Sarah P. Duke Gardens

This is a beautiful property with parking lots that are well-​planned. The gardens are awesome. Great place to stroll, and very romantic. I was there on Memorial Day holiday 2016, and unfortunately the main building and gift shop were closed. I would go back again. Lovely place.

Beautiful gardens to walk around on a nice Spring or Summer day! You do pay for parking, but for a minimal price (like $ 1 for every half hour). We walked around for 1.5−2 hrs, which felt like plenty. We saw the Asiatic gardens (Chinese, Japanese), historic garden, rose garden, and the lawn where people picnic. Our favorite part of our adventure were the cuteeee ducklings with their mom in the pond, and the turtles! Lots of wildlife – birds, turtles, swans, etc… a great spot to take prom, wedding, and graduation photos, too, apparently. Although there were a lot of people while we were there, still a lovely spot for a walk!

Give yourself plenty of time to walk through all the beautiful Gardens. It’s usually a dollar per 30 minutes for parking. There are benches/​restrooms throughout the Gardens as well as a refreshment café open til 4 pm. At the entrance is an information center and a gift shop. These gardens are so beautiful and have a variety of flowers and plants to display. The koi pond is peaceful to observe.

Looking for an awesome new place to visit this spring/​summer? Head to the Duke gardens for a wonderful afternoon. This is my to go to place when out of towners are visiting and the weather is nice. The gardens are beautiful and you could spend hours walking around here. The parking is easy, but you do have to pay to park. It’s worth the trip! As soon as you walk into the gardens from the parking lot, you are greeted with lots of colorful trees, plants, and a huge pretty fountain.
I was at the gardens this past weekend and the timing was perfect since everything was in bloom. The colors were vibrant and the tulips were so pretty. The garden is well organized and different color flowers are grouped together. Definitely take your time walking down different paths of the gardens and make sure you have a camera on you. This is certainly a popular spot to take engagement photos or wedding pictures so you’ll probably spot this happening.
I would suggest bringing a blanket and spending the whole afternoon here. It’s a perfect spot to read a book or do homework if you’re still in school. Bring some food as well and have a picnic outside. Once you go to the gardens once, you’ll definitely want to venture back again!

Besides a few dollars to park, the grounds are FREE to visit! Hello amazament. I love all botanical gardens and any opportunity to be outside and in nature. The grounds are beautifully maintained and there are endless flowers/​trees/​plant life. There are plenty of benches and sitting areas, an on site café (Super tasty iced coffee) and not too steep of hills. Definitely a must do when in the area.

Beautiful place to take a walk/​picnic/​admire nature and flowers. We lucked out and were able to visit on a 80 degree day. Our toddler did not want to leave! The flowers in the historic garden are absolutely beautiful and the whole walk is very peaceful.

Our family was showing us around the campus and took us on a walk around the gardens. We only say a portion, but it was amazingly beautiful.
It was so relaxing to walk through the grounds. We had to get going, but I could have kept exploring and I am not much of a botanical garden fan.

Sometimes in a photo of an eatery or landscape, the photographer manages to snag the perfect shot of the place, showing it off from the best angle. When you actually arrive at the location, you can see where the shot was taken and admire the view from there, but acknowledge that there’s slightly less of a «wow» factor when you’re casually walking through the place.
This is not the case for the Sarah P. Duke Gardens. Duke has one of the most beautiful gardens that I’ve seen, with a tremendous variety of plant species. It is my favorite spot on campus to relax and you’ll often see people playing in the grass or lazing on a beach towel, enjoying a sunny afternoon. It’s not unusual for photographers to come here to take pictures of the scenery, or even to have photo shoots here for their subjects.
There are different sections to the Gardens (they’re actually separate gardens with different themes) with unique plants and flowers. There is a gift shop near the entrance to the Gardens, as well as a small shop near the gazebo area that sells ice cream and other snacks. While I greatly enjoy being in the Gardens, I wouldn’t be able to study here. There’s just too many beautiful sights to admire.

The Duke Gardens are one of my favorite places to go to get away from the daily traffic of my regular commute. I like to go and read or simply walk around. Stick to the main trails or get lost in the less traveled ones.
Pay for parking by the half hour, free if you go later in the day it is nice for a leisurely day. In the spring and fall there are Wednesday concerts and other events and if you are lucky you may see a lucky bride taking her wedding pictures.
It gets VERY busy during the summer but it is also HOT. So spring and fall are my favorite times to go. Make sure to stop by the ducks and the carnivorous plants are my favorite :)

Beautiful Gardens definitely a must see!
admission is free you just have to pay for parking which is only a couple dollars.
Really peaceful setting beautiful ponds, waterfalls and incredible gardens.
go check it out you won’t be disappointed!

Bottom Line: Fifty-​five acres of beautiful, peaceful and mesmerizing gardens.
The Sarah P. Duke Gardens is a beautiful place to stop and smell the roses, both literally and figuratively. It would be easy to spend several hours here strolling about, but if you only have a brief moment to spend here, be sure to check out the historic terraced garden and fish pond. If you want to see what’s new, venture over to the new Chinese Garden and adjacent amphitheater. One of my favorite gardens was the Japanese Garden but I sure wish I had checked out the Rock Garden (since I don’t have a green thumb that is a garden to which I can relate!) and the Carnivorous Plant Garden (I would be totally disappointed if Audrey II wasn’t there exclaiming «Feed me Seymour.»). All jokes aside, this historic garden is amazing and pristine.
Being a public garden, there is no admission price but visitors must pay to park.

Duke Gardens is a must-​see destination when you’re in Durham for good reason. These grounds are beautiful and meticulously well-​kept. I know plenty of girls who’ve dreamt of getting married in the picturesque Gardens — and there are so many different spots to do so too! The terrace! The pond! The pergola!
I’ve only gone here during the winter and it was STILL gorgeous! It’s so nice to just stroll through the different areas of the gardens. there’s even a whole side dedicated to asiatic plants, which includes the pristine Japanese garden. I was actually surprised to find out that you can bring your dog here too (on leash of course) so that was cool.
I did take one star off because it’s a shame that you have to pay for parking here! Makes it a little more of a hassle and turn-​off to come visit.

I’ve been to Sarah P. Duke Gardens twice — nine years ago in the spring when the tulips were in bloom (I still love the photos I took of my then 7yo among the tulips), and again this late summer. Taking visiting family to the gardens is always a nice treat and shouldn’t be missed.
There’s something for everyone:
1. the grassy knoll for picnics
2. the terrace gardens that change out with the seasons
3. garden of native plants that offer trails that lead to quiet seating within the trees
4. the asiatic arboretum
5. discovery garden for kids
The gardens offer so many beautiful spots for wedding photos, senior portraits or even family photos shots professionally.
Walking the gardens will give you a nice workout. Each visit brings something new. Next time, I’d like to take advantage of the guided walking tour to learn the history of the gardens, or the Japanese tea program. Like I said, there’s something for everyone.

Every time I go, I’m impressed! We had our maternity photos done here in April and the tulips were brightly in bloom. This go around we did a golf cart tour which was great to learn more of the history and see the different spaces. They featured lots of varieties of elephant plants. The coolest part was the Discovery Garden where local schoolkids can learn more about local produce, composting, and saving water by using rain barrels. Overall this is a hit!

I have been here in all seasons. It never gets old. Every time I visit, it looks completely different! Some flowers are blooming that weren’t before. Or I notice a different path I didn’t take before! On Easter Sunday I attended a church service on the lawn that seemed to combine both Easter and the excitement of spring into one! Everytime an out-​of-​towner visits me, Sarah P Duke Gardens is top of the list!

If it wasn’t for Unilocal,we would have missed this gem of a place. So thanks Unilocal!And thanks everyone who contributes with the great reviews and tips.
If you are in the area, or up for a drive, this place is so worth it. You’ll enjoy it!

Duke Gardens is intriguing. I didn’t make it to the iconic red bridge yet, because there was almost too much to see and I got there late in the day.
I liked that there is free parking on major Holidays at all, nor after 5pm, and that it is open til dusk. What I didn’t like about Duke Gardens was only a few minor things. For one, some of the elevations and gravelly terrains were more difficult than other botanical gardens I had visited in the past. However, it is a beautiful walk for exercise!
One other aspect of Duke Gardens that I found to be less than ideal was their inappropriate labelling of some of the plants and trees. To me, it just seemed as though the labels had been put in place too long ago, and that they should be maintained more regularly to reflect the actual layout of the gardens.
A tiny gift shop packed in a wide array of reasonably priced plants, kids items, and Duke fandom apparel.

It’s beautiful, absolutely beautiful.
Perfect place to take fancy pictures, go on a cute date, enjoy nature, all of that.
Go in the spring when all of the flowers are blooming oh so perfectly~
It’s a large garden so you’ll have plenty to look at!
Everything is placed so beautifully– there are pretty fountains and bridges along the way as well.
I can’t remember how much parking is but it’s free after 5 pm!

Without a doubt, this is now one of my favorite places! I might be biased though, because this is where my fiancé proposed to me last weekend! :) We went on Saturday morning around 10:30AM. When we arrived, we noticed that there were a lot of people lined up to pay for parking BUT the sign said that you did not have to pay for parking until 1PM. So read the sign and save yourself a couple of dollars!
We looked at the map before going in to the gardens and I had no idea that it was so big! We decided on venturing through the Historic Gardens (little did I know that he was completely manipulating me to his proposal spot). The gazebo looking out at the fountains and the pond with the fish is gorgeous. There were lots of people milling about and taking pictures. There is also a little café that you can get drinks and snacks in the cool shade. Then we went into a big open field which is perfect for families to play or to have a picnic OR to get proposed to! Favorite spot ever! There are trees and benches on the outskirts that provide some shade and they are also good for concealing friends who were taking pictures!
We continued to walk around after and explore more of the gardens. Looks like there are some baby chicks coming there this summer which would be great for little kids to watch! There is so much to do and I can’t wait to keep going back! Looks like this might be the perfect spot for an engagement photo session!

My favorite spot on Duke’s campus. I believe Duke University has the most beautiful campus hands down, not only due to these amazing gardens, but all the trees and the red brick walls for certain buildings. It’s just so quaint and cozy.
I could literally spend a whole day in these gardens. There’s so many different sections. It’s ginormous! There’s a nice green grassy field that’s clear, if you wanted to sun bathe, have picnics, play with your dog or play frisbee. There’s so much you can do! There’s also steps and steps of tulips during the spring that leads up to this cute gazeebo, which if you can at the right time, will have vines and vines of flowers draping from it.
There’s also a cute little café here too where you can get ice cream or coffee to enjoy nature.
This place is a must if you ever find yourself near Duke’s campus.