Mead Botanical Garden

Spent an evening here while on spring break with my wife and in-​laws. We hired a photographer and took some family photos — the gardens served as a beautiful backdrop with mossy trees, bridges and ponds.

Nice free botanical garden. Best part was that there are parts that allow dogs.
Parking is limited so I circled and someone happened to be leaving.

Lush landscape, beautiful views, shady picnic areas, plenty of places to walk and a charming little outdoor stage. This place is free AND dog friendly. Most of the paths are stroller friendly. There is a small creek that is so clear that you can see the bottom.
I gave it 4 stars because there were some unsafe boards on the walkway and some disconnects. However, I did appreciate the sign that Warned me of potential poisonous snakes lurking about!

Small park but lovely and lush. I’d come back.
This park is nice for a brief and relaxing stroll. I went with my whole family on a Saturday afternoon when it was cold and cloudy. Theres a wooden walking path which I think adventurous kids would love. It leads to a small river. Don’t expect life changing views… it’s right in the middle of winter park haha but it’s a surprising oasis. The paths are not maintained so you may wonder and wander.
I loved the tiny camellia garden. Wish the orchid greenhouse was open!

I came when it was in the 40s and windy, and still had a wonderful time exploring this garden. The sun was setting and a perfect time to see things illuminated and lit up. There were people walking dogs and even fishing. My favorite was the man playing a tribal drum. Bring your walking shoes and take your time absorbing the surroundings!

Went here for a wedding and it was great! Seems to be a lot of open space to walk around, play sports, have fun with the kids. This is definitely one of the larger parks i have been too. Props to the grounds keepers for managing all this land and keeping it looking nice. The park itself does look a little old but not a big deal, i guess its been here for a while.
All in all, its a great park to take a good stroll over. :)

Came and stopped again in 2015. Forgot about my 2011 visit! This time it was much more enjoyable. They had improved many of the spots. Still an old park, but maybe I have become more tolerant. It was a nice stroll and time to spend trying to bird watch.

I never knew such a huge park existed right here in the middle of winter garden. I went here for the educational class on weeds. In this class you are able to walk through the park and learn about different plants that grow native to Florida that are edible or have medicinal purposes. Each season the class is different as to what plants are growing during that season. You get to eat the plants which is a little bit weird but I tried some anyways.
The park is beautiful and has a gorgeous variety of different plants and flowers. There are trails to walk and different Gardens to Peruse. There have a school here to learn more about plans and herbalism and I believe they also have a seed exchange. With in the gardens they have many rare variety of plants flourishing in the Florida tropical climate.

Mead Botanical Garden is a great semi-​hidden gem for a stroll, events, and photography. They also have an open field area that is great for playing sports and for enjoying a bite in their shaded picnic area. The place feels wonderfully secluded and features wildlife, a butterfly garden, and a beautiful variety of different plant life. I have seen a few weddings being held there, which looked quite beautiful. Mead Botanical Garden allows dogs in some areas, which is great for animal lovers. They have a very interesting wood trail, which was a highlight for me. There was no charge for admission.

Mead gardens is a peaceful quiet spot in the middle of the city. Don’t miss the raised boardwalks and wooded trails — you can run or walk from one neighborhood to the next cutting through the gardens along the little stream. Very nice.

After dinner, my girlfriend and I took a lovely stroll here. The ground are obviously tended to frequently. The trees are tall and green. There was two performance areas and quite a few excellent views. For a stroll or a jog, I feel these Botanical Gardens would be excellent. I wish I had more time there but I was there around sunset and the park closes at dusk. I’m sure any performances there are enjoyable as their amphitheater looks excellent. Sometime soon, there were be a return trip to Mead Botanical Gardens. There is much more to see!

Whenever I go jogging in the area, I always try to cut through Mead Gardens.
It’s somewhat hidden, but there is an entrance to a scenic nature trail from the east side on Pennsylvania Ave, that connects to right behind the pavilion at the center of the park. On Pennsylvania Ave, you’ll find a fence with a gate you can enter. The trail is very short. It goes over and along a brook, and over a small wooden bridge. You can find people taking pictures or just enjoying a stroll. Beware after a rain though, because it does flood and get muddy. I like to swing from tree to tree when this happens.
From the south side, there is another entrance on Nottingham St where it meets Lake Shore Dr. This entrance is a paved path. I use both for jogging and biking, which takes you to the main northern part of Mead Gardens. This, together with the nature trail, is a good shortcut to get from one side of the park to the other, otherwise you have to circle around a bunch of dead end streets.
The park has open bathrooms, a water fountain, picnic benches, and a pavilion, where weddings occur. Plus lots and lots of shade (I wish all of Florida could be like this).
I’ve also attended running events here, such as Track Shack’s Watermelon run (which moved to Park Ave in recent years), and Fiddler Green’s Fiddler 5k.
I’d say the main thing it’s missing is a nice play ground for kids, but at the same time, there is one just north of the park.

This place is a ghost town, where are the flowers? Strange, since there is supposed to be a big carnelia exhibit here in mere days. The amphitheater itself looks like a great venue, there are trails, a great picnic area, but when the bathroom is the place with the most foliage, you have a problem. Good thing it’s free. I hope they get it together before their big event. As it stands, don’t waste your time.

I live right next to mead garden and it’s the perfect place to go for a nice walk, bike ride etc. it’s very quite and peaceful. They allow pets so I take my dog on walks through the park all the time. It also has a really nice bike trail. Another plus about this place is there are never tons of people there or if there is the park is so big you’d never notice.

A gorgeous, quiet park. It is not crowded and an excellent spot for a shady walk or jog. I saw a rather large turtle there the other day when walking around with my daughter, which was awesome. It seems that they offer summer day camps for kids, so I look forward to checking that out next summer.

Mead Gardens is a lovely walk through trees and along a small creek. It has ample parking area for visitors. There’s public bathrooms available, picnic tables and an amphitheater that was being build when we were visiting.
Most of the typical garden plants are located around a small greenhouse with several small plots.
The swamp boardwalk was in need of replacement when we visited, with many sections closed off because it had collapsed. The boardwalk crosses over an area with native water plants – I think it gets more wildlife in the spring, we were visited in late fall.
The walk along the creek that goes away from the boardwalk was my favorite part of the area and had many birds and was quite scenic.
It’s a good place to stretch your legs.

Very shady (as in lots of trees) and intimate park. The trails are wooded, and restrooms are available.. .
The park offers trails, picnic tables, and an amphitheater.
Not sure what time the park closes, but the restrooms were locked when it got dark. Just make sure you’re out when it looks like everyone has left.

This is a nice park and it is free.

I did a check-​in here recently; since then, Unilocal has been nagging me to do a review, so here it is.
Mead Gardens is a lovely little slice of Florida in Winter Park, and it’s FREE! Nothing is free around here! They have a great spot for group picnics, a pleasant hiking trail, and an amphitheater, which I guess is a good place for a wedding.
There’s also a boardwalk through a swampy area. Just at the entrance to the boardwalk is an herb garden, where you can rub the leaves and enjoy the wonderful scents.
I used to love to walk the boardwalk. But the last time I walked it, a big old snake slithered across the walk just a little ahead of me. Now I’m not extremely terrified of snakes, but this mutha was enormous! I haven’t done the boardwalk since, but I still like the peace and calm of Mead Gardens now and then.

It still amazes me that Orlando has so many natural areas just a few miles from the downtown business district. Especially since I have passed the sign for Mead Gardens countless times and never thought to give it a try. So on a gorgeous fall day, I stopped to «smell the roses.»
As I drove down the brick road to enter the park I really fell in love with this park and nature preserve. It’s not far from the busy streets of Winter Park yet it’s well-​hidden and almost sleepy. There was barely any activity which makes it the perfect place for picnics, time with a book, a stroll and/​or a bike ride. They have paths, an amphitheater, and a butterfly garden. And during the summer, their trained educators offer classes in all things nature in a formal summer camp.
There’s a large sign/​map near the main building which will help you get a lay of the land.
Also posted on the board is a brief history of the Gardens. I was happy to read that they are named after Oviedo’s famed horticulturalist, Theodore Mead. Two of his students wanted to preserve this area and garnered a great deal of support for their cause. When all was said and done they officially opened Mead Gardens in 1940 with a sprawling 55 acres that would forever be kept in its natural form.