STEVENS POINT – If you desire to learn about and enjoy the culture of Portage County, a couple of hours at the Stevens Point Sculpture Park is a good place to start.
The 20-acre park near the northwest corner of the city of Stevens Point saw its first five sculptures built or placed in the park in April 2010 and it now hosts over four dozen displays that dazzle and delight visitors with wonky constructions, ethereal creatures and natural materials warped by human hands and creativity.
It is a fitting “Hidden Gem” for the summer recreation series my fellow USA TODAY NETWORK reporters in central Wisconsin and I are writing.
My experience and recommendations
When I visited the park in the midst of a moist heat wave in late June, I felt a bit of regret for not spraying at least a dash of bug spray across my legs, neck and torso before venturing into the shaded woods that characterize most of the park’s terrain.
Visitors are welcome to the park between dusk and dawn throughout the year. Central Wisconsin’s distinct seasons and weather conditions offer varying backdrops to the dozens of art pieces scattered throughout the park’s largely flat terrain, which also features several streambeds and ponds that vary in fullness depending on the time of year.
My previous visits to the park have mostly been during its annual “LIT” events, which are held on one night each of the last five fall seasons. The event opens the park after dusk for visitors to experience creative lighting of each sculpture, additional artwork, music, dancing, illuminated pathways, glowsticks and other performances to be discovered between the trees and shadows of the woods.
How do I find the Sculpture Park?
Visitors may enter the Sculpture Park via a few different walking trails that allow access from Second Street North, Zenoff Park, Northpoint Drive or the Green Circle Trail. Parking can be found along Second Street North or at Zenoff Park.
The “main entrance” to the Sculpture Park is near Zenoff Park and is marked by wayfinding signs, a large stone adorned with over a dozen plaques listing annual donors to the park, and a large metal duck wearing a hat, named Tniop, which a nearby sign clarifies “that’s Point spelled backwards.”
The duck, completed in 2014 by Roger M. Skrzeczkoski Sr., a welder/fabricator for the City of Stevens Point, serves as an introduction to several of the park’s examples of “found object” art, or art made of everyday items, as it is constructed of old city snowblower parts, a decommissioned Stevens Point Police Department patrol car, an old tree grate from Stevens Point’s downtown, and an old concrete saw blade and other metal pieces from the city’s streets department, according to the nearby sign.
Visitors will follow the park’s meandering and branching pathways made of mostly hard-packed dirt generally southward while observing and contemplating artwork by local, national and international artists made from found materials like scrap wood or old machine parts or purposefully robust materials such as metals, resins and epoxies. The park’s paths are mostly flat and are largely accessible for wheelchairs, strollers and people with limited mobility. If you explore beyond the main path, keep an eye out for small trip hazards in the form of exposed tree roots, protruding rocks and small plants.
What should I know before I visit the Sculpture Park?
Several of the art pieces featured in the park are clearly meant to be touched by eyes only but several others ― which include benches, a labyrinth and large, three-dimensional spinning block ― invite visitors to interact and play as they explore human creativity within nature’s art gallery. Visitors will also see various species of pine and deciduous trees, wetland foliage and many small creatures including bugs, birds, squirrels, chipmunks, frogs, spiders and occasional deer.
After reaching the southern connection with the Green Circle Trail, visitors may choose to return along the roughly one-quarter mile path through the Sculpture Park or about a half of a mile of the 1.2-mile “Brickyard Trail” portion of the Green Circle Trail back north along a stream to Zenoff Park and the Sculpture Park’s entrance. The 26-mile-long Green Circle Trail creates a massive loop around and through Stevens Point and Plover for pedestrians and bikers to commute to or explore all the area has to offer.
Several of the park’s sculptures are also placed along Second Street North and are mainly visible or accessible from short paths off of the sidewalk along the east side of the roadway.
The Stevens Point Sculpture Park is located at 901 N. Second St. and is owned and operated as a park by the City of Stevens Point. There is no fee to access the park. For more information, follow Stevens Point Sculpture Park on Facebook or visit the City of Stevens Point website or the Stevens Point Area Convention and Visitor’s Bureau website.
Share your favorite ‘hidden gems’ in central Wisconsin
What are your favorite “hidden gems” in central Wisconsin? Share them with us! We’ll be highlighting some of the lesser-known places to visit and activities to participate in across central Wisconsin this summer. Think of it as your guide to summer day trips as gas prices remain high and the kids are out of school. Suggestions should be within about a 45-mile drive of central Wisconsin communities like Wausau, Marshfield, Stevens Point and Wisconsin Rapids. Places and activities must be family friendly, and we are also looking for places that are cost-conscious. If you know the perfect spot, let us know. You can email me at epfantz@usatodayco.com.
Erik Pfantz covers local government and education in central Wisconsin for USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin and values his background as a rural Wisconsinite. Contact him at epfantz@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Stevens Point Journal: Stevens Point Sculpture Park sparks visitors’ imagination and wonder
Reporting by Erik Pfantz, Stevens Point Journal / Stevens Point Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Erik Pfantz, Stevens Point Journal | USA TODAY Network
