Botanical gardens | Berkeley

Berkeley botanical gardens are free – First Wednesday of each month!

Many plants at Berkeley botanical gardens are seasonal, meaning your experience will vary with the time of year that you are planning on visiting the Gardens. Going in the spring will definitely amount to a far impressive floral displays rather than going during the winter month. Check out Berkeley Botanical Garden website for more info on current exhibits. In addition, we recommend swinging by the Little farm and the
Redwood Valley Railway in Tilden Regional Park.

Hours and admission prices

Hours and admission prices can be found here, but why pay when you can get in for free on First Wednesday of each month! Yeah, that’s like what 12 days out of the year you can look at exotic plants for free! Thanks Berkeley University for being generous!

Also if you are somehow affiliated with Berkely University you can sneak in for free any day of the week month or year, with an exception of blacked out dates.Parking is conveniently located right at the main entrance, although it is somewhat limited. Many people like to have wedding ceremonies there especially on the weekends.

What’s so special about the Botanical Gardens at Berkeley?

Well if you don’t feel like driving over the Bay Bridge and you live in East Bay this is a spot to go check out exotic plants. The other location is the San Francisco Botanical Garden in the Golden Gate park.  You can combine the visit with Lawrence Hall of Science; Tilden Little Farm, merry go around in Tilden park and the Redwood Valley Railway. Kids love things like that.

What to expect from Berkeley botanical gardens ?

First of all, gab a free PDF map of the grounds, this will make your wondering around the park a little more goal oriented.  

You will have a chance to explore habitats around the globe including, California, Mexico, Deserts of the Americas, Mediterranean, South Africa , South America, Australia and Asia. The compositions are strikingly impressive and you will feel like you’ve traveled outside of San Francisco Bay area for a moment  

Berkeley botanical gardens with kids.

We would recommend brining an infant (in a carrier) or older kids to this location.The park’s terrain is fairly uneven and will require you to go up and down. Sharp twists and turns could be a bit dangerous for toddlers and there are several areas where they can fall in a creek, so exercise common sense.