Tours

We offer "drop-in" tours as well as group bus and walking tours. Our tours offer visitors the chance to learn about our gardens, history, and plant collections. Each tour is lead by an experienced staff or volunteer tour guide and lasts approximately an hour.

Drop-in tours:

Our drop-in tours for the 2009 season will take place in the F.R. Newman Arboretum, at 12 noon every Saturday during the summer (mid-June through Labor Day weekend.) Tours are open to the general public; a $6 fee is suggested. Pre-registration is not required. Tours depart from the parking area near the ponds in the central part of the arboretum.

Group tours:

Bring your garden club, church group, civic organization or other group and explore Cornell Plantations with a guided tour. Our group tours, offered May through October, are designed to provide you with a personalized, close-up look at the Plantations gardens and/or arboretum.

Walking tours:

Walking tours of the fifty-acre botanical garden highlight the winter, herb, decorative flower, rock and perennial gardens, as well as our rhododendron collection and extensive ground cover collection. Your guide will introduce the themes of each specialty garden and identify key plantings. Although three of the specialty gardens are wheelchair accessible, the majority of the tour is over non-wheelchair accessible terrain. Walking tours of the arboretum can also be arranged, providing a closer look at our tree and shrub collections.

Bus tours:

An experienced guide will board your bus to provide your group with a narrated driving tour of the approximately two-hundred acre F. R. Newman Arboretum. Your guide will share information about the plant collections, history, and educational mission of Cornell Plantations as you view scenic overlooks onto the tree and shrub collections of the arboretum. Buses must be provided by your group.

Cost for all of our guided tours (walking and bus) is $6 per person with a minimum of $50 for each group tour. Registration with a non-refundable deposit of $20 must be received at least ten business days in advance to reserve a tour date. Full payment (minus the deposit) is due upon arrival.
To register or to make arrangements for your tour, please call or e-mail Kevin Moss at (607) 254-7430 or km274@cornell.edu. Please call at least ten business days prior to the date desired for your tour.
Cancellations: The tour deposit is nonrefundable. If we must cancel the tour due to severe weather or other causes, we will grant you a credit in the amount of your deposit towards a future tour.
Late arrivals or last-minute cancellations: Please call to inform us if you are running late or have to cancel at the last minute. In most cases, you will be provided with the cell phone number of the tour guide ahead of time. If not, please call our main information line at (607) 255-2400. If you are more than 30 minutes late, we reserve the right to shorten or cancel your tour.
Parking: If your group is not coming by bus, please carpool, as parking is limited. Buses will be directed to an appropriate parking area by your tour guide.
Self-Guided Groups: Not interested in a guided tour? No problem. Your group is free to tour on their own at no charge, seven days a week, from dawn until dusk. However, please make a reservation anyway so we can help maximize your group’s enjoyment. Brochures and visitor maps are available at the Garden Gift Shop during open hours.