Hike, Bike or Just Relax at the North Carolina Museum of Art Park
Most recently updated October 7th, 2022
Signpost on the Green trail at the edge of the NCMA park.
The North Carolina Museum of Art Park has been a tremendous gift to the whole Raleigh community.
The park’s trails and open lawns, ponds and pools, larger than life outdoor art, plus the amphitheater and outdoor movie screen provide a beautiful open air gathering place for everyone.
Don’t Miss the Grand Re-Opening Celebration!
Several new collections are opening this October, along will all of the re-imagined NCMA galleries.
This October, the NCMA galleries will re-open after an amazing update with a weekend full of family-friendly (and free!) activities.
I’ve gotten a lot of good use from the safe – and inexpensive – outdoor activities for kids the Museum Park has made available over the years.
From the time my daughter was in kindergarten through her college years – and even now as a young adult in the community – the North Carolina Museum of Art (NCMA) and the Museum Park events and grounds have been a big part of both of our lives.
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NCMA PARK TRAILS
The Park’s trail system of both paved and unpaved paths leads visitors through natural areas and to commissioned works of art.
On the Meadow trail, headed towards the Ellipse.
Designed for hiking, walking, and jogging, the unpaved natural trails allow visitors to experience art and nature combined.
Cyclists and self-propelled wheeled vehicles may use the paved trails.
I usually lead longer hikes that begin in other locations, and use the NCMA Park as a good mid-point place for a break.
While you’re there, you can look at indoor and outdoor exhibits, and take a break at the Rodin sculpture garden.
Sculpture along the Promenade Trail on Blue Ridge Road in front of the North Carolina Museum of Art.
There are also public restrooms outdoors and water fountains to refill your bottles.
Trails Inside the Museum Park
There are only a couple of miles of trails inside the park. You can hike or bike further on other connected local and statewide greenways.
But, if you just want to stay inside the Museum Park, you can create some multi-trail loops to add more mileage.
Take a look at the Museum Park Map to find where the trails connect.
Map of the NCMA Museum Park with Trails
The trails inside the park each have their own unique character:
Trail marker on the Blue Loop trail.
Blue Loop (blue)– This is a 1 mile paved loop that starts on the side of the Ellipse furthest from the parking lots.
It puts you within flirting distance of the Pond, crosses the Meadow Trail and skirts the edge of the park along Blue Ridge Road with the Capital Area Greenway (green).
This trail was completed in 2013.
Meadow Trail (Yellow) – The Meadow Trail is accessed from two different points on the Blue Loop, and also connects at several points to the Woodland Trail.
Meadow Trail has a surface of crushed gravel/dirt that winds through the grassy areas of the park with good views of the art installations.
This year they even had a Sunflower field!
Capital Area Greenway (Green) – This paved trail enters the park from Reedy Creek Road, goes along the new Promenade Section and skirts the Southern edge of the park all the way to the Pedestrian Bridge crossing I-440. You can keep going from there!
Keep your eyes open for delightful surprises, like the Whirligig sculpture and the park’s Apiary (built in collaboration last year with community partners, such as Bee Downtown and Burt’s Bees Greater Good Foundation) with an adjacent sunflower-filled pollinator habitat.
Woodland Trail (Brown)– This trail is actually two different trails connected by a section of the Meadow Trail.
You can also access the upper Woodland Trail from the Capital Area Greenway, and the lower Woodland Trail from the Blue Loop.
I enjoy the trees and bridge crossing a small creek along this trail.
Standing on the “Turning Point” platform in summer.
Pond/Amphitheatre Path (Gray) – You can walk all the way around the Pond using manicured trails.
It’s a short walk from the Amphitheater to the Pond, and you can stop at the Pond overlook platform “Turning Point” to admire the natural plantings.
The video below was taken in early Spring, so the vegetation is not grown up and the pond is clearly visible.
West Bldg/Rodin Path (Gray) – Around the back side of the West Building you’ll find gazing pools with water lilies surrounded by large bronze Rodin sculptures.
Hikers at the Rodin Sculpture garden.
Scattered among the art works are small stone benches.
This is a beautiful place to take a break in the sunshine.
Easily accessible from the parking lots and both building entrances.
Interactive Sculpture
There are other things to do in the Museum Park besides walking or biking the trails.
Many visitors like to picnic on the lawn, or relax in hammocks they bring with them and hang between the trees.
Visitors relax in a hammock near the Blue Loop Trail.
You can look at all of the trail-side art, but some of the art is actually designed to be sat upon, climbed inside or interacted with in some other way.
Two of these interactive sculptures currently sit in the Discovery Garden area between the amphitheater and the Blue Loop trail.
These artworks were created specifically to be climbed on and explored.
SCULPT. Cis one in a series of large-scale whimsical sculptures titled Tiovivo (which translates as carousel or merry-go-round) by Spanish artist, Jaime Hayon.
“Sculpt C.” by Jaime Hayon is meant to be climbed on and explored.
Covered with a colorful pattern and scaled for children, his engaging sculpture – which appears to be part spaceship and part giant pig – encourages play and interaction.
Southern Oracle: We Will Tear the Roof Off welcomes visitors to climb on and explore the roof’s exterior, while the interior provides space for conversations.
Visitors are invited to “plug in” to the Oracle by connecting a mobile device to a speaker hidden in the work.
“Southern Oracle: We Will Tear the Roof Off” by Heather Hart near the Discovery Garden.
Artist Heather Hart (lives and works in Brooklyn, N.Y.) creates outdoor spaces that invite viewer participation and engagement.
Hart’s work for the Museum Park will be on display from May 10, 2019 – October 31, 2019.
Other interactive artworks are located throughout the park.
Cloud Chamber art installation on the Woodland Trail.
If you’re looking for other local outdoor spaces to take toddlers or younger children, you might also check out nearby Raulston Arboretum.
Connect to Other Trails and Greenways
From the park, you can take a variety of paved and gravel trails to the pedestrian bridge that crosses I-440.
After you cross you can go to the left on House Creek Greenway which will take you all the way to Crabtree Valley Mall. House Creek is a 6.7 mile loop trail.
The distance from Meredith to the pedestrian bridge is 1.3 miles – so this section would be 2.6 miles round trip.
The Reedy Creek Greenway system is a paved multiuse pathway that runs through west Raleigh and connects the eastern portion of the Park to Meredith College and N.C. State University via a pedestrian bridge.
Bridge to NC State and tunnel to Meredith College from the I-440 Pedestrian bridge.
The Reedy Creek Greenway (and Promenade) also connect the western portion of the NCMA Park to Umstead State Park and Schenck Forest.
Big Lake in Umstead State Park.
For details about longer hikes that would take you from the NCMA Park to Umstead and Schenck (or vice versa) see this post for distance hikes from Umstead.
Museum Park Tours
If you haven’t been to the NCMA park and would like some expert info while viewing the outdoor art installations, you can take a tour of the Museum Park with a docent.
The park tour walk takes 90 minutes and is around two miles long. You should dress for the outdoors and bring water. (Tours are canceled in severe weather.)
Entrance to the NCMA West Building.
Tours are offered most Saturdays at 9:30am. You meet at the West Building information desk. Get more details here.
Museum Park Rules
In any park or other public venue, there are some rules in place for those who wish to visit, and the NCMA Park is no different.
Museum Park rules are enforced to protect visitor safety, works of art, and the environment.
A sculpture in progress in the Meadow.
You can see the entire list of rules here, but below are a few highlights:
Public Safety – No guns, weapons, fireworks, alcoholic beverages, flying devises or motor vehicles, overnight camping or fires.
Bikes and Pets – Pets must be leashed, must scoop the poop, and no mean or noisy dogs.
Art and the Environment –Don’t climb or touch art in the Park, don’t injure or remove plants, Littering is illegal (pack in, pack out), no Metal detectors.
Commercial Business Activity – including photography and video recording, is permitted only with prior authorization.
Before the Museum Park….
When I first came to North Carolina in 1996, there was no Pedestrian Bridge, or West Building.
None of the parking along the Blue Ridge Road existed, and there was no Museum Park as we know it today.
Though the Raleigh Museum of Art had not yet created the expanded Park, they hosted outdoor movie events and concerts that were a lot of fun!
Fun at the NCMA Family Renaissance Fair!
With the expansion of the Museum of Art Park and trails over the past two decades, the activities in the park have expanded as well.
In addition to movies and concerts, the Park now hosts a variety of outdoor classes and some events that use the entire park – including the occasional Renaissance Festival!
Summer MOVIES AND Concerts
Summer concerts and movies have been an NCMA tradition for two decades, and this year is no different.
Outdoor movie screen at the Museum Park.
The outdoor movie venue—the Joseph M. Bryan, Jr., Theater in the Museum Park— is located in the heart of the Museum campus, on the side of the East building across from the amphitheater.
Big-screen movies under the stars at the NCMA include recent Oscar winners, timeless classics, and family favorites.
Screenings include both family friendly and a few R-rated titles each season.
Picnics are allowed (with some restrictions), and the Museum’s Iris restaurant also provides food and beverage options for sale, including beer and wine. Check out the event menu here.
Parking is free – but very crowded at popular events, so get there early!
Rodin sculpture and East Building signpost in the courtyard.
“Can I bring my dog? How about picnics? What happens if it rains?”
For answers to all of your questions, see the NCMA Movie Policies.
You can buy tickets online or at the Box Office in the East Building.
What’s Happening at the NCMA?
To see what all iscurrently going on at the NCMA and the Museum Park, check the NCMA website’s Event Calendar.
“Askew” by Roxy Paine, situated in front of the West Building, has become an iconic beacon on the Museum campus.
Early NCMA History
There would be no Museum Park without the NCMA itself. Below are some highlights of the museum’s early history:
The Museum’s history begins in 1924, when the North Carolina State Art Society was formed.
In 1947 the state legislature appropriated $1 million to purchase a collection of art for the people of North Carolina.
In April 1956 the Museum opened in the renovated State Highway Division Building on Morgan Street in downtown Raleigh, the state’s capital.
In 1967 the state legislature created a 15-member State Art Building Commission to choose a site and oversee construction of a new museum – and they chose a controversial site on Blue Ridge Road.
The Blue Ridge Site
The Blue Ridge Road site, still home to the Museum today, is just south of Rex Hospital on the western edge of Raleigh. The location has a colorful history.
The East Building and the Polk Youth Prison for juvenile offenders, before the Museum Park was built.
Initially inhabited by Native Americans, later it was a Civil War training site, then used for tank training for World War I, provided grazing for cows and horses for the NCSU veterinary school, and eventually became the site of Polk Youth Prison for juvenile offenders.
The youth prison was relocated, and only a smokestack remains as a reminder. (The youth prison buildings were demolished in 2004.)
In 1983 the East Building (at that time the only building) opened.
At 181,000 square feet, the new museum building was four times the square footage of the Morgan Street location and had twice the exhibition space.
In 1988 a master plan categorized the natural features and existing features of the Museum site into zones for future use – including the expansion for the Museum Park.
A smokestack is all that remains as a reminder of the Polk Youth Prison for juvenile offenders.
In 2000, the state legislature granted the Museum an adjacent site for the development of a Museum Park and trail system.
Museum Park History Unfolds
The Museum Park has been transformed over the 30 years since the Museum opened on Blue Ridge Road.
Growth from the original 50-acre site in 1983 to the current 164-acre campus of trails with outdoor sculpture makes the NCMA Park the largest museum art park in the country.
In the past decade alone, over a dozen works of art and two miles of trails have made the North Carolina Museum of Art one of the few museums in the world with both a renowned traditional art collection and a large outdoor art park.
Some of the major projects completed in the Museum Park to date are:
Pedestrian Bridge
Pedestrian bridge over I-440 connects the Museum Park with House Creek Greenway and pathways to Meredith College and NC State.
A connector between two pieces of the Reedy Creek Greenway system, the 660-foot-long, 12-foot-wide, triple-arch bridge provides safe passage for pedestrians and cyclists over the busy I–440 Beltline.
West Building Landscape
Gravel and paved paths lead to striking works of art, some especially commissioned for the new landscape.
Gazing pool with lilies in the Rodin garden behind the West Building.
Three reflecting ponds filled with water lilies and lotus plants accent the outdoor gathering spaces. (The sustainable water management system ties into the Museum Pond.)
Pond Platform
Graduate students with N.C. State University’s School of Architecture designed and built a platform off the wooded path with a view across the retention pond back to the Museum.
Walkway beside the pond and water filtering plantings.
The pond was redesigned as part of a storm water management initiative for the Museum campus, which also includes underground water storage, rain gardens, and drought-tolerant plantings.
BLUE LOOP TRAIL
Through a generous gift from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, the Museum created a major expansion and revision of Park trails.
The centerpiece of the project was a one-mile trail (the Blue Loop) for walking and cycling.
Park Expansion
From August 2015 through September 2016, the Park Expansion Project added new tree-lined parking, contemporary gardens, a promenade connecting Park and galleries, an elliptical lawn overlooking the Park’s beautiful rolling meadow, and significant public art installations by international artists.
Iconic red umbrellas and modern aluminum furniture provide seating in the Ellipse.
Get Involved
There are many ways you can get involved at the North Carolina Museum of Art.
You can volunteer, become a docent, an intern – or even get a job at the museum.
See all of the ways you can help on the museum’s Get Involved page.
Volunteer
Sunflowers near the Meadow Trail.
The North Carolina Museum of Art is always looking for energetic and qualified volunteers to help!
Projects include mulching trails, removing exotic species, planting seedlings, removing trash, and maintaining art installations, which could include painting, cleaning, or installing art pieces.
Flowers along the path between the I-440 Pedestrian bridge and Meredith College.
Volunteer hours are available on either a regular or an on-call basis during weekdays, evenings, and weekends. Corporate groups, individuals, and teens are all welcome.
As a Member of the museum you’ll enjoy free admission to exhibitions, invitations to special events, discounts in the Museum Store and Iris restaurant, eligibility for pre-sales, and free admission to outdoor movies!
Memberships are good for one year (12 consecutive months), beginning when the membership is purchased.
LJ has spent much of her free time as a single Mom – and now as an empty-nester – hiking in the US and around the world. She shares lessons learned from adventures both local and in exotic locations, and tips on how to be active with asthma, plus travel, gear, and hike planning advice for parents hiking with kids and beginners of all ages. Read more on the About page.
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LJ
LJ has spent much of her free time as a single Mom - and now as an empty-nester - hiking in the US and around the world. She shares lessons learned from adventures both local and in exotic locations, and tips on how to be active with asthma, plus travel, gear, and hike planning advice for parents hiking with kids and beginners of all ages. Read more on the About page.
View all posts by LJ
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