CANCELLED – Adult Night Hikes

About This Event

Register here for May
Register here for June

Meet at the Main Entrance
7:30pm – 9:00pm
Instructor: Jenna Ervin
$20 Arboretum members
$25 non-members (Includes Arboretum Admission)
*For Arboretum members, remember to create your Arboretum account to get the discount at checkout. For instructions on how to create an account click here. To create an account click here.

*Must be 18 or older to attend an Adult Night Hike.

*LATE ARRIVAL POLICY:  Because our Night Hikes take place after the Arboretum is closed, staff will not be present to allow latecomers entry once the group has begun their trek into the gardens.  We recommend arriving 10 minutes early to ensure you are not left behind!  Refunds will not be granted to registered guests who miss the hike due to tardiness.  

Saturday, January 18 – Astronomy
Bring a warm blanket and join us as we dive into myths, legends, and history of our night sky.  While stargazing in the arboretum gardens, we will search out constellations and hear stories from the myths of the Ancient Americas to the kooky local history that made Pasadena a mecca for space exploration. Weather permitting.

Saturday, February 14 + Sunday, February 15 (V-Day) Bawdy Botany
Why do we give roses to our sweethearts? What are the quirky botanical origins of the birth control pill?  What is the bizarre secret of ficus sex? This Valentine’s season, join us as we wander through moonlit gardens and uncover the fascinating botany of love and lust. It’s a little bit naughty, very nerdy, and a lot of racy fun.

Saturday, March 14 – Astronomy
Bring a warm blanket and join us as we dive into myths, legends, and history of our night sky.  While stargazing in the arboretum gardens, we will search out constellations and hear stories from the myths of the Ancient Americas to the kooky local history that made Pasadena a mecca for space exploration. Weather permitting.

Saturday, April 4 – Drunken Botany
Humans figured out that we could get drunk on plants just as fast as we learned how to eat them. Follow us in a nighttime exploration of the gardens as we track down the plants that bring the party. Hear stories about how explorers, royalty, and shysters wielded these plants to make the booze we know and love today.

Saturday, May 9 – Plants that Changed History
Political assassinations, genocide, social revolutions, and the amassing of untold fortunes!  These events can all be traced back to humble and often unnoticed flora. Hunt with us through the darkened gardens to find the species that shifted the course of history and hear their fascinating stories.

Saturday, June 6 – Victorian Flower Language/Historical Buildings
During the Victorian era, floriography, or the subtle art of communication through flowers, was as hot as an uncovered ankle.  Famously repressed young victorians, in a world before Twitter, relied on innuendos and insults sent in the form of bouquets to convey messages too unseemly for polite conversation.  In this program, we will explore the historical gardens and building of the Arboretum while discovering the secret meanings of the foliage around us and the sometimes bonkers origin stories of how those associations where formed.