Entry No. 68 — the New York City file — filed under: roadside-oddity
Taconic Sculpture Park
Self-taught sculptor Roy Kanwit spent some 40 years populating his hillside yard with more than 30 figures from Greek, Roman, Egyptian, and Native American mythology — some carved from Vermont marble, others cast in cement. The centerpiece is a roughly 20-foot head of Gaea, the Earth goddess, cast in steel-reinforced concrete in 1996, that peers over the Taconic State Parkway at passing drivers. The head is hollow, with a ladder inside up to a lookout at her crown, where you can take in the rolling hills. Kanwit died in 2023; his family reopened the park, which runs seasonally on weekends.
The story
If you're driving northbound on the Taconic State Parkway near Chatham, glance up at the eastern hillside and you'll catch a giant white head staring back down at you through the trees. That is Gaea—a 20-foot skull of the Greek Earth goddess, cast out of steel-reinforced concrete in 1996. Most motorists cruising past at 65 miles per hour assume she's a highway hallucination or an oversized lawn ornament. In truth, she's the anchor of a three-acre open-air pantheon built over four decades by self-taught sculptor Roy Kanwit.
Kanwit settled on this Columbia County slope in the 1970s and set to work peopling his yard with more than 30 monumental figures drawn from Greek, Roman, Egyptian, and Native American mythology. Working with raw Vermont marble and hand-poured cement, he planted gods, sirens, and mythical beasts directly into the tall grass. Kanwit passed away in 2023, but his family reopened the property so travelers can still pull off the blacktop and step right inside his personal cosmos.
What makes the site weirdly captivating isn't just the sheer scale of the figures, but the hatch hidden inside Gaea’s skull. Kanwit didn't pour her solid; he built her hollow and installed an internal ladder leading straight up to her crown. Squeeze yourself inside the dark concrete chamber, haul yourself up the rungs, and poke your head out the top—you'll be staring right back down at the highway you just deserted.
What it's like
Turn off the parkway onto Stever Hill Road and park near the slope, where wind-swept grass path coils up past weathered concrete titans. The vibe here is raw and unpretentious—there are no polished gallery plaques or velvet ropes, just stone faces staring into the woods. A small cash fee (typically around $10) helps Kanwit's family preserve the grounds, which run seasonally on warm-weather weekends. Wear decent shoes for the steep, uneven turf, and bring a flashlight or phone light if you intend to climb inside Gaea's dark, tight interior ladder.
The move: Pull off the Taconic, wander the open hillside of mythological stone heads, and take turns climbing the staircase inside the giant Gaea head to look out over the valley together.
📍 Before you go Privately run on the artist's property; best visited in warm months and daylight. The Gaea head is visible from the Taconic Parkway northbound.
- 📍 Spencertown / Chatham
- 💸 Free
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Outdoors
Where: 84 Stever Hill Rd, Spencertown, NY 12165
Hours: Added 2026-06-23 — confirm current hours before you go.
⚠ Seasonal or scheduled — always check before you go.
Pair it with
- Opus 40 — Pair Kanwit's mythological concrete figures with Harvey Fite's sprawling six-acre bluestone earthwork in Saugerties for a masterclass in solo Hudson Valley stonework.
- Wing's Castle — Continue the hand-built eccentricity southward in Millbrook, where another artist spent decades constructing a medieval stone castle out of salvaged local materials.
- Storm King Art Center — Contrast this scrappy, intimate roadside hillside with the massive, multi-hundred-acre corporate scale of Storm King down in New Windsor.
Good to know
How do I spot the sculpture park from the Taconic Parkway?
Keep your eyes on the eastern hills driving northbound near Chatham. Look for the 20-foot white head peering through the forest canopy, then take the exit toward Spencertown.
Can you actually go inside the giant Gaea head?
Yes. The head is hollow and fitted with a metal ladder inside, allowing visitors to climb up and look out over the valley from an opening in her crown.
Is there an admission fee?
Yes, visitors report a small entry fee (around $10 per person), which goes directly to the family maintaining the private grounds.
Is Taconic Sculpture Park open year-round?
No, it operates seasonally on weekends during warmer months. Because it is outdoors on private property, confirm operating status before heading out.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Atlas Obscura · chronogram.com · ruralintelligence.com · Roadside America · Tripadvisor
last checked: 2026-06-23