Boyce Thompson Arboretum, Botanical garden and arboretum in Superior, Arizona.

Boyce Thompson Arboretum is a botanical garden and research center in Superior that displays over 2,600 different plant species arranged across themed sections. The property spans several hundred acres with walking trails, a visitor center, and scientific facilities dedicated to plant study and conservation.

A mining engineer founded this facility in 1924 as a research center and living museum for desert plants. The arboretum ranks among the oldest botanical institutions established in the western United States.

The arboretum is named for William Boyce Thompson, a mining engineer who made his fortune in Arizona copper and founded the site in 1924. He had served with the American Red Cross in Russia, where he saw plants as raw material for food, clothing and shelter. Visitors can see the Crider and Gibson houses, built for the first two staff members, and the Smith Building with its two connecting greenhouses.

The location sits on a major highway with easy access via designated pathways of varying difficulty. Visitors should bring water and prepare for sun exposure, as much of the grounds offer minimal shade.

The grounds serve as a stopping point for more than 200 different bird species during migration seasons. This avian diversity makes the location an unexpectedly rich viewing area for bird watchers surrounded by desert landscape.