Highland Park, Rochester (must see)

Highland Park, also known as Highland Botanical Park, is one of Rochester’s most treasured green spaces-a 150-acre arboretum designed by famed landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted. Established in 1888 on land donated by nurserymen George Ellwanger and Patrick Barry, it became one of the nation’s first municipal arboretums. Nestled atop a glacial moraine, the park blends naturalistic landscapes with sweeping plant collections and cultural landmarks, offering both botanical richness and historic depth.

Horticulturist John Dunbar, nicknamed “Johnny Lilacseed,” began cultivating the park’s iconic lilac collection in 1892, introducing over 20 varieties-some tracing their lineage to the Balkan Mountains. Today, Highland Park boasts over 1,200 lilac shrubs in more than 500 varieties, forming the centerpiece of Rochester’s celebrated Lilac Festival each May-the largest of its kind in North America. The park also features Japanese maples, magnolias, 700 rhododendron varieties, and a rock garden filled with dwarf evergreens. A vast pansy bed of 10,000 plants forms an annual floral “carpet” with a new design each year.

Beyond its plant life, the park is home to notable structures and cultural spaces. The Gothic-style Warner Castle houses the Rochester Civic Garden Center and its 4,000-volume horticultural library. The Highland Park Bowl-a natural amphitheater-is a summer stage for concerts, outdoor movies, and Shakespeare performances by the Rochester Community Players. Nearby stands a statue of Frederick Douglass, while Highland Park South includes themed memorial gardens such as the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the AIDS Remembrance Garden, and the Poet’s Garden.

One of the park’s lesser-known but culturally significant features is the Goethe Monument, installed in 1950 to honor the German poet’s 200th birthday. Created by sculptor William Ehrich, the statue once stood as a tribute to Goethe’s intellectual legacy-until its mysterious disappearance in July 2015. With its unique blend of landscape design, seasonal spectacle, and civic memory, Highland Park remains a living museum of nature and culture at the heart of Rochester.