UBC Botanical Gardens Reviews

Our visit was in the dead of winter, but even in January there were some plants that were blossoming. The entire time we were strolling around there was a pair of bald eagles calling back and forth, flying overhead, and perching in the taller trees.

The gardens are expansive and varied, and it would take multiple visits to properly explore the whole grounds. There's plenty to explore: the gardens vary from BC rainforest to wetlands to cactus house, and many other ecosystems. It's more of a work in progress than a glitzy tourist attraction, but well worth the visit.

Peaceful and enjoyable walk with some beautiful trees but not many flowers in June. Theres only one small garden area with some blooming wildflowers and succulents. Theres a cool food garden that grows fruits and vegs to feed the homeless.
Admission is 10 bucks for adults $20 if you want to do the treetop canopy walk across a series of swaying suspension bridges. The best part about the visit was the canopy walk which went higher then descended again. Takes about 20 minutes to walk through it. Very safe and suspended via steel cables attached to light but sturdy aluminum framing. Netting and ropes for people to hold on to. Dont jump or run or it will sway. My 4 yo daughter loved it and wanted to do the walk 2x. The gate is locked and you need to enter a 4 digit PIN then turn the handle UP to unlock it. They give out the PIN number at the entrance after you pay extra fee.
The garden is free for UBC students and kids under 5years old. Great way to spend 2 to 3 hours.
Free parking up to 3 hours for visitors but you do need to enter your plates at the pay station. Wheelchair accessible paths and 3 bathrooms inside as well as 2 drinking fountains. Map not necessary as roads are marked with signposts.

Well nice place to walk, but it's not worth 9$ for the basic admission.

Beautiful gardens - easy to wile away 2-3 hours. Mixture of native woodland & planting plus many Asian trees & flowers. Also extensive alpine section + food prowling & physical garden. The Greenheart treetop walk costs extra -& is not for the faint-hearted.

It's an absolute gorgeous place to unwind. Go to the Treewalk and it will be a beautiful walk to remember. It's not too expensive either.

Get the package ticket for both Botanical Gardens and Nitobe Japanese Gardens. This way you can go to the Botanical Garden and after you're done, grab a hot drink and relax at the Nitobe Japanese Gardens.

Another excited place to visit while in Vancouver. I call it the small brother of capilano as it's nice advanture to walk on top of the trees. Try it.

Beautiful hidden gem. Covid measures taken seriously. Free limited parking in parking lot of garden.

There is a gift shop and a small place to get a sandwich, ice cream and/or drink. Of course one can purchase a plant too. The gardens are established, informative and a plesant walk.

Go here for the annual Apple Festival, where there is a HUGE leaf pile for all-out leaf battle that's always a blast for kids. Also line up for the apple tasting where you will have a buffet style of samples, literally from A to Z. The garden itself also has a neat add-on option for Leaf-Heart which is a canopy walk guided by an arborist, quite educational yet accessible for families.

This looks like any typical part of BC and most of the garden is dead by the end of August. But, I recommend the tree-top adventure! Had a blast and it's a great place to learn a bit about the local environment.

A wonderful diversity of flora, well layed out and well worth a visit !

Beautiful place! Tree walk was loads of fun! Didn't see any of the trees in bloom cause it was too late in the season but the grounds were still so beautiful and so much to see. Love that there is a washroom and lots of areas to explore. Will go again

It was OK. Beautiful botanical garden and tree walk but it was a bit boring for the kids. Pretty pricey for what it is. I took the kids there for the tree walk but didn't realize it's inside the garden and you have to pay for the garden entrance too.

Maybe my expectations were too high, given other reviews.

A little scary for some kids (and perhaps some adults too).

It is a beautiful garden, well maintained. It has plants from all over the world, different climates, grouped in zones. It even has a veggie zone. Most of the plants are labelled with names, origin. It is a great place for someone who wants to learn about plants. It also has a nice gift shop sell little plants you see inside the garden. The lowest entry fee is $10.50 per person. It goes up from there. I thought it was worth it. Plan a visit and have fun.

The gardens are beautiful! The Treewalk was outstanding and a good value. You are required to wear closed toe shoes so don t show up in flip flops line we did... lastly, google maps goes to admin offices as opposed to the garden entrance.

Born and bred in Vancouver, have never been here and came here for a wedding. What a beautiful jewel, tucked away at UBC. Will be back and spend more time exploring.

Such an amazing hidden gem in Vancouver! The tree walk is wonderful, and you could spend ages enjoying the rest of the garden and forest walks. A peaceful and lovely way to spend the day!

A beautiful and tranquil place to roam around in! Best with a candy apple in hand :)

Really lovely gardens and a tree walk high in the canopy

It is very different from the domestic botanical garden. There are many trails. The road is covered with sawdust. It is very soft to step on. The suspension bridge is very long. People who are afraid of heights are best not to go. The middle section is very shaky.

Although the trees and plants are in hiatus at the moment, the garden is still a quiet place to visit for a nice walk during lunch break.

Great park for the kids to explore the nature...whether it's the forest or the plants. Theirs also a treetop walk way that to can safely walk from one tree to another through linked bridges.

Like the wood-chip pathways, beautiful florals, has a great variety of plant species to well deserve the name of botanical garden, experience the tree walk and serenity

Many kinds of trees from around the world, and walk on sling bridge to see from high angle.

Love the beautiful trees and variety of flowers. The smell of the forest is intoxicating and the whole peaceful experience is like a massage for your soul.

This garden hosts a diverse set of plants from ornamental to native, horticultural to medicinal, local to exotic. It's so nice, and the shop in the garden has some really cool plants too.

Beautiful place for a stroll, the tree top canopy walk is well worth the price of admission.

I hardly even knew this place existed. Went there and was astounded at the beauty and size. Biggest Asian garden outside of Asia.

I'm giving this 4 stars because it's probably what I'd think if I could get over the fact that it costs me 8 USD to get in as a student. A bit steep...

One of the messiest and extremely unorganized gardens I ve seen in my life. I ve seen parks cleaner than this place. There is no tagging of various species, weeds outgrowing the plants almost everywhere . The staff blames it on underfunding, but I saw a huge mismanagement with existing staff sitting everywhere and attending no specific work. Waste of time!

this place is a true oasis one of the be botanic garden ive been to this is definitely a must if you are in the Vancouver area

Do yourself a favour and see it for yourself. You won't be disappointed!

They're a little far from the city, but the UBC Botanical Gardens are a fantastic way to spend an afternoon- especially during the spring when the blossoms are out.

this is a hidden gem! if you're a tourist or someone who just enjoys the natural beauty in the world, i highly recommend stopping here and spending a couple hours basking it all in. there are so many types of trees and different plants you can't keep up. it's beautiful when no one is there, it feels like you are completely somewhere else far away. if you're already here, don't miss out on the tree walk, it may be small but that was the highlight of the small day trip here for us

I am so glad I went, it's a lovely garden, very well maintained. The variety of plants is impressive. The smell of vegetation and soil here is just wonderful. The vegetable garden for the poor is such a great idea!!!

This is a real hidden gem in the city. A great cool adventure for a hot day, the tree top walk is a must.

Large garden filled with many species of plants. It's not super busy most days, especially when it rains, so you can enjoy a quiet, peaceful walk. I don't think the treetop walk is worth it though.

The Apple Festival takes place here every fall. Highly recommend to everyone. Great for kids too!

The garden or the two gardens are beautifully designed. The Treetop Walkway costs extra and is not for people with vertigo. We spent several hours in the park.

A beautiful garden well worth the cost of admission. I went in late September, so many of the flowers were no longer in bloom, but it was still a great experience with plenty to see. The tree walk is also a lot of fun.

Admission is free (by donation) during winter times. Very well maintained. Maps and touristic information are available at the gift shop. Excellent place for a walk in the nature

Beautiful place and lots of fun. Very relaxing and quite; you forget your in a large city.

A beautiful garden marred by bad customer service. The lady at the front counter lacked basic manners and did not respond to our greet. There was something off about her demeanor. If you don't like dealing with people don't work in customer service. Regardless, the garden was beautiful. Worth a visit if you're close to UBC. The canopy walk was a little scary at first but we managed to complete it without any issues. A solid 2/5.

I enjoyed it. One child was scared of the bridge's they shake a lot when walking.

Nice botanical Garden, with a huge diverity of plants. Greate to spend a day for a walk.
I like the treewalk the most.

What an incredible place. Lots of wonderfully maintained walks and collections, there's something new to learn about and see every time you visit! I love walking through the herb garden and the food garden. The Treewalk is also well worth the extra cost--gives you a real appreciation for the forests and trees we live among, and it was created by incredibly thoughtful people with a love for our forests.

Pretty plants with a walk up in the trees. It was well worth it.

Definitely worth visiting! The garden can easily be covered in a day. It's so serene that I didn't really want to leave, though. Quite a variety of plants in its different areas. The Greenheart walk - basically a canopy path - was worth the extra money. It felt like an adventure. I really enjoyed it, even if heights aren't a particularly favorite of mine. Also, if you're into The Magicians, the amphitheatre is the location used when they film the Neitherlands.

An underrated tourist attraction. An oasis of calm in a busy city.

Very big park, nothing extravagant but it's a nice place for relaxing walks.

name any word to describe true beauty and you can use it to describe this garden! Just wonderful. At first, I didn't think it was worth going there, because there are not so many picture of garden on the internet, mostly of the shop, which made me think it was really small! By mistake I already paid entrance to this garden at the Nirobe Memorial Garden, but I was glad I did!
There are 2 parts, the first garden is huge and it was surprising to see so many different species of plant living so close to each other, the other part was across the road (you go through a tunnel) and you'll find a food garden that produces food for homeless people in Vancouver and that is just great! Good work guys! there is also a native forest that makes you get lost and a great area with a huge lawn and different trees. Unfortunatly, there were a lot of muquitos over there, so Insect Spray is NOT A LUXURY. DO GET IT. :)

Very pleasant way to spend a few hours on a day off. The greenheart treewalk was fun, but don t make the mistake of thinking it will be anything like Capilanos tree walk. The walkway itself is narrower and bouncier - I would not describe myself as afraid of heights but certainly at least nervous at heights. However I still found this mostly enjoyable! The rest of the garden is gorgeous and lovely to walk around for an hour or so. Easy paths to follow, with occasional glades and park benches to sit and enjoy the peacefulness. I will definitely be bringing some friends back here!

There were a lot of works happening at the gardens when I went, with a large portion closed. The treetops walk is good a fun, quite high up. The eastern section of the garden needs a lot of work.

The tree walk was fun and amazing. The garden is large and very serene. Mindful walks and sounds of nature will really calm your nerves and stress.

Great place for the little ones with many novel plants. Apple fest was being held and the kids loved it.

The tree walk through the canopy is a must do. You get the see the forest from a different perspective and if you catch one of the tours they are very informative

Beautiful garden and collection. Make sure you go when renovations are not taking place. Staff is volunteer but so helpful and knowledgeable.

Beautiful place for a walk and being in three out doors

Very beautiful, and a huge walk through the different gardens. It's worth it doing the greenheart treewalk suspension bridge.

Very pretty place. It is a good opportunity to visit Wreck beach which is also near the campus of the Ubc. One hour from downtown.

A nice place to wander around. I like the fresh air, the trees and flowers. A walk will make you relax and forget about your stress.

Wonderful walk, tree walk gave a different perspective on the trees.

We went at the end of April. I would say the place has great potential with an amazing diversity of plants. Human-made facilities are well incorporated and harmonized into the natural environment. I would strongly recommend this place during summer and perhaps during fall, but not much during winter or spring. At the time we went, very few plants were actually flowering. Still, it was a nice and relaxing experience.

Simply Amazing. These pictures don't do it justice. I advise you, go here. Words cannot describe this place.

The suspension bridge is amazing. Really nice place.

Love checking out the Gardens several times a year to see the changing display of blossoms. Beautiful!

Awesome place
*** Check Groupons deal too.***

A wonderful hidden gem of the UBC campus. Serene and peaceful! Lookout for the beautiful magnolia blooms around March!

I really enjoyed seeing the variety biomes with their respective plants. The vegetable garden is also a nice touch.