Group Tours
Group Visits
The Morris welcomes organized groups for visits — please review the types of tours we offer and our FAQ page at the bottom of this page before emailing tours@morrisarboretum.org or calling 215-247-5777 x157 to arrange a date. For opportunities available for student groups, field trips, and scout tours, please visit our Education page.
Tours for parties of 10 or more can be arranged with a three week advance notice. Please fill out our Group Tour Request Form below and a staff member will contact you to arrange a date.
Groups may select from among the following group tours:
Art in the Garden Tour
Duration: 60 minutes
The Morris is home to an outdoor collection of classic and contemporary sculptures. Explore the Garden’s works of art, both intimate and grand, seamlessly integrated into the designed landscape. The Madeline K. Butcher Sculpture Garden features changing exhibits of emerging artists. The length of time and areas covered can be adjusted for each group.
Bloomfield Farm and Historic Springfield Mills Tour
Duration: 60 minutes
Springfield Mills and the Miller’s Cottage date back to 1760 and are the oldest architectural features at the Morris Arboretum & Gardens. Springfield Mills contains the most complete inventory of original mill works and related machinery of any mill in the area. The content of the mill provides a unique opportunity to interpret 19th and early 20th-century agriculture and milling.
Garden Highlights Tour
Duration: 60 minutes
The Morris Arboretum & Gardens is a living museum featuring plants, sculptures, and ideas collected from around the world. Visit some of the Arboretum’s most beloved attractions like the Fernery, the Rose Garden, and the Log Cabin, which visionaries John and Lydia Morris developed more than 100 years ago.
Japanese Elements Tour
Duration: 60 or 90 minute options available
A Japanese garden speaks to all the senses, providing a place for rest, repose, meditation and pleasure. Explore the many locations throughout the Morris where traditional Japanese elements meld into the Victorian landscape created by John Morris. Long and short tours are available depending on time constraints.
Native Trees Tour
Duration: 60 minutes
Evidence suggests that native tree species support the rich diversity of fauna within forest ecosystems. Take a group tour of the native trees at the Morris and learn about the many ways native trees can support increased biodiversity when planted in various of non-forest settings, too.
LEED Horticulture and Green Roofs Tour
Duration: 60 minutes
The Horticulture Center supports the Morris’s daily operations in a healthy and environmentally friendly facility. It has been awarded Platinum Level LEED® Certification, setting an example for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design on a local, regional, and national level. Some demonstration features include green roofs, geothermal wells, constructed wetlands, recycled materials, energy efficient buildings and solar panels. Tours are from the ground only.
Outstanding Trees Tour
Duration: 60 minutes
The Morris is over 75 years old and so are many of our trees. Many trees in our living collection are recognized as significant examples of their species, and some are the oldest in the area. Plan a guided tour to see our prized collection of mature stately trees. Our most exceptional specimens are highlighted on this tour, including several current or former state champions, as well as many trees of extraordinary size and beauty.
Group Tours FAQ
Booking Tours
We have a variety of tour offerings for Group Visits both geared for adults as well as for field trips and youth tours.
Every day is a great day to visit the Morris! We offer tours mid-March through the end of November. Our Spring schedule fills up fast – reach out in the Fall or Winter to guarantee your spot!
Tours must be booked at least 3 weeks in advance. Youth tours can start anywhere between 10:15 –11:00am. Adult tours can be scheduled to start anywhere between 10:15am and 2:00pm, but preferably in the morning.
We are better able to accommodate tours for large groups (20+) during the week. Small groups (10-20 people) can be scheduled for the weekend with at least 3 weeks' notice.
To book a tour, please complete this form. We will respond to requests in the order they are received. During our busy seasons, it can take at least a week to respond.
Contact information:
- Contact name, email, and phone number
- Organization name (if applicable)
Type(s) of tour you are interested in.
Date(s) and time(s) you are interested in:
- Youth/school tours can start anywhere between 10:15am-11:00am during the week.
- We can do weekend youth tours for small groups (10-20) only.
- Adult tours can be scheduled to start anywhere between 10:15am-2:00pm.
Number of people in your group:
- Youths (3-17), Adults (17+), and Seniors (65+).
- For youth tours, we require 1 adult chaperone for every 10 youth.
Age/grade level of youth/students. For youth tours and school field trips.
Will you be bringing lunch to eat onsite?
- We have space we can reserve for you to eat if you bring lunch, but we no longer have a café. There are snacks and cold drinks available for purchase in the gift shop.
How will you be getting here? By car, van, and/or bus? How many?
We can accommodate groups of minimum 10 persons for a guided tour, 60 people max. On the day of the tour, the group will be split into smaller groups (usually 10/group) and paired with a tour guide. Groups larger than 60 are encouraged to come over the course of multiple days.
Prices |
Guided Tour (Per Person; Includes Admission) |
Adults |
$25 |
Seniors (65+) |
$23 |
Youth* (3-17) |
$10 |
Member |
$18 |
*Youth tours: One adult chaperone is included free for every 10 youths. Every additional adult costs $12 each.
We do not offer group rates for tours. If you are a school administrator or teacher, ask about our discount for Title I schools and special needs groups by emailing tours@morrisarboretum.org.
Yes. Private group tours are not included in membership benefits. However, you do not have to pay to attend any public tour that is free with admission, as those are drop-in tours. If there are more than 15 people attending a public tour, the guide reserves the right to cap the number of attendees to ensure a quality experience.
Yes! We can offer free tour admission for Title I Schools with a $50 refundable deposit.
For Title I public and charter schools in Philadelphia County, we are also able to offer free busing for groups of least 20 students to and from the Morris Arboretum & Gardens.
These funds cannot be used for private schools or nonprofits that may work with students from Title I schools.
We accept credit/debit card and checks. Payment is due two weeks ahead of your tour date. If payment is not received by this date, we reserve the right to cancel your tour. Full gate admissions will be charged for unscheduled visits.
- If you are paying by check, please make it out to "Morris Arboretum & Gardens" and mail to: Morris Arboretum & Gardens Education Department, Attn: Tours, 100 Northwestern Avenue, Philadelphia PA 19118.
- If you are paying by credit or debit, you can pay online (preferred) or call 215-247-5777 ext. 157.
To pay online:
- Go to morrisarboretum.org
- Navigate to the top right where it says "LOGIN"
- Enter the email address used for the reservation (where confirmation was sent).
- Click "Forgot My Password" so the system can send you a link to create a new password.
- After you've created a new password, log in to your customer profile.
- Click on the drop-down menu labeled "Account" (next to the cart icon) and click on "My Reservations." You should see your tour(s) already loaded in there.
- Click "VIEW" on each reservation and then add your credit card information to pay.
- Your card information will be securely held until the date of your tour -- up until that point, you will only be able to change the card on file. After your tour date has passed, you can log back in to your account to remove your card information. It gets automatically deleted 30 days after your most recent reservation.
We do not currently require a deposit for most tour reservations.
We do require a $50 refundable deposit for reservations from Title I schools.
After payment has been received, requests for refunds -- either for less participants than anticipated or to cancel entirely -- must be made at least one week before the scheduled tour date.
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To reschedule a weekday tour, please contact us by 4pm the day before the tour.
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To reschedule a weekend tour, please contact us the Friday before, by 12pm.
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50% of the payment is non-refundable if not rescheduled by this time.
There will be no refunds after a tour is scheduled to begin.
Our guides are prepared to lead your group rain or shine! We will only cancel a tour in extreme weather, such as torrential rain, lightning, or when excessive heat warnings have been issued by the National Weather Service. We will reach out to you by 9 am the day of the tour if we need to cancel for weather, in which case your payment is fully refundable.
If we’ve arranged busing for you and you’d like to reschedule or cancel due to weather concerns, you MUST notify us 24 hours ahead of your trip by emailing tours@morrisarboretum.org.
Accessibility
Tours can be led on the ADA accessible paved paths throughout the gardens, marked in white on our map. Please note that the gardens include some hilly terrain and exiting the gardens requires going uphill. There are benches throughout the Morris but walking in some areas could prove challenging.
Morris does have single-rider mobility scooters and wheelchairs that are free to use and available on a first-come, first-served basis. You can find more information here.
We also have a robust offering of classes, many of which wouldn’t require as much walking around. You can check them out here.
Cart tours can be scheduled for those with mobility and physical disabilities by emailing tours@morrisarboretum.org. Cart tours can accommodate up to five guests and must be scheduled at least two weeks in advance.
While You're Here
Somone from our Education Team will meet you at the Welcome Center upon arrival.
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For groups arriving on buses, we will direct the bus to where to pull over so your group can deboard at the Welcome Center and begin your tour.
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For groups arriving in cars or vans, please park in the visitor parking lot and someone from our team will meet you at the Welcome Center to begin your tour.
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For Wetlands Tours, an Education Team member will meet you by the entry kiosk and direct the bus so your group can deboard near the Wetlands and begin the tour.
Yes! Across the street on the Bloomfield side of campus there are several bus parking spots where buses can park for the duration of your visit. We have maps available for bus drivers. Please note there is no bathroom access on the weekends from the bus parking lot.
The tours last approximately one hour.
Your tour fee includes Garden admission for the day, so you are free to wander as you so choose!
For our younger visitors, they may want to check out our self-guided exhibits such as the Out on a Limb installation and the Garden Railway (open seasonally: Memorial Day through the end of September, reopening the week before Thanksgiving through New Year’s Eve).
Yes! Your tour can include a 1-hour reserved lunch space in our outdoor eating area by request. There are no indoor eating facilities nor refrigeration available.
You can bring your own lunches or have your meal catered by one of our catering teams. Please note food cannot be delivered to Morris unless it is provided by one of our catering teams. If you are ordering boxed lunches from one of our caterers, you must arrange for the delivery to be made while you are onsite.
If you are bringing lunch to have onsite, we can take them to store in the lunch area while you are out on your tour. Your guides will direct you to the lunch area after your tour.