STRYBING BOTANICAL GARDENS

Ninth Avenue at Lincoln Way
Golden Gate Park
(415) 661-1316
www.strybing.org

One of the finest botanical gardens in the United States, Strybing Arboretum & Botanical Gardens features a spectacular array of Mediterranean plants, rare rhododendrons, magnolias, walking paths and duck ponds from the world's Mediterranean and mild temperate climates, to high-elevation tropical cloud forests.

In this unique 70-acre urban oasis, one can escape to an extraordinary place of beauty containing more than 6,000 plants, trees, and flowers as far away from Australia and the Asiatic cloud forests. This living museum, which is operated by a public/private partnership between the non-profit Strybing Arboretum Society and the San Francisco Recreation & Park Department, offers educational and interpretive programs to promote public awareness of plants and the environment and a place for reflection and relaxation for all visitors. Additional attractions include the Demonstration Gardens; the Garden of Fragrance for visually impaired visitors; the Arthur Menzies Garden of native plants; and the Walther memorial Succulent Garden.

All guests are encouraged to take a virtual walk through the gardens, using the map and area descriptions in the new Visitor Guide. The Visitor Guide is also available at the Strybing Bookstore which contains one of Northern California's finest selections of horticultural, botanical and gardening books, as well as nature-related gift items for children and adults. Members receive a 10% discount.

Located just past the San Francisco County Fair Building inside the Main Entrance of Strybing Arboretum & Botanical Gardens, the Helen Crocker Russell Library of Horticulture is the only major horticultural library in the Bay Area. It has a comprehensive reference collection of horticulture and related information including books, periodicals, nursery catalogs, pamphlets, slides, and videos. Free story time, especially suitable for ages 4-8, is usually held on the 1st and 3rd Sunday of each month at 10:30 am.

Hours:
365 days a year
Monday - Friday 8am to 4:30 pm
weekends and holidays 10am to 5pm

Admission/fees:
Free tours leave the north entrance weekdays at 2pm;
weekends at 10:30am and 2pm