The McConnell Arboretum& Botanical Gardens, also known as the Redding Arboretum, are located within Turtle Bay Exploration Park, in Redding, California. The gardens opened on May 30, 2005, and cover 300 acres, including 200 acres of undeveloped arboretum and 20 acres of botanical garden that span the Sacramento River. The gardens began in the mid-1980s when three Redding museums began talks to construct a museum complex on 60 acres, and gradually took shape through the mid-1990s.