Behind the Buffalo Botanical Garden is a golf course. I never knew that, although I have looked at it often over the years. Just so happened when I stopped by the other day people were actually golfing, hence my newfound info about the golf course. Its part of an Olmstead designed park called South Park. Its one of the 6 "Major" parks in the Olmstead group (others are Delaware, MLK, Riverside, Front, Cazenovia). Three of those have golf courses, which are open and ready for you to come play.
So I researched a little and found out that this park actually used to have the Botanical Gardens as part of it. The 155 acre park was designed as an arboretum, and still has hundreds of varieties of trees. They sold the Botanical Gardens to Erie County in the late 1900's, who now manages it. However they remain connected by land of course.
In the park there is also a pond, aptly called South Park Pond. Its fairly large for a pond.
You can drive around the entire park on Botanical Drive, which will allow you to see the whole thing, including the Botanical Gardens.
All in all a nice part of the vast Buffalo Park System, beautifully designed, even if the golf courses are newer additions. Olmstead wanted the parks to be open and accessible to all, so he did not design them with golf courses in mind.
Very easy parking along the roadway around the park. All the golfers I saw were zooming around in carts, so presumably there is a golfhut somewhere where they can park the cars and pick up the carts, but I did not notice that as I walked and drove around the park. read more