Tour Spiegel Grove arboretum, learn about tree history with colonial facts sprinkled in for America 250 with tree tours

See the many trees of Spiegel Grove and learn about their types and history during a variety of tree tours offered throughout the spring and summer.

This year, tree tour guide John Havens, Hayes Presidential Library & Museums building and grounds superintendent, will dress in colonial garb and add some early American tree history to the tours in honor of America’s semiquincentennial, or 250^th birthday this year.

Tours last about an hour and cover different trees and topics ranging from giant trees to trees that President Rutherford B. Hayes and his descendants named in honor of people they admired. These tours enhance the experience of walking at Spiegel Grove, an official arboretum and estate of the president and his wife, First Lady Lucy Hayes.

Tickets are required and will be available online soon.

Tree tours are part of Hayes Presidential’s year-long America 250 celebration. Partial funding for America 250 events is provided by Albrechta & Liebold, Ltd., Attorneys at Law.

 The 2026 schedule of tours:

• Friday, April 24, 2026 – Arbor Day tree walk to Bicentennial Oak. 8 a.m. Free. Meet at the front of the museum and walk to the Bicentennial Oak, which dates to the American Revolution and is one of the largest trees at Spiegel Grove. Learn about this tree in honor of America’s 250^th

• Saturday, May 23 – Tree Tour.Departs the museum at 10 a.m. Walk the arboretum, and learn about the different trees. Tickets for non-members are $10 for adults, $7 for ages 6-18, free for ages 5 and younger. Hayes Presidential members can enjoy this tour for free.

• Saturday, June 13 – Mystic Giants Tree Tour.Departs the museum at 10 a.m. View some of the larger trees at Spiegel Grove, and learn how to determine the age of trees and how trees effect their environment. Tickets for non-members are $10 for adults, $7 for ages 6-18, free for ages 5 and younger. Hayes Presidential members can enjoy this tour for free.

• Saturday, July 18 – Trees Named in Honor of People Tour.Departs from the museum at 10 a.m. Learn the stories of the people who visited Spiegel Grove who had trees named in their honor, and learn about the trees themselves. Tickets for non-members are $10 for adults, $7 for ages 6-18, free for ages 5 and younger. Hayes Presidential members can enjoy this tour for free.

• Saturday, Aug. 15 – Gates and Trees.Departs the museum at 10 a.m. Explore the trees at Spiegel Grove. Visit the White House gates at the entrances to Spiegel Grove, and learn some of the stories about them. Tickets for non-members are $10 for adults, $7 for ages 6-18, free for ages 5 and younger. Hayes Presidential members can enjoy this tour for free.

• Saturday, Oct. 3 – Tree Tour.Departs the museum at 10 a.m. Walk the arboretum, and learn about the different trees. Tickets for non-members are $10 for adults, $7 for ages 6-18, free for ages 5 and younger. Hayes Presidential members can enjoy this tour for free.

Spiegel Grove is a 25-acre arboretum has more than 100 species of trees, some of which date back to President Rutherford B. Hayes’ time on the estate and even earlier. Varieties include chestnut, oak,  holly,  gingko, various pines and more. A seedling of the Oklahoma City bombing Survivor Tree also has been planted and is thriving on the property.

The ArbNet Arboretum Accreditation Program and The Morton Arboretum named Spiegel Grove a level II arboretum for achieving particular standards of professional practices deemed important for arboreta and botanic gardens.

Hayes Presidential is America’s first presidential library and the forerunner of the federal presidential library system. It is partially funded by the state of Ohio and affiliated with the Ohio History Connection. Hayes Presidential is located at Spiegel Grove on Buckland Avenue.

For information, call 419-332-2081, or visit rbhayes.org. Like Hayes Presidential on Facebook and follow on Instagram at rbhayespres and on Bluesky at rbhayespres.bsky.social.