Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park

Grand Rapids, Michigan (+42.9794, -85.5903)

Frederick Meijer Gardens was opened in 1995 by the West Michigan Horticultural Society . Originally, the property was conceived as being mostly a botanical garden; Lena Meijer (Fred’s wife) loved gardens, and supported the local group in developing a local garden. But in order to make the site more of a tourist attraction, Fred helped commission a 24-foot tall bronze homage to Leonardo daVinci’s horse (by sculptor Nina Akamu). While he was involved in the design and construction process, Fred Meijer was exposed to other world-class sculptors. This helped the Meijer family to shift their focus to including works by many sculptors in the park, and made the park into one of the top attractions in Michigan. Many enhancements have been made over the last 30 years, including a butterfly exhibit in the spring and a new Japanese garden area.

It is a wonderful experience to see the gardens at various times of the year. This year, a winter Enlighten program was done, lighting sculptures at night. The 2024 photos below were taken in December.