Art — specifically photography — can be a powerful tool for cultivating our observational skills, prompting us to slow down and pay attention to details we might otherwise miss. Your nature-filled MetroParks provide so many places to take a journey with your eyes. Walk in the woods. Sit in a garden. Watch the sun come up or settle in for the night. Spot a rare bird or watch a butterfly break free of its chrysalis. Let the complex beauty of nature inspire your art. Our parks’ amazing landscapes, bountiful wildlife, interesting historical and cultural sites and adventure facilities will appeal to photographers of all interests and abilities.

Featured Locations

Paint-A-Park

We have developed the Paint-A-Park program to provide an outlet for improving mental health: encouraging participants to slow down, be in the moment, and take time to explore the beauty they find in nature. We encourage participants to explore new parks, see their favorite park in new ways and celebrate the natural beauty that can be found in their neighborhood.

Gardens of MetroParks

There’s always something in bloom somewhere in our gardens. As some plants and flowers wane, others are reaching their peak. Gardens at Aullwood Garden, Cox Arboretum, Wegerzyn Gardens and RiverScape provide ideal spaces for capturing the beauty of plants and native wildlife through the camera’s lens. You might even get some garden ideas for your own yard!

Expansive Views

MetroParks are full of wide-field, unobstructed views of natural scenery. Check out one of the many vistas or overlooks for panoramic shots of rivers, lakes, prairies, trails, woods and open sky. Twin Creek, Germantown, Hills and Dales and Taylorsville offer particularly sweeping views.

Live Action

If you like to capture outdoor adventure in action, Five Rivers MetroParks offer plenty of places to practice catching the ultimate shot, from a cyclist getting big air on the mountain biking trails at MoMBA to paddlers shooting the rapids on the whitewater at Eastwood and RiverScape. Grab your GoPro or SLR and get into action!

Record History

Photographers with a passion for history and architecture will find ample opportunities to shoot in MetroParks. From barn and room interiors at Carriage Hill’s historical farm or the ruins of the former town of Tadmor at Taylorsville to the remnants of a former amusement park in Possum Creek’s Argonne Forest or the massive earthen dams in four MetroParks, the stories of our past await you and your camera.

Natural Beauty Throughout the Year

Let your lens take you to some of the most beautiful places in your MetroParks! Our prairies, forests, lakes, rivers and streams provide four seasons of changing scenery to capture. Don’t miss the blankets of trillium at Germantown in the spring, the queen of the prairie in Woodman Fen in the summer, the changing leaves in the fall at Hills & Dales or the ice breaking into shards on the Stillwater River at Island MetroPark in winter.

Wildlife

Snapping photos of our winged and four-legged MetroParks inhabitants will help you learn more about them and their behaviors. It’s all about being in the right place at the right time and having a great deal of patience … unless you photograph at one of our farms, where the pigs, lambs, horses and chickens practically pose for you. The more time you spend at your MetroParks and the more often you return, the more you will be rewarded with opportunities to get great shots of birds of various kinds, foxes, coyotes, deer and much more. Deeds Point, Eastwood, Englewood, RiverScape, Sunrise and Taylorsville are great some of the best places to make the best pictures.

Use nature as the inspiration for your art at every MetroPark.

We invite you to find your own favorite spots to create, or come discover installations made by other artists throughout these parks:

Programs & Events

Tag us on social media!

Share your MetroParks experience

We love to see how you spent your time in the parks. When posting on social media, make sure to tag the park that you are in and include the hashtag #metroparks. We’re posting too. Check us out on:

Curabitur vitae convallis lorem, eget sodales diam. Phasellus scelerisque vel nibh maximus vestibulum. Quisque luctus aliquet quam nec consequat.

Resources

Connect to others making art in the parks!

Photography Clubs and Groups

Photography & Art