Clinton, Iowa
Bickehaupt Arboretum
Alarmed when local trees were being devastated by Dutch elm disease in early 1980s, Frances and Bob Bickelhaupt felt that an educational arboretum would be a valuable asset to the community. Today, the fourteen-acre site features a heartland collection of more than 600 garden conifers as well as specialty gardens, including a Butterfly Garden.
What’s Special
The Bickelhaupt Arboretum is designated by the University of Kansas Entomology Program as an official waystation for monarch butterflies. One of only four such sites in Iowa and the only public garden so named in the state, it is committed to monarch butterfly conservation to assure migration continues. Butterflies need plants that provide food for the caterpillars, as well provide nectar for mature butterflies. Desirable plants include butterfly bush, milk weed, hollyhock, phlox, coneflowers, zinnias and asters.
Visiting
Open daily, dawn to dusk. Free admission.
340 South 14th St.
Clinton, Iowa 52732
Telephone: (563) 242-4771