Boyce Thompson Arboretum State Park

Summers Hours in Effect

Summer hours are in effect: Park is open daily from 6 am to 3 pm until the end of August. Daily admission is $9 for adults and $4.50 for ages 5–12

Fee Changes Start July 1

Adult entrance fee will go from $9 to $10. Child (ages 5-12) entrance fee goes from $4.50 to $5. Kids under age 5 will still be admitted for free.

June 21: Summer Solstice Concert with Eric Laubach

6:30-8:00 pm. Invite friends and bring a picnic dinner to Boyce Thompson Arboretum State Park on the evening of the Summer Solstice for a rare chance to enjoy evening access, to watch the moon rise and salute the setting sun on the year's longest day. Live music and extended hours June 21 will create a memorable evening outdoors beneath the towering trees which shade the flagstone courtyard in front of the historic Smith Building. Arrive by 6:30 for a 90-minute concert of original music by Phoenix singer-songwriter Eric Laubach. Laubach is known for upbeat folk and ballads featuring original songs about Arizona and nature; some humorous, others poignant and insightful. Laubach has shared his music at locations across North America, the Caribbean, and parts of Europe for four decades and has been a featured performer in the valley at the recent centennial celebrations, folk festivals, fundraisers, and acoustic venues. His concert will feature guitar, plus a little harmonica and Native American flute. Laubach is an Arboretum volunteer and shares his concerts as fundraisers to help generate admissions and revenue for the Arboretum; his concert is included with daily admission of $9, and at no charge to those with Arizona State Parks annual passes.

June 29: Learn Your Lizards

Boyce Thompson Arboretum State Park offers two chances this month to see and learn about Arizona's most common, colorful and charismatic little reptiles -- on walks guided by lizard lovin' interpretive experts! 'Lizard Walks' begin at 8am from the visitor center breezeway and are included with daily admission of $9 for adults and $4.50 for ages 5-12 (and, of course, they're at no charge for you and up to three guests in your car when you show your AZ State Parks annual pass!). Arizona authors Kurt and Cindy Radamaker are the special guest tourguides June 8 for this guided outing, which is the Arboretum's most popular event of all for kids -- and quite popular with all who enjoy comical lizards as they scurry across trails - and do pushups. Lizard Walks are also scheduled June 29 and July 13 with desert ecologist and educator 'Wild Man Phil' Rakoci. What lizards are you likely to see on this guided stroll through the gardens? Ornate Tree and Western Whiptail, Greater Earless and Side-blotched; Desert Spiny and possibly even Clark's Spiny Lizards (with iridescent green scales). See photos and read more about this event

June Activities

June 1: Saturday Afternoon Book Club 1-2:30 pm
June 2: Guided Bird Walk With David Moll 6:30 am
June 15: Plants-of-the-Bible Guided Walk With David Oberpriller 8am
June 16: Trees of BTA Guided Walk With Jeff Payne 8am
June 22: Arboretum Geology Walking Tour 8 am
June 23: Edible & Medicinal Desert Plants Walk Guided by Dave Morris 8 am
June 29: Camera Basics photography shoot outdoors with Tom Boggan 7am ($29)
June Date To Be Announced: Gourd Art class with Vicki & Gerald Johnson ($39)

See more upcoming Events below

The University of Arizona also maintains a website for this park, with additional park information and photos. Learn more.

June 8: Learn Your Lizards Guided Walk

8 am. AZ authors Kurt and Cindy Radamaker are the special guest tourguides for this guided outing for kids -- and all who enjoy Arizona's most common, colorful and charismatic little reptiles. Walks are also scheduled June 29 and July 13 with 'Wild Man Phil' Rakoci. http://arboretum.ag.arizona.edu/events/lizardwalk.html

June 22: Arboretum Geology Walking Tour

8 am. Local geologist Alan Seymour returns as guide for this once-a-month walk, a chance to see rocks and volcanic formations along the main trail on a guided tour that compresses almost two billion years of geologic history into just over one educational hour! Learn about Pinal schist, the volcanic origins of Picket Post Mountain and the Apache Leap tuff. Weekend nature walks and most public events are included with daily admission of $9 for adults. http://ag.arizona.edu/bta/

June 22: Butterfly Walk

8:30 am. Beautiful blue-black Pipevine Swallowtails have a fascinating life cycle; see these butterflies and more on a walk guided by Central AZ Butterfly Association board members Dave Powell & Marceline VandeWater June 22; and Marceline returns July 27. The Aug. 24 walk guide will be ASU Professor Ron Rutowski.

June 29: Tom Boggan Camera Basics Photography Class

7 am. $20-$29. Have a credit card & call 520.689.2723. Spend two hours ‘in-the-field’ capturing garden scenes & learning camera controls and settings with Scottsdale artist Tom Boggan. $20-29

June 29 & 30: Gourd Art Classes

10 am. ('Beginners' Saturday, 'Advanced' pine-needle-coiling workshop Sunday). Enrollment of $30-$49 includes a gourd and full morning of coaching and artistic inspiration from 10am-2pm by engaging gourd art teachers Vicki & Gerald. Saturday’s class is geared to beginners – while our Sunday workshop is for advanced and experienced gourd art students eager to learn a new technique: ‘coiling.’ Tools, paints and paintbrushes are provided during the workshop as well. Call 520. 689. 2723 to enroll.

June 30: Bird Walk with Mark Ochs

6:30 am. Learn to identify resident birds and look for exotic seasonal migrants on a two-hour walk Sunday June 30 starting from the Visitor Center breezeway at 6:30 am. AZ State Parks volunteer Mark Ochs is the special guest tourguide. Recent sightings have included Summer Tanager, Yellow Warbler and Vermilion Flycatcher. The next bird walk will be July 21 with Kathe Anderson.

July 6: Dragonfly Walk with Roger Racut

8:30 am. Colorful dragonflies such as Flame Skimmer, Blue-eyed Darner and Mexican Amberwing patrol and hunt above Ayer Lake and artificial water features around the gardens – learn to ID the colorful insects on a walk guided by Roger Racut and his family. ASU Professor and researcher Pierre Deviche leads this walk Aug. 3.

July 6: Arboretum Book Club

1 pm. Arboretum Book Club. "Each time as the water roars by I hear it laughing at me reinforcing that I, a mere human, am most assuredly not in control," wrote East Valley author Kathleen O'Dwyer in her memoir "Breathing Blue;" July's book club selection; it describes her spirit-filled journey from corporate Chicago to an isolated ranch in Aravaipa Canyon,AZ. O'Dwyer is an Arboretum volunteer, and will coach another Earth Journaling Workshop Friday, July 19 (see below). Breathing Blue is available in our gift shop, pre-order and reserve a copy by calling 520.689.2723; the book is also available online for $17as a print edition, or $4 as an E-book. Book club attendance is included with Arboretum daily admission of $10; and, of course, free to our annual members. Light refreshments are usually served at book club meetings. Please call Vicki Johnson at 480.688.3342 for more information and to RSVP or email BTABookClub(at)msn.com

July 13: Learn Your Lizards Walk

8 am. Desert Spiny Lizards can grow ‘as big as a bratwurst’ and we usually see a few of these colorful little reptiles on our guided spring-summer lizards walks. ‘Wild Man Phil’ Rakoci is our guide June 29 and again July 13; on August. 10 Phil will be joined by Arizona Game & Fish Department reptile researcher Abi King!

July 19: Earth Journal Writing Workshop

7:30 am. Registration $20 for members, $29 nonmembers. In his book Becoming Animal, author and eco-philosopher David Abram asks this provocative question: "are we not simply projecting our own interior mood upon the outer landscape?" Delving into nature, utilizing all of our senses, inspires the soul and can lead to an understanding of self. On July 19, Friday, Kathleen O'Dwyer McDonald will coach her next Earth Journal Workshop at Boyce Thompson Arboretum, leading the group through writing exercises based on the work of David Abram; writing exercises designed to connect the writer with nature and, as a result, with the heart. In a previous workshop, participant Elizabeth Matson was inspired to pen the following lines: "If you are still enough you will see the trees are dancing, Dancing through time and space And the stars are singing While the earth beats its drum." The workshop is open to writers of all levels. The half day workshop begins at 7:30 a.m. to take advantage of the cool morning air. We will be writing and sharing outdoors for the first three hours or so, then move to the air conditioned comfort of the Smith Building to wrap-up. A resident of Gold Canyon, O’Dwyer wrote Breathing Blue which chronicles her two years living and working on a ranch in Aravaipa Canyon. She is close to completing her second novel entitled Little Feather.

July 20: Plants of the Bible Walk

8 am. Bible scholar Dave Oberpriller leads guests to pomegranates, pines, palms, figs olives & more. Learn botany, history and scripture on this slow-paced, relaxing 2-hour walking tour down smooth and flat trails that are wheelchair-accessible. Tour repeats Aug. 17.

July 21: Bird Walk with Kathe Anderson

6:30 am. Learn to identify resident birds and look for exotic seasonal migrants on a two-hour walk Sunday June 30 starting from the Visitor Center breezeway at 6:30 am. Recent sightings have included Summer Tanager, Yellow Warbler and Vermilion Flycatcher.

July 27: Geology walking Tour

8 am. Professional geologist Alan Seymour explains rocks & volcanic formations seen along Queen Creek and our high trail, how tectonic forces shaped Apache Leap and the volcanic origins of Picket Post Mountain. Sturdy hiking shoes are suggested for this walk – which proceeds up the 1/2 mile High Trail above Queen Creek. Tour repeats August 24.

July 27: Butterfly Walk

8:30 am. Beautiful blue-black Pipevine Swallowtails have a fascinating life cycle; see these butterflies and more on a walk guided by Central AZ Butterfly Association board member Marceline VandeWater leads the walking tour July 27. The Aug. 24 walk guide will be ASU Professor Ron Rutowski.

July 27: Prickly Pear Cactus Fruit Classes

10:30 am. This informal one-hour workshop repeated three times each summer teaching ways to pick, prepare, process and preserve these juicy, seasonal fruits of the Sonoran Desert -- with innovative and tasty prickly pear snacks shared at the end of each class. East Valley author Jean Groen and her prickly pear picking accomplice Robert Lewis teach the July 27 and Sept. 2 classes; the August 18 workshop features Chef Eric and Terri of Tall Order Catering, with their own spin on Cactus Cuisine and lessons on de-spining and processing. And don't miss the town of Superior's Second Annual Prickly Pear Festival on Aug. 24 (Saturday). No pre-registration is necessary, just be in our visitor center breezeway lobby at at start time; these classes and most weekend nature walks are included with daily admission of $9. Labor Day Monday is the Season Finale for these popular classes.

Aug. 3: Dragonfly Walk with ASU Professor and researcher Pierre Deviche

8:30 am. Dragonfly Walk with ASU Professor and researcher Pierre Deviche. Colorful dragonflies such as Flame Skimmer, Blue-eyed Darner and Mexican Amberwing patrol and hunt above Ayer Lake and artificial water features around the gardens – learn to ID the colorful insects. Roger Racut and his family return as guides Sept. 7.

Aug. 10: Learn Your Lizards Walk

8 am. . Desert Spiny Lizards can grow ‘as big as a bratwurst’ and we usually see a few of these colorful little reptiles on our guided spring-summer lizards walks. Casa Grande resident and reptile educator ‘Wild Man Phil’ Rakoci guides this walk along with Arizona Game & Fish Department reptile researcher Abi King!

Aug. 18: Tree Tour With Jeff Payne

8 am. What’s an Arboretum? Certified Arborist Jeff Payne shares the answer on a relaxed, leisurely guided tour through our collection of oak & olive trees, hackberry, mesquite & more.

August 18: Prickly Pear Cactus Fruit Classes

10:30 am. This informal one-hour workshop repeated three times each summer teaching ways to pick, prepare, process and preserve these juicy, seasonal fruits of the Sonoran Desert -- with innovative and tasty prickly pear snacks shared at the end of each class. The August 18 workshop features Chef Eric and Terri of Tall Order Catering, with their own spin on Cactus Cuisine and lessons on de-spining and processing. Labor Day Monday, Sept. 2, is the Season Finale for these popular classes
and features East Valley author Jean Groen and her prickly pear picking accomplice Robert Lewis as presenters. And don't miss the town of Superior's Second Annual Prickly Pear Festival on Aug. 24 (Saturday). No pre-registration is necessary, just be in our visitor center breezeway lobby at at start time; these classes and most weekend nature walks are included with daily admission of $10.

Aug. 24: Geology Walking Tour

8 am. Professional geologist Alan Seymour explains rocks & volcanic formations seen along Queen Creek and our high trail, how tectonic forces shaped Apache Leap and the volcanic origins of Picket Post Mountain. Sturdy hiking shoes are suggested for this walk – which proceeds up the 1/2 mile High Trail above Queen Creek. Tour repeats August 24.

Aug. 25: Edible & Medicinal Desert Plants Guided Walk

8 am. Ethno-botanist and Choctaw Nation member Dave Morris leads his singular one-hour walk explaining the ways desert plants fed, healed and clothed Sonoran native people for more than 1,000 years.
** Please note: this walking tour explores the Curandero Trail, which has steep sections that are not suitable for visitors who use wheelchairs or walkers.

Sept. 2: Prickly Pear Cactus Fruit Classes

10:30 am. Labor Day is the season finale for this informal one-hour workshop where East Valley author Jean Groen and her prickly pear picking accomplice Robert Lewis demonstrate ways to pick, prepare, process and preserve these juicy, seasonal fruits of the Sonoran Desert -- with innovative and tasty prickly pear snacks shared at the end of each class. No pre-registration is necessary, just be in our visitor center breezeway lobby at at start time; these classes and most weekend nature walks are included with daily admission of $10.

Sept. 7: Annual Butterfly Census

8 am. Central Arizona Butterfly Association's Dave Powell (http://www.vireos.com/AZ) invites you to help with this annual butterfly census; the Arboretum opens at 8:00 a.m. from September-through-April, and this annual tally begins at 8:30 am sharp, so please arrive as soon after Eight O'Clock as possible so we can organize and divide into teams. Our total count circle has a 15 mile diameter, covering the same approximate region as the Christmas Bird Count: a one-day census of all butterflies sighted within that circle. For lunch we will get together in a local restaurant in Superior (or you can bring your own), and we will exchange findings & information. 79 species of butterflies appear on the Arboretum's checklist, while the record for most species observed in a single day is 44 by Marceline VandeWater during the same count 3 years ago! Xami Hairstreak is one of specialties that has been found in the past at the BTA.
Read more http://www.cazba.org

Sept. 7: Dragonfly Walk with Roger Racut

8:30 am. Dragonfly Walk with Roger Racut. Colorful dragonflies such as Flame Skimmer, Blue-eyed Darner and Mexican Amberwing patrol and hunt above Ayer Lake and artificial water features around the gardens – learn to ID the colorful insects on a walk guided by Roger Racut and his family.

Sept. 14: Learn Your Lizards walk “Season Finale”

8 am. with special guest, Tucson Author Larry Jones. Desert Spiny Lizards can grow ‘as big as a bratwurst’ and we usually see a few of these colorful little reptiles on our guided spring-summer lizards walks. Tucson Author Larry Jones quite literally ‘wrote the book’ about lizards of the American Southwest, and will be our special guest tour guide, joining Arizona Game & Fish Department reptile researcher Abi King and also Casa Grande resident and reptile educator ‘Wild Man Phil’ Rakoci on the season finale for our popular summertime tour.

Sept. 15: Pomegranate Workshop with Chef Eric & Terri

10 am. The most popular variety of pomegranates is named ‘Wonderful’ for a reason: loaded with antioxidants, they’re a healthy addition to your diet – they flower in the spring, bear fruit in late summer, and offer fall color when their leaves turn gold. Learn how to extract the seeds and juice from these flavorful fruit in a class with Chef Eri and Terri of Tall Order Catering, based in Gilbert (Eric and Terri are AZ State Parks volunteers!). Don’t be in a rush to leave – snacks are served after class, including Robert Lewis’ famous Mesquite Flour Waffles hot off the griddle and served with pomegranate syrup. Read more at
http://ag.arizona.edu/bta/events.html

Sept. 21: Bye-Bye Buzzards

7 am. Here in the Sonoran Desert we prefer a critter that’s shoe-leather tough when it comes to seasonal salutes heralding the Spring and Fall; join Arboretum staff and volunteers for the autumnal send-off as the summertime resident flock of Turkey Vultures begins to migrate and spend their winter months South-of-the-border. Daily hours in September return to the Fall/Winter schedule of 8am-5pm, but there’s a one-hour-early opening on ‘Buzzard Day’ so visitors may watch the birds during the first hours after sunrise as they typically bask on cliffs of volcanic rock before circling away to forage for the day. Watch vultures from 7:00-8:30, and then join a guided bird walk at 8:30am to see other birds around the gardens.

Sept. 21: Plants of the Bible Walk

8: 30am. (note start time). Mesa resident Dave Oberpriller is a Bible scholar who leads guests on a gentle walking tour in search of pomegranates, pines, palms, figs olives & more. Learn botany, history and scripture on this slow-paced, relaxing 2-hour walking tour down smooth and flat trails that are wheelchair-accessible.

Sept. 28: Geology Walking Tour

8:30am (please note different start time). Professional geologist Alan Seymour explains rocks & volcanic formations seen along Queen Creek and our high trail, how tectonic forces shaped Apache Leap and the volcanic origins of Picket Post Mountain. Sturdy hiking shoes are suggested for this walk – which proceeds up the 1/2 mile High Trail above Queen Creek. Fall/Winter tours move to a 1:30 start time Oct. 26.

Sept. 28: Butterfly Walk

9 am. (note new start time) Butterfly walk. Beautiful blue-black Pipevine Swallowtails have a fascinating life cycle; see these butterflies and more on a walk guided by Central AZ Butterfly Association board member Marceline VandeWater.

Sept. 28: Pomegranate Workshop with AZ Author Jean Groen

10 am. The most popular variety of pomegranates is named ‘Wonderful’ for a reason: loaded with antioxidants, they’re a healthy addition to your diet – they flower in the spring, bear fruit in late summer, and offer fall color when their leaves turn gold. Learn how to extract the seeds and juice from these flavorful fruit in an informal class taught by Apache Junction author Jean Groen – and her pomegranate pickin’ accomplice Robert Lewis (Jean and Robert are both AZ State Parks volunteers!). Don’t be in a rush to leave – snacks are served after class, including Robert’s famous Mesquite Flour Waffles hot off the griddle and served with pomegranate syrup.