Sculpture Gardens and Parks
We’ve found some amazing outdoor spaces that beautifully blend art and nature for truly inspired experiences.
ALABAMA
ARKANSAS
CRYSTAL BRIDGES MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART
Bentonville, Arkansas
The amazing Crystal Bridges Museum sits on 134 acres of wooded Ozark Forest with more than five miles of trails that wind past sculptures by Richard Hunt, Robert Indiana, Dale Chihuly, and others. Check the museum for interactive installations. Open from sunrise to sunset during museum hours.
LEE VANDEGRIFT FELTS SCULPTURE GARDEN
Hot Springs, Arkansas.
This memorial sculpture garden is tucked within the Garvan Woodland Gardens and features nine bronzes by NSS Fellow Tim Cherry. The sculptures of animals indigenous to the region can be found along the trails of the children’s garden.
VOGEL SCHWARTZ SCULPTURE GARDEN
Little Rock, Arkansas
Situated on the banks of the Arkansas River, this park uses landscape architecture to create outdoor “rooms” that house more than ninety sculptures. Inspired by the Benson Sculpture Garden in Loveland, Colorado, this garden has Riverfront walkways and gorgeous natural terraces.
CALIFORNIA
DI ROSA CENTER FOR CONTEMPORARY ART
Napa, California
The di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art features numerous sculptures in its sculpture meadow, courtyard, and around its lake. A great way to see and explore the site is by taking one of the Artist + Nature Hikes on the second Sunday of each month or by taking Milliken Peak Hikes held once a quarter.
FRANKLIN D. MURPHY SCULPTURE GARDEN
Los Angeles, California
Spanning five acres of UCLA’s campus, this collection consists mainly of twentieth-century pieces, including works by Auguste Rodin, Hans Arp, Joan Miro, Anna Mahler, and Isamu Noguchi. Their sculptures mingle among rolling lawns and perfectly placed trees.
NORTON SIMON MUSEUM SCULPTURE GARDEN
Pasadena, California
The Norton Simon Museum’s Sculpture Garden with its lush pond, stately trees, colorful shrubs, and flowers is a stunning setting for some of the museum’s most important sculptures by Rodin, Rauschenberg, Moore, and others.
MAY S. MARCY SCULPTURE COURT & GARDEN
San Diego, California
Adjacent to the San Diego Museum of Art’s West Wing, this sculpture garden features nineteenth – and twentieth -century modern and contemporary sculptures set amid lush landscaping and picturesque views of the California Tower and San Diego sunsets.
COLORADO
FLORIDA
ANN NORTON SCULPTURE GARDENS
West Palm Beach, Florida
The gardens, designed by world-renowned botanist Sir Peter Smithers, were created as a setting for Ann Norton’s monumental sculptures. The gardens, recognized as containing one of the largest public collections in Florida, are comprised of native plants, and over 250 varieties of palms and cycads from all over the world. The combination of garden and sculpture reflects the artist’s commitment to conservation and the preservation of a quiet retreat.
ALBIN POLASEK MUSEUM & SCULPTURE GARDENS
Winter Park, Florida
Overlooking Lake Osceola in the heart of Winter Park, the Albin Polasek Museum & Sculpture Gardens displays works by the Czech-American artist Albin Polasek. The art and gardens seek to tell the story of Polasek’s life with the mission to enrich lives through the power of inspiration. The museum offers guided tours of the historic Polasek residence and chapel, an outdoor sculpture garden, a gallery with rotating exhibits, and a gift shop.
GEORGIA
ROBERT T. WEBB SCULPTURE PARK
Dalton, Georgia
This five-acre open-air museum and sculpture park is operated by the Creative Arts Guild, the state’s oldest multi-disciplinary community arts organization. The sculpture garden is the first
permanent installation of its kind in the state of Georgia. Sculptures by Ulises Jiménez Obregón, Melanie Yazzie, Victor Manuel Villarreal, and Chana Orloff are among the many works you’ll see
here.
IOWA
ILLINOIS
BOEING GALLERIES-MILLENNIUM PARK
Chicago, Illinois
The Boeing Galleries, located at the north and south ends of Millennium Park, house temporary exhibitions of modern and contemporary art. Currently on view, the Franz West’s Stonehenge and Dorit installations challenge traditional perceptions by emphasizing the importance of viewer interaction and the integration of art into daily experience.
NATHAN MANILOW SCULPTURE PARK
University Park, Chicago
Situated on 100 acres of prairie land on the campus of Governors State University, thirty miles south of Chicago, this park features thirty large-scale landscape-based sculptures created by major twentieth-century American artists, many from Chicago. International artists are also represented. Free to the public, the park hosts programs to help connect visitors with art and nature in a meaningful way.
INDIANA
THE VIRGINIA B. FAIRBANKS ART & NATURE PARK AT NEWFIELDS
Indianapolis, Indiana
The sprawling Newfields campus includes the Indianapolis Museum of Art, the Lilly House, and a 100-acre sculpture park, complete with walking and biking trails and a lake. The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art and Nature Park features large-scale sculptures, many that encourage playful interaction. Visitors can also enjoy the lake, woodlands, wet-lands, and a native pollinator meadow.
LOUISIANA
MASSACHUSETTS
CHESTERWOOD MUSEUM
Stockbridge, Massachusetts
Chesterwood, the former summer home, studio, and gardens of Daniel Chester French, was converted from a summer retreat to a public museum and sculpture garden thanks to the artist’s daughter who established the estate as a historic site. Visitors can wander through French’s home and studio, museum collections of objects owned or created by the artist, outbuildings, and 122 acres of designed and wooded landscape.
DECORDOVA SCULPTURE PARK
Lincoln, Massachusetts
Some twenty miles west of Boston, this park sits on the thirty-acre former estate of collectors Julian and Elizabeth deCordova. The couple donated the property to the city of Lincoln to be used as a public art museum. Today, some sixty sculptures are on display. Artists include Nam June Paik, Andy Goldsworthy, Jaume Plensa, Dorothy Dehner, and Ursula von Rydingsvard.
MARYLAND
BALTIMORE SCULPTURE GARDENS
Baltimore, Maryland
Enjoy two wonderful gardens: the Alan and Janet Wurtzburger Sculpture Garden and the Ryda and Robert H. Levi Sculpture Garden. The gardens feature modernist works by Alexander Calder, Jacques Lipchitz, Isamu Noguchi, Auguste Rodin, Joan Miro, Louise Nevelson, and Tony Smith.
GLENSTONE MUSEUM
Potomac, Maryland
A lovely respite just outside Washington D.C., Glenstone offers a space where patrons can slow down and engage directly with art and nature. The collection begins post-World War II and examines the historical shift in art through the present day. In particular, the collection of iconic works seeks to challenge the way we think about the art of our time.
MICHIGAN
MICHIGAN LEGACY ART PARK
Thompsonville, Michigan
This thirty-acre wooded preserve features a collection of more than fifty sculptures, as well as rotating exhibits and poetry stones. Guided hikes, tours, and special offerings encourage connection with art, nature, and history.
FREDERIK MEIJER GARDENS & SCULPTURE PARK
Grand Rapids, Michigan
With a critical focus on master sculptors and historically important movements in art, this collection spotlights artists from the late nineteenth-century to the present. The permanent collection of sculpture features more than 200 works, many of which are displayed across the property as well as in the conservatory, specialty gardens, and gallery. Year round, the gardens are works of art.
JO ANNE AND DONALD PETERSEN
SCULPTURE GARDEN
University Center, Michigan
Adjacent to the Marshall M. Fredericks Sculpture Museum, this garden displays two dozen Fredericks sculptures, botanical beds, the Day and Night fountains, and the new otter pond.
MINNESOTA
MINNEAPOLIS SCULPTURE GARDEN,
WALKER ART MUSEUM
Minneapolis, Minnesota
More than sixty sculptures from the Walker collection fill this eleven-acre park adjacent to the museum. The garden features works by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, Alexander Calder, Roy Lichtenstein, James Turrell, and Kiki Smith. Check out the museum’s app for more information and the self-guided tour.
CHARLES E. GAGNON MUSEUM &
SCULPTURE GARDEN
Rochester, Minnesota
The garden celebrates the sculpture of Rochester’s Charles E. Gagnon (1934-2012). Founded by his widow, Arlyn Gagnon, the museum is the sculptor’s former home. There are scheduled tours of his work located in the museum and on the grounds.
FRANCONIA SCULPTURE PARK
Shafer, Minnesota
Franconia is an artist-centered sculpture park working to provide both physical and intellectual open spaces to inspire new ways of thinking through access to contemporary sculpture, installation, and land art. Located in the scenic St. Croix River Valley of Minnesota, Franconia operates a fifty-acre outdoor museum, an active artist residency program, and community arts programming.
MONTANA
TIPPET RISE ART CENTER
Fishtail, Montana
Set against the stunning backdrop of the Beartooth Mountains on a 12,500-acre working sheep and cattle ranch, Tippet Rise welcomes visitors June through September to experience large-scale outdoor sculptures installed throughout the landscape. Guests are encouraged to hike or bike the fifteen miles of trails that connect the art. This is a working ranch – no dogs allowed.
BLACKFOOT PATHWAYS : SCULPTURE IN THE WILD
Lincoln, Montana
Since 2014, this sculpture park has provided an environment for the creation of significant artworks, both permanent and temporary, that are inspired by the environmental and the industrial heritage of the Blackfoot Valley. The park strives to foster awareness and appreciation of the arts through community participation and education.
MISSOURI
DONALD J. HALL SCULPTURE PARK
Kansas City, Missouri
In 1986, a generous donation allowed the Nelson-Atkins Museum to acquire fifty-seven Henry Moore sculptures. Three years later, ten additional works by Moore were added. Over the years, the collection grew rapidly and now includes the iconic shuttle-cock sculptures by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, along with dozens of other modern and contemporary sculptures.
LAUMEIER SCULPTURE PARK
St Louis, Missouri
The Laumeier is one of the first dedicated sculpture parks in the US. Founded in 1976, this park features more than seventy large-scale works of outdoor sculpture scattered across 105 acres. The park also has residency and visiting artist programs. Open daily, free admission.
NEBRASKA
MIGNERY SCULPTURE GARDEN
Bartlett, Nebraska
Bartlett, Nebraska, population 117, hometown of National Sculpture Society Fellow Herb Mignery, has a unique sculpture garden composed of fifty works by Mignery, donated to the town by private collectors. Not far from the Badlands, be sure to stop by on your way through this picturesque part of the country.
FIRST NATIONAL’S SPIRIT OF NEBRASKA’S WILDERNESS AND PIONEER COURAGE PARK
Omaha, Nebraska
Spanning seven blocks, this sculpture park begins with a wagon train heading west, causing a herd of bison to stampede and Canada geese to launch into the sky. Kent Ullberg, Blair Buswell, and Edward Fraughton worked with architects to create a vision of westward expansion.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
ANDRES INSTITUTE OF ART
Brookline, New Hampshire
With ten miles of trails over 140 acres, this sculpture park strives to give patrons a unique art experience. The institute holds an annual sculpting symposium as part of its mission to advance the intellectual and social well-being of the public by educating and training artists and by supporting fine arts. The grounds at Andres Institute of Art are open to the public year round, free of charge.
NEW JERSEY
NEW YORK
STORM KING ART CENTER
New Windsor, New York
This 500-acre outdoor museum invites visitors to experience monumental sculpture and earthworks as they were meant to be enjoyed. Modern sculptures by Henry Moore, Andy Goldsworthy, Sol LeWitt, Alexander Calder, Louise Bourgeois, and Tomio Miki, among others, help fulfill Storm King’s mission of creating a destination of limitless discovery.
ART OMI SCULPTURE & ARCHITECTURE PARK
Ghent, New York
Set in the bucolic Hudson Valley, Art Omi is a sanctuary for the public and artistic community alike to experience the intersections of art and nature. Our 120-acre fields and forests feature more than sixty sculptures, together with rotating exhibitions in the Newman Gallery. Art Omi also offers five residencies and art education for all ages.
SOCRATES SCULPTURE PARK
Queens, New York
In 1986, sculptor Mark di Suvero headed a coalition of Queens residents to transform an illegal dumping site in New York City into this park. Vastly different from the other gardens on this list, this park is run as an “open studio” for sculptors. None of the pieces on view are permanent. More than 1,000 sculptors have created work here, and visitors are allowed to watch the sculptors at work. The park often hosts outdoor dance, music, and theater performances.
OHIO
PYRAMID HILL SCULPTURE PARK AND MUSEUM
Hamilton, Ohio
Situated on 470 scenic acres, this park displays more than seventy outdoor sculptures installed along hiking trails that meander past lakes and meadows. The park and museum feature rotating exhibitions in the museum and offer public programming throughout the year.
PENNSYLVANIA
KENTUCK KNOB
Chalk Hill, Pennsylvania
A stunning Frank Lloyd Wright home that appears to be part of the landscape is at the heart of this experience. You can only access the home and more than thirty sculptures on the ground with a ticketed tour. Sculptures include one of Andy Goldsworthy’s earliest commissions, Anthony Caro, Wendy Taylor, David Nash, and Phillip King. Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater house is also nearby.
ELLEN PHILLIPS SAMUEL MEMORIAL
Fairmount Park, Pennsylvania
Established by the Association for Public Art to whom Ellen Phillips Samuel left the bulk of her estate, this park displays seventeen sculptures spread out over three terraces. Architect Paul Philippe Cret developed a plan for three connected terraces with distinct themes reflected by the sculptures present in them.
CALDER GARDENS
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Scheduled to open September 2025, Calder Gardens will be the first site wholly dedicated to the art and ideas of Alexander Calder, a native Philadelphian who is considered one of the most innovative and influential artists of the twentieth-century. Gardens will be designed to elevate personal contemplation and reflection. Check website for updates.
RODIN MUSEUM
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
With nearly 150 works of art, this museum and park is home to one of the largest collections of works by Rodin outside Paris.
SOUTH DAKOTA
PORTER SCULPTURE PARK
Montrose, South Dakota
This park boasts more than sixty metal sculptures by Wayne Porter. Walk the one-third mile trail to see works and read accompanying poetry. New works are regularly added. Park is open May–October. Check website for hours.
CITY OF PRESIDENTS
Rapid City, South Dakota
Downtown Rapid City, a 30-minute drive to Mount Rushmore, is filled with life-sized sculptures of every president of the US. The town offers an audio tour; the scavenger hunt for families is not to be missed.
TENNESSEE
SCULPTURE FIELDS
Chattanooga, Tennessee
This 33-acre public park on Chattanooga’s Southside is filled with monumental contemporary sculptures placed along a one-and-a-half-mile walking trail. Check the schedule for artist demos, concerts, and even yoga classes.
METAL MUSEUM
Mephis, Tennessee
Dedicated to metalwork, this museum’s sculpture garden stretches out across 3.2 acres and displays more than twenty sculptures. The museum also offers rotating exhibitions, an archive of objects and books, metal studios, and learning opportunities.
TEXAS
THE UMLAUF COLLECTION
Austin, Texas
In 1985, Charles and Angie Umlauf gifted their home, Charles’s studio, and hundreds of sculptures to the City of Austin. Today, the UMLAUF Sculpture Garden and Museum’s collection consists of more than 2,000 drawings and 273 sculptures by Charles Umlauf.
NASHER SCULPTURE CENTER
Dallas, Texas
The Raymond and Patsy Nasher Collection features more than 300 masterpieces from modern and contemporary artists including Rodin, Picasso, Brancusi, Koons, Calder, de Kooning, Giacometti, Matisse, Serra, and other masters. The Center also presents rotating exhibitions from the family collection, as well as special exhibits drawn from other museums and private collections.
ROCKPORT CENTER FOR THE ARTS
Rockport, Texas
Rockport Center for the Arts is the hub of all things art for this community. The small but substantial sculpture garden has work by Charles Umlaf, Michael Atkinson, Kent Ullberg, Sandy Scott and others. Admission is free.
VERMONT
THE CARVING STUDIO AND SCULPTURE CENTER
West Rutland, Vermont
The Sculpture Garden showcases Vermont marble and offers a tranquil space to view the garden’s thought-provoking and ever-growing collection. The Sculpture Garden, a 0.36-mile forested walking trail, displays ten site-specific works installed among the marble industrial remains found along the path. Open to visitors year-round during daylight hours.
WASHINGTON
MONARCH CONTEMPORARY ART CENTER AND SCULPTURE PARK
Chehalis Western Trail, Washington
With more than 100 contemporary sculptures, this five-acre park is located along the Chehalis Western Trail. The park includes a bird and butterfly garden, a Japanese garden, a sound garden, and a fantasy garden.
SAN JUAN ISLANDS SCULPTURE PARK
Friday Harbor, Washington
Since 2001, the San Juan Islands Sculpture Park has exhibited approximately 150 sculptures by artists from the Pacific Northwest and around the country. The emphasis is on art, the development of the artists, and the park. The sculpture is for sale and the loan of work is for two years.
OLYMPIC SCULPTURE PARK
Seattle, Washington
Just one mile south of the Seattle Art Museum, this park is open year-round and is free. Their collection of monumental sculptures is interspersed among the trees and indigenous plants of the region. The park is on the waterfront overlooking the Salish Sea.
PRICE SCULPTURE FOREST
Whidbey Island, Washington
Located in century-old woods, the Price Sculpture Forest is free every day. Take the nearly one mile walk through the park to discover a delightful array of sculptures from naturalism to abstraction
WASHINGTON D.C.
SCULPTURE GARDEN AT THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART
Washington, D.C.
Though small, the sculpture garden contains iconic pieces by some of the world’s greatest sculptors, including Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, Sol LeWitt, Louise Bourgeois, Robert Indiana, and Marc Chagall. The garden also displays one of French architect Hector Guimard’s original Art Nouveau style Parisian Métro entrances, made of cast iron in 1913 and restored by the museum.
WISCONSIN
LYNDEN SCULPTURE GARDEN
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Opened in 2010, the forty-acre Lynden Sculpture Garden focuses on the intersection of art and nature by giving visitors hands-on experiences that integrate the modern and contemporary sculpture collection with the natural ecology of the site.