Admissions Charges & Ticket-Related Questions

When did you start charging?

August 7, 2010. In the face of severe budget cuts, the Recreation and Park Department has implemented a $7.00 non-resident admission with a discounted fee for seniors, students and children. All San Francisco city and county residents and school groups are admitted FREE of charge.

This admission will help maintain our living collection of more than 50,000 plants from around the world and our oustanding conservation education programs for more than 10,000 San Francisco School children.

The Garden will offer a monthly admission-free day for all visitors, on the 2nd Tuesday of each month.

Are other gardens free?

Actually, most major botanical gardens throughout America charge a fee. The $7 adult non-resident fee is comparable to what other gardens charge for all attendees across the country.

Comparative gardens admissions include:
UC Botanical Garden in Berkeley is $9.00
LA County Arboretum $8.00
Santa Barbara Botanic Garden $8.00

But it's always been free.

We recognize this is a difficult transition. Most major attractions in Golden Gate Park charge now a fee.

With the $7 non-resident fee, the Botanical Garden now joins the Academy of Sciences, the de Young, the Conservatory of Flowers, and the Japanese Tea Garden in receiving an important portion of their funding from entrance fees.

Where is the money going?

The admission fee goes toward ongoing operations, helping to keep the garden alive and retaining the gardeners that keep this collection thriving. It also contributes to our public conservation education programs.

What will I see for $7.00?

This is an incredible living museum where you can explore more than 50,000 plants from around the world. This is one of the most diverse botanical gardens in the world. We've got 8,000 different kinds of plants in here.

You'll discover incredible rarities from Asia, Australia, Africa, New Zealand, Central and South America, plus our award-winning California Native Plant Garden complete with a century-old redwood forest.

This is an exciting place for you and your family to see hundreds of plants that are rare or endangered in the wild.

It's a place to discover the natural world with plants from all over the globe.