Morris Arboretum

Randomly stopped by here while in PA. It’s $ 16 for each adult and there’s no time limit. I went in November and it wasn’t crowded at all, which I really enjoyed. However, I think going in the spring time may be better because I wasn’t able to see any bloomed flowers and there were no water/​fountains running (they were all covered in tarp). Nonetheless, the exhibits were still pretty for fall and it was a cute, affordable spot for a date.

my wife and i discovered this place a few years ago and have members ever since.
Originally the private gardens of a Gilded Age family they are now the preserve of the University of Pennsylvania. We love coming here just to walk the trails and you can do it at different times of the year to see different things.
flowers, art, landscaping, demonstrations of cultural elements, the toy trains collection is lots of fun to watch running.
it has ramps for wheel chairs so most of the area is accessible but the steepness of some slopes might be a challenge. I would also suggest bringing a canteen or something like to carry water.
but in the end this is great fun.

Just came here this past weekend on Saturday ⁴⁄₁₁ for the Cherry Blossom Festival, except. there were were no cherry blossoms to be found, lol. However, they will probably be in full bloom around this weekend. I was disappointed, but unfortunately you can’t control Mother Nature. I definitely would of had a better experience if everything had bloomed because there wasn’t too much to look at. For the price of $ 16/​adult, I would say that it was pretty overpriced. I guess they have to charge this much for the maintenance but I feel like they shouldn’t. It is UPenn after all, I don’t think they are hurting that bad.
Not sure if I would come back to be honest (and it’s also quite the drive for me), unless I knew everything had already blossomed. There are many arboretums, parks, natural scenic areas that are much more beautiful, larger, and also free. I did have a very peaceful time here I’ll admit but we were able to walk through the arboretum fairly quickly.
Their café here (Compton Café) is green restaurant certified which is nice to know — helping our environment out by sending less waste! However, I have no comment on the food though because the line was too long and we had already finished walking the entire arboretum. The lady at the front desk was very nice. But overall, my experience here was alright, it was nothing too memorable.

I can’t say enough wonderful things about Morris Arboretum. While I haven’t been to other arboretums in the area to compare, everything about Morris just beautiful, friendly, inspiring, and joyful.
My husband and I had our wedding reception at Morris in August, and it was perfect. We lucked out with beautiful weather, sunny and low 70s, and the venue couldn’t have been better for us or our guests. The cocktail hour in the Pennock garden was gorgeous, and we rented the golf carts so guests could easily get around and tour the arboretum if they wished. So many people told us how much they loved Morris and wanted to return to see more of it. Dinner and dancing under the tent out back was awesome. Everything went smoothly, and the everyone we worked with at Morris was great. BYO alcohol was another perk.
Weddings aside, Morris is amazing. I’ve probably gone 4 – 5 times now just to visit (not wedding planning), and every time I love it. Spring and summer are beautiful of course, but early fall and Christmastime are also great times to go. Most recently I went back with my husband and family to see the Holiday Garden Railway. It’s so cute! Model trains of all types (including Amtrak, gondolas, and Thomas)… natural bridges and tunnels cut out of trees… and replica Philadelphia area historic buildings made out of bark (including Betsy Ross house, Lemon Hill, Washington’s HQs in Valley Forge and many others). Very interesting and adorable.
I highly encourage anyone who enjoys nature to check it out. Great for kids too. Gardens, trees, flowers, sculptures, fun seasonal events, and of course a giant tree house… what’s not to love. The Japanese garden, Italian grotto, and the fernery are my personal favorites. If you’re looking for something different to do, definitely consider spending several lovely hours walking around Morris — you won’t be disappointed.

We came here on a picturesque fall day right in the middle of the leaves changing colors. Some trees were a fiery red deeper than the Unilocal color. Some still retained their green color for the time being. But the spectrum of colors in between made for some beautiful photos.
The scarecrow festival was happening during the time we were there and so many creative designs popped out to me. My favorite was the teenage mutant ninja turtle though. Not only well done, but a place in my heart from my childhood.
Some people complain about the price, but I had a Penn ID card so that wasn’t an issue. Also, we rode bikes here, which would have cut the cost in half. The ride from 30^th St station passes through some beautiful trails, but is a bit long.

A trip to the Arboretum was a perfect way to spend a sunny Saturday. Just 25 minutes from West Philadelphia, we trekked out to the Arboretum to get a little nature in during a beautiful weekend.
The place is huge — we used a map and looped around the entire park and it took us several hours, stopping to look at all the areas of the property and taking lots of pictures. I’d definitely recommend devoting a good portion of your day to simply walking if you decide to visit.
There is a ton of wildlife here too — in addition to the gorgeous foliage, we also saw chipmunks, baby bunnies, the resident swans, and a whole family of groundhogs popping in and out of their hole. There was just so much to look at and take in, and there has clearly been a lot of thought, time, and effort that’s gone into the layout and care of the grounds.
We will absolutely be going back here, whether it’s before the summer ends or during the Fall to see what the property looks like with the leaves changing. I would highly recommend the Arboretum to anyone of any age.

This place is expensive. I recommend, if you want to visit, trying to do it all in one day to save money. Membership is a better deal if you live nearby and plan on visiting frequently. It’s nice, and there’s some really awesome stuff about it, but I don’t feel like it’s really worth the price. I also think there are some things that are very lacking about the ecological practices and perpsective offered by this place.
I think of myself as pretty well-​off, but dropping $ 16 for admissions to a place like this is just not something I can afford to do more than once in a while. They’re also competing with a number of other arboretums, parks, and natural areas, which are either much cheaper, or free (an overwhelming majority of natural areas in this region are free, and there’s no scarcity of them).
I also think the high price effectively makes this place less accessible to people with less disposable money. It falls under the umbrella of the University of Pennsylvania, an institution that isn’t exactly hurting for money, so the steep price doesn’t sit well with me thinking of this as a not-​for-​profit educational organization.
What do I like most about this place? I love the labels on the plants – one of the plusses of visiting an arboretum instead of just seeing plants out and about in nature or in people’s gardens. There are some big labels, and, more common, smaller, copper labels. Most trees and shrubs are labelled, and many clumps of flowers and smaller herbaceous plants are also labelled (although in many cases they have migrated and reproduced so the plants’ location doesn’t always correspond exactly to the sign or label).
Another thing I love is the elevated walkway, which not only has some fun netting that allows you (and kids) to safely look straight down from the canopy to the forest floor below, a larger-​than-​lifesize bird nest, with a neat educational display about bird nests, and lots of areas of walkway that allow you to look at the forest canopy at eye-level…that’s a really unique opportunity, and this is one of the best places I’ve seen where you can do this.
One thing that I think is lacking here, that I really would like to see the place work on more, is their awareness of (and practices surrounding) native plants and invasive plants. Several things:
* The gardens themselves, although they look pretty and neatly manicured, are heavily overrun with invasive plants. Although the untrained eye may not notice, if you look for them, you’ll see lesser celandine, greater celandine, garlic mustard, and many other invasives. I know these plants are tough to control – but this isn’t exactly an undisturbed wild area, most of the grounds are a heavily-​manicured garden. Given how much much energy they put into maintaining this place so it looks as neat and pristine as it does, I think they could do a better job controlling the invasives. And it’s not like they lack funding. They clearly are just spending the money somewhere else.
* Although there are some great signs and panels throughout the gardens that draw attention to a variety of important environmental issues and lessons about ecology, one thing that I saw that was lacking is the discussion of the distinction between native and non-​native plants in terms of their effects for supporting wildlife. The only thing I saw about this was a sign that mentioned that deer like to eat native plants.
* The gardens themselves seem to be glorifying the gathering and distribution of plants beyond their native range, both by displaying plants from all over the world, to highlighting people who collected and distributed plants in this manner on little biographical plaques. I am worried that this could encourage people to distribute plants in ways that could cause them to become invasive.
This is not a theoretical concern. When I was a kid, I came to visit here, and I felt inspired to do this myself, after visiting. And I actually did – I gathered some trees, including non-​native ones, including ones that could become invasive, and planted them in my yard. I think this practice has negative impacts on wild ecosystems and I think that this arboretum, through the way it displays and talks about plants, actually encourages these practices.
I think it can be okay to display plants from other parts of the world, but I think it is VERY IMPORTANT that if you’re going to do so, to have a heavy emphasis on how to do so responsibly. This means (a) refraining from planting anything itself that has the potential to become invasive (b) drawing constant attention to the fact that it can be ecologically dangerous to gather species and plant them outside their native ranges. © balancing the display of non-​native specimens with an emphasis on native ones.
Native plants is where the Morris Arboretum really seems to lag behind. There are so many plants native to this region that can’t be found in this garden. I’d love to see this change.

um overall not that great compared to the one in ny.
i was there for the cherry blossom event and barely saw any.
the best part was the rope. totally cool

If you are looking for somewhere to do a lot of things, this may not be the place. But if you are looking to be outdoors and somewhere peaceful, this is the place!
It does seem like they do a lot of events though.
I came here for the first time Saturday for the Cherry Blossom Festival but was most excited to sit on the nets from the tree. The giant bird’s nest with the 3 eggs was cool too. A lot of the trees were still pretty bare from the winter.
I want to come back when the trees are full of leaves and the flowers are blooming.
It was a nice place for a day outside filled with generally familys and elder couples.
If I lived closer, I would definitely have a membership and come sit and read on the net all the time.

We went here to soothe our spring fever. Even though there is not much in bloom just yet, it was a great place to take in the outdoors. There is plenty to explore along the various paths, from sculptures and birdhouses to the suspension bridge and tree walk. It’s a great option for a romantic stroll or fun with the kiddos. It cost $ 16 per adult ($ 8 if kids, military, & students). The annual membership is $ 75 for a couple, $ 60 for individual. This includes free admission for a year along with several other perks (see website). It’s a good deal. Highly recommended.

I went there yesterday with my daughter and we met up with some friends. Had a really nice Christmas miniature train exhibit, carolers, a craft and beautiful grounds. We had a great day.

I wish we had more time at the arboretum. It’s HUGE! Tons of trees, plants, flowers, etc. I’m sure it’s a great, meditative place for people. Would love to come back one day and spend an entire day here.

Just went here for the first time this past Sunday. It happened to be an unusually warm fall day and we wanted to get out of the house and explore. Went with friends. One being a landscape /​tree fanatic. (Ps: She was on cloud 9) We only had about an hour and a half there, which was just about enough time. We didn’t get to see everything, but I also didn’t feel like we missed a lot. It being late autumn, there was not much in bloom, just like anywhere else in the area. (With that said. I felt a little iffy about the $ 16/​per adult charge. not sure if I totally got my moneys worth … but not too salty as I also understand the importance of supporting places like this) I would love to go back come spring and summer to see it in all it’s glory. In the meantime, they have an extensive offering of classes, lectures workshops etc. to check out ! Great place, great staff ! Just would perhaps recommend a lowered «off-​season» rate.

This is a nice place for those with a green thumb. It’s all about nature.
I’ve been here a few times for retreats. It really feels good to escape the city from time to time. The meeting room space works out very well. I enjoyed their breakfast and lunch catering.
There is lots to explore. I like walking the tree house and checking out everything that is blooming.

I visited this place over the weekend. It was just what I needed from a long week. It’s a great serene place to get away from the rush of the city and relax in nature. Also a bit of a good work out if you walk around enough! The swan pond is probably my favorite feature of the arboretum.
If you are a student, definitely take your student ID — we saved over 50% on the prices :)

A sunny but chilly day for a visit. I assumed that was why buy one admission and get the 2^nd free was offered for the month of January. Most areas and trees were bald, but huge to look at. We had a wonderful older gentleman for a guided tour for TWO. We learned so much and he walked us around many areas for the arboretum. We absorbed knowledge, history, and humor during the tour.
I definitely will be back during the warmer weather. «The arboretum changes daily!» said by the tour guide.

I went here to experience the annual train display that is put on during the holidays through the new year. It was a cold, windy day, and well everything is outside, so I didn’t get a chance to fully take in the premises, but what I saw was beautiful. They even had a replica bird’s nest– very nice!
While I enjoyed the train show and the attention to detail of the replica buildings accompanied with a written history description of each, I am really looking forward to returning in the spring or summer when things are in full bloom and I hear that concerts are hosted here. Definitely worth the visit.

I really didn’t know what to expect when visiting or how this spot wound up on my radar. I did know that I wanted to be outside and see some pretty leaves on a perfect autmn day. So I headed out on October 30^th. I was visiting with my friend Quinn, and we didn’t follow the correct path through the Arboretum. We stumbled through the grounds until we found a trail, but we actually did the whole day perfectly. We kept discovering cooler and cooler things until we finished with the tree canopy, which is actually where you’re supposed to start.
Its hard to tell about everything that is here, but I do recommend that everyone checks this place out. Students get in for $ 7. Some of my highlights include baby redwood trees, the log cabin, all of the info about exotic trees, the mini train and railroad, and the beautiful landscape in general.
Because they have so many different trees that thrive in all kinds of climets, you could basically visit any time of the year and see something interesting.

I’ve been here for a wedding reception, and to walk the grounds. I’ll admit, visiting the arboretum makes one appreciate the outdoors. Especially the heavily-​manicured outdoors.
This is a fine choice for a reception: it’s a beautiful venue for photos, romantic for a wedding ceremony, and the visitor’s center building has a patio for guests to gather. Banquet-​style dining has never been so easy!
During normal days there’s admission, but fortunately it’s reasonable, especially considering the cost to upkeep all the trees and shrubs and garden gnomes. Before you leave, be sure to check out the Japanese garden and the Summer Palace — it’s a swirl of sticks.

Stunning! A treasure! Not to be missed!
Especially in springtime when the azaleas and rhododendrons bloom, this place is just GORGeous!
Great for kids, adults, older folks — everyone.
And — if you join the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society you can visit for free!