Zilker Botanical Gardens:

Zilker Botanical Garden is located on 28 acres nestled within Zilker Metropolitan Park in the heart of downtown Austin. This “jewel in the heart of Austin” features heritage live oaks set into a hillside, and offers a lush, shady respite from everyday urban life with panoramic views to downtown and beyond. Theme gardens include the Taniguchi Japanese Garden, The Riparian Streamed, The Hartman Prehistoric Garden, and The Mabel Davis Rose Garden. These and other gardens are woven together with pathways, streams, and Koi-filled ponds, creating an urban oasis full of shaded hideaways, sunny lawn areas, and thousands of native and cultivated plants.

Zilker Botanical Garden is managed as a public-private partnership between the City of Austin Parks & Recreation Department (PARD) and the Zilker Botanical Garden Conservancy (ZGBC). Through an agreement between the Conservancy and the Austin Area Garden Council, AAGC brings the resources of its 30 garden clubs to this partnership.

Zilker Botanical Garden is open to the public most days year-round and is enjoyed by over 300,000 visitors each year, including locals, tourists, and thousands of school children from Austin and the surrounding communities.
The common thread that unites PARD, ZBGC, and AAGC is the shared commitment to the vision for a garden that is the heart and soul of our community. Though the faces and names may have changed over the years, what remains is a legacy of leadership, stewardship and volunteerism.

Tours:

Zilker Botanical Garden is not able to offer guided programs as of March 10, 2021. We are gradually increasing capacity and options for visitors as it is deemed safe to do so based on recommendations by Austin Public Health and the Parks and Recreation Department, and look forward to reinstating guided programs in the near future.

Teachers/leaders are welcome to bring their groups for a self-guided visit, keeping in mind group size limits of 10 individuals (which includes leaders as well as participants). So, if you have a group of 8 students/youth and want to bring 4 adults, you would need to subdivide into two groups for your visit to keep within the group limits. Please check back for updates and safely enjoy your visit.

Zilker Botanical Garden