Cornell Botanic Gardens
Cornell Botanic Gardens
4.5
11:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Tuesday
11:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Wednesday
11:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Thursday
11:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Friday
11:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Saturday
11:00 AM - 4:00 PM
About
Cornell Botanic Gardens inspires people - through the cultivation of 150 acres of specialty gardens, conservation of plants and 3400 acres of natural areas, and the education of lifelong learners - to understand, appreciate, and nurture plants and the cultures they sustain. The botanic gardens are located at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY and are open year-round, dawn to dusk, free of charge. The Nevin Welcome Center and Gift Shop is open Mon, Tues, Wed, Thu, and Sun 9:00 - 5:00 p.m. Fri - Sat 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Duration: 1-2 hours
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
372 reviews
Excellent
279
Very good
85
Average
6
Poor
2
Terrible
0
Catherine S
North Hero, VT18 contributions
Jul 2024 • Couples
These gardens were the best of their kind I have ever visited. The herb garden, especially, was beautifully laid out with many, many species and varieties. Each of the plants was labeled with its name and use in cooking, dyeing,, or as a medicinal herb.
The flower gardens were inspiring and included species and varieties for every Northern garden habitat. Because it was so hot and humid when I visited, I went early in the morning and left before the visitor center opened, so can't comment on it. The arboretum was vast with ponds and many tree species in groups such as oak, beech, and others, all laid out with pleasant walkways.
Maps with good directions were available for free in locations throughout the arboretum. It would have been nice to have the common names as well as the Latin on the trees. I would definitely recommend the gardens as must-see for any plant lover.
The flower gardens were inspiring and included species and varieties for every Northern garden habitat. Because it was so hot and humid when I visited, I went early in the morning and left before the visitor center opened, so can't comment on it. The arboretum was vast with ponds and many tree species in groups such as oak, beech, and others, all laid out with pleasant walkways.
Maps with good directions were available for free in locations throughout the arboretum. It would have been nice to have the common names as well as the Latin on the trees. I would definitely recommend the gardens as must-see for any plant lover.
Written July 11, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Maltipoo16
New York1,794 contributions
May 2024 • Friends
Extremely beautiful gardens! This is one of the biggest gardens that I’ve ever seen on a college campus. It’s walkable, but also drivable, with places to park in each section. It’s extremely pet friendly and has lots of beautiful spring blooms!
Written June 28, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Michael K
San Jose, CA1,108 contributions
Oct 2023 • Couples
This is a huge garden. Make sure to pick up a map at the Visitor Center. How much you can explore depends on your energy and how much time you have. We spent about an hour just wandering in the herb garden and surrounding area. What we saw were very interesting although in October not many flowers are in bloom.
Written October 23, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Allen220
Englewood, NJ7 contributions
Aug 2023 • Family
This was one of the nicest gardens we have ever visited, nicely laid out, with several places to sit.
Written August 20, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
RebeccaMinNJ
New Jersey1,243 contributions
Jul 2023 • Family
After hiking a more strenuous trail earlier in the day, we wanted to walk around somewhere scenic & "flat". This was perfect! You don't need to know much about plants to enjoy the lovely gardens.
Written August 1, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hgtravl
Marlton, NJ2,845 contributions
Jul 2023 • Couples
While visiting Ithaca, stopping by the stunning Cornell University is a must! This college has a stunning botanic garden that is free to visit! The entire campus is stunning with nature scattered about the historic buildings. We enjoyed our drive thru the campus to get to the botanic garden. They have a nice sized parking lot & then you get out & venture around. The botanic gardens is free, you just have to pay a small parking lot fee which is $1.50 a hour I think but the system was down when we arrived- so we did not even have to pay for the lot. Lots of stunning plants, flowers & trees to check out. I like how everything was labeled so you do get a learning experience with the beauty.
We walked around for about a hour & got to see a LOT. You can easily spend a couple hours here if you pace yourself & take your time. We did not have a lot of time to spend here but enjoyed our visit.
We walked around for about a hour & got to see a LOT. You can easily spend a couple hours here if you pace yourself & take your time. We did not have a lot of time to spend here but enjoyed our visit.
Written July 11, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Carol Ann J
Germantown, NY2,731 contributions
Oct 2022
Cornell Botanic Gardens are beautiful and well cared for. There is a variety of different plants, and the flowers were colorful and lovely.
Written October 17, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Cheri D
Yardville, NJ473 contributions
Aug 2022
So much to see here. Just beautiful. The visitor center was closed when we visited so we walked the grounds. The herb garden is a wonder! So many different herbs planted in raised beds sectioned off into different categories. We also walked a little bit of the trails and then drove to the arboretum. We did a drive through and stopped at the pond and a lookout point, which had a beautiful view of Ithaca and the surrounding areas. You could probably spend 2 days alone in total in the gardens if you want to walk every trail and all the grounds. We also walked the trail around Beebe Lake and to Triphammer Falls.
Written September 27, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
jmgrier
Marlborough, MA110 contributions
Sep 2022 • Couples
We only toured the arboretum, which is just the top of the iceberg. It was dog friendly and the paved paths were pretty good for our stroller. We enjoyed watching the fish and turtles in the pond.
Written September 20, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
NieSam
Maine940 contributions
Jun 2022
This garden is beautiful and I was surprised that there was no charge to visit. We were fortunate to visit when the perennials were starting to flower and while the peonies were blooming. We’d just missed the rhododendrons.
Sections were differentiated well and were easy to step back to if an area was crowded. I’d be hard pressed to pick a favorite area as they were all beautiful. They were also well labeled!
The shade/ground covers were beautifully grouped and well maintained. The herb garden was delightful as was the hillside garden. I was surprised at how gorgeous the 'winter garden' was even in summer. The variety of shapes and textures was amazing! I regret not having stopped here in the past!
Sections were differentiated well and were easy to step back to if an area was crowded. I’d be hard pressed to pick a favorite area as they were all beautiful. They were also well labeled!
The shade/ground covers were beautifully grouped and well maintained. The herb garden was delightful as was the hillside garden. I was surprised at how gorgeous the 'winter garden' was even in summer. The variety of shapes and textures was amazing! I regret not having stopped here in the past!
Written August 27, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Is it pet friendly? May we bring our well behaved dog on leash?
Written March 29, 2017
It is. We just ask that you and your pet stay on all pathways, and you make sure to carry out any waste.
Written March 29, 2017
Is there anything in bloom the middle of April?
Written February 26, 2017
Depends on the flower, but yes, there should be some pretty ones, according to locals. Check out the article 'Finding Spring Wildflowers' on Ithaca . com.
Written February 26, 2017
It could be cold and wet...but def. a jacket/heavy sweater. It also could be brilliant and colorful. Prepare for weather (rain) and be pleasantly surprised. Temperatures could be mid 60s...with cooler (40s) at night.
Written September 17, 2016
October is usually a wonderful weather month. Fall can be hot or cool. It's definitely a mixed package. Sometimes we get 'Indian Summer' and it's in the 80's. Usually days are 60's but it gets really cool at night. We also start anticipating a frost so flowers and vegetables gardens start to worry us. Fall festivals are starting such as the Apple Festival in Lafayette, NY (Columbus Day Weekend). I always suggest wearing layers.
Written September 19, 2016
Yes if you like to walk around and see the fall leaf changes but more spectacular is a drive along Cayuga lake - Breath taking that time of the year, plus visit a few wineries on the way !
Written September 30, 2015
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