Around my 39th birthday, we took a trip to Ohio where we visited with some old friends. We spent some great time catching up and even visited the amazing Cincinnati Zoo! On our way home, we made a stop at Holden Arboretum in Kirtland, Ohio.
We’ve been wanting to visit Holden Arboretum since another couple recommended it as a great place to enjoy the outdoors and explore. Enjoying the outdoors and exploring is what we love the most, so it was a must-see.
Mind you, we were on our way home after hours of driving and this was just a stop along the way. So our trip there was extremely abridged. We genuinely could’ve booked a place nearby and made it a 2-day adventure easily. There is a lot to explore, experience, and enjoy at Holden Arboretum!
What to Know
- Ticket Price (non-member)
- $19 online, $20 in person (ages 13+)
- $13 online, $14 in person (ages 3-12)
- Free (ages 0-2)
- Note that some discounts are available for veterans, seniors, members, etc.
- Hours (open yearround)
- Tuesday – Sunday 9a-5p
- Monday CLOSED
- Note that some attractions have different hours
- Parking and facilities
- The parking lot is large and easy to maneuver
- There are restrooms right at the entrance, as well as drinking fountains, vending machines, and more
What We Saw During Our Visit
On our list of must-sees was the canopy walk. So we used our park map to determine the most straightforward path there. Along the way, we saw:
- The wildflower garden
- The butterfly garden
- The Whitney bed memorial
- The Paine Rhododendron garden
- The display garden
- The layer rhododendron garden
- The Holden grove
We completed the Murch Canopy Walk (totally safe, but not for the faint of heart). Then we had just a little bit of extra time, so we cut down the Woodland Trail to Buckeye Budd’s Adventure Woods where Lyra had a blast jumping from stump to stump, swinging down the zipline, climbing up the rope net, and balancing on logs.
From there we crossed the bog to spend a minute admiring the stickwork sculpture by artist Patrick Dougherty.
What We Missed at Holden Arboretum
We didn’t get to walk around the different bodies of water, or ascend the emergent tower. We didn’t get to spend much time admiring the many species of flowers and trees. There are plenty of trails looping around the sprawling park that we weren’t able to investigate.
Since we’re such outdoors enthusiasts, I’m sure we could’ve harnessed the baby and gone for a miles-long hike through the beautiful trails available to visitors. Next time we’ll give ourselves more opportunity.
