The UW Campus Tree Tours

Welcome to the Tree Tours!

Here at the University of Washington, we are proud of our trees. About 570 different kinds of trees beautify the University of Washington grounds. While about 28 are species native to our state, the vast majority are exotic in nature. Since before the turn of the century, forestry professors, botanists, gardeners and landscape architects have planted this wide array of trees in order to facilitate both decoration and education. This means that the U.W. provides a fantastic opportunity to observe and appreciate a wide variety of trees in a relatively small area. The campus community views trees as valuable resources, studies their ecological roles, and admires their fascinating variations and seasonal transformations.

A Legacy Stretching More than 45 Years...

The main feature of this website is an online adaptation of the historic Brockman Memorial Tree Tour, designed by Professor C. Frank Brockman in 1980 and edited by Louise Hastie. Renovated in 2021 by alumni Theodore Hoss and Thuy Luu of the School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, this website introduces you to the great green realm of a campus renowned for its lovely landscape. 

But Wait, There's More!

The Brockman Tree Tour may be historic, but it cannot possibly capture the full extent of the hundreds of species present on campus. That's why this website also includes a multitude of other self-guided tours and tree resources. This includes historic resources such as the "Tree of the Day" display, profiling hundreds of trees which can be found in our landscape, as well as information on the benefits of the urban forest, and maps identifying thousands of Seattle's trees. Find and engage with the other tree tours through the links on this page!

Guided Tree Tours Offer an Even Deeper Look

If the self-guided tours on this website just aren't enough, consider joining us for a professionally guided tree tour. Our public tours are free and open to the public. They are generally offered monthly during the school year. For further information regarding these tours, visit the guided tree tour page of this website or follow @campus_tree_tours on Instagram.