This was our first visit and I highly recommend coming!! We spent the day here because I was the…read moreinstagram winner of two passes and a plant!! Upon arrival we were greeted, given a succulent and tickets. The Dickinson Family atrium is a fabulous space with hanging plants and so many examples of indoor/rainforest plants. We walked the entire grounds!! My fitness tracker said it took me two hours to walk two miles- I kept stopping to take pictures and read the plant placards. We walked around though many different gardens. From the rainforest of Africa and past the waterfall to the desert area with native plants. There was an example of a Native American village complete with hut and grinding stone. We hiked up to the look out point where you can see the Pacific Ocean. There is a children's garden, playhouse, and a sandbox with toys. There are walking trails through out and many benches. I highly recommend bringing water, a hat, sunscreen and snacks. There is a small gift shop with a small selection of snacks. They have a large selection of plants to purchase!!

Had very unpleasant attempt to visit botanical gardens. We…read morebrought our service dog with us and had all the documents to prove it. The women at the front desk kept asking millions questions and expressing unreasonably doubts. Ny kids and I felt like being on lie detector.Very humiliating feeling. After finally being admitted, we left shortly. Our experience were ruined.It was no place for enjoyment. Very bitter,sad feeling... I didn't know people can be so mean at botanical gardens. This woman should work somewhere else,like border patrol or security check point. It would be better for everyone. Never come back to this place.

The Botanical Building was one of my favorite spots to visit when I went to Balboa Park. It is such…read morea beautiful and peaceful spot. I loved walking around and seeing all the different plants, flowers and greenery. There's even a pretty fountain inside! Thai spot is a great place to just relax and walk around. It is picture perfect and a must see places

I have an unabashed affinity for conservatories, I confess I watch Bridgerton just so that I can…read moremarvel at the conservatories they unveil for their summer time dance galas. Anyway, the botanical building in Balboa park, Sand Diego though made of wood lath is nonetheless considered a conservatory and reputedly the only wood lath conservatory in the world and also one of the largest of its kind globally. As soon as one enters, they are greeted by the intoxicating smell of fecund moist earth. The wood lath structure allows the breeze to flow through but cuts down the harsh sun creating a dappled sanctuary. I felt like a little child let loose in candy land, the display is a feast for the senses with monsteras, philodendron, ferns, orchids, begonias, cycads etc in every corner. One side had majestic soaring plants reaching the ceiling while the other side felt bare in comparison. The lily pond greeting one at the entrance also houses turtles, pink lotuses, frogs and fish. Overall a must visit for people who have a thing for plants or even-otherwise.

AVBG is definitely a "hidden gem" in North County San Diego. It's a beauuutiful place for…read morereflection, relaxation and recharging. I looove its vision of bringing together people, nature, and art while at the same time being educational and inspirational. I had the pleasure of meeting Rusti, the Garden Manager. She is super duper friendly and very helpful. Thank you for personally showing me where the Zen Garden is located!! This sanctuary also has a lot to offer besides the themed gardens like walking trails, scenic views, interactive areas, gift shop and special events just to name some of the awesomeness. Good to know that you can even rent it out! I highly recommend it to the Yelp Community :-) FYI: $5 Fee for Non-Members

Such a beautiful and amazing place. I am usually here for drinking events, like Meading in the…read moreGarden. The paths for walking through the grounds are well kept, it's so nice to look at the garden views and different kinds of plants and trails. There is also a children's area to play in. The further you explore, you will find wildlife, dinosaur statues, sculptures and more. It's a great place to visit if you want to take a break and enjoy nature. There is plenty of free parking, you just pay a small entrance fee to get in, it's totally worth it.

find them on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SouthBayBotanicGarden…read more This place is an undiscovered treasure. It sits on four acres of land, with a myriad of gardens-within-a-garden, as well as benches, pergolas, a stream and pond, fruit trees, a California native plants area, and much more. What a wonderful place to go for a meditative stroll, a peaceful picnic, or an educational notebook-in-hand foray. The garden represents the work of literally hundreds of volunteers, both individuals and groups like the Rare Fruit Growers, the Hort Society, the Cactus and Succulent Society, and more. I find the SBBG far more tranquil and inspiring than the Water Conservation Garden, in part because of all the fruit trees, yet SBBG is far less known. Amazingly under-used! Take note: they tend to close during school breaks and are also closed Sundays and Mondays. You can call 619-421-6700 ext 5371 to check on hours.

We arrived here so excited to explore the gardens, but we couldn't find it anywhere! Not sure if it…read moreclosed or if it's under construction. Lots of fencing around the campus. Looks like major work is getting done. We were definitely a little disappointed. :(

This a pretty cool spot and not well known around San Diego. It is dedicated to California Native…read morePlants and Trees, and there is also a section dedicated to the native tribes of the area. The garden offers nice paths that meander through the park and one that goes around the perimeter as well. There is a dedicated dog park area that is fenced off, benches scattered about, and several information billboards around specific areas. Many of the plant and tree species have identifiers at their bases. There are areas meant to attract butterflies, a pollinator garden, and a Kumeyaay Ethnobotany Garden with great information regarding ancient people that lived in the area. To my surprise, there's also an adjacent skate park. Parking is available.

This is my review # 4000 and what an honor to review a hidden gem in Paradise Hills! the Paradise…read moreHills native gardens caught me by surprise last week when I was in the area. I searched on Yelp for interesting things to do around and found this. I am into gardens, trees, plants, flowers. I love nature and value enormously the effort that many volunteers have put to create this from a landfill. It is amazing. I did a long hour meditation walk around the park, checking every label to learn about the local flora. Learned also about 4 varieties of trees you can only find in San Diego county. I encounter a group of volunteers discussing the next planting they will be working on, chat with them and kept enjoying my own company in a meditative state. It is a great place to relax, very recommended a visit for nature lovers and people who like to get off the beaten path too. There are so many different corners and angles in San Diego and this neighborhood is an interesting discovery

*Beautiful gardens with some very unique, and endemic flora- some only found on the island or…read moreendangered. * Awesome birding here *Main path to the memorial is a gradual incline and on relatively gravel/ sand even terrain... off shoot walking paths to meander thru the gardens as well. * To get to the top of the memorial, there are a lot of steps to climb. Worth the view from on top. * You can jump on the garden to sky trail (near the memorial)... it is described as a moderate to strenuous hike and aptly so: some switchbacks, elevation gain, rocky terrain... but the views... oh the views are lovely. Of note you can also catch this trail elsewhere- but it all depends on you and the distance and time you have. * Operated by the Catalina Island Conservatory * To get here: you can either walk here from Avalon... but it's quite a ways. The public transit COAST is available but we found it impossible to secure a ride (didn't help that a cruise ship had come in that day), rent a golf cart for the day, or the best / hassle free option was to pay a small fee (about 13 bucks a person) at the Conservancy and they shuttle back and forth. The only draw back is you need to schedule your trip ahead of time and if you are a person who does not like itineraries when you travel, this may put a dent... but definitely worth a visit. *Restrooms are located at the entrance

My hubby and I took a trip to Catalina Island a few weeks ago. We absolutely loved this garden. The…read moreWilliam Wrigley Jr. Memorial was stunning, and the exotic cactus were so cool to look at. We hiked up to the garden; the views were breathtaking. We saw horses along the way and so much wildlife. Highly recommend this garden if you ever visit Catalina Island.

We've been to the San Diego Safari Park many times. We enjoyed it so much that we have purchased…read moreboth zoo passes so that we can get our steps in, enjoy the zoo, and feel like a kid in the park!! We love the Walkabout Australia area for the kangaroos ( wallabies ), the Albino kangaroo, and the tree kangaroos!! We had only heard about the tree kangaroos and seen pictures from other people. We finally got to see this FAMOUS tree kangaroo after a year's worth of peaking through their habitat!! We were so excited and giddy!! A happy dance moment for sure!! Now, they say there's a family of them there. We only saw the one. The rest of the family must be napping! Overall, we were very happy to see all the different kangaroos!!

I came through this area at dark and could not see anything. Very little lights on the pathways,…read moreand all the animals were hiding, asleep. The park should have just closed at dark. The only cool part was the platypus, which you CAN see after dark because they live inside. Very disappointing to come to the park after dark.

Just recently went to the garden and it was beautiful. Very well kept and had great signage. Mostly…read moresucculents and water saving plants found here. Loved the gift shop, great gifts! A volunteer told me that most of the items in there are actually handmade by the volunteers themselves! How cool. I went around noon in July and it was HOT! They did have a cool zone with AC but highly recommend to bring water and a hat. Very helpful volunteers, great monthly scavenger hunt at the beginning for the kids, and we loved it so much we got a membership. Now my family can go all year to this garden but also they told us it includes over 300 other botanical gardens in the US. If you are looking for a fun thing to do in east county, check out this hidden gem.

Tim T and Yally did a great job telling us more about this beautiful garden. Was so excited to do…read morethe self-guided tour and enjoy the calm scenery. Plants were delight tolerant and blooming. Loved every minute of it! Can easily spend and hour or two here.

My hubs and I visited the Sherman Gardens during the first week of March. It was our first time…read morethere even though I grew up in SoCal and fly back every year to visit my parents. Wish I had visited earlier because it is truly a gem of a garden! Due to construction, we were only able to visit about half of the garden. That was a bummer, but what was available for viewing was gorgeous. From the cactus and succulent garden to the tropical banana trees to the seasonal flower beds and shade garden, it was all really beautiful. Also, there was an ikebana show and demo happening that day for free as part of our admission fee. It was a really cool show, the demos were super interesting, and my hubs won one of the pretty arrangements they raffled off! Such a great way to spend a morning.

Participated in their Yappy Hour event this past Friday. Lovely crowd and vibes. Half of the…read morelibrary is under construction for their new project, so we didn't have full access to everything but we still enjoyed the live music and company. We brought our little pug as well. He had a fun time barking at all of the other four legged friends while exploring the grounds. They also had water bowls around the gardens as well as free treats for the furbabies. Lots of shade after 5pm! Overall fun experience. The tickets for Yappy Hour are a bit pricey considering how little of the gardens we got to see because of the construction. Still a fun experience seeing our little pug socialize with other dogs. Our tickets each came with a free drink voucher. They had a good selection of beers and wines. We'll definitely come back for the next Yappy Hour!