Gatehouse

Please have your timed-entry member passes or admission tickets ready when you reach the gatehouse to ensure a smooth entry process. The friendly Gatehouse attendant will be able to provide a paper map, answer preliminary questions, and direct you as needed.

Parking

Parking is free at the Arboretum. Guests will find 33 parking lots along the roads winding through the Arboretum, all indicated on the maps. Parking Lot 1 (P1) is nearest to the Visitor Center, Children’s Garden, restrooms, and dining areas, and is a popular parking area for families with kids. Located near the Thornhill Education Center, Parking Lot 21 (P21) is another main parking area for educational programs and exploring the Arboretum’s West Side.

Accessibility

The Morton Arboretum welcomes members and guests of all abilities and strives to create a safe, enjoyable, and engaging experience for all. Visit the Accessibility Guide for additional information. Please direct accessibility-related questions to the Visitor Services team at 630-968-0074 or trees@mortonarb.org. Learn about accessible areas at the Arboretum, including the Children’s Garden. Select sensory-friendly events are also available.

Visitor Center

The Arboretum’s Visitor Center is a central hub of activity and the perfect place to start your adventure. Stop by the Information Desk and Membership Services to get your visit off to a great start, to borrow strollers (when available), purchase tram ride tickets, and more. Browse The Arboretum Store for gifts for the whole family (yourself included!). The Ginkgo Café and Restaurant offer healthy and delicious dining options in a kid-friendly environment. The Visitor Center is a popular place to meet with friends, warm up in the winter, and cool down on hot summer days. The Visitor Center houses accessible restrooms, including a designated family restroom option with a changing station.

Restrooms and Changing Areas

Restrooms facilities with changing areas are located in the Visitor Center, West Pavilion, Children’s Garden (Central Plaza), and Thornhill Education Center. Family restrooms are available in the Visitor Center East and West Pavilions and the Children’s Garden. Portable restrooms without changing areas are available throughout the Arboretum, including in the bus lot (Visitor Center parking area), Big Rock Visitor Station (Parking Lot 13 on the East Side), and Prairie Visitor Station (Parking Lot 25 on the West Side).

Where to Eat

Explore family-friendly menus at the Ginkgo Café and Restaurant, featuring fresh and delicious kid’s menu options and a comfortable dining area for a break during your visit. Pack a picnic to enjoy among the trees. Picnic areas are located near P1 and Meadow Lake, and inside the Children’s Garden near the Central Plaza and across from the restrooms. 

Children’s Garden

Bring your family to The Morton Arboretum’s award-winning Children’s Garden, where imagination lives, curiosity grows, and kids flourish. Splash through secret streams, climb colossal acorns, and slide down giant tree roots all day long. Explore, learn, and play among trees and the natural world. Download a printable map to get an overview of all activities and play areas located within this immersive 4-acre garden. The Children’s Garden includes two main garden areas: Backyard Discovery Gardens and Adventure Woods, linked by a Central Plaza that features restrooms, a picnic area, and party space for birthdays and more. Children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult while visiting the Children’s Garden.

Maze Garden

The puzzling one-acre Maze Garden at The Morton Arboretum offers an adventure for young and old alike. Try to find your way through this living puzzle. Every adventure is different. The maze changes from season to season. If you’d rather watch from above, climb the stairs to a 12-foot- high lookout platform built around a stunning 60-foot-tall sycamore tree. There, you’ll enjoy a bird’s-eye view of your family as they navigate the maze.

A toddler maze offers a mini-challenge to the youngest of Arboretum visitors. Please note, the Arboretum may close the Maze Garden during periods of inclement weather. 

Family-friendly Trails

For little ones

Near the central Visitor Center area, you will find several stroller-accessible paved trails that the whole family can enjoy. Take a walk around Meadow Lake, with plenty of shady spots to stop and observe nature along the route. The Ground Cover Garden adjacent to Arbor Court is a beautiful and biodiverse path that winds through beautiful trees and colorful plants. Venturing out a bit further, explore the Conifer Walk, which winds around the perimeter of the Children’s Garden. 

On the West Side, park at P21 near the Thornhill Education Center and explore the Fragrance Garden and Joy Path, named after the Arboretum’s founder, Joy Morton. 

For big kids

On the Arboretum’s East Side, park near the Big Rock Visitor Station (P13) to explore the chipped Woodland Trail or venture out further to see Big Rock, a boulder deposited by a melting glacier, along the longer Heritage Trail. If you head in the opposite direction across the Main Route road, you will find the Arboretum’s iconic Spruce Plot and continue down Main Loop 3 through the Oaks, Maples, and Beeches collections. 

On the Arboretum’s West Side, park near the Prairie Visitor Station (P25) to hike through Main Loops 3 and 4, where you and your family will see a variety of habitats, including the Schulenberg Prairie, Willoway Brook, Sterling Pond, and the gorgeous Pine Hill.

Both the Big Rock Visitor Station and Prairie Visitor Station have portable restrooms and hand-washing stations, picnic areas, and accessible parking.

Nature Play Areas

The Morton Arboretum features two Nature Play Spaces that are designed for creative, unstructured, outdoor play. These spaces are great spots to play games, tell stories, and make your own set of rules. Located on the East Side near P13, the Word Garden features rocks painted with words, letters, and pictures to allow you and your child to express yourselves in this quiet, creative nook. On the West Side near P20, you will also find the Mud Kitchen, which features a tree stump stove, pots, pans, and a shelving unit inside the cabin. A pit of dirt is paired with assorted digging tools. Tree stump tables and chairs wait outside the cabin. Depending on the weather, children (and adults!) can make mud pies, dirt cakes, or snow cones if you visit in the winter.

The Sterling Morton Library

Located in the Administration and  Research Center, the Sterling Morton Library is a quiet place to unwind during an active visit to the Arboretum, featuring stunning architecture and its intimate garden—the May T. Watts Reading Garden—a perfect place to spend a summer’s day reading a good book with your family. 

There is plenty to explore, from educational exhibits to interactive quiet play areas for little kids that include puzzles and other age-appropriate activities.

Biking

Hop on your bicycle and explore the expansive grounds in a new and adventurous way. You have access to nine miles of paved roads that wind through the Arboretum’s magnificent tree collections. Bike rentals are offered for cyclists of all ages during the summer months (depending on availability). Bike racks are available at the Visitor Center, Big Rock and Prairie Visitor stations, and at the Thornhill Education Center. View full Bicycling Guidelines. 

Please note, bikes are only allowed on the Main Route road and are not permitted on chipped or paved trails. 

Cross-Country Skiing and Snowshoeing

On winter days, snowshoe and cross-country ski rentals are available when four inches or more of snow has accumulated on the Arboretum grounds. On such days, designated trails are groomed with classic-style skiing in mind. Even with plenty of snow, conditions vary and can affect rental hours. Please call the Visitor Center Information Desk at 630-968-0074 before your visit to confirm rental availability. Visit this page to learn more about seasonal availability, hours, and rates.

Educational Opportunities

Get your kids and entire family immersed in science, nature, and trees at one of the many family and kid programs at The Morton Arboretum.

Summer Science Camps

Unlock your child’s imagination with interactive outdoor adventures among 1,700 acres of trees at The Morton Arboretum or in your own backyard. Through science experiments, art, and creative play, the Arboretum’s innovative Summer Science Camps will inspire your child to become a Tree Champion. Discover more than 100 camps for children in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade, designed by Arboretum experts.

Youth and family classes

Empower your children to explore the outdoors and ask questions about what they encounter. The Morton Arboretum youth and family classes teach children about trees, about animal homes, and about how to use all your senses in nature. The classes focus on empowering you to become your child’s nature guide. The Morton Arboretum’s early childhood experts lead tailored programs to meet the learning needs and curiosities of each age group, from 18 months to 12 years. Programs are offered throughout the year at reasonable rates. Explore the Arboretum’s full list of offerings.

Little Trees

Play, explore, discover, and learn in this tree-centered early childhood program where preschoolers are spontaneous STEM learners, with Arboretum staff members as their guides. The September through May program takes advantage of the Arboretum’s extensive outdoor collections and programming resources to immerse children in a variety of outdoor exploratory experiences in a stimulating, rewarding environment. Children have the opportunity to play and observe nature throughout the changing seasons while developing literacy skills, social and emotional communication and intelligence, and self-confidence, through an exploration of their surroundings. Learn more about Little Trees.

Youth Volunteer Program

This multi-year program offers teens opportunities to explore environmental education, tree science, and STEM experiences while helping others. The activities are designed for youth entering grades 7, 8, or 9 who enjoy being outdoors, working with children, and gardening. The program is intended to be a multiple-year experience, as volunteers may return to the program each summer through high school. Learn more!

We hope you enjoy your next visit to The Morton Arboretum. If you have any questions that were not answered in this Visiting with Children guide, please explore the FAQ page for more information. 

For additional support, please reach out to one of the following departments.

Visitor Services: trees@mortonarb.org or 630-968-0074

Membership: membersmail@mortonarb.org or 630-719-2453

Tickets: tickets@mortonarb.org or 630-725-2066