Walk freely among over 150 outdoor sculptures installed along 3 miles of paths in the deep woodlands of Solsberry. Visiting when the hills and valley trees are full with leaves provides surprises around each bend of the meandering trail.
Sculpture Trails Outdoor Museum is a sculpture park where the public may walk freely among over 150 outdoor sculptures installed along 3 miles of paths in the deep woodlands of Solsberry. Founded in 2002, with the generous time of many volunteers and artists, Sculpture Trails Outdoor Museum has grown to proudly display sculptures by artists from around the world with a constant flow of new work created in the Trails Foundry and submitted for review. My wife and I took our two grandsons to this Outdoor Museum, and they both raved about the adventure giving the day a two thumbs up score before we departed. Keeping track of them was a challenge as they each ran in different directions over hills and around corners as they spied another new piece of art to view. We had lively conversations about various sculptures deciding what message they might be trying to communicate.
In addition to the museum grounds, Sculpture Trails also provides art-based workshops and services such as the Traveling Foundry Educational Outreach Program, Cast Iron Sculpture Workshop and two internship programs. The Traveling Foundry alone worked with over 3,600 Indiana Uplands students on one sculpture in 2016. That sculpture is permanently displayed at the Greene County Fair Grounds and has earned the state’s Legacy Project seal.
Visiting the Outdoor Museum when the hills and valley trees are full with leaves would provide even more hidden surprises around each bend of the meandering trail. Boots are highly recommended! After hiking, I recommend the Yoho General Store for a cold beverage or an ice cream cone in a historic store started by the Yoho brothers in 1904. Also, close to Solsberry is the Tulip Trestle. This spectacular railroad bridge is still in use today and is the third-longest trestle in the world.
On the trip back home, we surprised the boys by stopping off at the Monroe County Airport. We were fortunate enough to witness a couple of small planes take off. I shared some local lore, telling them the story of the teenage “Barefoot Bandit,” Colton Harris Moore, who stole a plane from the airport in 2010 before crashing it in the Bahamas and being apprehended.
The boys had a great time on our adventures in Greene and Monroe Counties, and are already looking forward to our next trip in the Indiana Uplands.