Good trip. We arrived at approximately 9 am and made our way towards the entrance of the park... read more
Good trip. We arrived at approximately 9 am and made our way towards the entrance of the park... read more
Lovely way to spend a morning. My wife and I arrived at the sculpture park just after opening, and... read more
This place is a hidden gem. You can become a member for only $55 a year, or pay $10 per person at the gate. They have golf carts for rent and I recommend them, the place is big and spread out. Many outdoor sculptures, some what of an art museum, the owner that put much into this place's underground house that has several mythological pieces of statues throughout. 2 or 3 wedding venues that are sharp. Ponds throughout the grounds. A really nice place to spend the day. Bring a picnic lunch, as they only have a small selection of snacks and drinks. Friendly and knowledgeable staff. Most all trails are blacktop throughout for the golf carts. Very interesting place for sure.
It’s a pretty interesting place and I’m sure most of it is nice but unfortunately we weren’t able to see it all because the place claims to be walkable. It should only be considered walkable if you intend to hike through it. The hills are intense and everyone is on a golf cart. We were disappointed as we wanted to go for a leisurely walk and by the time we’re realized how intense the trails were, we were so tired we left and did not get to see much of the art. So yes I recommend but you better be prepared to HIKE or get a golf cart.
Lovely way to spend a morning. My wife and I arrived at the sculpture park just after opening, and we had the place almost to ourselves. Definitely rent the golf cart, we were able to maximize our time and see everything in a little over an hour. One suggestion for improvement: better signs along the paths or at least a better paper map of the area. We got turned around a few times and ended up returning the golf cart 15 minutes late and paying a $4 late fee. The park itself is great, very peaceful and interesting. We were also able to visit the Pyramid Hill House when it opened; very interesting collection of ancient art and the guide/caretaker was happy to answer questions and tell us the history of the place and its owner Harry Wilks. Recommended.
I was looking for a quiet place to enjoy a picnic lunch and kill some time as I waited to pick up my granddaughter from a nearby summer camp. I heard another camper's parents talk about Pyramid Hill and decided to give it a go.
First surprise was a $10 entry fee. Not outrageous, and I'm usually happy to contribute to local cultural and historic efforts. The lady at the admission kiosk talked my ear off providing far more information than a first time visitor could possibly process. Armed with her lecture and the way-too-busy map/brochure she provided, I went off in seach of a bathroom and a sheltered picnic table.
With neither the map nor park signage providing much help due to lack of identifiable reference points, I drove around until I eventually found both. No complaints about the bathroom, other than a few more might be useful in a 300+ acre park. The picnic shelter I finally found was small, poorly maintained, and lacked trash cans. Why would you erect a picnic shelter, set-up a picnic table, and then not provide someplace to put your trash after your meal?
In the bigger picture, there are a lot of art objects/sculptures in the park. You basically see what you can see from your car as you drive since there are very limited designated parking areas, and most of the roads throughout the park are far too narrow to safely pull off and park to the side and walk around.
In fact, I almost got sideswiped by an oncoming vehicle at a particularly narrow point.
Lastly, I was very disappointed to see a large "gun free zone" sign on the admission kiosk. Not respecting 2nd Amendment rights is their call to make, but they ought to consider footstomping that in their advertising/website. At the very least it will save gun owner visitors the time and money spent to drive there, only to find out their business isn't wanted. Considering the isolated nature of much of the park and the sketchy neighborhoods not that far away, it's inconceivable the management here would deny law abiding citizens the opportunity to protect themselves and their families. This alone will keep me personally from returning, a comment I'm sure the owner has heard before.
Very disappointing. We've been to plenty of free places that were better than this.
We were looking forward to renting one of the golf carts. Their policy is that they don't rent them out during or one hour after inclement weather... which I expected to be a situation like lightning, but apparently it also includes a 10-minute rain. We weren't able to rent a cart because "the trails are wet."
It's probably for the better, since it saved us $25 that would have felt like a waste afterward. We drove the loop and, 10 minutes later, got to the end. We had to double-check the map to make sure that was correct. Yes, there are several dozen sculptures, but it seems most of them have limited visibility (if at all) from the road, and are generally pretty underwhelming. It would also be nice if the museums were open before noon; we didn't get a chance to check them out because we were there well before then to get ahead of the heat and humidity of the day.
If you do decide to go and they ask about kids' ages when you're getting tickets, know that the discount is for five and under, NOT "under five," as we were asked. There's a difference between the two... "under five" is the same as "four and under," not "five and under."
If you've been to other drive through light exhibits, this one is similar but still worth a trip through. The $25 price tag is steep tho, but it's for a good cause.
Be prepared to wait in line to get into the park. I got there around the time the light display was starting and waited in a line of cars for 30 minutes (this was also on the "free night" for Hamilton city residents).
I don't recall a way to go to the bathroom during the wait or drive through, so plan accordingly.
You wont be able to turn left into the park, entrance is right turn only, so depending on what direction you are traveling you may have to U-turn (i did and it was a pain).
There were some people mover size busses bringing larger groups, signage says they aren't allowed, and seeing how one of them took out a low lighted arch, I can see why. Yet, they were not turned away.
It's a bit of a drive from Cincinnati and there are lots of other holiday activities closer, but again it's a good cause and light displays are always fun.