Arnold Arboretum

A "museum of trees," the Arnold Arboretum is especially colorful in the fall, when the maples are ablaze in reds and yellows, and in the spring, when cherry trees, lilacs, or magnolias are in full bloom. But the Arnold Arboretum is beautiful all 12 months of the year. When the trails through its 281 acres are covered in snow, they are popular places to snowshoe and cross-country ski.

A National Historic Landmark, designed by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmstead, the Arboretum is maintained by Harvard University, which uses it as a teaching laboratory. Along with a wide variety of trees, shrubs, vines, and perennial flowering plants, are exceptional collections of lilacs, azaleas, and rhododendrons; the Bonsai & Penjing Collection is also a highlight. The Explorers Garden, occupying a small microclimate within the grounds, is home to two of the world's largest Franklin trees, a species now extinct in the wild. Docent-led tours range from quarter-mile introductions suitable for all abilities to a 90-minute Keeper's Tour.

Address: 125 Arborway, Boston, Massachusetts

Official site: https://arboretum.harvard.edu/

Phone: 617-524-1718

Entrance fee: free

Google rating: 4.8/5.0