Road construction is taking place on Hayes Avenue outside Spiegel Grove, grounds of the Hayes Presidential Library & Museums. The property entrance, located on Buckland Avenue, remains open. - 2026 Spiegel Grove tree tours add some colonial history for America 250
See the many trees of Spiegel Grove and learn about their types and history with some colonial landscape history sprinkled in for America 250 during tree tours offered throughout the spring and summer.
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.
Building & Grounds Superintendent John Havens, who leads the tree tours, will dress in colonial garb this year and add in some tree history that dates to America’s founding in honor of the U.S. semiquincentennial, or 250th birthday, being celebrated throughout 2026.
Unless otherwise noted, tickets are required and available online below.
Tree tours are part of Hayes Presidential’s America 250 celebration. Partial funding for America 250 events is by Albrechta & Liebold, Ltd., Attorneys at Law.
The 2026 tree tour schedule is:
- Friday, April 24 – Arbor Day Tree walk to the Bicentennial Oak - Celebrate Arbor Day and America’s 250th birthday with a walk through Spiegel Grove to the Bicentennial Oak, one of the oldest trees in the arboretum, which dates to the American Revolution. Havens will lead the group from the museum main entrance to the oak. The tree is located on the side of the historic Hayes Home. The group will meet at 8 a.m. at the museum main entrance. This event is free, and no reservations are required.
- 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.
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.