Arboretum Etiquette

We thank you for visiting Tyler and ask that you abide by the following guides:

  • Be kind, courteous, and respectful to your fellow visitors.
  • Please walk on paved paths, on nature trails, and on grassed trails but do not walk across flower beds or planted areas. Several of our most important trees are fenced to protect the root systems of those trees. Please do not climb these fences or enter fenced areas.
  • We ask that you avoid picking up or collecting twigs, sticks, seeds, leaves, nuts, berries, bark, feathers, or flowers from our plants or trees. Leave everything here for others to enjoy.
  • During baby bird season, if you see a baby bird on the ground, please leave it alone. Its parents are generally not far away.
  • To gain admission to Tyler, please enter the Arboretum through the front gate off Painter Road and pay an admission or show a valid Tyler membership card. Please do not enter the Arboretum through the trail gates.
  • Help us protect our beautiful plants from hungry deer. When you’re passing through the gates of the deer exclusion fence to go out onto the trails or to come back into the inner core of the Arboretum, please close and latch the gates behind you.
  • Please close and latch all gates into and out of the Edible Garden as you go through them.

Tyler Arboretum is home to dozens of species of wildlife, from the tiniest ants and spiders to the largest mammals and birds. Please be mindful of all our wildlife and leave them in peace. Most of these creatures are more afraid of you than you are of them.

Safety:

  • Being safe means keeping an eye on small children when you or members of your party are close to our ponds and streams.
  • Being safe also means not climbing Tyler’s trees, walls, rocks, or exhibits.
  • For your safety and to protect plants and wildlife, please avoid wading in our ponds and streams.
  • We ask that children be accompanied by an adult and that teachers and chaperones remain with their group at all times.
  • For the safety of the plants and other visitors, please no ball playing.
  • While we do not allow dogs we welcome visitors and their designated service dogs.

Arboretum staff and volunteers are regularly required to drive Arboretum vehicles (including 4×4 and grass-cutting equipment) on a variety of paved and unpaved paths. Whenever our staff and volunteers driving vehicles encounter visitors, we will yield the right of way to you. Please understand though that there may be times when we need to close a path or trail, or where we need to restrict visitor access to areas while a range of equipment is in use or while certain tasks are carried out. Any closed areas will be clearly marked with cones and CAUTION tape. If you or any member of your party are instructed not to enter an area, please comply with this instruction. Please use caution and share the road with motorized vehicles and walkers.

Scooters, Skateboards, & Bicycles:

  • The use of scooters, skateboards, bicycles, and in-line skates is only permitted on specific days during the summer.
  • Bicycles and other active recreational equipment should be left with your vehicle or left at home.
  • Our trails and paths beyond the fence are for hikers and runners. These trails are not the place for bicycles, mountain bikes, ATVs, horses, or ponies.

Food & Drink:

  • Enjoy a picnic at our picnic tables or on a blanket, but please dispose of all trash in trash containers, or take your trash home.
  • Plastic bottles and wrappers and other common food packaging items can be dangerous or lethal to wildlife.
  • Please do not dispose of uneaten fruit or fruit peels in the gardens, woods, or meadows. Apple cores, banana and orange peels do not break down in nature as you might expect.
  • Thank you for not bringing alcohol into Tyler Arboretum’s grounds.
  • Arboretum buildings, gardens and grounds are tobacco-free.

Please see our Calendar page for seasonal details.

Photography

You are welcome to take photos and video for personal use throughout Tyler’s grounds. Separate arrangements exist for wedding photography and for commercial photographers and filmmakers.

For wedding photography, please contact Angela DiLella at Jeffrey Miller Catering, 610-213-3097, angelad@jamcater.com

For commercial photography and filming at Tyler, please contact Brian Prato, Tyler’s Special Events & Rentals Manager, 610-566-9134, ext. 210, bprato@tylerarboretum.org.

Please see our photography guidelines regarding the use of drones or drone photography.