The Top 10 Artistic Bike Racks in the United States

The bike racks that you see on streets and by buildings are typically either upside-down U-shaped things, or squiggly metal, a ring on a post, or sometimes the old-fashioned "wheel-bender" type racks. However, these days you may find that someone has decided to get a little creative with the bike rack design and made a decorative bike rack, with unusual shapes and colors.

Here are our favorite bike racks that we've found in the US so far. Found any better ones? Let us know in the Quick Feedback area below!

Ships - Annapolis, MD

For Annapolis, MD, home of the US Naval Academy, what would be more appropriate than a ship theme for decorative bike racks? Inside the traditional inverted-U shape are various ships ranging from the 18th century USS Constitution to modern submarines like the USS Annapolis. Read more about the Artistic Bike Rack Project from the City of Annapolis.

Where to find them? Various places in Annapolis (see website above), such as 1 Colonial Ave., Annapolis, MD
Bike Racks That Line Up To Form Person On Bike - Sacramento, CA

Here's an interesting one in Sacramento, CA. It's made of three bike racks, or perhaps one bike rack in three parts, and when viewed from the right angle they line up to form an image of a person riding a bike! This was part of the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission's Art in Public Places program. There are several more bike rack installations around the city. Read more about them here.

Where to find it? 2779 24th St., Sacramento, CA
Colorful, Sign Language Bike Racks - Fargo, ND

Located right downtown in Fargo. ND we have some colorful sign language bike racks. Each bike rack is in the shape of a hand depicting a sign language letter, spelling out "Fargo" in American Sign Language. Learn more at the City of Fargo Department of Planning & Development.

Where to find it? 121 N Broadway Dr., Fargo, ND
Ice Cream! - Sacramento, CA

Another entry from Sacramento; this one by Vic's Ice Cream. There are three bike racks, each one in the shape of an ice cream cup or cone ... complete with a scoop of ice cream of course! Looks like a great place to park your bike on a hot day when you need a cool, refreshing snack. More on Pedestrian Art in Sacramento and also Reddit.

Where to find it? Vic's Ice Cream, 3199 Riverside Blvd., Sacramento, CA
Colorful Paperclips - Washington, DC

These colorful bike racks are shaped like paperclips. Or perhaps we should call them bikeclips? They are in the Golden Triangle area of DC, right outside a CVS store on Pennsylvania Ave. Here are some other DC artistic bike racks.

Where to find them? 1901 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC
Carrot - Little Rock, AR

Did you know carrots used to not be orange? Well, this bike rack shaped like a carrot is orange. It's in Little Rock, AR by a restaurant called The Root Cafe, and there's also a carrot in their sign. You can read more about artistic bike racks in the SOMA area of Little Rock and find more decorative bike racks in Little Rock, such as a purse (just down the street), a fork & spoon, plus more ice cream cones and paperclips.

Where to find it? The Root, 1500 Main St., Little Rock, AR
Crab - Baltimore, MD

If you grew up in Baltimore, you probably had a bunch of those Maryland Steamed Crabs. Here's an homage to those blue crabs, in the form of this red bike rack (well, they turn red when cooked). Thanks, Busy Foodie! Plus, if you walk across the street, you may find a Baltimore-skyline bicycle rack as well.

Where to find it? 64 Market Pl., Baltimore, MD
Owl - Los Altos, CA

In the town os Los Altos in the SF Bay Area, by the Los Altos Public Library, there is a bike rack that looks like a brown owl with yellow eyes. Legend has it that you gain a little bit of wisdom every time you park your bike here... Los Altos has more artistic bike racks around town. Extra credit if you can figure out where the squirrel bike rack is around the town. Learn more about artistic bike racks from the Los Altos Public Arts Commission.

Where to find it? 13 S. San Antonio Rd., Los Altos, CA
Pac Man - Salem, OR

Right outside The Coin Jam, an arcade and eatery in downtown Salem, OR where you can play your favorite 80's arcade games, you can find a couple of Pac-Man-themed bike racks. The Pac-Man bike rack is yellow, of course, and the ghost is blue. Here's a nice write-up of The Coin Jam from onlyinyourstate.com.

Where to find it? The Coin Jam, 439 Court St. NE, Salem, OR
Pizza - Virginia Beach, VA

Pizza! If you're hungry, and you like decorative bike racks, what better place to go than Shorebreak Pizza in Virginia Beach. Aside from good food and drinks, they have bike racks out front by the entrance to their parking lot off of Shore Dr. in the form of pizza slices. It looks like they even managed to get a slice of pepperoni and a mushroom onto the bike racks! You can also learn about the city's Bike Buddies program.

Where to find it? Shorebreak Pizza, 2941 Shore Dr., Virginia Beach, VA

Hope you've enjoyed this list. To find more artistic bike racks near you, check out Artistic Bike Racks in the US