Nestled In New York's Iconic Hudson Valley Is One Of America's Largest Outdoor Sculpture Parks

When it comes to iconic art museums, New York has a ton; from the Met to the MoMA, the Big Apple is home to some of the best around. Even Times Square, as surprising as it seems, boasts the world's largest and longest-running digital art exhibition, and then there's the world's only museum made of inflatable art. The entire city is basically one giant installation, but if you step just outside of NYC and take a quick bus ride or train to the Hudson Valley, you'll find one of New York's best art gems — and one of the largest outdoor sculpture parks in the country.

Storm King Art Center may have recently made headlines when it hosted an album listening party for Chari XCX, but the truth is that this iconic sculpture garden has been celebrated by in-the-know New Yorkers for quite some time now. For city folk, there are few places where you can soak up pieces from some of the most renowned artists in the world while simultaneously frolicking in a grassy meadow, and, honestly, nobody melds art and nature quite as masterfully as Storm King.

Storm King Art Center was founded by Ralph E. Ogden and H. Peter Stern in 1960 as a place to showcase paintings from the nearby Hudson River School. The museum expanded beyond its four walls in 1967 with the help of artist David Smith, when sculptures slowly began to make their way into the fields and forests that surround the building. Today, Storm King Art Center's setting captivates visitors just as much as the incredible pieces scattered about. Sitting upon 500 acres of stunning landscape, it is one of the most impressive places to view the works of artists like Calder, Noguchi, and many others.

The best pieces in the park are the ones that seem to flawlessly play with the nature around them. Maya Lin's "Storm King Wavefield," for instance, features wave-like hills that the artist sculpted herself across 11 acres of grass. Another favorite piece, and one you might have seen on Instagram at one point or another, is Menashe Kadishman's "Suspended," which seems to somehow miraculously ignore gravity, presenting two massive pieces of "floating" steel, placed randomly in the center of a field. There's something majestic about the way many of the sculptures defy reality amidst such an organic, grounding setting. It's a sight to behold.

Getting to Storm King from the city can be an adventure in itself if you don't have your own vehicle. But fret not — it's all a part of the fun. From Manhattan, head to Grand Central to hop on the Metro North Hudson line and get off at the Beacon stop. From there, you have a few options; you can take an Uber to the entrance or take the shuttle, though the latter is available only on Saturdays and Sundays in the summer and early fall. There's also a Coach bus available Wednesday through Monday that will take you door to door from NYC Port Authority. General admission tickets to the park are available, with discounts for seniors, students, and children under 17.

Since you're taking a trek up to Hudson Valley, you should make the most of it since there are so many charming restaurants, shops, and attractions in and around Cornwall-on-Hudson that you'll want to try. If you don't get enough nature during your time at the museum, pop over to Storm King Mountain or Black Rock Forest (but be sure to check the park sites to make sure they're open before you go!). If you're fiending for a refreshment, grab an artisanal bite at Jones Farm or caffeinate yourself at 2 Alices Coffee Lounge. If all the sculpture viewing gets your creative juices flowing and you want a little more, you can take a car over to Dia Beacon for some of the state's best collections of contemporary art. And if you want to explore more of the neighboring area, you'll find some small towns that are among the most beautiful New York has to offer.