University of Alberta Botanic Garden

Had the pleasure of visiting this summer and was wowed twice. Firstly by the beautiful facility and setting, and secondly after being assisted by guest experience manager Diane. Her empathy and grace in dealing with visit was exceptional! Wish I could award her a sixth star and we will be back!

Nice scenery but lacking flowers and no butterflies yet again. Over priced and kinda disappointing.

Simply amazing. You will have a hard time believing you are in Alberta after a visit here.

Omg this was so beautiful and amazing, there were all kinds of flowers. There were different types of gardens where different plants grew. The two that stood the most to me was Aga Khan Garden and the Japanese garden. The Japanese garden even had different colours fishes and very small fishes aswell. It also had the Japanese bell which sounded amazing. Overall definitely recommend to go their. The price was pretty decent for what you get. You will enjoy it extra if you love botany and if u come with friends or family. Have fun!

The University of Alberta Botanic Garden, located near Edmonton, Alberta, is a beautiful and expansive garden that showcases a wide variety of plant collections, landscapes, and natural settings. The garden is affiliated with the University of Alberta and serves as a research and educational facility as well as a popular recreational destination.

Visitors to the garden can experience:

1. **Plant Collections**: The garden features diverse plant collections, including native and exotic species, ornamental gardens, alpine gardens, and more.

2. **Kurimoto Japanese Garden**: A serene Japanese garden with traditional elements like bridges, lanterns, and water features.

3. **Indigenous Garden**: Showcasing plants and landscapes significant to Indigenous cultures in Alberta.

4. **Aga Khan Garden**: A contemporary interpretation of Islamic landscape architecture, featuring geometric designs, water features, and plantings.

5. **Educational Programs**: The garden offers various educational programs, workshops, and events for visitors of all ages.

6. **Nature Trails**: Visitors can explore nature trails, wetlands, and enjoy scenic views throughout the garden.

Keep in mind that the availability of certain attractions, hours of operation, and admission fees might vary, so it's recommended to check the University of Alberta Botanic Garden's official website for the most up-to-date information before planning your visit.

This place is so great! I love seeing all the unique designs they have fitted all over the place. It’s an amazing place to spend a day at, Japanese garden is my favourite part, and all the fat goldfish.

Sorry to be a downer but this incredible, diverse, stunning property is now closed for winter. I'd give it 6 stars otherwise. See you again once the snow melts. I guarantee it.

Went on the last day open this year so I can only imagine how amazing it would look in full bloom:)

Went for dog day at the end of the season and it was a blast! Got to meet so many happy doggos and there was so much to explore!

We love this place and do not come enough! The kids were sceptical this time but had a blast and loved exploring all the different paths. The Japanese garden is beautiful and kept them entertained for a good 45 mins. The updated gardens and structures are sleek and provide amazing lines to photograph. Lots of spaces to spread out in and feel relaxed. Highly recommend!

Great experience! Music could have been expanded to other parks as well in the same vicinity. Some parts of the garden needs better upkeep!

Was wonderful being there. Peaceful, well organized and several types of gardens. Would be awesome to live there, if possible. I recommend this place, summer and or winter.

We did the twilight picnic experience. It was a really nice date night. We walked around first, saw the gardens and picked our spot, then spread our blanket by the pond and ate while the sun set. The showrooms are still closed, which was disappointing but understandable. The gardens are surprisingly dead/overgrown/under-cared-for. The architecture is nice, but the plants look like they've had a rough couple of years. I understand covid and drought, but I do believe the admission price should reflect how poorly the gardens are at this time and how much of it is closed/dead. The signage is also very confusing and mostly absent. I understand remodeling, but we paid $125 to wander around, asking each other "have we been this way? Where do we go next? Is there anything up that random path? What is that plant called? Or that one? Or any of them, really. "
The food was wonderful, we were really happy with all of it. I don't think it's a good value for the price, however.

Edit: I find the "response from owner" on many reviews to be condescending and don't address peoples' concerns. They point to the Japanses and Aga Khan gardens as being the best kept, but they are among the areas that I found disappointing. And they don't address many reviewers' concerns about the extreme overcharging. I'm not sure what the point of response is, except to try and discredit reviewers maybe? This was my experience and I share it to help others with their decision.

We had the picnic and meal they offer. The meal was delicious. We had problems with the wasps during our picnic so we ended up eating in our car after we tried several different spots outside but those damn wasps just kept following us. We still had a wonderful time walking around and seeing all the beautiful flower displays. This is one of my favorite spots in the world. We will back soon.

Lovely garden with long hours during summer. You can certainly spend a half day here easy. Highly recommend to bring food and drinks for a picnic. They also sell picnic basket when you buy tickets.

A great place to walk, enjoy a feast of beauty for the eyes. The Aga Khan retreat and the Japanese gardens are not to be missed.

Very nice garden, good for a nice escape not too far from city, good for wedding shoots, have a nice picnic while watching sunset. Ticket price a bit steep but it's worth seeing once. Very well manteined even if the grass was a bit dry. To see it all you need a couple of hours.

Always a pleasure and a pleasant experience. Thank you for the chance to bring our dogs. Beautiful gardens always a pleasure to be there

Was awesome visiting the garden looking around all kind of flowers, trees and plants but the most beautiful was the Japanese garden.

Nice for a walk around, bunch of things under construction when I was there. The Japanese garden is very nice and has a koi pond and you can touch the fish.

Such a cute place for a picnic! Really fun. I love that they come round with a drink cart, makes it alot more fun! Def try the botanical sound vibes yoga such an amazing experience!

Fantastic date space. We brought our little family and strolled around, showed our little one the coy fish up close. Lots of gardens and things to see. A decent walk, but good ramps for wheelchair access and really great change table space in all bathrooms.

Both the Japanese garden and the Islamic Mughal inspired garden were lovely to visit. Strolling the rest of the grounds with most flowers in full bloom was also great and very worthwhile.

Lovely. Quiet. This is a tough hot summer for outside; but there is still beauty. Lots of birds, many perennials for huge bumbles on which to feast. The fountain areas are lovely and refreshing. The gift shop is closed. It cost $4 to buy 2 cookies, so bring your own snacks! Take your time. Enjoy!

Live music is the only highlight this place has. They don't have many places to display plants, not as much as what you should expect for a decent "botanic garden". For places where they grow flowers, I would say 90% of them are withered up. Did you ever water your flowers, or you're counting on the beautiful Albertan summer sunshine to do their job? This is NOT a botanic garden, neither can it be called as a "garden", it's a jungle.

I visited just before noon and didn't have a reservation but since the garden wasn't busy they were able to let me in at the gate. The price was reasonable at 20 dollars as it takes about 2 hours to fully see everything. For people in wheelchairs and walkers the paths are navigable as most are paving stone or paved. Also plenty of benches to rest and take in the beautiful scenery and washrooms scattered around. Good for seniors. The Aga Khan pavilion is very beautiful. If you like gardens this is the place for you. Also there is a small patio Cafe serving food and drink reasonably priced.

The garden looks serene and refreshing. Well-maintained landscape, perfect for picnics, garden weddings and afternoon strolls. Some of the amenities were closed such as the butterfly garden and the bee line. Most of the roses were withered. However, the rest of the flowers were still in full bloom

What an amazing place to visit and walk for a couple hours! The gardens are marvelous, the staff is friendly, and its constantly improving and getting larger. I'll definitely be back, hopefully multiple times a year.

Le jardin aga Khan est sublime et mériterait 5 étoiles les autres sections du jardin ont toutefois besoin de soins.

Was a great place to go and relax and visit, loved the Japanese Garden.
We had a great time until about an hour in. Some large groups of guests for marriage photos and the like came and crowded the place, photographers blocked many nice views and bottles and garbage could be seen laying in many areas.
Wish we could have had a heads up about the photo groups before booking and coming in.
None the less it was a beautiful garden.

A disappointing visit.
Very expensive entrance fee.
Flower beds not attended. The excuse, it was a hot summer.
Unfortunately not a valid one, as St Albert garden, Nanton garden are in the same region, and the flowers are exquisite.
Aga Kahn garden looking better.
The Japanese garden a very sad similar story. No excuse as visiting a similar one in Lethbridge, the U of A one is in disarray.
The visit was a totally waste of time and money.

Magical experience. Really loved the water features of the Aga Khan Garden with its Chahar Bagh. The kids had fun ringing the bell in the Japanese Garden.

Spent a lovely evening, enjoying the most amazing Twilight picnic. The food was absolutely fantastic, offering a variety of locally sourced delicacies. I can highly recommend enjoying a lovely meal in in the beautiful Botanical Gardens.

Honestly it was a bit disappointing. Several areas were closed or under construction but it still cost $20 to get in. Though the Aga Khan area was beautiful and a newer addition from my last visit 5 or so years ago.

A great place to escape the "urban" bs. Seeing what nature could offer with all your senses.puts human pettiness to shame somehow. So many beautiful insects flying around too! Definitely worth a visit at least.

Thanks to all the hoomans who made/taking care of that place!

This place was an extremely beautiful and relaxing place to visit. My family and I really enjoyed how they incorporate varieties of plants from different regions of the world. This is a peaceful and relaxing place to spend your day if you come to the Edmonton area.

Twilight picnic was such a treat! The picnic boxes were such an adventure! My daughter wasn’t thrilled with everything in her box, but there was more than enough for her to eat and both meals were beautiful!

Beautiful! The best part was closed because of covid. They're reopening the butterfly place next year. My favorite was the Japanese gardens. Koi fish!

Amazing upgrades to the facilities and the gardens are beautiful place for a walk. Try the picnic basket if you get a chance.

Highly recommend the Gardens for any wedding ceremony! We got married in the Aga Khan amphitheatre and it was a perfectly private ceremony. Danielle and her team were so easy to work with, and they answered all of our questions - despite having a million of them. They were willing to work with us around the uncertain Covid summer restrictions, which made the whole process easier to handle. On the day of, they made sure that our area was blocked off from other visitors, and they were also fantastic in letting us store some of our ceremony decor overnight so our coordinator could do her thing. A beautiful location and a fantastic team to work with, it made our day absolutely perfect!

Matt & Chariti Wiles
Married June 26,2021

The new Aga Khan garden is now open and I had my first preview at the Christmas festival Luminaria. The ever popular Japanese garden doesn't disappoint even in winter. There are many festivals and events happening at the garden year round. I recommend this place for people who love green spaces.

We went to Luminaria and it was beautiful. I only have pictures on one side. The other side with the candles was amazing.

Went to Luminaria with my family on Friday night and I have to say I was very disappointed. I was expecting a lot of lights and just a wow factor that wasn't there. There were poorly lit paths and a couple of half-melted ice sculptures and a few hanging stars leading down a path to nothing. It was also extremely crowded. I definitely feel like it was a big waste of time and money. Go see the gardens in the spring/summer. They are beautiful then.

Not the greatest pictures of the calming beauty walking through the gardens. The volunteers where amazing, carolers, and many more. Loved it.

Luminaria exceeded expectations this eve. We were warmly welcomed as volunteers and thoroughly enjoyed our full day of set up and light up. Good exercise, great food, gracious people and a beautiful display of lights.thanks, Devonian Botanical Gardens and volunteer teams for making us feel so appreciated. We will be happy to see you again!

Our second time here but our first time at the repeat sold out event Luminaria. It was a perfect evening out to listen to carolers, stroll through candlelit pathways, sip on some hot apple cider, freeze at the ice sculptures to gaze at the stars and warming our hearts with the fire pits. It was also stroller friendly just as it was during like regular season. Definitely a small cute event to check out at least once.

Everything was great, except that there is no shuttle service or public transport - meaning it's quite inaccessible to those without private vehicles. Also would be nice to see (seasonally) items made from all the things grown here rather than the obsession that seems to have emerged for Chapman's ice cream, trucked in from Ontario - when so many local ice cream producers have emerged in AB. So, sustainability is still a question mark. Lots to learn though, between the Alpine gardens, Japanese garden, the Aga Khan garden, and so on.

Great collection of gardens to visit. Kurimoto Japanese garden was impressive. Something out of a martial arts movie. As well the Aga Khan garden was pretty amazing. The effort spent on the creation of symmetrical designs within this garden is quite spectacular. Definitely will return in a couple of years after the flowers have a chance to grow and fill out

Beautiful place! Worth the visit if you are around Edmonton! Great work keeping the place clean and awesome!

Very nice after the renovations, we spent the whole day in the gardens, make sure is not a hot or sunny day, you'll be walking a lot

Upgrades the past two years have really brought new life to this place. Great place to have a picnic and enjoy the beautiful grounds. Lots of events throughout the summer to enjoy

Took my nephews who are 5 & 8. They both had a great time especially in the butterfly house and Japanese garden. I was able to find two old digital cameras so they could take their own photos which they really enjoyed.

We were there for just shy of 3 hours and didn't even make it through half of the gardens. By then the little guys were tired of walking. They said they want to come back another time to see the rest.

All in all it was a great afternoon which was enjoyable for both myself and the boys. Great place for a date with the girlfriend / wife or for the whole family.

Always a pleasure going here. They did a huge renovation and now it's even better. Pack a lunch and bring the family for the day, you won't be disappointed.

Beautiful gardens and well manicured spot so close to Edmonton. Would be a wonderful place for a picnic or a great afternoon in the summer. Luminaria in the winter is also so wonderous and beautiful, definitely bring your family and loved ones!

Great place to spend a peaceful day walking the grounds, or relaxing amongst the foliage. The Aga Khan garden is stunning!

Must visit especially the Japanese Garden and Aga Khan Garden. Take guided tour to understand the aestheticness of gardens.

The renovations over the past couple of years has made the gardens a world class attraction. Good job!

This place is beautiful. Bring a blanket and watch the koi with some ice cream, or listen to the falls in the aga khan. I need a yearly pass!

This garden is absolutely stunning. The flowers, architecture and oaths are all amazing. Was a great experience and well spent evening!

This place is awesome since the U of A have taken it over. The staff are friendly and the place is very well kept and has expanded. This is a Hidden Gem in Edmonton if you love The Great Outdoors and beautiful gardens. We are planning to have our wedding here in 2019 and cannot wait, it's going to be beautiful!

Was there about two weeks ago, I was expecting a lot more flowers and exotic plants, but it's mostly trees and shrubs. The middle part where the water flows was just okay. For me, it's not worth the fee. I didn't even bother taking pictures as it didn't really impress me. Sure it's good to take a long walk but I'm coming from Ontario so I guess I had higher expectations. I will not return.

***Maybe add some topiaries?

Nice place you visit in the summer. Prepare to spend 2-3 hours there. Not very impressed with the Khan Garden through, too mordern for this place

Aga Khan Garden is a must see. It is truly beautiful and will only get better as the garden grows in.