Santa Barbara Botanical Garden, Santa Barbara

The Botanical Gardens is a great excuse to escape the city and venture into the mountains. It's a wonderful to just walk through and see all the nature surrounding this beautiful town. The views are great and the flowers are just as beautiful. Whenever I come to SB, I always try and get up there and see what's new. I also stay at The Sandman Inn (www.thesandmaninn.com). Located on State street, it's just a short drive away from the Botanical Gardens, and after a long day walking around, a swim in a one of their great pools is just ticket!

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Ernst was off to work and we were ready to head up the California coast after three very pleasant and relaxing days in Santa Barbara but we just couldn't leave that easily. It was early in the morning and I wanted to grab some more photos of the Mission in a different light. We noted on the map that the Mission was not far from Santa Barbara's Botanical Gardens. We were members of our local Botanical Gardens Society and it had reciprocal arrangements with Gardens around the US. Santa Barbara was one of the participating members so we figured we would go check it out. We were glad we did as the grounds were very nice and we got some great photos of hummingbirds while there. Normal admission is $8 and while it might not be the first place I would go while in town, if on an extended stay in Santa Barbara, it is well worth visiting.

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The Botanical Garden is for nature lovers, the people that can identify plant life, trees, and differnt rock formations. It is a nice little hike that is in a loop formation. You will pass through redwood trees, small waterfalls, bridges, and the like. Also some canyon formations and wildlife as well. My only problem I had with this excursion is the map layout, very confusing as far as what trail to follow. No signs to follow. Other tourists had trouble as well. But aside from this, a very healthy hike with much to see and only takes an hour or so of your time.

Beautiful!! This garden is amazing. They have a huge collection of all the different biomes in California. A chaparral section, cayon, island, desert etc... I never thought i would be able to enjoy such a place with no knowledge of plants and such, but it was so cool!

This is a gem - it's 65 acres of natural California vegetation. Great for being outside on a nice day (lots of them here). There are specfic sections - desert, mountain, coastal, island etc. representing the many different climates and terrains in CA. If you're here in the spring, make sure you visit the Porter trail across the road from the main entrance - it's a bit hilly, but the flowers in bloom and birds will delight!