UBC Botanical Garden

Trees are amazing! They are old and the garden on both sides of the street is well taken care of. A group of 10 went on the catwalk from as young as 6 years to 50 year old. WE all enjoyed it very much and the catwalk above the forest is well designed and safe.
Diversity of trees and shrubs very nice.

I went with a groupon deal, and it was so great! The gardens are lush and beautiful, and the canopy walk was so fun. It’s a lot more extensive than I had thought from the pictures. Our group of 11 really enjoyed this garden and walk.

This was one of our highlights on our 1^st Anniversary weekend getaway. We spent 4 hours here enjoying all of the little aspects and beautiful things this botanical garden has to offer — and there are many things indeed! I took so many really terrific photos.
The suspension bridge was a little scary, but the amazing foliage, flowers, amphitheater and serenity of some of the gardens more than made up for the bridge experience. I’m a scaredy-​cat anyway and have a slight fear of heights, but my husband loved the bridge.
We cant wait to visit Vancouver again!!! University of BC Botanical gardens will be on the list to check out again!

I guess your appreciation will depend on the season you visit it. If you don’t know too much about plants and flowers, it is a huge place that you will enjoy strolling but wonder why you have to pay for admission. They recently added a canopy walk to try and boost their image, but it is a short one that is not really worth the (additional) price of admission in my opinion…

I was very surprised that this place gets less traffic than all other Vancouver attractions, because, in my opinion, it is one of the best out there.
Its length is only 310 meters, however, it feels much longer. The walking boards are secured to the tall fir trees with metal cables, and they swing up and down, and to the sides, as you walk on them. Some of the trees, Douglas firs, Grand firs, and Red cedars are 100+ years old. The walkway is only wide enough for one person, so everyone is moving in a single file. This is not much of an issue, as long as everyone is moving at a similar pace.
The walkway is located within UBC Gardens, so you have to pay the $ 24 admission for the garden+walkway entry, or a little less if you want to visit just the gardens. There are guided tours to join (which do not cost anything extra), or you can walk at your own pace.
What surprised me, is that there are no security cameras (usually, there is one on every corner in such attractions, mainly for liability). And, as such, the absence of 1984-​esque «Your every move is being filmed» signs, makes the teenagers go a little crazy. I have witnesses 4 guys jumping their hardest at the second to the last portion, and, even though it felt like we were on Paris Hilton’s waterbed, the cables did not snap, which was reassuring.
The gardens are a nice walk for a sunny day, too (though, I doubt we would have much more of those until the next summer). They have created a ton of micro-​floras, showing what the mountains look like in certain areas. The gardens have different fruit trees and vegetable plants.

I bought a Groupon for the canopy walk which included admission to the garden and it’s a lovely place. There were signs and descriptions of many plants and had so many diverse plants. The canopy walk was definitely fun and worth it. We walked it twice and could have done more but we were on a time constraint itinerary. Anyway, the only complaint is that we had to pay for parking which was not too bad.

Got a deal thru Groupon for combo admission to the Botanical Gardens and Canopy Walk. It’s a very nice spot, and if you’ve got visitors from out of province or overseas, it’s a great place to show them a typical West Coast Rain Forest.
Parking was free, it wasn’t too crowded (10 AM on a mid-​August Friday morning), and it’s not an long or exhausting walk at all.
I would recommend these gardens even if it’s raining (not in a downpour though) as it would actually enhance the experience.

If you want to learn about native plants in British Columbia and ecosystems then this may be the best bet. They also have a shop where you can buy native plants.

Compared to nearby Pacific Spirit Park, the Botanical Gardens can seem overpriced for a walk in nature. However, the Gardens do offer guided and self-​guided tours where you can actually learn about the plants and trees around you.
Some other highlights:
–You can also pretend you’re an ewok by walking through the treetops.
–There is a douglas fir there known as the «eagle tree» because there are two residential eagles always perched on the top most branches.
–The tunnel that connects the two different sections of the gardens has great acoustic for singing your favourite song.
–The apple festival happens here every fall which offers reduced entrance fee to the gardens and all the apples you can eat.
Bonus:
–Admissions during the winter is by donation, even though the canopy walk is closed for the winter, this is a good way to check out the gardens to see if you want to come back in the spring and summer.

I took my parents and aunt and uncle from Ontario here today. The day started with the Greenheart Canopy walk. The walk was really quite informative. Our guide, Matt, was really quite passionate and was very well informed. He took time and was respectful of everyone’s abilities. I should say that my aunt and uncle are now seniors and were able to go. I think if they knew ahead of time they might have thought twice about how wobbly it was, but they did just great, and were happy to have gone.
They love nature and it wasnt a hike, but a nice stroll through the forest. The Asian gate was really a highlight and walking through the culvert was fun. On the other side it was an alpine presentation of plants which was quite remarkable to see at sea level. It’s worth a look. I loved the plants behind the yew hedge that described traditional remedies.
We then went to Natobe Garden where the zen was superb. The pond and bridge and house were very well kept and well done. Some students were studying there too. So worth seeing!

A picture says a thousand words and I didn’t take any.
Sorry.
I actually came here as part of the 2013 «Tourism Challenge» which, for those of you who don’t know what it is, it’s for people working in the tourism industry to get to know what tourists experience. So we know more about the great attractions in our great city and the outlying areas.
Ok, so after I got past the gate with my new map in hand, I wandered in tranquil beauty and saw many different plants. some from North America, some from Australia, Japan, and China. Other places, too.
There were not many people there in early May, even on a sunny day.
A few couples, one other lone women, a group of children on a school trip, & later, on my way out, a gaggle of college kids (I think with their teacher) took forever to clear the front gates.
So, right off the bat, the fact of its population gives it points over Stanly Park. Its not really for kids… not that kids wouldn’t and dont have fun there. its just more for quiet reflection. I doubt many TAKE their kids, which is nice if your looking for peace and quiet.
It has different areas, it’s VERY large, and it gives you a feeling as if your almost alone, yet its safe, I ran into a groundskeeper, i would see people just through the trees, but rarely did we intersect each others experience.
I also took the tree walk, in which metal and rope walkways have been erected up on some trees and you get a tour, telling you a bit about the history of trees, and habits ect. Its kind of exciting. Ok, I guess it helps that my tour guide was a cute student.
I want to return — I see myself going back and taking time to enjoy different parts _​i felt I had to see EVERYTHING on my 1^st trip there, and feel i would more enjoy less, but for longer times.
You owe it to yourself to at least go once!

Simply beautiful place to come.sit.relax.think.

This is more so for the Apple Festival rather than the gardens itself. I need to get out to the UBC Botanical Garden again when the weather is better to really get a feeling for the gardens.
We went to the Apple Festival and I was kind of dissapointed buy the whole thing. For a festival it is quite boring with not much going on. I did enjoy when we were leaving and it was time to go buy some apples. The volunteers where so knowledgeable about all of the varieties that were up for grabs. It is amazing to know that there are that many varieties of apples.

So awesome! The UBC Botanical Garden is a great family outing, or for a quiet wander in the afternoon.
I love going for the annual UBC Apple Festival, and the various plant sales. I have also gone on the Greenhearts Canopy Walkway which is fun, but not for those with a fear of heights or mobility/​accessibility issues. I keep meaning to go for some of their workshops like wreath-​making or transplanting trees.

In spite of the gross weather, I managed to talk myself into/​through my weather discouragement and took the long 3 hour round trip down to UBC to the botanical gardens for the 2012 Apple Fest. During the long ride I appreciated looking at the trees sprinkled with red leaves, changing for the fall. At first glance at the festival, it didn’t seem like much other than an apple cider demo, a museum of apples from all around the world and an apple market, however, the patience of walking along the garden path to other activities including an apple tasting made the entire festival worth it. The $ 4 entrance fee was well worth it and extremely cheap compared to other events in the city. It was well organized with signs everywhere. The walk through the botanical gardens had some of the apple trees listed with information. If you love gardening in general, this place was peaceful heaven. I ate so many apples that I felt sick. The bus ride home with my motion sickness didn’t help much. I tried hard not to make apple sauce in my lap during the ride home.

*3/​30*
The botanical gardens are a great place to visit if you like nature, but you don’t really like hiking. The very gentle walks are lined with a beautiful assortment of trees, shrubs and other plants, mostly ornamentals. It’s beautiful in the spring and summer when all the flowers come out.
The Greenheart canopy walk is definitely worth checking out. It wouldn’t recommended it for those with mobility issues or a fear of heights, though! It’s similar to the Capilano canopy walk, but not as high up and much more rickety. Tours are included in the price or you can walk it self-​guided. If you’re interested in a canopy walk I’d definitely suggest coming here — it’s less expensive and less crowded. It also only takes about 1.5 hours to complete a pretty extensive walk around the gardens as well as the canopy walk.
UBC students also get free admission to the gardens and $ 9 admission to the canopy walk, so it’s a great place to de-​stress when you need to take a break from the marathon studying sessions.

A lovely place to wander around and enjoy the solitude of the gardens on an ordinary day.
On a weekend such as this weekend, when they hold the UBC Apple Festival, it is far from quiet. But what a lovely way to use the gardens to sell some 44,000 pounds of apples, some 2,800 gigantic slices of pie. (We were lucky enough to get the first two slices on Saturday morning!!!)
Childrens area, vendors, displays, fruit and fruit tree sales, pocket pies, grafting seminars, cider, musicians. Was so much fun we decided to visit both days. If you missed out, I still recommend the gardens as a lovely way to spend a few hours. We visit a few times a year, and are going to try to make «Apple Pie Breakfast» at the Apple Festival and annual event.

Maybe I’m spoiled by living in the West End, but I thought the combination of the Stanley Park Rose Gardens, the several community gardens, and the various landscaping on people’s homes actually beats the UBC Botanical Garden… and they are all free! All is not lost as I do still believe it is worth a trip to go see, just temper your expectations.

Tucked away on the edge of UBC off of Marine Drive, is a wonderful place for botanists to get lost in. I got a groupon deal on this one which included the canopy walk, which scared the crap out of me. The canopy did not feel sturdy, and i felt like i could easily lose balance and topple over the thin netting. i am sure they tested this out (i hope). It’s an extra $ 10 to do the canopy walk without the groupon which i felt was a little bit pricey. The rest of it was very relaxing and peaceful. It is quite a diverse garden. What i really enjoyed was the rammed earth wall area where you could sit and chill out … which you could do anywhere here really.

The botanical gardens at UBC are a perfect way to escape the concrete jungle and lose yourself on a sunny afternoon. The gardens are quite large and take you through a range of different landscapes where you can see everything from cacti to herbs to gumtrees. Within the garden also lies the Greenhart canopy walk which is a 300m walk that takes you high into the pacific coastal rainforest canopy. The walk is not for those with vertigo as the walkway bounces and sways with every step and a special thanks to the two people who though it was fun to jump up and down and shake the entire walkway. I feel bad now that I was secretly hoping the cables would snap, just to teach them a lesson. Aside from that the gardens were an immensely relaxing experience and well worth the trip out to UBC.