You don’t need to be out in the sun to enjoy nature, even on a hot day. The Morton Arboretum offers plenty of places to enjoy the outdoors and beat the heat.

After all, trees do their best to reach the sunlight so they can grow. The natural shade of a tree’s canopy creates a cool barrier between the sun and the ground below, turning the Arboretum into the perfect summer escape.

Visit The Morton Arboretum to enjoy a shady refuge from the summertime heat. Bring a hat, water, and bug spray for the best experience.

Make a Splash in the Children’s Garden

The Morton Arboretum Children’s Garden is a 4-acre nature play space that includes water features where children can splash and play, with shady spots for grownups to sit and keep an eye on them. Children are welcome to wade in the shallow waters of Wonder Pond and explore its fish and other wildlife.

Discover 16 Miles of Tree-Shaded Trails

The canopy of trees that arches over many of the Arboretum’s trails shields walkers from the sun. Near the Visitor Center (parking lot P-1), follow the paved, accessible Conifer Walk or find a bench in the shady Ground Cover Garden.

A short drive will bring you to more trails, with a surface of wood chips, that will immerse you in forested shade. Try the Woodland Trail (.6 mile, Big Rock Visitor Station at parking lot P-13); East Side Main Trail Loop 2 (1.6 miles, parking lot P-6 or P-14); or West Side Main Trail Loop 3 (.9 mile, parking lot P-24 or P-27).

Shady trails that are paved and accessible to wheelchairs and strollers are at the Big Rock Visitor Station (parking lot P-13) and the Eastern North America Collection (parking lot P-16).

Cool Off inside the Sterling Morton Library

Park in parking lot P-1 and make your way to the Sterling Morton Library within the Administration and Research Center. There, in the air conditioning, enjoy the cool and quiet of this serene space where you can explore thousands of books about gardening, botany, and nature.

For families, the large collection of children’s books on nature themes is a special treat. The secluded May T. Watts Reading Garden just outside offers shady spots to read.

Arboretum members can get a library card to check out books.

Explore the Arboretum on a Tram Tour

See the 1,700 acres of the Arboretum’s tree collections and natural areas by taking a ride on one of the Acorn Express Tram Tours. These narrated tours, in a breezy open-air tram with a shady roof, will take you on an adventure through woodlands, wetlands, and prairies without needing to hike the trails yourself.

Tram tours are offered daily, weather permitting. Tram tickets must be purchased at the Information Desk in the Visitor Center on the day of your visit.

Stop In at the Visitor Center for Ice Cream and Cold Drinks

Ready for a break? Come into the Visitor Center (parking lot P-1) and stop by the Ginkgo Restaurant and Café for ice cream, fruit refreshers, dirty sodas, iced coffee or tea, and other refreshments to enjoy as you sit and cool off surrounded by floor-to-ceiling windows with views of nature.