Events & Classes: Walk (Visitor Center)

  • Curtis Prairie

    Sunday, September 12 • 1 pm – 2:30 pm

    The tallgrass prairie is at its peak both of height and color. Big bluestem could be more than 8 feet tall and will have turned a beautiful red color for fall.

  • Arboretum Sampler

    Sunday, September 26 • 1 pm – 2:30 pm

    See what is going on in the restored woodlands, wetlands and prairies near the Visitor Center.

  • Red Lanterns

    Sunday, October 10 • 1 pm – 2:30 pm

    Blackberry leaves turn bright red this month. According to Aldo Leopold, these show the best place to look for woodcock and grouse when hunting. We don’t have grouse here, so we will look for fall color, migrating white-throated sparrows and other fall delights.

  • Woodlands

    Sunday, October 17 • 1 pm – 2:30 pm

    Enjoy what is usually the peak for fall color in the restored woodlands of the Arboretum.

  • Naturalist’s Choice

    Sunday, October 24 • 1 pm – 2:30 pm

    The naturalist will share highlights of the season and day in the restored prairies, woodlands or wetlands near the Visitor Center.

  • Tour of the Lost City

    Sunday, October 31 • 1 pm – 3:30 pm

    While we always tour this area around Halloween, there is really nothing spooky about this abandoned dream of a “Venice of the North.” Learn more about this failed 1920s residential area and how understanding the land can be important for proper development. This tour starts indoors with a brief overview of the Lost City project.

  • The CCC and the Arboretum

    Sunday, November 7 • 1 pm – 2:30 pm

    Seventy five years ago the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) arrived to set up Camp Madison, the only CCC camp on a university campus. More than 200 men would serve here until the camp closed in 1941. Learn about their extraordinary efforts to restore the landscape of Wisconsin and see the best preserved and still used CCC buildings.

  • Effigy Mounds

    Sunday, November 14 • 1 pm – 3 pm

    The Arboretum contains some rare, intact mound groups out of the thousands built in our area more than 1,000 years ago. On this tour, which features the mounds in Wingra and Gallistel Woods, you’ll learn about these ancient earthworks and the cultures that built them.

  • Thinking Like an Arboretum

    Sunday, November 21 • 1 pm – 2:30 pm

    Aldo Leopold’s essay, “Thinking Like a Mountain,” is the basis for this tour about the relationship between predators and prey, and the diversity of ecosystems.

  • Winter Woods

    Sunday, November 28 • 1 pm – 2:30 pm

    Since most leaves have dropped from the deciduous trees, it’s easier to see tree forms and the birds and animals that live in the trees year-round.