Boerner Botanical Gardens Review

A facility on the mend from years of a lack of investment. See the Chinese lights

You will never be disappointed with visiting the Botanical Gardens in any season.

The China Lights were amazing.how they had the route was worked out.

I wish I could review this but we never got in. We purchased our tickets on line and arrived well before 6 PM. Finally parked and got in line about 6:20. A bus was just leaving. We estimated that there was at least 4 bus loads of visitors ahead of us in line. After 30 minutes we left. Buses did not return during our wait. We figured it would probably be after 7:30 or 8 before we even entered the park. It also seemed that with the throngs of people, it was unlikely that we would really be able to or enjoy the display. Perhaps PBS could produce a show of the exhibit. .

Beautiful visit to the gardens. We just attended Fairy Princess night, an awesome free anual evento they do. Now is a great time for blooming except the Rose garden seems to be struggling. Highly recommended attraction in the area!

China lights was really cool to see, very well set up

Saturday night a lovely evening to be sure to experience China Lights. An outstanding display of lights and artistry. Well worth the money and walk from free parking lot.

The China Lights themselves were beautiful but the shuttle situation left much to be desired. We waited an hour in a parking lot while we had to watch 3 buses come and go. For that many people they need to have more than 1 bus run back and forth.

I fall in love with this place a little more each time I go here. Beautiful grounds and highly recommend their classes.

An amazing display, definitely worth the time and price of admission.

Beautiful Vistas. Lovely gardens. Great place to take a stroll.

China Light is a spectacular event. The photos don t do it justice. Go and see for yourself. It is a family friendly event. Park and use the shuttle services. They were quick and efficient. The guided audio tour really gave a lot of depth

The best in Milwaukee. The garden has a variety of colors and scents.

Quiet, gorgeous, and captivating are just some of the words that come to mind as you stroll through each area within the gardens. Whether you have been here more times than you can count or it's the first time, the magic in this place is still present and available to anyone looking for it. Totally recommend you check it out if you have an opportunity!

China Lights was unbelievable! Every moment waps enjoyable and relaxing

Nice safe walk on a warm sunny day. Doesn't cost anything yet because there's nothing really to see. It's the only time I can afford to go, so I enjoy the walk while it's free.

The China lights were fabulous. The $20 was worth it.

This place is magical they have to visit it you can rent the facilities for weddings birthdays etc ...

Great place to relax, go between mid-june through August, to see the best the park has to show

We went here for China lights and it was amazing! Looks like a very relaxing place to go as well, when China lights is over. I have a lot more pictures, but don't want to ruin it for anyone looking to go. Very cool experience!

Came to the night lantern event. Lovely lights and sounds with a relaxing path stroll

It's like walking into a dream! Very serene, calming, green and beautiful. Now that it is truly spring you can experience the raw beauty of Wisconsin. There is also a nature walk and trail that is in the same radius.

Went for the China Lights exhibit. Was beautiful during the day and in the evening

Beautiful gardens! Especially the rock garden, so serene.

I recommend a family pkg. For the season cuz every month they have new flowers.
The Chinese Lights Festival was extremely impressive. A great idea to take out of towners

My cousin is having her wedding there in 2 weeks, and she's having an awful time with this place. She has called me many times bawling because of what this place has been doing. There have been many hidden fees that are just now popping up for her and her fiance. She has even had to cut her photographer because she needed some extra money to pay for some hidden fee stuff. Almost everything costs extra...like even bringing in your own memorial table costs $30, which she wants to do because it costs $70 to RENT a memorial table there. She even had to change it from an outside wedding to an inside wedding because it cost $1,000 to have it outside. And she couldn't get out of the contract even months that normal places would let you go without losing all the money that was put down. I'm very disappointed with this place, and what they have done to my cousin. It's supposed to be her and her fiance's special day, but it just seems to me that this place just takes advantage of people, and doesn't care about anything but money. Yes, the gardens are beautiful, but I would NEVER recommend this place to anybody who wants to get married.

Went for the Chinese lights for the first time! I went with my mom and my 4 year old and it was great. I had a good time and I got some chicken stir fry that was delicious!

The lights were great, and the show was amazing. The food was good as well, everything was hit with me .Will be going next year, and would recommend to everyone. Me and my love had a great day

found out about this while planning a visit to my sons girlfriend in grad school. we found discounted VIP tickets on groupon, worth the purchase for early entry with a tour, reserved parking and seating during the shows. the lights are gorgeous, the pathways flat and well maintained, and food and drinks are available. there were acrobatic acts and chinese dance during the shows. there are a lot of lights on display so lots of walking is involved. there were people with wheelchairs and strollers so its accessible enough. restrooms are porta potties which is a downer. parking attendants guide you to park but a little more signage for exiting would be nice. it gets pretty chilly at night so dress warm. it did get really crowded after dark viewing the lights, and just like anywhere some people can be rude and let their kids run a little wild, but its worth the visit and we would do it again. its a unique display worth the visit.

the christmas lights were not worth 25 dollars. if you want something better, go to Candy Cane Lane. its free!!!

I wish I could have seen it in full bloom! I visited in early spring, so there were few blooms. Every employee I met was very kind and sincere, and I could tell from the manmade designs that gardens would be amazing in the summertime.

Concert in the garden one of our favorite summertime activities

I went to a craft fair event held outside of the gardens, but on the grounds. It was free to go and I appreciated the opportunity to get outside and do some cool shopping!

Really nice if you just want to walk and look at all the flowers and just relax!

Beautiful gardens! We visited during the China Lights event. Plenty of parking. Clean and well maintained. Perfect place for a picnic!

Bathrooms are also clean and well maintained. Great place to bring the whole family and enjoy the scenery!

Too many people for Chineese lights. Parking was a disaster. Had to wait in line for 40 minutes in the car.
The Lights setup was nice. I am honestly not sure why so many people. It wasn't free. $15 or adults. With that much money, more people should have been hired for organization.

Concerts in the park are a wonderful way to spend the evening!

Looking for gardening inspiration, you'll find it here. Great little get away for some nice relaxing family quality time! Several other scenic spots centered around the garden. From nature trails, a kids park, picnic areas and a beer garden plenty of activity to do for the day!

Beautiful. Loved walking through all the different types of flowers and plants! Very quiet and peaceful. Definitely glad we came.

Beautiful flowers in a serene setting. Always something different to see depending on what time of the year you go.

Beautiful trails and water. Plenty of wildlife and vegetation: can be a bit buggy bring your spray.

Low admission fee, and beautiful gardens! Not many flowers this time of year, but I am sure it is even more beautiful when everything is in full bloom!

This our 2nd trip to the gardens to see the China lights. Well again we were not disappointed. They have to be the best displays if lights we have even seen. Your eyes seem to just be in senesary overload. The color are so viberant throughout all of the displays. Truly worth the time to visit.

Love the serenity this venue provides and great cuisine and unbelievable customer service

Great. During spring /summer the gardens are free to get in after 6pm to sunset

I really thought the sculptures and lights were really well done and many looked beautiful and some even left me in awe.

I just didn't enjoy my overall experience. Starting right away with the parking situation. I was under the impression that I would be parking very near to where the China Lights were set up. Apparently that parking lot was closed right away and I had to continue down the road. The further away we got, the more irritated we became. So we ended up with quite a long walk just to get back to the China Lights.

Once inside, we quickly realized it wasn't going to get better. The place was jam packed with so many people that all movement was at a slow shuffle. I spent more time trying to keep our family together in the masses while having strollers and wheelchairs crashing into the back of my ankles than actually enjoying and taking in the sights and lights.

If we ever decide to check it out again, we have already decided we would get dropped off right at the gate, and hopefully it won't be as crowded next time either.