The Holiday Garden Railway At The Morris Arboretum

The Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania is such a beautiful area immersed in a gorgeous landscape. They are located at 100 E Northwestern Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19118. Each year they go all out with an amazing railway in their gardens, and it is a wonderful event to check out for the whole family. This year, in 2022, it is running from November 25th to December 30th from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The tickets for the regular hours at the Holiday Garden Railway are included with the arboretum admission.

Also, they have a special “Nighttime Express” for the railway, and this is available on the weekends from November 26th to December 30th 4:30 to 8:00 p.m. This event does require a ticket for admission. I will leave a link to their website at the bottom of this post if you are interested that as well.

The Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania

Before traveling to this location, I personally had not known what an arboretum was. On the website for this particular arboretum they state “The Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania inspires an understanding of the relationship between plants, people and places through education, research and horticultural displays.” It is basically this expansive public garden that is also used in the education of ecosystems and conservation, which is pretty awesome if you ask me. I believe that the more people are aware of how much we truly do need to cherish our environment, they more that we can work together as a team to build a stronger planet.

Very Neat Bronze Bell At The Morris Arboretum

I was pretty excited as we were walking up to the railway, because they had a really nice paved path to get to it. This may seem like a small thing to get excited about but there were some reasons behind it (besides my currently sprained ankle.) Sometimes, in different parks and nature spots that we have traveled to in the past, you can get really lost into the forest, but everything was very nicely laid out at the Morris Arboretum, and very walkable. I will also provide a link to their website at the bottom of the post that you can check out if you need additional information about different services that they provide for accessibility.

Ample Seating At The Morris Arboretum

A Sweet Quote On A Bench

When we arrived at the area with the railway, we saw a very neat sign that asked if you could find all the fairy houses in their Garden Railway. This honestly just added to the charm of this unique area, and even as an adult I have to admit, I was pretty excited to look for these fairy homes.

As we meandered around this immaculate system of railways, cars, and spectacular decorations, we loved how they really payed homage to the Philadelphia area. In fact, this location is right at the Northwestern region of Philly.

Replica Of Independence Hall in Philadelphia

Replica of the famous Love Sign in Philadelphia

Replica of the iconic Betsy Ross House

A pretty epic Rocky replica

One of my favorite displays was definitely Boathouse row. I loved it because they had Boathouse Row with the Waterworks, which is pretty much how it is really laid out in the city. It was a really detailed replica of it, and we were impressed!

A replica of Boathouse Row and the Philadelphia Waterworks

Replica of Boathouse Row and the Waterworks

After visiting “The Holiday Garden Railway” we did explore the arboretum a bit. We stumbled upon this “Swan Pond” that you absolutely have to check out when you visit. The pond was inspired by English and Romantic landscapes, and is truly a place of beauty.

The Swan Pond At The Morris Arboretum

Another spectacular area to see is the “Loop de Loop” stickwork sculpture by Patrick Dougherty. In March of 2019, this artist worked with a group of volunteers to create a whimsical and fairy like art piece that is specific to this location. This structure was made completely of natural and organic pieces such as willow sticks and saplings. This magnificent work of art is to remain in its natural environment and was estimated to last for several years. Patrick Dougherty has created about 300 large scale temporary sculptures that are featured in gardens, museums, and universities all around the world, and I will leave a link on the bottom of this post if you would like to learn more about him.

“Loop de Loop” Sculpture

I highly recommend a visit to the Morris Arboretum during the holidays for this unique display. Let me know in the comments if you have ever visited this location and what you thought of it as well. I hope you are having a wonderful day, and remember to click that subscribe button. Happy Holidays!

I highly recommend the book “Hiking Waterfalls In Pennsylvania.” It specifically maps out where you can find waterfalls in each area and region of the state. If you are an outdoor adventurer, you will want to check this out!