Visiting the World’s Largest Pistachio – Alamogordo, New Mexico

Yes, there is such a thing as the world’s largest pistachio and it’s located in New Mexico at McGinn’s Pistachio Tree Ranch, Winery and Gift Shop. Built in 2008, the 30-foot fall giant concrete nut sits alongside I-10 between Tularosa and Alamogordo, greeting tourists en route to White Sands National Park.

History:

The giant pistachio is actually a memorial built in memory of Tom McGinn, founder of McGinn’s Pistachio Tree Ranch. Tom McGinn passed away in 2007 and his son wanted to create the perfect tribute for his dad. Tom loved both roadside attractions and his pistachio farm — what better way to honor him than create the world’s largest pistachio?!

Location:

This giant pistachio is located at McGinn’s Pistachio Tree Ranch (also known as PistachioLand). It’s very close to White Sands National Park, so this is a great spot to stop before or after hitting up the park.

Some people call PistachioLand/McGinn’s the “Wall Drug of New Mexico.” I disagree. I’d say the Bowlin’s Travel Center chain is the Wall Drug of New Mexico – drive enough through New Mexico and you’ll see what I mean!

Country Store, Winery and Farm:

Of course, you can just pull into the parking lot and snap a pic of the big nut but if you have a little extra time (or just need to use the restroom), you can swing into the store.

The store has all the usual suspects found in a gift shop – keychains, shotglasses, t-shirts and coffee mugs, all with either a pistachio theme, alien theme, Route 66 theme or Breaking Bad theme (it’s New Mexico, this is their $htick.) But they’ve also got a huge selection of pistachio nuts in all kinds of flavors – all available to sample.

A winery is on the premises and you can take a tour of the pistachio farm for only $3. We didn’t do either of these things but if you have time, they might be worth checking out.

The best part about this stop isn’t really the gigantic nut outside, it’s the ice cream. PistachioLand has some of the best ice cream I have ever tasted – my sister and I still talk about it to this day. We visited PistachioLand at 10am and my sister spotted the ice cream inside the gift shop and insisted on having some. I gave her a hard time about wanting ice cream at 10am but later had to eat my words because after sampling her pistachio ice cream, it was amazing.

World’s Largest Pistachio – Final Thoughts

This is a great roadside attraction – even if you don’t have time to stop in at the store, at least stop here and get your photo with the nut. It won’t take long!

Pros:

• Unique roadside attraction. It’s not every day you see a large pistachio on teh side of the road! This is why we road trip, right?!
• Fantastic ice cream – try it!
• Huge selection of flavored pistachio nuts in the shop
• Free to visit
• Pets allowed on the farm tour and in the shop

Cons:

• Merchandise in the gift shop was expensive

Have you visited the World’s Largest Pistachio? What did you think? Let me know in the comments!