UCR Botanic Gardens

Such a beautiful place to take a walk, a date, or even just to enjoy nature. All plants are labeled which came in handy since I’m a science major. My Date and I enjoyed discovering the different gardens, one may even forget that they’re in Riverside!

I always miss the plant sales they have but I’m making myself a promise to come here next time! This is probably my favorite spot at UCR and not many people know of it which makes it all the more better. They have such beautiful roses and my favorite type of botanical building where sun seeps in and I would like to sleep there. Reminds me of the one in San Diego at Balboa Park! Both have stunning gardens. Parking is only 25 cents an hour… Why can’t this be everywhere on campus LOL Definitely check it out and take all the beauty in!

Awesome experience. Very peaceful. Make sure you bring some good walking shoes. No heels ladies. Enjoy your visit. Also, make sure to get your parking ticket at the gate and do not forget to bring bottled water. It would help if there was staff at the entrance to answer questions… I had to walk all over to find one person who worked there.

Love this hidden gem! I’ve lived in Riverside practically my whole life and I had no idea this place existed. I took the family out there after reading great reviews and came away very impressed! Its easy to find, cheap parking and BEAUTIFUL! Its very relaxing and calming with awesome views. There are a few paved/​concrete paths but mostly dirt trails that are properly maintained. It covers 40 acres and is surrounded by an outside dirt road that you can use as a reference if you get lost. We got a little lost on purpose and enjoyed the grounds immensely. Its almost hard to believe its in Riverside because its green, shady, beautiful and relaxing all in one. Do yourself a favor and at least check it out. We enjoyed the dirt trails, the rock formations, the pond and overall serenity the most.
Thanks UCR…

I love visiting this garden during fall/​autumn season. You can see an excessive amount of leaves on the ground everywhere you go, especially the near the entrance. It’s just a really relaxing place to be at, hardly ever see any one, or any loud noise. You get to sit with your own thoughts and enjoy the surroundings. Only recommendation is to wear proper shoes, don’t try to be fashionable… I did it that and it was scary as heck! You will have steep hills to go up, but that wasn’t my problem… Going DOWN was like life or death D: and FREE admission. Parking requires a fee but wasnt too bad. Can’t remember exact price, but for sure under $ 5

The gardens are absolutely beautiful even during the gloomy winter time. The roses are definitely something I’m interested in but it was very cool seeing all the varieties of flowers they have. They were many species that seemed rare and uncommon which definitely was a sight to see. Different than just seeing pictures of plants online. They is a small donation they ask for to enter but it’s free and the donation is optional but I highly recommend just donating to keep beautiful the beautiful garden open and well maintained. Don’t give up on our nature.

Love roaming through this museum garden nestling Across 40 acres. Tree species from around the world, nurseries, botanical gardens, butterfly gardens z rustic, rich horticulture .
Perfect date, family day or solo picnic.

Toured the garden. Really nice garden. My husband and I went. They suggest a $ 4 – 5 donation but you don’t have to. We both did, because we can both walk and wheelchair paths for one don’t maintain themselves and that’s what part of the donations pay for. They have a plethora of dirt trails and pathways through the hills Would have been worth paying to go.

We did are family photos here and it’s such a Beautiful place. You should definitely take a visit here and pack a lunch and enjoy the peace and quiet.

Super dumb «no professional photography» rule. I am looking for a quick stop during my ceremony to reception drive and I would have made an awesome donations for the opportunity to get some great shots with my bridal party… UCR is a public school! Why can’t we take advantage of the public botanical gardens?

Love the gardens, but the staff is lacking. A friend and I were having a picnic with our kids and a rude older man with an English accent told us it was closing time. Then he says that the hours are written on the gate and proceeded to ask if I could read! Totally uncalled for.

UCR Botanic Gardens gets prettier as you go deeper into the gardens. At first there’s not much to see, but if you go further in, there’s a beautiful rose garden with little benches! If you’re not very interested in nature or can’t enjoy looking around quietly, this is not the place for you. If you like taking pretty pictures here or want to come here for a date though, this would be a good spot ^_​_​^
Entry is free but there’s a $ 5 suggested donation. It’s open every day 8AM-​5PM.

This place was so nice and beautiful. I loved all the different types of trees and flowers. I was unable to find the pitcher plants though and was looking forward to seeing that plant. I will be back soon.

I came here with a friend about an hour before closing (hours are generally 8a-​5p). For those who are driving to the Botanical Gardens, there is very affordable parking near the front entrance (I believe it was 25 cents an hour or something very affordable like that). Or, if you have a UCR permit, you can just park here as well. There isn’t a lot of staffing in the gardens, but it is not that big of a deal as it is mostly a self directed stroll through a variety of garden scapes. Suggested $ 5 donation at the front. Admission is otherwise free of charge.
There are multiple types of gardens — succulents, roses, you name it! There is no better place to be than Riverside for the diversity of flowers and plants that can be seen all year around. There are restrooms throughout, benches, and pathways so you can go at your own pace. Great place to come for a quick mind reliever or a nice, serene walk with friends or family.

My boyfriend’s alma mater. I don’t think he did anything but play WoW for the four years he attended here because he did not even know about the botanical garden. Or anything else on campus for that matter. Anyways, we were in the area and for nostalgic reasons (and because I’ve never actually toured UCR before) we decided to check out the UCR Botanical Gardens.
The gardens itself is relatively large. There’s so many turns here and there and you can go up pretty high. We didn’t see all of it actually because to be honest, there just isn’t that much to see despite the large land space. We saw the rose gardens on top which was lovely to see but it just didn’t have enough roses. There’s a lot of different plants to see here though so I think you could kill an hour or two just wandering the grounds and looking around. But I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s a complete or a full botanical garden.
I realize that this is a university run garden, but after visiting the gardens at UCB and UCI… UCR you can step it up! It’s really secluded too but that might be part of its charm. It’s a good place to get away from the often stressful university life. It’s technically free to attend but there is a suggested donation of $ 4. A good mini hike! ²⁄₅

A not-​so-​hidden gem at UC Riverside and one of my favorite places to go to when in Riverside. I feel like the gardens are highly under-​utilized, being that I meet more students who don’t know about the gardens than do. It’s pretty big and there aren’t too many signs, so it isn’t hard to lose your way, but time lost here isn’t really time wasted haha. If you want to get outside and see something other than concrete and buildings, this is definitely the place. Free parking right near the entrance, it closes at 5PM, and it’s tucked away behind Lothian and the science buildings, above Lot 10.

An awesome garden located on the UCR campus. Download a map befire going. It is a little hard to fine. Parking is really cheap. Twenty five cents paid for an hour of parking. Kiosk located right inside the gate. It is free but they request $ 4 a person for entry. The park is hilly so you get yor exercise walking around. Parts of the garden are well manicured and others not so much. It adds to the charm. I would plan 2 to 3 hours here to see everything. Bring water as it can get hot on the upper ridges during the summer.

If you’re in Riverside, this is the perfect date place when you don’t want to do the average dinner and a movie! The UCR botanical garden is beautiful and reminiscent of the Huntington Library minus the art and fees to get in. It’s a much smaller version LOL… You should leave a donation (suggested $ 4) to make sure we get to keep this place but even if you just put the extra change in your pocket or actually leave the suggested amount, that’s still a super cheap date to impress your significant other.
Parking is not free but it was like a quarter or two for an hour for the parking spots right next to the entrance. Very reasonable. If you’re a UCR student, you can use your parking permit.
I loved it when the boyfriend took me here. There are different sections of the botanical garden and you can hike around and get lost among the flowers and greenery. You can get some really beautiful pictures here. Make sure you wear shoes that you can walk in because there are a lot of pretty steep inclines and little hills you have to climb. We said that next time we’ll bring a picnic basket! Plenty of places to sit and lots of benches in shady areas. There are also quite a few areas where you feel really secluded. If you don’t have a special someone, it’s still a great spot to meditate or just spend some time with yourself and read a book or something. :)

I feel like a woodland nymph when I’m here lol
The UCR botanical garden is GORGEOUS… and free! But you’re supposed to leave a donation, at least one of you should pay $ 4, but whatever if you dont have it. Parking is not free, but I used to think it was for a long time like at the gym, I don’t think the parking people come here because I never got a ticket! It’s a little out of the way, kind of deep into campus if you’re not familiar with it, but it’s a nice little secret that many students haven’t even taken advantage of… or even know about!
The road to the botanical gardens is next to LOT 10, just fyi :-) Parking is like $.25/​hr.
There are different specific sections to the botanical garden, I’ve been here multiple times but haven’t seen the whole thing, you could easily kill many hours here, or break your exploration up into multiple trips. It looks different depending upon the season, in summer everything is beautiful, but in winter it is a lot cooler and therefore easier to get around, come back every season for a different experience. You might catch a glimpse of a rabbit or two… I never see them because they’re so fast, but I hear rustling like every 5 minutes, a bit creepy but they’re just rabbits haha.
You can get pretty secluded here, I hardly ever see anyone else when we come, and for that reason I’m sure some stuff goes on that I dont want to know about haha. I came here on a date once, it was in July and hot and you get a bit sweaty if you’re out of shape haha (you’re mostly walking up inclines and some are very steep), and I made the mistake of wearing flip flops and a dress since I wasn’t told beforehand where we were going, but it was still pretty romantic because it’s so beautiful. Do not wear flip flops or flats unless you stay on the wheelchair route, many places are difficult to navigate up and down already, especially if you like to climb the rocky and loose dirt hills in the back off the path.
This is a great place to meditate but I mostly just pick a bench and read a book, celebration of life is the most peaceful bench. Areas of this place are exactly how I’d want my heaven to look :-)

Seriously wished I knew about this garden while I was schooling at UCR. Pretty neat, and it could be considered a mini hike, lots of walking for sure. Free admission but parking is not free.
Not sure how other school’s botanical garden is but this place is a gem in UCR, especially when there isn’t much plant life other outside of campus. Bring some sandwiches and hike to the top for a picnic.