Take a Day Trip from Utica & See the ‘Easter Island’ of NY State

Our Explore CNY series takes a three-hour jaunt from Utica to the Hudson Valley Region for another combined natural-manmade wonder.

The Garner Arts Center is located along the western edge of the Hudson River, just south of West Point. It's a self-proclaimed "Non-Profit Center for Visual & Performing Art Experiences." A highlight of the center is a fascinating area called the Creekside Trail. To really appreciate its natural beauty, take an overhead look at its mundane urban surroundings:

That swath running through the center of Garnerville (above) is the Minisceongo Creek. That's where you'll find the Creekside Trail, featuring amazing rock sculptures like this:

Artist Ted Ludwiczak always claimed that rocks would "talk" to him. During his career, he sought ones with a face hiding inside, then he chiseled them out, and brought them to life.

Ludwiczak, who passed away in 2016 at age 89, also has works on display at museums in New York CIty, Baltimore and Chicago. Some of his best work, though, can be found permanently along the Creekside Trail--and right outside the Garner Arts Center.

The Garner Arts Center has workshops, exhibitions, film festivals and more. For further information, here's their website and here's their Facebook page.

Garnerville is about an hour south of Saugerties, where Opus 40 (New York State's "Stonehenge") is located. And it's only about 30 minutes south of Storm King, the famous open-air sculpture museum in Mountainville.