Join Us Year Round For Group Walks and Tours

If you have binoculars, please bring them to all walks - they're not just for birdwatching!

Interpretive Tours

Led by an Arboretum staff member, your 1-3 hour tour includes interpretations of the use of plants for horticultural or naturalization plantings while touring plant collections and natural landscapes. The tour can also be customized to focus on education, natural history, wildlife or horticulture. Fee is $120.00 for 1 hour, $150.00 for 2 hrs or $210.00 for 3 hours. Maximum 20 participants. Registration is required at least 2 weeks in advance. To book an interpretive tour, call 519-824-4120 ext. 54110 or email arbor@uoguelph.ca [1].

Self-Guided Tours

Come for a nature walk along one of many trails and enjoy The Arboretum's wide array of plants and 1,700 species of trees and shrubs. Maps of the site are available at The Arboretum Centre, Hales-McKay Shelter, Information Kiosk (located at The Arboretum pedestrian entrance) and throughout the grounds. You can also download a pdf of the map below this article . Arboretum grounds are open dawn to dusk, year round. Admission is free.

Group Walks

Enjoy a 1 ½ hour walk led by Arboretum Auxiliary Docents. Registration is required two weeks in advance. $5.00 per person (minimum charge of $60.00 applies to groups fewer than 12 persons). Bus tour groups welcome - complimentary admission for bus driver and tour leader. To book a group walk, call 519-824-4120 ext. 54110 or email arbor@uoguelph.ca [2].

Wednesday Walks

Nature is known to be unpredictable and unexpected, so what awaits us today?  A Naturalist Intern will be leading 1 hour long walks every Wednesday.  Walks start at The Arboretum kiosk at 12:15 p.m.  For further information contact arbor@uoguelph.ca.  The hike may be cancelled if there is inclement weather.   

We also run Wednesday Evening walks for the months of June, July and August that begin at 7 p.m. at the J.C. Taylor Nature Centre. These 1 ½ hour walks will be on a different topic each week and are $2 / person however children under 5 are free. 

In the past, when we were unable to run in-person walks, we offered walks in a virtual format. Our Wednesday Walk videos can be found on our Wednesday Walks page [3] or you can go to our YouTube channel [4] to check them all out.

Walks led by Michelle: