This fall, I’m happy to share some incredible fall color getaways. If you’re following along, you've read the perfect fall colors weekend in Traverse City (and some pretty amazing wineries), the autumn greenbelt in Colorado, fall activities in Minnesota, a fall weekend at Sleeping Bear Dunes, fall in northern Norway, along the fall foliage trail from Burlington to Cooperstown, Fall colors (and more) in the Adirondacks, and fall at Lake Michigan.

Chihuly

While we’re in Michigan, I’d like to take you to one of my very favorite places in the state, Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park, located in Grand Rapids. There is so much to see and do there – from indoor art exhibits and a warm, sultry tropical conservatory, to the outdoor sculpture garden, acres of pathways amidst nature’s bright colors, and enough treasures tucked around corners to delight.

At the Farm Garden

At the Farm Garden

Chihuly

Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, called one of the world’s 30 “Must-See Museums” by Patricia Schultz, author of 1,000 Places to See Before You Die, is very large, and features one of the U.S.'s biggest children’s gardens and bronze sculptures by Degas and Rodin; the internationally acclaimed Sculpture Park includes a permanent collection with works by Rodin, Oldenburg, Moore, Bourgeois, Butterfield, and Plensa. Indoor galleries host changing sculpture exhibitions with recent exhibitions by Picasso, Degas, Butterfield, di Suvero, Chihuly, and Calder.

Igor Mitoraj - Light of the Moon

Mark di Suvero - Scarlatti

Chihuly

Heron

We head to Meijer Gardens several times a year, to explore new exhibits, play in the Children’s Garden, and roam the now-familiar paths, looking for old and new favorites. Wander the paved paths, and be prepared for gorgeous displays of color around every bend, perfectly framing the art set amidst fields, still lakes, waterfalls, and hills.  You’ll discover faces of all sorts, animals, structures large and small - even the glorious colors of nature are art.

In the Children's Garden

Butterfly in fall

Pump in Farm Garden

Frog on the pump in the Farm Garden

Deborah Butterfield - Cabin Creek

Waterfall

Chihuly

George Rickey - Four Open Squares Horizontal Gyratory-Tapered

Chihuly

All photos courtesy and copyright Wandering Educators