Group Tours

We have a variety of tour offerings for Group Visits both geared for adults as well as for field trips and youth tours. 

Every day is a great day to visit the Morris! We offer tours mid-March through the end of November. Our Spring schedule fills up fast – reach out in the Fall or Winter to guarantee your spot! 

Tours must be booked at least 3 weeks in advance. Youth tours can start anywhere between 10:15 –11:00am. Adult tours can be scheduled to start anywhere between 10:15am and 2:00pm, but preferably in the morning.  

We are better able to accommodate tours for large groups (20+) during the week. Small groups (10-20 people) can be scheduled for the weekend with at least 3 weeks' notice.  

To book a tour, please complete this form. We will respond to requests in the order they are received. During our busy seasons, it can take at least a week to respond.  

Contact information: 

• Contact name, email, and phone number 
• Organization name (if applicable) 

Type(s) of tour you are interested in.

Date(s) and time(s) you are interested in:  

• Youth/school tours can start anywhere between 10:15am-11:00am during the week. 
• We can do weekend youth tours for small groups (10-20) only. 
• Adult tours can be scheduled to start anywhere between 10:15am-2:00pm.  

Number of people in your group:

• Youths (3-17), Adults (17+), and Seniors (65+). 
• For youth tours, we require 1 adult chaperone for every 10 youth. 

Age/grade level of youth/students. For youth tours and school field trips.  

Will you be bringing lunch to eat onsite?  

• We have space we can reserve for you to eat if you bring lunch, but we no longer have a café. There are snacks and cold drinks available for purchase in the gift shop.  

How will you be getting here? By car, van, and/or bus? How many? 

We can accommodate groups of minimum 10 persons for a guided tour, 60 people max. On the day of the tour, the group will be split into smaller groups (usually 10/group) and paired with a tour guide. Groups larger than 60 are encouraged to come over the course of multiple days.  

*Youth tours: One adult chaperone is included free for every 10 youths. Every additional adult costs $12 each.  

We do not offer group rates for tours. If you are a school administrator or teacher, ask about our discount for Title I schools and special needs groups by emailing tours@morrisarboretum.org.  

Yes. Private group tours are not included in membership benefits. However, you do not have to pay to attend any public tour that is free with admission, as those are drop-in tours. If there are more than 15 people attending a public tour, the guide reserves the right to cap the number of attendees to ensure a quality experience.  

Yes! We can offer free tour admission for Title I Schools with a $50 refundable deposit.  

For Title I public and charter schools in Philadelphia County, we are also able to offer free busing for groups of least 20 students to and from the Morris Arboretum & Gardens.

These funds cannot be used for private schools or nonprofits that may work with students from Title I schools.  

We accept credit/debit card and checks. Payment is due two weeks ahead of your tour date. If payment is not received by this date, we reserve the right to cancel your tour. Full gate admissions will be charged for unscheduled visits. 

• If you are paying by check, please make it out to "Morris Arboretum & Gardens" and mail to: Morris Arboretum & Gardens Education Department, Attn: Tours, 100 Northwestern Avenue, Philadelphia PA 19118. 
• If you are paying by credit or debit, you can pay online (preferred) or call 215-247-5777 ext. 157.

To pay online:

1. Go to morrisarboretum.org 
2. Navigate to the top right where it says "LOGIN" 
3. Enter the email address used for the reservation (where confirmation was sent). 
4. Click "Forgot My Password" so the system can send you a link to create a new password.  
5. After you've created a new password, log in to your customer profile. 
6. Click on the drop-down menu labeled "Account" (next to the cart icon) and click on "My Reservations." You should see your tour(s) already loaded in there. 
7. Click "VIEW" on each reservation and then add your credit card information to pay.  
8. Your card information will be securely held until the date of your tour -- up until that point, you will only be able to change the card on file. After your tour date has passed, you can log back in to your account to remove your card information. It gets automatically deleted 30 days after your most recent reservation. 

We do not currently require a deposit for most tour reservations. 

We do require a $50 refundable deposit for reservations from Title I schools.  

After payment has been received, requests for refunds -- either for less participants than anticipated or to cancel entirely -- must be made at least one week before the scheduled tour date.  

• To reschedule a weekday tour, please contact us by 4pm the day before the tour.  

• To reschedule a weekend tour, please contact us the Friday before, by 12pm.  

• 50% of the payment is non-refundable if not rescheduled by this time. 

There will be no refunds after a tour is scheduled to begin.  

Our guides are prepared to lead your group rain or shine! We will only cancel a tour in extreme weather, such as torrential rain, lightning, or when excessive heat warnings have been issued by the National Weather Service. We will reach out to you by 9 am the day of the tour if we need to cancel for weather, in which case your payment is fully refundable.  

If we’ve arranged busing for you and you’d like to reschedule or cancel due to weather concerns, you MUST notify us 24 hours ahead of your trip by emailing tours@morrisarboretum.org.  

Tours can be led on the ADA accessible paved paths throughout the gardens, marked in white on our map. Please note that the gardens include some hilly terrain and exiting the gardens requires going uphill. There are benches throughout the Morris but walking in some areas could prove challenging.  

Morris does have single-rider mobility scooters and wheelchairs that are free to use and available on a first-come, first-served basis. You can find more information here. 

We also have a robust offering of classes, many of which wouldn’t require as much walking around.  You can check them out here.

Cart tours can be scheduled for those with mobility and physical disabilities by emailing tours@morrisarboretum.org. Cart tours can accommodate up to five guests and must be scheduled at least two weeks in advance. 

Somone from our Education Team will meet you at the Welcome Center upon arrival.  

• For groups arriving on buses, we will direct the bus to where to pull over so your group can deboard at the Welcome Center and begin your tour.  

• For groups arriving in cars or vans, please park in the visitor parking lot and someone from our team will meet you at the Welcome Center to begin your tour. 

• For Wetlands Tours, an Education Team member will meet you by the entry kiosk and direct the bus so your group can deboard near the Wetlands and begin the tour. 

Yes! Across the street on the Bloomfield side of campus there are several bus parking spots where buses can park for the duration of your visit. We have maps available for bus drivers. Please note there is no bathroom access on the weekends from the bus parking lot. 

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The tours last approximately one hour. 

Your tour fee includes Garden admission for the day, so you are free to wander as you so choose!  

For our younger visitors, they may want to check out our self-guided exhibits such as the Out on a Limb installation and the Garden Railway (open seasonally: Memorial Day through the end of September, reopening the week before Thanksgiving through New Year’s Eve). 

Yes! Your tour can include a 1-hour reserved lunch space in our outdoor eating area by request. There are no indoor eating facilities nor refrigeration available.  

You can bring your own lunches or have your meal catered by one of our catering teams. Please note food cannot be delivered to Morris unless it is provided by one of our catering teams. If you are ordering boxed lunches from one of our caterers, you must arrange for the delivery to be made while you are onsite.   

If you are bringing lunch to have onsite, we can take them to store in the lunch area while you are out on your tour. Your guides will direct you to the lunch area after your tour.