The Arboretum at Penn State is the campus's best slow outdoor stop: a set of themed gardens, lawns, and restored plantings laid out just beyond the athletic district. The H.O. Smith Botanic Gardens give it the feel of a proper destination rather than a campus shortcut, with rose beds, pollinator gardens, fountains, and a children's garden that works well for families.
It is most rewarding in spring and summer, but the paths are useful year-round if you want a quiet break from downtown State College. The arboretum also gives visitors a softer view of Penn State, showing the university's agricultural and landscape traditions alongside the football-and-student-town energy most travelers notice first.