Day Trip to Storm King

Next time you have a free day, do yourself a favor and head along the west bank of the Hudson River to Mountainville, New York. There you will find Storm King Art Center, a open-air museum that stretches across 500 acres of meadow and woodland. This museum, or sculpture park, was originally founded in 1960 by Ralph E. Ogden for Hudson Valley painters and has become an important landmark for major sculpture works by the “modern masters.”

Storm King closes for the winter on December 1st, so start making your plans soon. The entrance fee is only $12 and grants you access to the entire site for the day. You can easily walk the entire park to see the exhibitions but if you are a bit short on time or unable to make the trek, the center offers bicycle rentals which make the trip much easier. There is a cafe on the property which serves a surprisingly nice lunch and an abundance of tables and grassy areas if you’d like to bring your own picnic.

At Storm King, you find a host of impressive works by famous artists such as David Smith, Alexander Calder, Mark di Suvero, Henry Moore, Isamu Noguchi, Richard Serra and Louise Nevelson. There are many other contemporary artists who have sculptures on display though. My favorite installation is the Wavefield which was created by Maya Lin, the 9th photo listed below, which is an unusual and intriguing manipulation of the existing landscape into wave forms.

So, next time you find yourself looking for a disconnection from our hectic city, keep this place in mind. Storm King is a wonderful and inspiring place to spend your day.