Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Review

A lot for kids to see and do. Beautiful place to visit.

Perfect outing for the family. Be sure to make it out with youngins before the end of February when the "fortlandia" installation will be removed. Bring snacks. Bring water / water bottles; as They have a filtered water refill station near the entrance.

Beautiful display and ambience of plants, succulents, trees and all things nature.

A beautiful, quiet place to walk among the flowers. The weekend we went they also had an exhibition of various artistic forts that were fun to play in. Was surprised to find swings! Like in a child's playground, only sized for adults. We had a lot of fun swinging.

Beautiful grounds, impeccably maintained. (Though it seems at times a bit cultivated for a place with "wildflower" in the name.)

Wonderful place to walk around and let kids play in big green grass area. You can bring food in. It is wonderful for a picnic. The flowers are wonderful. Only neg... Parking can be limited if it is a busy day. It is not easy to walk through during mid day in the Summer. They do offer extended hours in the evening on particular days.

Visited in late fall so there were very few plants blooming. Nevertheless, it was beautiful and peaceful. And informative.

Entirely too far , could have been placed in a central area . Parking is horrible and awful traffic .

Garden Paradise.
It's just one of those places where you feel way better after going. Gardening has long been shown to have numerous theraputic benefits and Ladybird's sanctuary brings gardening to everyone. Not only are there beautiful trails and a wide variety of local plant life but there are numerous educational areas teaching how to garden with local plants. Come back feeling impressed and inspired.

Incredibly friendly staff. Beautiful, well kept grounds. So much to see here. Will be back for sure.

I'm a wedding photographer and I absolutely love photographing weddings at the Wildflower Center! The library area has such stunning light for those classic getting ready photos, and the wildflowers offer such a beautiful backdrop for the formal portraits. My couple opted to get married indoors and have the reception outdoors. I usually recommend couples have an outdoor ceremony because the lighting is better, but the lighting in the indoor space at the Wildflower Center turned out to be absolutely stunning! The natural stone walkway leading to the event space is another great spot for portraits. I absolutely loved working here and hope to be back soon! Highly recommend this venue.

One of the kids favorite places to go. The spring and fall are the best times to go even in the winter when few things are in bloom they always have so etching going on that keeps the kids engaged and wanting to go back.

Even in December when most plants are not blooming, the center is still gorgeous. The youpon and other trees have bright red berries, bringing color against the green. It was a relaxing and peaceful trip.

We always bring out-of-town guests. Worth getting a membership if you have young kids or just love native plants.

Beautiful and varied gardens. Nice cafe and gift shop near entrance. Most of it is very walkable, even for those with limited mobility. Parking fills up on busy days, but there is plenty of overflow. Nice holiday program with beautiful lighting and performance

A great outdoor space for kids and adults alike! We especially loved the Fortlandia exhibit! It's such a shame that it's not permanent. We ended up buying a membership and can't wait to come back again soon.

I LOVE THIS PLACE! it's great for family time, great for meditation, picnics, walks, photography and more. My daughter really enjoyed the ponds, the plants, and the cave that this park offered. Really nice and clean.

Nice place to see wild flowers, walk nice trails and eat lunch. Saw 2 snakes which were harmless, but can't say that for the mosquitoes.

Fantastic place for a walk with the entire family. Go early or late during the Summer.

The volunteers outnumbered the visitors 4 to 1. I grew up around massive gardens and botanic gardens. Lived in Austin 30yrs...
Went here with my parents and it was all grass and dry beds. Literally there was a raised bed for grass. Im hoping I was missing something.

Gorgeous every time! Appointments required during covid, very safe space for distancing and masks required in close quarters. Most people were masked at all times!

Beautiful day spent walking through the gardens, we packed a lunch and dined all fresco. Definitely worth your time if you love being in nature.

I got married at the Wildflower Center this past weekend. It is a beautiful venue for a medium-sized wedding. However, if you are looking for an "all-inclusive" venue, this is not your place. The facility rental fee is just that. All you get is the facility. We had to rent tables, chairs, linens, dinnerware, everything. Everything has to be brought in and taken out. For me, I didn't mind, but I know for some brides, that would be annoying to deal with.

I fell in love with the WC from pictures on Style Me Pretty. Although I got quotes from other venues, the WC was the only venue we looked at in person. The rental fee was on the higher side, but we knew we'd save money on the alcohol, since it's BYOB (but has to be served by a licensed bartender). I also liked that we could choose from many different caterers instead of being forced to go with one, such is often the case at all-inclusive venues.

There are so many options with the Wildflower Center: you can have a ceremony in the courtyard, gallery, or auditorium. If having the ceremony in the courtyard, you can face the pond or the stone archway. Cocktail hour can happen in the courtyard, back gardens, gallery, auditorium, whatever. The options are endless. Having said that, there are also a ton of restrictions with this venue:

1. Since the WC is open to the public until 5:30, we weren't granted official use of the space until 5:30, and they recommended that services don't start until 6:30 at the very earliest.
2. Sparklers were not allowed, which is something I always envisioned having at my send-off.
3. The max approved occupancy is 200 people, so if you plan on having more than 200 guests, choose a different venue.
4. You have to go with one of their approved caterers, which honestly isn't a problem at all, since they have some amazing caterers on the list.
5. Tents are not allowed.

In the months leading up the wedding, I almost regretted choosing the WC because of all the restrictions, but everything worked out in the end, and the day was perfect. It helps to hire a coordinator. There is too much to be mindful of, and you don't want that stress the day of your wedding.

We DID have a coordinator, so everything was great! We had the ceremony in the courtyard facing the pond, cocktail hour in the courtyard, and dinner in the gallery. We had roughly 110 guests, which was the perfect size for the gallery, as it can only hold 11-12 60" round tables and still have room for a small dance floor. One of the main reasons we chose this venue was because of the lights in the courtyard that are lit at night. On my wedding day, guess what? There was a shortage, and the courtyard lights were not on. Boo! This was disappointing, but to my knowledge, it was the only hiccup of the night.

If you're looking for a wedding venue in Austin and you're okay with all the rules and restrictions, I'd highly recommend the WC. It's even more beautiful at night than it is during the day.

Wondering place for youngsters and adults. Indoor theater with educational show. Mostly outdoor trails with educational signage. Trails are stroller friendly. Very family friendly place.

beautiful space with great walking trails. Even out of season, this is an amazing respite.

Lovely. I had no idea how many beautiful, native flowers thrive in Texas. And the butterflies were plentiful!

Loved it here. Going to look into a membership. The outdoor exercise equipment was a shocker for me, but really cool.

Lovely evening! Staff and volunteers were all very friendly and helpful.

Such a beautiful property. Perfect for weddings, birthday parties, etc...

Lovely place to spend an hour enjoying the natural beauty of Texas. Attended recently during their dog days weekend. We had a great time walking the trails. The staff was also super nice and glad to answer questions.

Become a member its worth it. Specially in fall and early spring

Great place to bring kids, there's a lot to do other than looking at flowers. Asukta can appreciate as well!

Nice for an office retreat, but those chairs are murder!

Went with our small grandsons. Fort Landia was fun and we enjoyed walking the entire circuit. If we're back in Austin soon, would love to go back to see it all lit at night with the luminaries.

I think that it should cost less than $10 per person. I also came into contact with poisonous plants without being warned or straying from the path. Pretty flowers, grounds/buildings, and butterflies; and I get why it's a destination, but I had a more pleasant time when attending a private event there than as a paying daytime guest.
The Texas heroes oak tree area seems like a good investment for the future. And I'm glad this place exists.

Wonderful experience! Nice trails with labelled flowers and trees. The Cafe has good food and the staff in the garden and shops are knowledgeable, courteous and helpful.

Gorgeous views. I loved the art displayed and the many historical facts. Very clean facilities

Fortlandia was awesome. We loved exploring all the forts and making our own. It's such a great space to enjoy the outdoors. I can't wait to try the preschool program

They're back open with limited capacity (need a reservation) and it was lovely. There were only two other cars in the lot. It was a great opportunity to get outside, while distancing from others, and even though it's August, there were still lots of interesting plants.

Amazing. Gorgeous. Stunning. Such a gem. Among the most beautiful places I've been. The plants are as enchanting as the architecture.

Wonderful place to see native plants. Volunteers doing the tours are great, not to be skipped.

A special place in my heart. Had our maternity shoot here. What a beautiful preserved spot of nature. Thank you for the care and condition of mother nature.

If you have never been there .. you need to venture!!

Beautiful and easy walking trails. It was over manicured if you want the feeling of a true nature walk. Great place for young children.

Wonderful legacy center doing justice to a Texas pioneer in our wildflower heritage.

Enjoyable, low-key experience. Relaxing. My favorite part was seeing the caterpillar/chrysalis display.

Great flowers. Lots of paths. Stuff for kids & adults. Peak wildflower season is now. Be she to look at the video of how Lady Bird Johnson helped revitalize Austin. Also look for the owl hidden in a corner. Ask someone who volunteers there.

An incredible botanical garden that educates the public of the beauty and importance of native species in central Texas landscapes. The legacy of Lady Bird lives on, inspiring us to conserve wild places and native species alike. Friendly volunteers!

Beautiful place, it s of educational activities and a supreme gift store

Beautiful place to spend an afternoon and get in touch with mother nature.

We went to a wedding reception here. The facilities are amazing - very beautiful and we had a great time.

Of course the wildflowers and presentation was very much worth the trip. I can only assume that it would be better during spring or fall blooming seasons.
Be sure to climb the observation tower especially if you have a child along. You can view in all directions for many miles, including downtown Austin on a clear day. Also, it is...

A membership is a must-have for local families with little ones.

I was able to do little adventure in the man-made cave which looks like real and natural cave where you can see rare reptiles there. It was fun!

Pretty nice place; decent number of pretty flowers and a really cool little waterfall. Went here on 03/27/16 and it was very colorful. $10 admission fee if I recall, which you don't necessarily have to pay; the admissions office is off to the side, so it's possible to walk right past it and into the gardens without actually paying (not sure who designed the center that way). In any case, very nice area, great place for a sunny weather romantic date and for taking some flowery pics.

It s definitely a beautiful space, but we were really underwhelmed by the amount of wildflowers. We went at peak wildflower viewing time in spring, but we honestly see more dense patches of wildflowers around our neighborhood than we did here. One of the coolest parts is the large wooden swings they have hanging from trees on one of the trails.

A peaceful place to enjoy strolling around the gardens. Would recommend it to anyone who likes learning about native plants and seeing some wildlife.

Beautiful fun park. The kids really enjoy the short trails.

The Wildflower Center is really neat. During wildflower season the place is amazing. You must watch out for big event weekends though because the parking situation is beyond tragic. Try to go on a quiet day and enjoy!

Beautiful in mid-April. Wildflowers still much nicer than those on the roads relatively late in their cycle - don't know why. Lots of signs and volunteers. Took the very interesting and informative walking tour at 10am.
The cafe is good but gets overrun at noon. Better to eat early or late if you're going to eat lunch there.
Plenty of free parking inside the grounds and on the street.

It was much larger than expected. Very happy about that.

My 5 year old daughter was obsessed with taking pictures and got some great ones of all the flowers and even one butterfly ( early in the season, so... Lucky!)

My son (2 years old) LOVED the logs/large bird nest setup as well as the waterfall you could go behind and the horseshoe bridge/observation deck.

The paths are well maintained and the park was clean and had lots of different points of interest and educational activities - for children and adults.

Highly suggested you stop and take a look!

This place is incredibly beautiful very not knowledgeable about the Texas plants and vegetation

Great place to take the little one to run around on the weekend. Typically not very busy.

Enchanting and entices a sense of wonder. Highly recommend.

Beautiful expanses of flowers. Well-marked trails and informative signage. Delicious lunch at the cafe.

It is truly a very beautiful space for those who like wildlife and its charms, amazing place for children and adults!

So interactive! And the Winter Tree Fest held there had so many booths and tree climbing!