Tours and Events

Tours and Events Calendar

Old Main, New Directions in Desert Landscaping

What makes the Old Main building so important? It’s the first building on the University of Arizona campus and has been a place of education and learning for over 130 years. But it’s also the site of beautiful and water-wise landscaping, combining the best of desert and adapted trees and plants with water conservation practices suitable for our hot and dry climate. Join us to see how it’s done.  Click the link below to register for the tour date of your choice:

 

Environment and Natural Resources 2 (ENR2)

How can we have a lush but water-wise garden in the middle of a densely populated city? Join us on an exciting tour of the Environment and Natural Resources 2 Building (ENR2) and find out. This unique building, which has a Platinum Category LEEDS certification—the highest possible designation (LEEDS stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is home to many native and non-native plants. Our tour focuses on these plants and how they thrive in this one-of-a-kind setting. Learn about how the building supports their growth to create your own urban oasis.

 

 

Arboretum History Tour

Learn the history and the heritage of Arizona's oldest University. Follow our guides as they show you beautiful places and tell you fascinating facts about the growth and development of the University, and how it came out of the sands of the Sonoran Desert to become the jewel of Arizona! Click the link below to register for the tour date of your choice: 

 

Sonoran Native Plants

The University of Arizona Arboretum is home to some of the finest specimens of Sonoran native plants and trees anywhere. Join us as we tour the Joseph Wood Krutch Garden and other areas of the campus featuring these remarkable, adaptable, and water-wise plants and trees. Learn about their history, current use and why they should have a place in any desert garden. Click the link below to register for the tour date of your choice: 

 

Trees Around the World Tour

The campus arboretum is home to a unique collection of desert-adapted trees from around the world. Some will be familiar, and others are exotic. All of them are beautiful. Join us to learn what they are, why they are here and how they are used in their native country.  Click the link below to register for the tour date of your choice: 

 

Edible Landscapes Tour

While all the trees in the Campus Arboretum are beautiful, some of them are also edible. Join us for a tour of these trees, including olive, fig, pomegranate, and a few you may have never heard of. Learn how many of these trees and plants have been cultivated as food by people here and elsewhere for thousands of years. Click the link below to register for the tour date of your choice: 

 

 

Medicinal Plants Tour

Plants have been used as medicine for hundreds, if not thousands of years. They are part of the history and lore of almost every society on earth. Join us to learn how these plants—from the Sonoran Desert and elsewhere--have been traditionally used to treat different ailments and other conditions. Click the link below to register for the tour date of your choice: 

 

 

Sponsored Trees

This self-guided tour showcases all sponsored trees on campus featuring the inscription for each tribute plaque. Donor contributions provide sole support for Campus Arboretum educational and outreach programs, student training and research projects that promote awareness of sustainable land management and development. Donations also provide needed resources that support professional development and training of grounds personnel, provide for special preservation of existing trees, and expand tree collections and programs. 

Sponsored Benches

This tour showcases all donated benches on campus. Donor contributions provide sole support for Campus Arboretum educational and outreach programs, student training and research projects that promote awareness of sustainable land management and development. Donations also provide needed resources that support professional development and training of grounds personnel, provide for special preservation of existing trees, and expand tree collections and programs.

Join Us for a free guided tree tour!

 

 

Tours start at the University of Arizona Berger Memorial Fountain, west of Old Main at 8:00 am in September, October, April and May and 9:30 am in November-March. The tours last 60-90 minutes. Campus visitor parking is available in campus parking garages at a cost of $2 per hour.

 

REGISTRATION FOR THE FALL 2024 TOURS OPENS ON AUGUST 17, 2024 

To find out about a special tour, please email Arboretum-Tours@arizona.edu. Special tours are offered from November-April.

 

Need a campus map? Here is the link!  https://map.arizona.edu/

 

Get Answers to All Your Gardening Questions! Have a question about caring for your trees or plants? Want a tree or plant identified? Contact the University of Arizona Master Gardener Plant Clinic. Click this link: https://extension.arizona.edu/pima-master-gardeners

 

 

Here are other ways to "visit", learn and be inspired. 

 

Virtual Tours - We have provided virtual tree tours here. See photos and descriptions of plants from the comfort of your home! Learn more about the virtual tree tours here.

 

Blooming Tours - The campus provides plants that bloom throughout all of the Sonoran desert's five seasons. Experience and learn about plants in bloom through this virtual tour. Learn more about the plants in bloom here. 

 

Mobile Tours - You may also wish to take a self-guided tour using your mobile device. Learn more about mobile tree tours here.

 

 

 

 

 

Other Self-Guided Tours -  Self-guided tour booklets can be printed from the links found in many tour descriptions. Return to the main tree tour page to explore each by clicking here.