A Winter Solstice stroll through Penn State's Arboretum and Botanic Gardens
Details
This Sunday at 1 p.m. we will gather at Sunset Park on McKee Street in State College to go for an approximately 3.5-mile, pre-Christmas -- AND WINTER SOLSTICE! -- stroll/walk/jaunt/light hike through Penn State's marvelous Arboretum and Botanic Gardens. There is modest elevation gain on this outing.
We will be on paved, gravel, and dirt paths -- including a segment of the Bellefonte Central Rail Trail -- as well as roads and trails. The footing could be a bit tricky or slippery in places because of possible patches of snow, ice, or mud, so plan footwear accordingly.
From the PSU Arboretum's web page:
Penn State first set aside land for an arboretum in 1914. In 2007, Charles H. “Skip” Smith’s pioneering $10 million lead gift enabled the University to take the arboretum from plan to reality, and the initial phase of the H.O. Smith Botanic Gardens opened to the public in 2009....
The H.O. Smith Botanic Gardens cover 10 acres of The Arboretum at Penn State....
Beyond the current Smith Botanic Gardens lie 360 acres of additional Arboretum lands, including fields and woodlands that are being restored, used for research, or developed as educational and recreational project sites.