A special note on reopening at The North Carolina Arboretum:
UPDATED Monday Dec. 30, 2024:
The North Carolina Arboretum will resume regular gate entrance fees beginning Thursday, Jan. 2. The standard daily entrance fee for non-members is $20 per vehicle. Free admission is included with membership to The North Carolina Arboretum Society (learn more about Membership here). Thank you to everyone who contributed and visited during the donation-based entry period following Hurricane Helene. Revenues from Arboretum visitation help us continue to provide year-round programming, enhancements to the gardens and to continue to recover from the impacts of Hurricane Helene.
For info on pricing and hours, please click here.
The Arboretum continues to expand the areas that are open to visitors. In addition to the main gardens, Education Center, and Baker Exhibit Center, some paved and gravel roads will be open for biking and foot traffic. Trails that are not gravel roadways remain closed. Please stop in the Baker Visitor Center for all details on open and closed areas. Entry continues to be donation-based until Jan. 2. We look forward to seeing you in the gardens!
UPDATED Friday Oct. 25, 2024:
We are grateful to announce that we will be able to welcome guests, members and neighbors back to The North Carolina Arboretum beginning Monday, October 28. Thanks to the extraordinary work by the Arboretum staff and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, we are able to reopen the primary entrance, parking area, and formal gardens to visitors. We have missed all of our guests and hope this will provide a chance for everyone seeking a respite and peaceful retreat to find it in the Arboretum’s open-air gardens.
Here are some things to know:
• The Arboretum gardens will be open during winter seasonal hours (8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., with the incoming gate closing at 5:00 p.m. See ncarboretum.org for building and gift shop hours).
• Please stop by the lobby of the Baker Visitors Center for a map and all updated information on open and closed areas.
• Entrance during this time will be donation-based: all donations will go to the ONE Fund helping to continue the Arboretum’s recovery efforts, but donations are not required, as we do not want financial conditions to limit anyone’s enjoyment of this special space.
• While fallen trees and brush have been removed from our roads and trees have been cleared of hazardous snags, road/trail surfaces are still in post-storm condition. In this condition there will be: mud and puddling; scoured and rutted surfaces; and exposed roots. Please proceed with caution and for your safety do not venture off the roads/trails or enter closed areas.
What is open? UPDATED for Saturday, Nov. 23:
• The Formal Gardens
• The Education Center and the expanded Winter Lights Gift Shop.
• The Baker Visitors Center, Connections Gift Shop, and Baker Exhibit Hall, currently displaying “Only Owls.”
• The Bonsai Exhibit Garden
• Willow Pond (accessible by the pathway from the main parking area).
• All paved and gravel roads, including are open for foot traffic and biking (except for the service road behind the Baker Visitors Center). These include: Bent Creek Road, Wolf Branch Road, Owl Ridge Road, Rocky Cove Road, Running Cedar Road, Hard Times Road, and Old Mill Trail.
• Foot traffic as well as bicycles are permitted on both Frederick Law Olmsted Way (our entry road) as well as the Greenhouse Way Greenway during daytime operations.
What is not open:
• All unpaved or non-gravel trails remain closed including Creekside Trail, Natural Garden Trail, Old Arboretum Trail, Carolina Mountain Trail, Lower Willow Pond Trail, and Wesley Branch Trail. Please follow signs and do not enter closed areas. Gates leading to/from Lake Powhatan and beyond Hard Times Road remain closed. Please do not access the Arboretum campus from Bent Creek Experimental Forest or the Blue Ridge Parkway. We appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding.
The North Carolina Arboretum has always sought to provide a place for people to reconnect with the natural beauty of our region. As Western North Carolina continues to rebuild and recover, we hope guests will use this special space to rest, recharge, and relax among the gardens. We look forward to seeing you soon!