It’s finally spring — so bring on all the tulips, cherry blossoms and orchids! Of course New York has its fair share of sights, but if you make the trip over state lines to New Jersey you can experience even more floral magic.
Besides having the most cherry blossom trees in the entire country (yes, more than D.C.!), Jersey is also home to an effervescent park and sculpture garden with 25 species of wildflowers, 2,000 trees and 270 pieces of art: Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton, NJ.
Grounds for Sculpture spans a whopping 42 acres — and is actually located on the former New Jersey State Fairgrounds site. It first opened in 1992 through the vision of founder J. Seward Johnson, an artist and philanthropist who hoped to make contemporary art more accessible to the public in a casual and inviting environment.
Rat’s Restaurant
Though the entire sculpture park and gardens are of course the obvious reason for a visit — we have to draw attention to the gorgeous on-site dining: Rat’s Restaurant. Don’t let its name deceive you — Rat’s evokes a rustic French eatery, with old-world architecture and ivy climbing up the exterior. (But speaking of the name, it was actually taken from the childhood classic The Wind in the Willows).
Located within the park, guests who sit on the patio (tip: make sure you specify “outdoor” when you make a reservation) will be treated to a spellbinding view of the main pond covering in waterlilies, iris and framed by towering weeping willows. Of course the pièce de résistance is the Monet Bridge, which will take you straight to France. This sight is meant to recreate the famous painting Bridge over a Pond of Water Lilies, with the bridge mimicking the same one found today on Monet’s estate in Giverny, France.
Rat’s was even named one of the 50 most beautiful restaurants in America by People Magazine just last year (the one NYC restaurant included — Veronika — is now closed, so even more reason to make a trip!).
Grounds for Sculpture
The main sculpture park is “committed to exhibiting the work of contemporary sculptors from around the world” and boasts nearly 300 sculptures across the expansive outdoor space. You can find everything from gigantic bronze statues of famous figures to a glowing, fiberglass serpent rising up from an on-site pond.
There are also an additional six galleries indoors for new and emerging artists.
Hours, reservations and tickets
To enter the grounds, you must buy an entry time/ticket in advance on the Grounds for Sculpture website. Tickets are released on a rolling basis every two weeks, so if you don’t see any available slots, that means it is sold out for that time period and you will have to check back later for additional dates. Pricing for 2025 is as follows:
- $25 | Adult (18+)
- $18 | Senior (65+)
- $18 | Active Military / Veteran (ID Required)
- $18 | Healthcare Worker (ID Required)
- $12 | Student (6-17 or student ID)
The park is open every day 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. except Tuesdays.
To dine at Rat’s Restaurant, you can simply make a reservation on OpenTable or call them directly at 609-584-7800. Note that eating at the restaurant does not guarantee admission to the sculpture garden, and you will still have to purchase timed tickets in advance.
The restaurant is closed Monday-Wednesday, and is open:
- Thursday – Saturday
- Lunch: 11 a.m. – 3p.m. | Dinner: 5 p.m. – 9 p.m.
- Sunday Brunch: 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. | Dinner: 5 p.m. – 8 p.m.
How to get there
Grounds for Sculpture is located at 80 Sculptors Way in Hamilton, New Jersey.
You can take the NJ Transit Northeast Corridor Train to Hamilton Station or the Trenton Transit Center (depending on timing), and then transfer to Bus 608 to the E STATE ST EXT AT FAIRGROUNDS RD or E STATE ST EXT AT SCULPTORS WAY stops. From NYC, you would take that train from Penn Station.
By car it’s about an hour’s drive (depending on traffic/timing) and by public transit it’s about 1.5 hours.