Welcome to The Arboretum at Penn State and, specifically, the H.O. Smith Botanic Gardens! Only the botanic gardens, located adjacent to campus, are featured in this short tour. But the entire 370-acre Arboretum also includes woodlands, a 1.3-mile walking/riding trail on a former railroad bed, a prairie restoration site, an American chestnut breeding orchard, and livestock and agricultural fields used by the College of Agricultural Sciences.
The botanic gardens are a comparatively new (2009) addition to campus that has rapidly become a regionally favorite destination. The gardens are continually added to and improved upon as private donations permit.
Our tour begins at the Overlook Pavilion. The pavilion sits at the highest point in the gardens and provides views of Bald Eagle Ridge and the Allegheny Plateau in the northwest and the Event Lawn and campus toward the southeast. It contains restrooms, water fountains, an office, and visitor information. It is a popular event space that can be rented for weddings and other special occasions.