Cox Arboretum
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Cox Arboretum in Dayton, Ohio, covers an area of 174 acres and is owned and managed by Five Rivers MetroParks and the Cox Arboretum Foundation.

This arboretum is designed to allow visitors to connect with nature, with thoughtfully arranged trees, shrubs, and plants to capture the imagination.
Cox Arboretum Features
Pollinator Gardens: Learn about pollinator-friendly plants to attract birds, bees, and butterflies to your backyard.
Specialty Gardens: Learn to make sustainable plant choices. From stonewall perennials to rock and water gardens.
Barbara Cox Center: This center for sustainable horticulture shows visitors how to improve quality of life and to effect positive change in the world through plants.
Tree Tower: Climb 81 steps up this tree tower to take you above the conifer collection and provides panoramic views of not only the arboretum, but the Miami Valley too.
Bell Children’s Maze: Parents can watch from the overlook or join in the fun as their children navigate 1,175 boxwoods to the center of the maze.
Zorniger Education Center: Programs, events, and workshops about horticulture and natural history are available here year-round.
Conservation Corner: Includes habitats such as a tall grass prairie, shrublands, wetlands, and a bird blind for viewing wildlife.
Nature Trail: The grounds of the arboretum are easy to walk. 2.5 miles of trails take visitors through woodlands and meadows. Paved paths provide another mile through the cultivated gardens.
Ruth Cummings Mead Woodland: A hardwood forest with mature trees and wildflowers in a 100-acre tract of land at the rear of the arboretum.
Well-behaved dogs on a leash are welcome here.
Cindy’s Insider Ohio Tips!
This place is wonderful, there are so many things to do and see here! Be sure to pack a lunch or snack and take a moment to sit down, relax, and take in the beauty! If you have kids, be sure to check out the natural playground. I think it’s so much fun for kids and adults too!
Photo credits: Cindy Gordon of VisitOhioToday.com
Where is Cox Arboretum Located?
- Address: 6733 Springboro Pike, Dayton, Ohio 45449
Five Rivers MetroParks:
- Phone: 937-275-7275 | Website | Facebook | Instagram
Cox Arboretum Foundation:
- Phone: 937-277-4839 | Website | Facebook | Instagram
Location Map for Cox Arboretum
More Parks in Ohio
Have you visited Cox Arboretum? Did you find it an immersive experience? We would love to know! Share your opinion with us in the comments below.
Ohio has a wonderful selection of parks and nature spaces. Here are some of our favorites: Inniswood Metro Gardens, Westerville, Central Ohio; Mary Jane Thurston State Park, Grand Rapids, NW Ohio; Blendon Woods, Columbus; Metro Parks Farm, Canton, NE Ohio.
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