From Betsy Malloy,
Your Guide to California Travel.
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• Hours: Everyday except July4, Thanksgiving day and December 25. Visit website for more information.
• Reservations: Not required
• Cost: Entrance fee, visit the website below for price
• Location: Directions below
• How Long: Typically 1 to 2 hours
• Best Time to Visit: Any time

Desert Botanical Garden Review

Founded in 1938, the Desert Botanical Garden is the world's only botanical garden whose original mission was to focus solely on desert plants. Today, it holds one of the world’s finest collections of cacti, succulents and other desert flora. The 50 acres of outdoor exhibits at Desert Botanical Garden include 139 rare, threatened and endangered plant species.

The The Sybil B. Harrington Cactus and Succulent Galleries, opened in 2008 give the formerly cramped gardens a new, more expansive feel, showing off the world-class collection in world-class style. The pavilions are simple - arched, steel mesh screens mounted atop brick-red pillars, protecting the plants below but not distracting from them.

Five themed trails at Desert Botanical Garden each emphasize a different aspect of the Sonoran desert. The trails are short and mostly flat, and the Main Trail is paved in brick. Allow one to two hours for the main trail, and longer if you plan to follow all the trails or take lots of photographs.

The Desert Botanical Garden is open later than many other area attractions, allowing visitors to stroll in the gardens in late afternoon when things cool off and the animals get more active, something we highly recommend. If you're a bird-watcher as well as a gardener, you may want to bring binoculars and bird book to identify all the species you'll see.

The Desert Botanical Garden offers a variety of programs, including photography workshops, concerts, landscaping and gardening classes and annual plant sales.

If You Liked the Desert Botanical Garden, You May Also Like

International Rose Test Garden, Portland
Getty Center Gardens, Los Angeles
Denver Botanic Garden
The Arboretum at Flagstaff

Getting to the Desert Botanical Garden

Desert Botanical Garden
1201 North Galvin Parkway
Phoenix, AZ
(480) 941-1225
Desert Botanical Garden website

In Papago Park, on Galvin Parkway between McDowell Road and Curry Road/Washington Street
Avoid mid-day in summer heat