06 ARNOLD ARBORETUM TOUR

KEY AT-A-GLANCE INFORMATION

LENGTH: 3.6 miles

CONFIGURATION: Loop

DIFFICULTY: Moderate

SCENERY: Tree and shrub species from all parts of the world; views of the Boston skyline and the Blue Hills

EXPOSURE: Shade and sun

TRAFFIC: Light on weekdays during business hours; heavy on weekends, especially during the spring and summer months

TRAIL SURFACE: Variable, including packed earth, grass, paved road, and gravel

HIKING TIME: 2.5 hours

SEASON: Year-round sunrise–sunset

ACCESS: Free

MAPS: Posted at each entrance

FACILITIES: Restrooms located inside the arboretum headquarters, accessible during business hours. Members of the public may use the arboretum’s library by appointment.

SPECIAL COMMENTS: Free guided tours are available.

WHEELCHAIR TRAVERSABLE: Although the hike described is not wheelchair friendly, much of the Arboretum is traversable by wheelchair.

DRIVING DISTANCE FROM BOSTON COMMON: 5 miles

Arnold Arboretum Tour

UTM Zone (WGS84) 19T

Easting: 325266

Northing: 4686088

Latitude: N 42° 18' 27"

Longitude: W 71° 07' 12"

Directions

From Boston, take Storrow Drive west to the Kenmore Square/Fenway. Bear left following signs for Fenway/US 1 south. Bear right onto Boylston Street, following signs for Boylston Street. Continue on Boylston 0.4 miles, after which it turns into Brookline Avenue. Stay on Brookline Avenue 0.5 miles. Take a left onto the Riverway (also called the Jamaicaway). Follow Riverway to a rotary at Jamaica Pond (on your right). Follow signs for South Dedham/Providence. Enter the next rotary and take the second exit onto MA 203 east. The arboretum’s main entrance is about 50 yards past the rotary, on the right.

IN BRIEF

The Arnold Arboretum is an urban oasis where you can take walks among botanicals collected from all over the world. With the plant life in constant flux, every day offers a different spectacle of beauty ranging from a hillside of blooming lilacs to great blue herons fishing in ponds ornamented with lilies, and the glow of a blue spruce in morning mist.

DESCRIPTION

Founded in 1872, Harvard University’s Arnold Arboretum exists thanks to the generosity and vision of two men, New Bedford whaling merchant James Arnold (1781–1868) and businessman Benjamin Bussey (1757–1842). Alike in their love for and commitment to agriculture, each of these men donated their fortunes to Harvard so that the university might use the assets to advance plant science.

Shortly after the Arnold Arboretum was established, Charles Sprague Sargent was made its first director and given the title of Arnold Professor of Botany. Soon after, with the help of the prominent landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, he laid out the road and pathways and planned distinct zones according to family and genus. Today the arboretum’s 265 acres serve as a living classroom and research center for Harvard’s students and professors as well as a link in Boston’s park system known as the “Emerald Necklace.”

After entering the Arborway Gate, begin walking on the paved road leading past a cattail-filled wetland to the left and the arboretum headquarters housed in the brick Hunnewell building to the right. On a day in March, your nose will likely draw your attention to the large Chinese witch hazel planted near the headquarters’ steps.

Walking on, you will pass a pussy willow tree with branches reaching out into the road. In most seasons, this tree is hard to identify, but in March its velvety buds attract as much interest as any summer flower. Next, on the left, you will notice a particularly magnificent silver maple standing in a cork grove.

The arboretum is full of lovely and intriguing trees and shrubs from all over the globe. You may not recall any one tree in particular after just one visit, but as a frequent visitor, you are bound to develop favorites. One cork tree, in fact, was so roundly adored that the bark of one of its low-hanging branches was worn to a permanent shine.

Once you are past the wetland, leave the road and head into the maple grove to the left. Brushing beneath branches, you might startle mourning doves that favor this spot. Though established by Harvard University as a center for the study of trees, horticulture, and agriculture, the arboretum’s 265 undeveloped acres attract a large number of migrating birds. In March, red-winged blackbirds and grackles liven the bogs and ponds. In summer, warblers, finches, and orioles flash their yellow and orange hues amid the bushes and trees.

Where the road reaches a hill, cross over and pick up a trail that curves to the right around the base of the slope. You will pass a vernal pool hidden behind a tangled thicket on the right then shortly come to a collection of chestnut trees and hickories. Ahead a dense growth of bamboo forms a rabbit’s paradise on the edge of another slope. Walk straight back, heading northwest, and turn left behind the towering fronds.

Follow the base of this second hill, hiking south through linden woods back to the foot of the first hill then climb to a path that runs along the top and follow it southward.

If it is a day in May when you emerge from the woods to the paved road that winds up the hillside ahead, the purple haze of blooming lilacs you encounter will likely stop you in your tracks. In other months broad-leafed catalpas or delicate birches vie for attention. In any case cross the road and make your way up the hill, bearing left past mulberries of all shapes and sizes.

Once beyond the mulberries, aim for the stump of a tree cut into a sort of throne and upon reaching it stop for a breather, then continue uphill bearing left to an enormous black oak tree. Standing beside this tree and looking to the southern horizon, you can see the dark silhouette of the Blue Hills. From here, follow the path as it dips to the right of the oak then rises to an open lawn. This peaceful spot is rimmed with evergreens, Asian fruit trees, and ornamental bushes. Find the road to your right and follow it downhill several yards to where it meets a path descending a steep slope to the left. Head down into the deep oak grove below, bearing right. Cross the road curving in front of you and cut between the rocks and evergreens.

Arriving at a group of conifer cultivars, turn southeast and continue past a drooping Norway spruce and a graceful weeping hemlock to the right. Make your way straight downhill to a cypress grove to emerge at a small field then walk to a grand pine at the eastern edge of this grassy plateau and follow the path as it turns to the west.

Passing a row of beeches on the left, you will soon come to a boulder nested beneath pines near a stream outfitted with a picturesque footbridge. Keeping the stream to your left, hike up the slope littered with pine needles and cones then continue to the narrow stream welling from a spring marked by a blue atlas cedar, giant sequoia, and dawn redwood. Make your way across this wet zone taking time to marvel over this jaw-dropping triad, then duck beneath the sheltering boughs of Asian spruces beyond. Bear left on descending the hill and cross the field to a second footbridge. Once on the far side of the stream, turn left to follow the clay path to the Bussey Street Gate.

When the traffic permits, cross Bussey Street to the gate at Peter’s Hill. Where the steep grade begins to ease, look for a path to the right which leads in to a grove of evergreens.

In spring, the hill’s orchard of crab apple and ornamental cherry trees fill the view with pink. When leafless the gray branches of these trees caste lovely silhouettes against the stark winter sky.

Follow the path as it arcs to the crest of the hill and, once at the top, leave the trail to steal a look at Boston’s skyline couched in trees.

Return to the trail and follow it as it runs along the stone wall at this southernmost edge of the park. Passing the backyards of the arboretum’s Roslindale neighbors, you will notice a small grave site to the left of the path.

Stay with the footpath as it rounds the perimeter of the property, paralleling the Boston–Needham commuter line on the eastern border. On the left, in a cleft of the hill, pass a vernal pool and several willow trees. Just ahead, the field forms a basin on the edge of South Street. Follow the path as it leads back uphill to the arboretum’s paved road. Turn right to walk down an avenue of oaks heading northeast toward Poplar Gate at the corner of Bussey and South Street.

Because this intersection is often busy and has a tight curve, take extra care crossing back to the arboretum on the north side. Step up onto the low stone wall to find a path running along the base of Hemlock Hill. Follow this path as it reaches a stream and curves westward. After passing through a grove of rhododendrons rooted to the rugged face of Hemlock Hill, the path leads to a bridge on the right. Cross the stream then the paved drive beyond to reach a path that ascends between beech trees of tremendous scale and architecture. On reaching the gravel path at the top, continue northward, passing a century-old tulip tree on the left.

Trees and bushes on the right shield the concrete home of the Massachusetts State Laboratories. Though incongruous with its verdant surroundings, red-tailed hawks have made it their own. The path curves as it runs north then downhill toward two ponds. When you come to the end of the path, cross the paved road to the larger pond. In March, red-winged blackbirds sing from the larch tree on the bank opposite. In summer, you may see a great blue heron standing stock-still waiting to strike at hapless tadpoles.

Keep the pond to your left and hike ahead to the rose garden. Choose your own route through this gorgeous spot, meandering along its various paths invariably dotted with resident cottontail rabbits. The busy Arborway lies just north of this garden. When you are ready, pick up the trail that runs along the stone border between the Arborway and the arboretum and head northwest. Upon reaching the maple grove that lies ahead, you may recognize trees you passed earlier.

Bear right and follow the path beside the Arborway. You will soon pass the wetland crowded with cattails, and beyond it you will see the arboretum’s brick headquarters. Continue a bit farther to arrive back at the main gate.