Wilbur D. May Center

The Wilbur D. May Center is a botanical garden spanning 13 acres within Rancho San Rafael Regional Park, with gardens adapted to high desert conditions at about 4,600 feet elevation. The center also includes a museum housing international artifacts from the private collection.

Wilbur D. May was a Reno rancher, pilot, and passionate collector who traveled to more than 40 countries and gathered objects from around the world. The center was later established to display his extensive collection and develop the garden grounds.

The museum displays objects from around the world, including Tang dynasty pottery, African masks, Inuit carvings, and Egyptian scarabs that Wilbur D. May brought back from his travels. Visitors can explore these collections and learn about the places and cultures that May encountered.

The garden grounds are freely accessible daily from sunrise to sunset, while the museum building requires admission and operates during set hours. Visitors should wear comfortable shoes as the entire property is best explored on foot.

Evans Creek flows through the property fed by snowmelt from Peavine Mountain, directly connecting the gardens to the Truckee River and Pyramid Lake. This water link allows the gardens to be part of a larger local ecosystem.