Summertime is butterfly season at the Boyce Thompson Arboretum. To beat the heat and encourage patronage, the garden is changing its hours and offering a discount on the cost of admission.
“We want to encourage everyone to come out in the beautiful morning here at the arboretum,” said Kim Gray, executive director of the arboretum. “This is the time of year when butterflies are out, especially after a monsoon storm.”
From June through August, adult admission will be reduced from $24.95 to $16, and the arboretum will be open from 6 a.m. to noon. Additionally, in September, the arboretum will be open from closing until 10 p.m. on weekends for the butterfly enthusiasts, Gray said. The facility will be closed on Tuesdays.
According to the executive director, summer is popular for butterfly viewing. Arizona is home to 300 species of butterfly and 15 can be found at the arboretum, including monarch, painted lady, queen, gray hairstreak, two-tailed swallowtail, Arizona sister, mourning cloak, checkered white, echo azure, pipevine swallowtail, red admiral, American snout, sleepy orange, fiery skipper and empress leilia.
“A lot of folks come in March and April, looking for the butterflies, but that’s the best time to see hummingbirds,” Gray said. “We haven’t had a lot of monsoon rains yet, but once they start — definitely the time to come out and see butterflies.”
According to Gray, the less severe heat of the early morning hours are a good time to enjoy bird watching at the arboretum as well. Yellow warblers, vermillion flycatchers, black-throated sparrows and Western tanagers are among the species that live there.
Other activities available at the arboretum include early-morning hikes and garden strolls through the facility’s various gardens — Children’s Garden, Demonstration Garden, Hummingbird and Butterfly Garden, Cactus Garden, Wallace Rose Garden, Blooms After Rain and Chihuahuan Trail.
Each garden features an array of seasonal plants. The special cacti include the Cardon Grande cactus and hedge hog cactus. There are also flowering shrubs, including crepe myrtle and Texas sage, trees such as the desert willow, the bulbous sea squill and poisonous plants such as sacred datura.
“There’s always something new and different happening at the arboretum,” Gray said.
For example, the team unveiled a new exhibit in the gardens called “Glass in Flight” on Aug. 15. Local Tucson Artist Alex Heveri created 17 large Dalle de Verre glass and steel sculptures of butterflies, beetles and hummingbirds to highlight the pollinators.
Boyce Thompson Arboretum was founded in 1942 by mining magnate Colonel William Boyce Thompson. Spanning 372 acres with nearly five miles of trails and 135 acres of cultivated gardens, the arboretum is one of the oldest and largest botanical gardens in the state. It features more than 20,000 desert plants from North and South America, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Australia — contributing to its status as a popular tourism destination.
Gray said she wants members of the community to see everything that makes the arboretum a remarkable spot.
“I just love this place — it’s a place I grew up coming to,” she said. “Everything about (the arboretum) and its history is incredible.”
Boyce Thompson Arboretum
WHEN: Wednesday-Monday, 6 a.m. to noon through August, 6 a.m.-3 p.m. in September. Closed Tuesdays.
WHERE: 37615 E. Arboretum Way, Superior
COST: $16 for adults and youth ages 13-17, $10 for children ages 5-10, free admission for children 5 and under
INFO: btarboretum.org
This article appears in Aug 14-21, 2025.