Descanso Gardens

I love a beautiful botanical garden and always want to make a stop for them when I am traveling, domestically and internationally. My husband suggested we visit Descanso Gardens for Mother’s Day, and it was a great experience. Our original plan was to go to the Huntington Gardens, but upon realizing that a reservation was required, we made an alternative plan to go to Descanso. I really like that Descanso does not require a reservation, and the price is reasonable at $15.

We arrived after lunch in Pasadena around 3 or 4 PM and were able to explore the whole area at a leisurely pace within three hours. I would love to bring a blanket, a book, and some snacks to relax on a future visit. The rose gardens were my favorite, with beautiful flowers in bloom and great photo opportunities. I also appreciated that a lot of the garden was in the shade and the paths were easy to walk on. If you have kids or anyone with limited mobility, you can still enjoy this garden!

The variety of plants and themed sections is impressive, offering something for everyone to enjoy. The Japanese Garden and Oak Forest were particular highlights. The serene environment made for a very peaceful visit, and we even encountered some wildlife, which added to the charm.

Descanso Gardens offers a wonderful escape into nature with its well-maintained grounds and diverse plant collections. It's a perfect spot for a relaxing day out, and I highly recommend it for anyone visiting the area. Whether you're a plant enthusiast or just looking for a pleasant place to unwind, Descanso Gardens is a gem worth visiting.

Such a beautiful afternoon with great friends, strolling through the various gardens. Japanese garden, Rose garden, lilac garden…Stopped and sat and enjoyed a hibiscus margarita. The garden shop is full of fun items, plants and seeds. WE took advantage of free Tuesday and had advance tickets. No wait at entrance. Garden was busy but no crowded. Haven’t been here in years. Will definitely take advantage of this gorgeous local gem again!

We always love this place, especially when it comes to spending time with families. It's a great spot for kids and adults to hang out for 2 hours or more hours. There's always something to do.

I love the variety of flowers 💐 that this place is offered. It is strongly recommended to purchase your tickets in advance. If you decide to visit here at least twice or more a year. Do purchase a full year package for a family of 4, the price is a little bit cheaper.

It is my personal preference to visit this place when the beginning of April, cherry blossom, is blooming with pink petals everywhere. I find it very interesting and unique when 🎃 👻 Halloween comes. This place has its all. Bravo for the decorations. Always amazed me and my family.🥰

What a beautiful, well put together collection of light displays! It took us about two hours to go through, and we took our time admiring each exhibit. It’s pretty cold out now, but they have lots of warm food options. We didn’t end up eating here since we didn’t know they had food available and ate right before. Great spot for date night or a family night out. Our little loved seeing all the lights. The pathway is mostly dirt, so wear appropriate walking shoes.

This place is absolutely enchanting! Absolutely beautiful, it is so serene. This is the place to come to for a nice time of resetting & relaxation. A great way to escape the hustle & bustle of daily life & be submerged into nature. Admission is $15 & they also have a little gift shop as well as a restaurant/ spot to grab a bite. I didn’t eat here but I did see there was an option to do so.

My wife and I came here for the first time and we both loved it. We live only 20mins away from here and a friend of mine told me about this place. We both love the outdoors and wildlife. We both like to walk and this is our new place for that. The Cherry Blossom was blooming and so were Tulips. We walked for hours and went from Cherry Blossom to beautiful Oak trees and tall forest to pine trees. They have many different traits and paths and very different levels of hiking from easy to difficult. There are many places to stop and rest and take in the beautiful views and the other wonderful smells of the flowers and everything else around you. You can see some wild life if you stop and look around. We even took our little traveling friend Nobe( he's a little gnome). We only went for the day but on the way out we both decided to become members. We live close enough that this will be our new walking and hiking location. Take the time to get away from the noise of the city and the craziness of our day and take time to get back to nature and recharge yourself at Decanso Gardens you won't be sorry. If you're lucky enough you might even see Nobe there

We love Descanso ❤! Right now (early April) nearly EVERYTHING is blooming. Especially the tulips and they are beautiful. Don't forget to visit the museum and tour the mansion, and the little secret garden!

Lots of shade available, love how the plants are labeled with names. Has a cement trail where you can take a stroller, also has dirt paths for the more adventurous. Spent 3 hours exploring around.

The tulips were plentiful and GORGEOUS! The lilac was just starting to bloom and smelled incredible. The grounds are nice to walk around. Food options available were very good, but a little pricey.

This place is amazing for Halloween! We went for their Carved event and it's basically a family friendly spooky forest! The amazing lighting, decorations, and music makes it just feel oh so spooky scary. It's such a vibe to walk though the garden at night and enjoy it all at your leisure!

They also have food and drink to purchase at the beginning and some more places throughout the garden, so if you're in need of holiday snacks they have churros, donuts, hot chocolate, hot cider, etc. Big fan of the glow in the dark churro.

They seem to change it up every year so the decorations and food choices/locations should be different!

Beautiful place with a cafe where you’re able to purchase wine and take with you along the walk! I will say that visiting in February didn’t provide the best experience because the flowers hadn’t bloomed, but it was still a lovely stroll and atmosphere. Photos are from off-season in February so you can see what it looks like when it’s not quite in bloom!

Descanso Gardens is worth the visit! Beautiful flowers, plants, and trees surrounding the garden. Perfect place to do picnics, walk, photo shoots, or simply enjoy nature's beauty. It's a California gem!

I brought my daughter to Descanso Gardens last week and she had a blast! She got to ride the train ($5 per person) and run around. We had a lovely time admiring all the blooming flowers in season right now.

My 1st time visiting Descanso garden. And OMG ! I LOVE this place. I will be back for sure. if you love nature ? This is the perfect place to spend an entire day with family and friends, or just be by yourself, From lovely Tulips fields to the Camelia flower forest , Japanese garden, an ancient forest, and much more . take time to enjoy the beauty of nature. 🌷🌸🪻🙏

Great place with awesome scenery and loads of space to walk and hang out with friends in nature. Make sure to bring water if you plan on going on the longer walk paths please.

Wow! I came on a Tuesday morning, and beat a good number of people! Surprised I finished the whole place within 1.5hrs! But honestly, I probably should have stuck around longer. There were still parts I didn't explore enough, like the Canyon View, came too early before the Start Hahaha Gallery was open, and I didn't even check out the Boddy Mansion. Definitely coming back to check those places out, or pay for a guided tour.

If you're taking the bus, it's quite a walk. If you're taking the car, it's a pain to find parking though, so choose wisely!

I wish I lived near here so I could visit every few weeks! It would be a different garden every time. Manageable size, lovely spring trees and bulbs blooming. I definitely recommend buying tickets in advance, it saved us a long lineup on a Friday afternoon.

We went here during the Halloween weekend, and I loved it. The theme was "Carved," and they did not disappoint... pumpkins galore. The gardens were family-friendly and enjoyable for adults. We went on a chilt night and were able to get some spiked cider...yum. We wondered how long it took to set up the entire place for display because they did an amazing job. Highly recommend.

Descanso Gardens is a tranquil place with magnificent oaks and largest camellia collection in North America. Camellias are in peak bloom Jan -Feb and there are so many varieties! It was not too crowded past Saturday in the afternoon but cool and damp weather might’ve been a factor. Camellias looked mysterious in the light misty fog under a canopy of oaks. Daffodils, irises, cherry trees and deciduous magnolias were also blooming. Tulips are likely coming soon (leaves have sprouted). They also have a cute gift shop for those looking for a souvenir.

Mixture of curated gardens and natural foliage. Has a small lake, a lot of dry streams when it hasn't rained much, and some interesting wildlife, my favorites being the turtles by the lake. There is also a museum house at the top.