Boyce Thompson Arboretum RV & Campground Guide

Boyce Thompson Arboretum became Arizona's first nonprofit research institution in 1927, and it opened to the public in 1929. This 392-acre garden at the base of Picketpost Mountain in the Sonoran Desert contains more than 2,500 species of plants from around the world. You will discover several ways to explore this arboretum, including hiking along a 1.5-mile path that runs through a cactus garden and palm and eucalyptus groves as well as an herb garden. You may feel like you have gone on a world gardening tour when you visit Boyce Thompson Arboretum State Park, including spending extensive time in South America and Australia, without leaving the confines of this park that is located about an hour's drive east of Phoenix near Superior.

You are likely to encounter dry conditions with an average daytime high in the upper 60s Fahrenheit during the winter and around 100 degrees during the summer. You may want to plan several camping adventures to this state park as it is constantly changing with wildflowers blooming in the spring, the cacti garden putting on a beautiful show in the summer and many trees showing off their colorful leaves in the fall.