Minnesota Landscape Arboretum

A month ago, I visited the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chaska with Eldest Son and his partner. It’s hard to believe it was that long ago when if feels like it was just a couple of weeks ago. I’m not sure where summer is going, but it’s certainly going quickly.

As much as I like history and art museums, I am super enamored with public sites that feature nature and greenhouses. The Arboretum, or the “Arb”, fits the bill.

It is operated by the University of Minnesota and is 1,200 acres of gardens, trails, woods, and other natural areas. It also serves as a research area for woody plants and fruit breeding, including Honeycrisp apples.

The main entrance is off Highway 5. If you are coming west through Chanhassen, Highway 5 has a section near Paisley Park Studios (now a museum) that is named for Prince Rogers Nelson.

The Arb has a generous parking area and an even more generous visitor center. The Oswald Visitor Center is massive, containing a gift shop, the Rootstock cafe, and an art gallery. The entry lobby is a wide open space that allows you to get your bearings and cool off.

The visitor center connects to the Snyder Building through a skyway, with the Snyder Building containing the Andersen Horticultural Library and Meyer-Deats Conservatory. The Snyder Building was the original visitor center.

Thank you for those details, Arboretum Map! I paid no attention to them while walking across the skyway. I was too busy admiring the art along the skyway walls – delicate botanical illustrations of various flowers. I’m a sucker for botanical illustrations.

And then we came to the Conservatory and I was buzzing around like a bee with a camera, taking photos of as many flowers and leaves as I could.

I also snapped a pic of a cheeky fountain featuring a woman spitting water at a frog. Or was the frog spitting at the woman?

I was impressed with how well planned the visitor center is. It was very easy to find bathrooms, drinking fountains, and places to sit. The cafe was lively but relaxing, a perfect place to unwind after wandering through the grounds outside.

I could have been satisfied just hanging out in the visitor center, particularly in the Conservatory, but then we headed outside and had fun exploring various gardens, a wetlands overlook, and a wooded area, which had to have been a good 5 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit cooler than in the sunny areas.

There is a 3-mile walk, as well as a 3-mile drive, through the Arb’s grounds. It was too hot for us to make an attempt at the 3-mile walk, so we ended our explorations at the Japanese garden and headed back to the visitor center to browse the gift shop.

In keeping with the Arb’s nature vibe, the gift shop features garden items, seeds, and books related to nature. I bought a few sticker books and a beautiful journal featuring a Luna moth.

Following our visit, I received an email asking if I’d like to become a member. If we lived closer, I’d be tempted to become a member and volunteer. What a great place to hang out!

***

P.S. 8/9/2025 – I received a note that there was trouble with the links. I’ve rechecked them and they work for me, but if they aren’t behaving for you, go to https://arb.umn.edu.