Art critics love nature for its beauty and serenity, but frequently criticize its over-reliance on landscapes and still lifes. Explore outdoor abstracts with today’s Groupon: for $12, you get two adult admissions to Storm King Art Center in Mountainville, New York (a $24 value).

Founded in 1960, Storm King Art Center speckles 500 acres of landscaped hills, fields, and woodlands with postwar, metal sculptures by American and European artists. The art center’s permanent collection showcases more than 100 abstract and figurative pieces made out of steel, aluminum, and other elements that range in size from welded I-beam structures to artistically littered paperclips. Curators precisely nestle each work in the undulating Hudson Valley highlands, placing Alexander Calder's Five Swords atop an emerald hill and Alice Aycock's Three-Fold Manifestation II under the tree line. An indoor complex shelters perishable works unable to withstand inclement weather alongside The View from Here: Storm King at Fifty, a temporary exhibition exploring the center’s history through archival documents, artists’ sketches, and framed photos of the founders holding up the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

Visitors to Storm King Art Center should dress comfortably and plan to spend several hours exploring the grounds. Check out an audio tour unit ($5) to take a self-paced circuit narrated by Storm King's director and several artists, or rent a bike for a six-speed journey narrated by the wind. Free trams leave the visitor's center every 30 minutes to allow guests with mobility issues to enjoy the facility.