Boyce Thompson Arboretum State Park

Arizona's oldest and largest botanical garden, the Arboretum was founded in the 1920s by mining magnate Colonel William Boyce Thompson. In 1917, Thompson served as co-leader of a Red Cross mercy mission to Russia where he came to understand the importance of plants as the ultimate source of mankind's food, clothing, and shelter.

Encompassing 323 acres, you can see plants from the world's deserts, towering trees, captivating cacti, sheer mountain cliffs, a streamside forest, panoramic vistas, many natural habitats with varied wildlife, a desert lake, a hidden canyon, specialty gardens and more.