Sorry for the radio silence over here. Nick has spinal surgery last week so I’ve been a little busy taking care of him (he’s recovering well!).
I went to Storm King last fall but I think it is the day trip from New York City right now. I first became interested in visiting Storm King back during the summer of 2014. My girlfriend Kristen and I had just gone for a day trip to Woodstock and Beacon. We noticed Storm King on our way back but it was too late by that time, so we put it in our “trips for next summer” files and then, you know, life happened.
But flash forward to October 2019 when Nick and I were spending a weekend in Beacon. He’s an outdoors person so I knew he’d love Storm King. Storm King is about a $10 Uber from Beacon – super cheap and quick! (Though honestly, if you’re going up to Beacon for a weekend, it’s probably easiest and cheaper to just rent a car, which is what we should’ve done.)
He’d never heard of Storm King before so he was pleasantly surprised when we arrived.
I was happy to finally be experiencing this outdoor sculpture park but also wondering what I’d gotten myself into. It’s half sculpture park and half wooded trails. And I’m not a hiking person. Keep me out of places with bugs and dirt, please.
But I wanted to go to Storm King anyway and after 5 years of not going, I wasn’t going to not go now.
I put on my boots and my Lululemon leggings. Packed my backpack and a water bottle and we hopped in a cab to New Windsor, New York.
We hopped out of the car at the entrance and wandered down the dirt (ugh) path and purchased two adult tickets at the ticket booth. Ticket prices aren’t currently on their website for non-vehicle owning people but I believe our tickets were $15/piece. If you have a car and are parking, you’ll be charged $20/per person and car, per the website.
We proceeded to spend the next couple of hours getting lost among the art sculptures and the wooded paths.
The Sculptures
There is one vast grassy area in the center of the park where most of the art installations are. This area is huge and will take you a while to walk around.
When you’re done seeing all the art, you’ll head to the perimeter of the park and walk around in the woods for a while, around ponds and streams, and take photos of yourself in a very mediocre vrksasana on a log because that’s what you do when you’re in the woods. (You heard it here first.)
The Arch (Alexander Arthur)
Iliad (Alexander Liberman)
Suspended (Menashe Kadishman)
Five Module Units (Sol LeWitt)
Endless Column (Tal Streeter)
For Chris (Mark di Suvero)
Mother Pearce (Mark di Suvero)
Adam (Alexander Liberman)
For Charles and Medgar Evers (Charles Ginnever Fayette)
There are a bunch of other sculptures, but these are just a preview. I want to give you reason to go check out Storm King, right?
Pro-Tip: Bring Your Own Food
Back around at the main building, you’ll find a few food trucks and carts set up.
A suggestion from me to you: bring your own food.
The food selection is limited and while it’s not all that overpriced (you’re talking to a New Yorker here), you’ll wait on a really long line, especially if it’s a high season. They do take credit cards though, so that’s a plus.
If you’re going to go, I’d suggest going in the fall because it’s an even prettier-than-usual place to walk around with the changing leaves.
So Why Should You Take a Day Trip To Storm King?
You’re asking this because I’ve already stated that I’m not an outdoorsy person and this was a lot of outdoors stuff.
I think you should visit Storm King because it’s a really quick trip from New York City, pretty inexpensive, and it’s basically like being outdoors, but not REALLY being outdoors. You can say it’s outdoors-adjacent.
It’s outside – yes, but there’s food, and other people, and no camping, and it’s all flat ground so there’s no real hiking either. And there’s art! And actual bathrooms. It is also just a fifteen minute cab ride from Beacon, and that qualifies as a city when you’re that far up the Hudson. So once you’re ready for the finer things in life – like a shower and air conditioning – it’s not out of reach.
It’s the best part of both worlds if you ask me: I get to see some cool art, do tree pose amongst the trees, and then PEACE OUT back to a place with restaurants and a bed.
I’ve never been camping (except for one with my Girl Scout troup when I was 9 and I ended up getting bit by a deer tick and got lyme disease) and I probably never will. I don’t like being sweaty and dirty and not being able to wash it off before bed. It’s just not for me.
But who knows. Maybe one day I’ll go glamping in the Catskills or on Governors Island.
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