San Francisco Botanical Garden

This place is huge! There are tons of various plants, trees, and flowers, all accessible by paved and unpaved paths. It is very peaceful and quiet here, great for walking around and for sitting on one of the many benches sprinkled around.

If I were a resident of SF, I would make this garden my default location to go for a walk since it’s free for those who live in the city. Otherwise, admission is $ 8 (or free the second Tuesday of each month) for adults.
The garden is divided into collections. Sometimes, navigating between them was a bit difficult, but everything was so serene that there was no «wrong path». I would recommend a trip here to anyone, but I also make the following suggestions for one-​time visitors and those who can’t go frequently:
— Try going on a tour. Originally, I had planned to take one, but I decided not to wait when I discovered the next one was not for another 30 – 45 minutes. Now, I regret it a bit, because I feel as if I missed out on parts of the garden.
— In line with my previous tip, the garden is huge. Block off at least two hours to enjoy it, or maybe even pack a picnic.

What a wonderful walk! We were there for hours wandering and hit just a fraction of the garden. Their pond has turtles! I will definitely be back to walk through other sections.

Lovely. So lovely. I just love being able to walk around and be encouraged to smell the flowers. We spent 3 hours here doing just that. It was a very quiet weekday so we pretty had the whole
place to ourselves. You San Franciscans are so lucky to be able to do this pretty much anytime you want (I believe it’s free with an id with a SF address). However, I felt the fee was worth it for the beautiful scenery. I am from Las Vegas so I am perfectly ok paying for a chance to few such beautiful botanicals. We didn’t do this but the front office told us we could come back anytime that day as long as we had our receipt.

This is a beautiful Botanical Garden. Great for a quick visit or a long walk. If you came from the busy California Academy of Sciences, this is a nice way to unwind.

Get your cardio in while smelling and seeing the pretty flowers that bloom here. FREE for SF residents, $ 8 for everyone else. The flowers and plants here originate from all parts of the world, and there’s even a garden of scents. Definitely worth a visit.

I highly suggest going here especially if you’re a resident of San Francisco — admission is free! You just have to show proof of residency. Since my ID wasn’t updated, I showed a bill from an e-​mail and was able to get in.
Since spring was just up and coming, there weren’t a lot of flowers that were fully bloomed yet. However, there were a lot of paths to go to with different themes.
I was only able to go to about ¼ and had to leave because I had an appointment, but I’d love to come back here again and experience the garden fully!

Very affordable ($ 8 for visitors, free for residents). Beautiful gardens. Came here for the redwoods and they didn’t disappoint. Lots of different areas with a huge variety.
Would definitely come back.

I visited San Francisco for the first time and had to come here. I was pleased to find out that my LA Arboretum pass got me access into the garden. It was all very beautiful and the staff were so helpful and kind.
I love that the garden is surrounded by a handful of other beautiful destinations as well.
The highlights were the redwoods and most of all the fragrance garden. I definitely will have to come back here every time I visit San Francisco.

We’ve been here a lot of times for walking and just enjoying the plants. This is one of our favorite places in San Francisco.

The place is pretty much filled with a bunch of flowers/​plants from different countries, small live music performances, and animals. Admission is $ 7 but free for San Francisco residents. They also have periodic plants sales where you can purchase certain plants that you can’t find anywhere else. Perfect place for plant enthusiasts!

Beautiful! Golden Gate Park is always worth a visit and this place is definitely a sight to see. Lots of interesting flowers and plants everywhere from various parts of the world. How is it that they can all survive this specific kind of climate in California? I have no idea, but I’m glad they’re all here in this garden.
I came here with a friend when it was still in «Magnificent Magnolia» season. During this short period of time, the magnolia flowers are in bloom and it’s really quite a spectacle. There’s various kinds of magnolias spread out in the garden and they all have different qualities (colors, aromas). I totally recommend planning a visit while they’re in season!
The garden is huge and I can’t imagine this place ever being too crowded. There’s some hilly parts that might make you breathe a bit harder, but I think it’s overall good for families, kids, everyone. Would love to come back here another weekend!

Wunderbar. Definitely worth the trip.

It’s a garden, inside a park! Maybe you’re not an outdoorsy person, but the Botanical Gardens inside Golden Gate Park are amazing and have a wide variety of plants to view, and paths to meander. Like most of the attractions inside GGP, there’s a fee to enter unless it’s early in the morning or a specific day of the month. Check their website if you’re interested in discounted or free admission, otherwise prepare to spend a few hours here and get the most of your $ 8 admission.
There’s different sections laid out by region, with plant life specific to that area. The paths are sometimes clearly marked, and other times are simple dirt paths that veer off in a different direction, and they all take you through, around, and amid some of the most beautiful and fragrant plants I’ve ever seen. I took tons of photos, and the different sections are unique and beautiful. You’ll wish you had the budget to landscape your yard like the gardens here!
Spent about 3 hours wondering around the 55-​acre garden, and that felt like the right amount of time. It would be easy to spend longer in the gardens, but don’t try to rush your way through or you’ll just be upset with youself.

Having been a resident of San Francisco for the bulk of my life, I’m surprised that it took me so many years to finally make it out to the Botanical Gardens. Thankfully, last Saturday before heading into the downtown, the boy and I finally made a trip to visit.
THE HIGHLIGHTS:
+ Free admission for all SF residents
+ Affordable cost of admission for all others (~$ 10)
+ Different sections of the garden are dedicated to different environments/​regions, with thriving indigenous plants and helpful name placards
+ Meticulously manicured lands and gardens
+ Beautiful place for a stroll (or engagement photo shoot, as we saw)
Being in Golden Gate Park, the ‘golden hour’ here may be more fog than you’d want for your photos, but it’s still a lovely place to visit.

This botanical garden exceeded my expectations by far due to a variety of reasons:
1) Great price — I took advantage of the daily free admission by arriving within the time frame of 7:30am-9am. Definitely check the website beforehand (
) if you are interested in visiting for free.
2) Unique plants — The garden’s plant collection was very extensive, from flowers to herbs to redwood trees. There were special plants from all over the world, grouped by geographical area. If I wasn’t on a time crunch, I could have spent all day wandering the grounds of the botanical garden.
3) Scenery — In addition to the plants, the landscape was very scenic. There were many paved paths, fountains, and other architecture to enjoy during your walk through the botanical gardens. There was even wildlife to observe (eg. birds, squirrels, ducks, etc…).
I definitely recommend this garden for every nature lover!

So pretty! So many plants and trees… and squirrels!
I came here this past Wednesday as part of a spontaneous trip to Golden Gate Park. My friend and I had never been to the Botanical Garden so we thought it’d be a nice stop.
$ 8 adult. Free for SF residents.
The garden is huge! I don’t think we saw it all. But we tried, we really did. I never really expected it to be this big We came in half an hour before the gates closed at 4pm. We had a nice, tranquil visit. There were plenty of areas to explore and relax in. Great place to bring a sketchbook to sketch in!
Walking through the whole garden was a nice, easy ‘hike’. I had a refreshing time here. :)

The gardens were superb!
I really liked my visit here at Botanical Gardens. Many people visit this in the weekends so I would totally recommend people to visit the weekday for there isn’t as much foot traffic. This also guarantees better pictures without anyone popping up in the background
Entrance: $ 8 bucks
Theres a tea station in the middle of the whole garden.
We got:
1.) Jasmine Tea
2.) Ice Green Tea
3.) Green Tea Ice cream
I think the ice cream and the green tea was okay. I wasn’t blown away BUT it was the beset Jasmine Tea Ive ever had. Its not your typical tea like the ones you get at chinese restaurants. It’s high quality tea!!! Really high quality.
My only complaint was the amount of people.
and like i said thats easily avoided by going in the weekday.

I really, really enjoyed this place!
With me having the day to spare and it being a lovely sunny day I thought I’d leave the Walt Disney Family museum to my next visit (gutted…) and would spend the vast majority of the day outside.
Ok so maybe you wouldn’t naturally think of me as someone who gets my kicks in a botanical gardens but I really wanted to feel connected to SF nature after being in the city for a while, hitting many bars every night and this was the place to do it.
Loads of different districts with native species and plants from all around the world — for $ 7 entry (free for SF residents) I learned that Californian is one of only about 7 – 8 ‘Mediterranean’ climates around the world meaning pretty much anything will grow in this state — wow!
Something else which blew my mind was learning that beetles used to (and do still in some cases) pollinate flowers back in the days when bees didn’t exist — think about that chicken and the egg like scenario peeps…
Well worth the money and time — there’s also some cool bars and shops just across the avenue from its entrance.

This place is so beautiful, clean, and spacious!
Came with cousins after our dimsum lunch, and a walk was certainly what we needed. We came for the Flower piano event, and having live piano music really enhanced the gorgeous atmosphere of the garden. There are so many different areas of the garden, so many different plants and flowers, and the staff was so friendly! Wear lots of sunscreen and even carry a parasol if you’re a sun-​hater, like me. ;)
Tip: Go to the bathroom before you come here. The bathroom isn’t the cleanest (as it usually is with parks), and if you do need to go, then the lines take forever.

This botanical garden is so big! I came here for the Flower Piano event, and it was a unique experience. There were twelve pianos (a mixture of upright and grand) scattered around the garden for people to play on, and the settings for each of them were in the trees and very relaxing. It was really fun! I don’t think I would otherwise come to this botanical garden, as I’ve been to bigger ones with more variety of plants. There’s also a $ 7 entrance fee but it’s free for San Francisco residents (bring an ID or water bill that has a SF zip code on it). It’s a good place to take a stroll and there are different sections with plants from around the world, but I don’t think I would come all the way to San Francisco just to visit this place.
4 stars for the Flower Piano event because of its uniqueness, 3 stars for the actual garden.

Beautiful!
Located in the Golden Gate Park, the SF Botanical Gardens are simply breathtaking and worth visiting at least once. Plan on being here at least 1 – 2 hours to truly admire all that you can here — you really forget that you’re in the city. It’s $ 7 for adults to get in, free for SF locals (with ID proof).
I like how there are different sections for plants (ie: CA Local, Australia, New Zealand, etc). Lots of places to take pictures, benches to just chill, pretty lakes, fountains and cute animals running around. There are also some open grass spaces that I saw people eating/​lying down/​sun bathing/​reading/​etc on. This is a great place to get lost in for a couple of hours.
Side note, there are also a few clean restrooms inside the garden as well as some water fountains. Good to know for being in the city!
Cheers!

Came here a few days after the first day of spring. Super tranquil, people setting up picnics, and tossing around frisbees and footballs. Kind of view it as paying $ 7 admission to get a more private park within Golden Gate park/​any park in the city + super amazing array of flowers and space to wander to your heart’s content.
Lovely landscape, and fun to wander around. Would recommend to check out at least once if you’re in the area!

Beautiful and expansive property! You don’t feel like you’re in the city anymore. I couldn’t believe all the flowers that were in bloom in February!
Free for San Francisco residents. You really can’t beat this place for a nice relaxing walk. Parking was fairly easy (I went on a weekday). They even have free docent led tours, which I highly recommend.

Mitten im Golden Gate Park liegt der Botanische
Garten (
) von San Franzisco.
(Siehe Foto unten)
Es ist sicher keine der Highlights von Frisco.
Wer Interesse an Pflanzen hat, kann hier einen Abstecher machen. Pflanzen aus
mehreren Kontinenten sind hier in verschiedenen Themengärten zu finden. Ein Highlight
war der südafrikanische Garten mit einer großen Anzahl von über 100 Jahre alten
Mammutbäumen. Empfehlenswert sind die Gartenbauwerke von Chile und
Ostaustralien. Für Kinder gibt es einen sehr schönen Garten mit Naturteich.