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Hours

We are open daily, starting at 7:30am. The Garden closes one hour after last entry. Last entry changes seasonally:

Last entry: Fall & Winter
October through early November : Last entry at 5pm.
1st Sunday in November through January : Last entry at 4pm.
February through 2nd Saturday in March : Last entry at 5pm.

Last entry: Spring & Summer
2nd Sunday in March through September : Last entry at 6pm.

The Helen Crocker Russell Library of Horticulture is open 10am–4pm; closed Tuesdays and major holidays. The Garden Bookstore and Arbor are open daily, 10am–4pm; closed on major holidays.

Admission

Admission is FREE for all Members, School Groups, and San Francisco City & County Residents (with proof of residency).

A California driver license or ID showing your SF address is best for proof of residency. A recent utility bill, lease, or other official documentation showing your SF address as well as a photo ID is acceptable too. Digital proof on your smart phone (i.e. photo of your ID, screenshot of your utility bill) is acceptable.

Admission for non-residents is as follows:

  • $8.00 – Adults
  • $6.00 – Youth 12-17 and Seniors 65 and over
  • $2.00 – Children 5-11
  • FREE – Children 4 and under
  • $18.00 – Families (2 adults and all children under 17 residing in the same household)

Free Days

  • Daily 7:30–9am
  • Second Tuesday of every month
  • Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, New Years Day

Location

San Francisco Botanical Garden is located in Golden Gate Park, near the corner of Ninth Avenue and Lincoln Way. For your convenience, there are two entrances, a Main Gate on Ninth Avenue, just inside the Park, and a North Gate on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, just steps from the Japanese Tea Garden, De Young Museum, California Academy of Sciences and Stowe Lake. It is served by several public transit routes such as the 44, N-Judah, 71 and 5. Bike parking is available at both the Main and North entrances. Use the ‘Get Directions’ feature on Google Maps or visit the 511 Trip Planner website to plan your trip.

About

Welcome to San Francisco Botanical Garden, a living museum within Golden Gate Park, offering 55 acres of both landscaped gardens and open spaces, showcasing over 8,000 different kinds of plants from around the world.

The Bay Area’s mild temperatures, wet winters and dry summers, coupled with San Francisco’s famous coastal fog, provide a range of climatic conditions that exist in few other botanical gardens in the world. These unique conditions allow it to grow and conserve plants from all over the globe, including plants that are no longer found in their native habitats.

With its unique microclimate, San Francisco Botanical Garden is able to recreate conditions of the high elevation tropical cloud forests of Central and South America and Southeast Asia. Rare high elevation palms as well as plants from New Zealand and temperate Asia also thrive here. Largely due to these natural advantages, San Francisco Botanical Garden is known for its unique, diverse and significant botanical collections. The extensive Magnolia collection, for example, attracting visitors with its dazzling display of winter flowers, is recognized as the world’s fourth most significant collection of Magnolia for conservation purposes, and the most important outside China*, where a majority of Magnolia species are found.

Driving Directions

From the East Bay – Napa, Solano, Contra Costa, and Alameda Counties (Hwy 80)

  1. Take Hwy 80 west across the Bay Bridge to San Francisco. Continue on Hwy 101 South.
  2. Stay in the right-hand lanes and follow the signs toward the Golden Gate Bridge/101 North Exit.
  3. Take the Golden Gate Bridge/101 North Exit (Exit 1B)
  4. Get in the left hand lane and following directions to Octavia Blvd./Fell Street.
  5. Take the Octavia/Fell Street Exit.
  6. Continue on Octavia Blvd. in the left hand lane for about four blocks to Fell Street. Fell Street is just after Oak Street. Turn left on Fell Street.
  7. You will be traveling approximately 2 miles on Fell Street.
  8. Turn left when Fell Street curves to the left (when it enters Golden Gate Park) and merges into Lincoln Way.
  9. Stay on Lincoln Way and proceed to 9th Avenue.
  10. Make a right turn at 9th Avenue. The main entrance to the Garden is at the corner of 9th Avenue and Lincoln Way, on the northwest corner.

From the North Bay – Marin and Sonoma Counties (Hwys 101 and 1)

  1. From the Golden Gate Bridge, take the 19th Avenue exit (on right 1/4-mile after toll plaza) onto Park Presidio Drive.
  2. Stay in the right lanes as you pass through Golden Gate Park onto 19th Avenue, where no left turns are allowed.
  3. Go three blocks, turn right on Kirkham, right on 20th Avenue, and right (east) on Judah.
  4. Follow Judah to 9th Avenue.
  5. Make a left at 9th Avenue and drive a few blocks to Lincoln Way.
  6. The main entrance to the Garden is at the corner of 9th Avenue and Lincoln Way, on the northwest corner.

From the South Bay (Hwy 101)

  1. Take Highway 101 North (Bayshore Freeway). Follow the signs for 101 North/Golden Gate Bridge.
  2. Take the Ninth Street Exit.
  3. After exiting, go straight through the signal light onto Harrison and turn right on 9th Street after one block. Stay in the left lanes and drive about four blocks until you reach Market Street, where the left lanes of 9th Street turn into Hayes Street.
  4. Continue on Hayes Street for about four blocks to Gough Street. Turn left on Gough, then after two short blocks, turn right onto Fell Street. Stay in the left or middle lane.
  5. Turn left when Fell Street curves to the left (when it enters Golden Gate Park) and merges into Lincoln Way.
  6. Stay on Lincoln Way and proceed to 9th Avenue.
  7. Make a right turn at 9th Avenue.
  8. The main entrance to the Garden is at the corner of 9th Avenue and Lincoln Way, on the northwest corner.

From the South Bay (Hwy 280)

  1. Take Highway 280 north; stay in the left lanes and take the Golden Gate Bridge exit onto 19th Avenue (north).
  2. Turn right (east) on Lincoln Way (1 block north of Irving Street). Drive several blocks on Lincoln to 8th Avenue.
  3. Turn right onto 8th Avenue and at the next block, Irving Street, turn right again.
  4. At the next block, 9th Avenue, turn right again and proceed down 9th Avenue into Golden Gate Park. The main entrance to the Garden is at 9th Avenue at Lincoln Way, on the northwest corner.

Parking

Parking for cars and bicycles is conveniently located in the Music Concourse Garage. Access to Music Concourse Garage parking is from Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. across from the Botanical Garden (enter the park at 9th Ave and Lincoln Way, garage entrance will be third right) or Fulton Street at 10th Avenue. The south pod of the garage is closest to the Botanical Garden. The Music Concourse Garage is open 7am–7pm year-round except Thursday: 7am–11pm, and parking in the garage is encouraged. Limited street parking is available in Golden Gate Park.

Garage Hours

  • 7am–7pm except Thursday: 7am–11pm; Open other evening hours for scheduled events
  • Hourly rates: $4.50 weekdays / $25 maximum; $5.00 weekends / $28 maximum; After-hours Events $15.00 flat rate.
Show All Hours
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