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August 2024 by Erin Stanfield
Beautifully curated botanical garden and additional children's/kitchen garden. Also, sizeable hiking trails behind the gardens that expands into the future garden plans. The several trails include lovely vistas of the San Luis Obispo area and several of the Nine Sisters (ancient volcanoes).
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January 2024 by Zsanae K.
Fun stop on the way home from Cambria. There's a steep hike with nice views. The garden is big and there's so much to discover.
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December 2023 by Phillip L.
This year we experienced Nature Nights (Christmas Lights) Display at the San Luis Obispo Botanical Gardens. Never having been to these gardens prior to this occasion I didn't have any idea what to expect. Last year I did get to experience the Cambria Pines Lodge/Cambria Christmas Market and thought this year...we would stay a bit more local. Due to last year's experience, the expectations were high and ultimately those expectations really weren't met. It was by no means a "bad" experience but in comparison...I would say the Nature Nights just can't compete. I believe the Botanical Gardens to be much more expansive than the areas that were lit by the lights on this particular night and was a little disappointed that the experience wasn't more time consuming, although the light displays we did experience were very nice. I will mention we were looking forward to grabbing a bite to eat while visiting but unfortunately, the Snack Bar left something to be desired. The offerings were basically Candy Bars and some Drinks. One of the highlights of the evening was viewing the pretty spectacular glass flower art piece on display. It was also for sale, with a price tag of roughly 6K. Although I don't believe we will visit this venue again, I wouldn't necessarily discourage anyone from visiting. Any opportunity to share a collective experience such as this with either family or friends is a good thing.
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October 2023 by Cindy F.
The garden may be on the smaller size but the classes are events are note-worthy. It feels good to support an organization that aligns with my eco-values.
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September 2023 by CC D.
The staff was polite and the facilities clean. I normally try to adhere to a "if you don't have anything nice to say..." policy, but I wish we'd skipped this in general and the discovery trail in particular. The 3.7 average rating now I find a bit high. I don't want to detract from others experiences, but of the gardens I've been to this is the only one i wouldn't go back. I do hope they get a grant of some kind to invest, because it's clear that they care about education. Till then there are plenty of other beaches and hikes in the area.
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July 2023 by Kelly M.
Compared to most botanical gardens I have visited, this one is rather sparse. However, it is cute, quaint, and dog-friendly! It also features a separate children's garden with areas for them to play and do activities. It's definitely worth a look, especially if you have kids and/or dogs!
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April 2023 by Michele O.
Every time we visit SLO and pass by the highway sign for the Botanical Garden, we always say we are going to check that place out someday. So this visit, finally, we did. The website states that the garden is "devoted to the plants of the five mediterranean climate regions of the world". It's not a large garden, but we enjoyed our visit and the plants and flowers we did see. We are looking to trade out our grass yard for a dry scape, and we got some ideas for drought tolerant plants that have beautiful flowers. There are a couple of trails: the 1-1/2 mile Discovery Trail, and the Parorama Trail which is currently being built. The gift store has a lot of wonderful items from local artists; I bought a lantern; and there were several other items I would have bought had my budget allowed....well, next visit, I guess. $10.00 to wander the grounds, $8.00 for seniors 55 and over. Definitely worth a stop.
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April 2023 by Lauren Z.
We visited the SLO botanical garden while camping at El Chorro Regional Park - where the garden is located. It was really nice and convenient to be able to walk there from the campground. This is a small botanical garden with whimsical touches of art which we all enjoyed. It's $10 for adults and children 12 and under are free. Our kids ages 3 and 7 loved the children's garden. They leave out watering cans so the kids can grab one and help water the plants. There are some other hands on elements as well. They also enjoyed the big sand box. The 1.5 mile discovery trail will take you up the hill to the sundial with some pretty views. We didn't do the whole hike but just walking to the sundial was pretty neat! There is also a small shop and they do sell plants as well. Definitely recommend if you are staying nearby.
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April 2023 by Jay R.
It's friendly, small, and charming, but be warned, it's almost entirely drought-tolerant plants, so it's very short on blooms. I was there when the Douglas iris were blooming--otherwise I would have seen next to no flowers. Do the Discovery Walk at least to the sundial and Chilean Wine Palms, which are wonderful.
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April 2023 by Lori Traylor
Orchid show was fun?
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March 2023 by Hema Gollamudi
Small shop with just a few options.
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January 2023 by Robbin M.
It's quaint and small. Cute little night out for the lights. I think it's a bit expensive for what you get to see but I also understand it goes toward the overall upkeep. Staff are friendly
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October 2022 by L D.
I think the arbortum used to be pretty nice. However, it looks like most of the plants are dead or dying. Maybe during COVID, they stopped caring for the plants. The coolest thing was seeing a bobcat roaming around. There was a class of students in the arboretum as well. Also, it was really hard to find the path to the arboretum. There was no body around and no place to pay so at least it was almost free. We only had to pay for 45 minute parking. Overall, it was a waste of a 1 hour drive for me.
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August 2022 by KJ L.
$10.00 per person not worth it. You'll see prettier gardens in front yards of Morro Bay residents and public parks...
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August 2022 by Brian Y.
We recently had a wedding rehearsal dinner and welcome party at the SLO Botanical Garden. To echo the sentiments of another reviewer on here, the location and the event itself turned out to be wonderful, but working with the staff at the gardens was never straightforward. We were unclear about requirements for booking security, paying for an extra event space for parking, etc. until very close to our event, which added some unnecessary stress to our planning process. They also were completely unclear about their own requirements for alcohol permits at their location which led to me needing to visit the SLO Alcoholic Beverage Control office myself to get some clarity. It would be very helpful for the garden to just include the booking of their required security, parking, and alcohol permits (if required) into their event booking price/process. During the few months of planning for this event, the garden had gone through multiple different event coordinators, and finally brought on Tracy, who was extremely helpful, and seemed to be making a real effort to improve the process of booking events at the garden. She seemed to have real experience with planning large events. If she stays on with the garden, I have no doubt this would be a great and easy place to hold an event in the future. The gardens and event space are really beautiful.
