USA TODAY 10Best
Experience the beauty of the 10 best sculpture parks across the country
Best Sculpture Park (2023)
These 10 sculpture parks and gardens – voted by readers as the best in the United States – allow you to appreciate art while enjoying some fresh air and the outdoors. Contemplate the beauty and diversity of the surrounding landscape as you admire works that have been artfully placed in nature.
- Minneapolis Sculpture Garden - Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Donald J. Hall Sculpture Park - Kansas City, Missouri
- Laumeier Sculpture Park - St. Louis, Missouri
- Olympic Sculpture Park - Seattle, Washington
- Brookgreen Gardens - Murrells Inlet, South Carolina
- Michigan Legacy Art Park - Thompsonville, Michigan
- Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden - New Orleans, Louisiana
- Grounds For Sculpture - Hamilton, New Jersey
- Nathan Manilow Sculpture Park - University Park, Illinois
- Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park - Grand Rapids, Michigan
Photo courtesy of Mike Krivit / Meet Minneapolis
No. 10:
This free sculpture garden at the Walker Art Center exhibits modern and contemporary works from the museum’s collection. Visitors can see more than 40 pieces displayed within the 11 landscaped acres, including the iconic Spoonbridge and Cherry.
Photo courtesy of Don Ipock
No. 9:
This sculpture park at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is home to four iconic shuttlecock sculptures, as well as dozens of other works of modern and contemporary art.
Photo courtesy of Mike Venso/Laumeier Sculpture Park
No. 8:
Laumeier Sculpture Park was founded in 1976 as one of the first dedicated sculpture parks in the United States. The St. Louis sculpture park features more than 70 large-scale works of outdoor sculpture, scattered amid the 105-acre area. Entrance to the park is free.
Photo courtesy of Benjamin Benschneider / Seattle Art Museum
No. 7:
The free Olympic Sculpture Park at the Seattle Art Museum features several monumental works along the waterfront. The 9-acre green space – the largest in downtown – offers not only art, but also stellar views of the Olympic Mountains and Puget Sound.
Photo courtesy of Lydia Schrandt
No. 6:
Founded in 1931, the 300-acre Brookgreen Gardens in Murrells Inlet is part sculpture garden, part wildlife sanctuary occupying the site of four former rice plantations. This National Historic Landmark houses one of the best American figurative sculpture collections in the world.
Photo courtesy of Michigan Legacy Art Park
No. 5:
This 30-acre wooded preserve in northern Michigan features a collection of more than 50 sculptures, as well as rotating exhibits. The park hosts drop-in programs for both adults and kids to encourage connection with art, nature and history.
Photo courtesy of Richard Sexton
No. 4:
The sculpture garden at the New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA) includes more than 90 works displayed on 11 acres of City Park. Visitors can enjoy these works of art amid a landscape of mature pines, magnolias, live oaks and two lagoons.
Photo courtesy of Wavebreakmedia Ltd // Getty Images
No. 3:
Located in Hamilton, New Jersey, Grounds For Sculpture is an arboretum, sculpture garden and museum – all in one. It focuses on the intersection of art and nature in playful, jovial ways. Spanning 42 beautifully designed acres, the art sanctuary has nearly 300 contemporary sculptures on display.
Photo courtesy of Guy Rhodes
No. 2:
This sculpture park at Governors State University in Chicago’s Southland features a collection of 30 large-scale sculptures displayed across more than 100 acres of prairie landscape. The free outdoor museum also hosts programs to help connect visitors with art and nature in a more meaningful way.
Photo courtesy of Michael Moran, courtesy of Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park
No. 1:
Spanning 158 acres in Grand Rapids, the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park features outdoor gardens and a five-floor, 15,000-square-foot Tropical Conservatory. The permanent sculpture collection features more than 200 works, many of which are displayed across the 30-acre sculpture park.
About 10Best Readers' Choice Awards
Nominees are submitted by a panel of experts. 10Best editors narrow the field to select the final set of nominees for the Readers’ Choice Awards. Readers can vote once per category, per day. For any questions or comments, please read the FAQ or email USA TODAY 10Best.
The Experts
Allison Tibaldi
Allison Tibaldi is a travel and food writer based... Read More
Allison Tibaldi is a travel and food writer based in New York City. She has lived in Rome, Tuscany, Melbourne Australia, Toronto and Los Angeles. She studied early childhood development in graduate school and firmly believes that travel is the best education. She writes for numerous publications including CNN, Travel Channel, HGTV, am New York, Emirates Open Skies, Family Traveller and Travel Weekly.
Allison Tibaldi
Allison Tibaldi is a travel and food writer based in New York City. She has lived in Rome, Tuscany, Melbourne Australia, Toronto and Los Angeles. She studied early childhood development in graduate school and firmly believes that travel is the best education. She writes for numerous publications including CNN, Travel Channel, HGTV, am New York, Emirates Open Skies, Family Traveller and Travel Weekly.
Corinne Whiting
Corinne hails from the other Washington, where she... Read More
Corinne hails from the other Washington, where she caught the travel bug early on. Corinne studied abroad in Strasbourg, France (undergrad) and in Edinburgh, Scotland (graduate school). She's backpacked around Australia, taught English in Argentina and explored (so far!) countries from Cambodia and Egypt to Turkey and China. Corinne served as associate editor at Where magazine for five years; as a freelancer, she now writes for publications like National Geographic Traveler and Amtrak's OnTrak. Here in the lovely Northwest, she's attempting to debunk the rain myths, up her coffee and live music quotient and find her Zen near/on the water.
Corinne Whiting
Corinne hails from the other Washington, where she caught the travel bug early on. Corinne studied abroad in Strasbourg, France (undergrad) and in Edinburgh, Scotland (graduate school). She's backpacked around Australia, taught English in Argentina and explored (so far!) countries from Cambodia and Egypt to Turkey and China. Corinne served as associate editor at Where magazine for five years; as a freelancer, she now writes for publications like National Geographic Traveler and Amtrak's OnTrak. Here in the lovely Northwest, she's attempting to debunk the rain myths, up her coffee and live music quotient and find her Zen near/on the water.
Michele Herrmann
Michele Herrmann writes about travel,... Read More
Michele Herrmann writes about travel, arts/entertainment, culture, history, food and drink and other fun stuff for various publications and companies. Her adventures have taken her as far as Fiji, to date.
Michele Herrmann
Michele Herrmann writes about travel, arts/entertainment, culture, history, food and drink and other fun stuff for various publications and companies. Her adventures have taken her as far as Fiji, to date.
10Best Editors
USA TODAY 10Best provides users with original,... Read More
USA TODAY 10Best provides users with original, unbiased and experiential travel coverage of top attractions, things to see and do, and restaurants for top destinations in the U.S. and around the world.
10Best Editors
USA TODAY 10Best provides users with original, unbiased and experiential travel coverage of top attractions, things to see and do, and restaurants for top destinations in the U.S. and around the world.
