Minnesota Landscape Arboretum is located at Arboretum Drive in Chanhassen, Minnesota. The Arboretum is open throughout the year with the exception of Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day with the grounds open from 8am to 8pm or sunset (whichever occurs first). Visitors can either take a guided tour or they can wander around the Arboretum by themselves on foot or by car, bus or tram.
The University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum is part of the Department of Horticultural Science within the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences at the University of Minnesota. It features more than 1,000 acres of gardens, model landscapes, and natural areas-from woodlands and wetlands to prairie with extensive collections of northern-hardy plants. Visitors can walk along 12.5 miles of garden paths and hiking trails and cycle, walk or drive to see more gardens and collections.
At the entrance to the arboretum is the Oswald Visitor Center, which is a 45,000 square foot facility with special exhibits, touch screen kiosks, a teaching garden and high-tech classrooms. There is also a gift shop here for visitors to purchase various souvenirs such as books, toys, clothing and various gardening related items. The visitor center is surrounded by six outdoor terraces and gardens and is attached to the Snyder Building, which houses a library and conservatory with tropical plants.
The arboretum aims to educate people of all ages and a special area for children has been located in the Marion Andrus Learning Center and the Sally Pegues Oswald A Growing Place for Kids section. Here children can get involved in science based programs and play under the branches of the bur oak. Another feature at the arboretum is the AppleHouse/SummerHouse, where from late August to October visitors can purchase apples as well as other produce earlier in the summer, and there is a chance to learn more about growing various types of fruit.
The buildings at the site are open 8am to 6pm Monday to Saturday and 10am to 4.30pm Sundays between May and October, while the rest of the year the opening hours are 8am to 4.30 pm Monday to Saturday and 10am to 4.30pm on Sundays. There is also a restaurant at the arboretum for visitors to enjoy lunch at, or they can take food outside to the picnic areas where there are tables and two shelters, not to mention very pretty views. Visitors can also pop in to the Andersen Horticultural Library in the Snyder Building, which specializes in reading and reference material on horticulture, botany and natural history and has more than 16,000 volumes and 350 periodicals.
After a day of walking through the gardens and numerous exhibits, visitors may like to find somewhere nearby to eat in the evening. About two and a half miles from the arboretum is Mike's Pizza Platter or Joey Nova's, which are both located on Manitou Road. Anyone looking for overnight accommodation in the area can try the Holiday Inn Express, which is just half a mile away.
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