Plan a Visit

Visitors at our annual Lilac Sunday festival in 2023. Image credit: Lauren Miller
Person in striped shirt poses in front of a lilac while a child takes a photo.

Visitor Info

Welcome to the Arnold Arboretum. Our 281-acre landscape featuring over 15,000 accessioned plants is open daily and free for all to explore. Whether you are coming for a stroll, on the lookout for wildlife, or interested in learning the stories and science behind our plants, we value accessibility as an institution and offer something for everyone. Explore our program catalog, virtual walks, guided tours, Expeditions mobile app, and digital learning resources. If you’re visiting with kids, check out a variety of self-guided family activities. Not sure where to start? Our Visitor Center staff is here to help.

Directions & Parking

You can get to the Arboretum by subway, bus, bike, or car. Get directions to our Hunnewell Visitor Center at Arborway Gate, Peters Hill, Weld Hill Building, or Dana Greenhouses. Free parking is available along the Arborway, Bussey Street, and Walter Street. The Arnold Arboretum also offers resources for improved accessibility.

Contact Us

The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University

125 Arborway Boston, MA 02130-3500

Phone
617.384.5454
Email
arbweb@arnarb.harvard.edu

Hours & Admissions

The Arboretum landscape is free and open every day.

Landscape
Open daily
Sunrise-Sunset
Visitor Center
10am-4pm daily
Admission
Always Free

Visitor Guidelines

Read our visitor tips and guidelines to learn about bringing your dog, hosting events, riding your bike, and more so you can plan your best visit. Explore our interactive map and view a printable PDF map.

Accession Number
The alpha-numeric value assigned to a plant when it is added to the living collection as a way of identifying it.
Accession Date
The year the plant’s accession number was assigned.
Common Name
The non-scientific name for the plant.
Scientific Name
The scientific name describes the species of an organism. The first word is the plant’s scientific genus and the second is the specific epithet. This two-word binomial is sometimes followed by other taxonomic descriptors, including subspecies (denoted by “ssp.”), variety (denoted by “var.”), form (denoted by “f.” or “forma”), and cultivar (denoted by single quotation marks).
Plant Family
The family to which the plant belongs.
Propagation Material
The first part (material code) describes the material used to create the plant. The most common codes are “SD” (seed), “EX” (existing plant), “PT” (plant), “CT” (cutting), “SC” (scion), “SG” (seedling), and “GR” (graft). The second part describes the lineage the plant is derived from. The last part describes the year of propagation.
Collection Data
The first part indicates provenance (place or source of origin) using a letter code (“W” = wild, “G” = garden, “Z” = indirect wild, “U” = uncertain). The second part lists the plant source. For wild-collected material, the collector, collection number, and country are given.
Location
The location of the plant on the landscape.
Hover to Learn More
524-48*AA
Cupressaceae
Metasequoia glyptostroboides
SD – LINEAGE 524-48 – 1948
–
1948
W – WILD ORIGIN – CHINA –
CHENG, W.C.
NATL. CTRL. UNIV., NANKING, CHINA
Dawn Redwood

Winter Scavenger Hunt

See how many of these seasonal treasures you can find this winter at the Arboretum! Stop by the Visitor Center to pick up a copy or print one out at home.

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White Oak in Winter

Wonder Spot | Living Leafless

Learn how to tell if a tree is alive, even when it looks like it isn’t during the cold winter months.

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Image grid showing various types of bark.

Wonder Spot | This Bark Doesn’t Bite

Have you ever wondered about the different types of bark you see on trees?

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Woodpecker

Wonder Spot | Snags for Wildlife

A standing tree that is dead or dying is called a snag. There are many reasons to leave snags to decompose naturally in place.

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Little Explorers

Join us this winter at the Arboretum as we read and discover new things about the natural world. (For kids ages 3-5 and their grownups.)

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Explore more family activities →

Walks

Introductory Tour

Introductory Tour

This half-mile Introductory Tour features stories about the Arboretum’s history, mission, and research endeavors. If you’re at the Arboretum, click here to take a version of this tour with Expeditions, our mobile web app.
40 mins Easy 0.5 miles
Director’s Tour

Director’s Tour

Experience the Arnold Arboretum’s world-class living collections from Director Ned Friedman’s perspective. Take this tour online or use the page for self-guided exploration while visiting the Arboretum in person.
120 mins Medium 2.5 miles
Explorers Garden Tour

Explorers Garden Tour

This quarter-mile tour through the Explorers Garden features stories from the Arboretum’s century and a half of collecting plants around the world. If you’re at the Arboretum, click here to take a version of this tour with Expeditions, our mobile web app.
45 mins Easy .25 miles
Keeper’s Tour

Keeper’s Tour

Take a virtual walk with Michael Dosmann, the Keeper of the Arboretum’s living collections. Take this tour online or use the page for self-guided exploration while visiting the Arboretum in person.
90 mins Medium 1.5 miles

Collections

Bonsai & Penjing Collection

Bradley Rosaceous Collection

Conifer Collection

Explorers Garden