La Crosse celebrates opening of new Arboretum at Myrick Park

A new attraction for tree lovers opened Monday at La Crosse’s Myrick Park.

The new Arboretum celebrated its grand opening, welcoming visitors to see a variety of trees in a special section of the park. Instead of having an ordinary ribbon-cutting, two arborists cut a vine to open the Arboretum area to the public.

An urban forestry grant of about $17,000, including funds from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, helped pay for the project, which includes informational signs about trees growing in the park.

City of La Crosse outdoor recreation coordinator, Sami Meyer, said work on the project began about 12 months ago, when arborists came to the city and said the tree collection in Myrick is “really unique.”

Meyer noted the informational signs should help arboretum visitors appreciate the variety of trees and plants growing there.

“The tree tags that you’ll see at the base of the trees are identifying all of them by their common name and their scientific name,” Meyer said, “and then the interpretive signage throughout the arboretum as well, which tells you about trees, why trees are important, all of that good stuff.”