The Arboretum at Penn State

"The Arboretum at Penn State . . . an outreach, teaching, and research facility dedicated to preserving the beauty and ecological functions of vegetated landscapes in an urbanizing society."

Mission

Penn State's vision for The Arboretum at Penn State is to create a nationally renowned facility dedicated to fostering an understanding of the natural world, especially the relationship between plants and humans, and to promoting environmentally compatible uses of the land. The Arboretum emphasizes biodiversity in both its native and cultivated collections, with a particular focus on the creation and restoration of ecologically sound landscapes.

Description

The Arboretum at Penn State is being built on an undeveloped, 370-acre parcel of land adjacent to the University Park campus of The Pennsylvania State University in State College, Pennsylvania. When fully developed, the Arboretum will include 29.5 acres of botanic gardens and more than 340 acres of environmentally sensitive landscape and restored woodlands. The gardens alone are expected to serve more then 200,000 visitors annually.

Phase I of the H.O. Smith Botanic Gardens was dedicated in April 2010, and a children's garden is being constructed in 2012. Phase I contains more than 700 species and cultivars of plants arranged in several striking gardens and collections. Current annual attendance is estimated to be more than 50,000.

General Information

The Arboretum is open daily from dawn until dusk and there is no admission charge.

The H.O. Smith Botanic Gardens in the Arboretum are adjacent to the University Park campus near the intersection of Park Avenue and Bigler Road. The entrance to the parking lot is on Bigler Road, facing the parking lot for the Lewis Katz Building which houses the Dickinson School of Law.

The gardens are open to the public every day from dawn until dusk, and there is no admission charge. Please abide by the garden etiquette rules that are posted at the main entrances. Doing so will help us to preserve the gardens and make everyone's visit enjoyable.

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