whole complex operates as a self-contained travel stop.

You can eat, sleep, shop, and fuel up without moving your car.

Still open after 75 years, though some parts are for sale

South of the Border has scaled back from its peak.

In 2025, the owners listed about 30 acres for sale, including the shuttered Pedroland amusement park, a convention center, a motel building, and a former casino.

Then on April 26, 2026, a fire destroyed the Burrito Loco restaurant on the property, though the rest of the complex came through unharmed.

The core of the place, the Sombrero Tower, Reptile Lagoon, gift shops, restaurants, fireworks stores, main motel, and campground, remains open. About 300 workers from both Carolinas keep it running.

Why generations of road-trippers still pull off at Exit 1

South of the Border is one of the last places on I-95 that looks and feels like mid-century American road travel.

For East Coast families making the long haul between the Northeast and Florida, stopping here has been a tradition passed down across generations.

The grounds are free to walk around and explore, with separate fees for the tower and Reptile Lagoon. No modern travel plaza can replicate what this place is.

It’s loud and painted and wonderfully strange, and it has been standing at Exit 1 for 75 years waiting for you to stop.

Visit South of the Border in Hamer, South Carolina

South of the Border sits at 3346 Highway 301 North in Hamer, South Carolina, right off I-95 at Exit 1. The grounds are free to walk, and the Sombrero Tower and Reptile Lagoon charge separate admission.

The complex opens daily, though hours for individual attractions vary, so check the official website before you go.

Florence, South Carolina is about 25 miles south if you need a larger city nearby, and Myrtle Beach is roughly 75 miles to the southeast. Get there and see it for yourself.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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