Watertown & Mayer
COMMUNITY GUIDE 2025
Arboretum blooming with activities
From Lake Waconia Regional Park to the Carver Park Reserve, citizens in the Waconia area are fortunate to have many opportunities to enjoy the best that nature has to offer. One not-to-be-missed attraction is the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, which boasts more than 1,100 acres of beautiful public gardens, model landscapes, and natural areas with extensive collections of northern-hardy plants.
The Arboretum was born out of the University of Minnesota Horticultural Research Center and established in 1958, with the Men’ s Garden Club of Minneapolis credited with promoting the arboretum idea, raising funds and looking for a site. The Arboretum is part of the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences. As for the gardens, the Arboretum has 32 display and specialty gardens, 45 plant collections and more than 5,000 plant species and varieties. This collection has made the Arboretum one of the country’ s premier horticultural field laboratories.
Visitors to the Arboretum often enjoy a tour of the facility’ s 12.5 miles of garden paths and hiking trails. Many people choose to walk the gardens that are close to the visitors center and then bike, walk or drive Three-Mile Drive to see the
Harrison Sculpture Garden with 25 modern artworks by international artists, plus the Maze Garden and more gardens and collections.
The professionals at the Arboretum strive to provide a community and national resource for horticulture and environmental information, research and public education; to develop and evaluate plants and horticultural practices for cold climates; and to inspire and delight all visitors with quality plants in well-designed and maintained displays.
Gardens and landscapes are only part of the fun at the Arboretum. There are always fun and interesting attractions located in the Oswald Visitor Center with its restaurant and gift store, plus the Snyder Building, and Marion Andrus Learning Center. There’ s even an art gallery. Special events are held year-round at the Arboretum, including a winter holiday spectacular.
The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum is located just east of Waconia at 3675 Arboretum Drive in Chanhassen, off the north side of Highway 5. To learn more about the Arboretum, including information on current or upcoming exhibits or events, contact( 952) 443-1400 or visit www. arboretum. umn. edu.
Community Guide 2025 | WATERTOWN & MAYER | 37