Wilbur D. May Center
4.7(674)google
4.7(35)yelp
Family
Overview
The Wilbur D. May Center is an attraction located in Rancho San Rafael Regional Park at 1595 North Sierra, Reno, Nevada. The facility comprises the Wilbur D. May Museum and the Wilbur D. May Arboretum and Botanical Garden. Previously, it also included the Great Basin Adventure, a children's park.
Practical Info
Mon–TueClosed
Wed–Sat10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Sun12:00 – 4:00 PM
Suggested Duration2-3.5 hours
Best TimeLate spring (May to June) during the heavy botanical blooms, or mid-October for rich autumn tones, is best. Visit between 10:00 AM and 1:00 PM when crisp morning light fills the massive glass greenhouse and arboretum walkways, perfectly brightening the eclectic, rare world-travel artifacts and exotic plant leaves.
Getting ThereNestled deep inside the western grounds of Rancho San Rafael Regional Park. No direct public bus routes penetrate the park interior. Drivers must enter the regional park via Washington Street and follow the interior access roads to the designated Wilbur D. May Center parking sanctuary, which is entirely free.
Travel Tips
- Set inside Rancho San Rafael Park, the arboretum and museum observe structural Monday and Tuesday closures; touching the delicate, irreplaceable ethnographic artifact cabinets triggers swift docent intervention.
- Galleries maintain rigid climate controls and completely bar outside open-container liquids or large travel packs, requiring all extended items to be secured at the visitor counter lockers.
- Backcountry botanical loop paths encounter severe seasonal washouts and ice hazards; local municipal park laws enforce a permanent drone flight ban and mandate a strict 6-foot leash rule for domestic pets.
Reviews
Positive
- A whimsical cabinet of world treasures! Mr. May's lifetime of global adventure artifacts delivers great visual impact, from African spears to fine ivory.
- The facility blends a history museum with a gorgeous glass greenhouse botanical garden, offering elite educational engagement that lives up to its fame.
- Set inside Rancho San Rafael Park, driving parking is completely free with tons of stalls. The entry fee is just a few dollars, offering great family value.
- The floor runs orderly with sterile clean restrooms. Smooth looping accessible wooden boardwalks are highly friendly for strollers and wheelchairs.
Heads up
- The permanent historical museum galleries are medium-small in scale; casual travelers can wrap up a walkthrough in 40 minutes if not reading every text.
- To protect rare tropical flora, the greenhouse interior maintains high relative humidity and temperatures, making walks feel muggy on sunny afternoons.
- Multilingual guide brochures are frequently out of stock, and individual touchscreens suffer from mechanical failure with 'under repair' stickers.
- The facility features zero proper cafes, snack shacks, or water dispensers inside, requiring driving completely out of the regional park blocks to get food.