Santa Barbara Botanic Garden

The minute we noticed the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden on the map, we knew we wanted to visit it—more than once. Even though, technically, it was still late winter.

Santa Barbara’s climate was mild enough that some flowers were blossoming year-round. We also thought it would be fun to watch the botanic garden evolve from winter to spring.

But we like free activities, so when I noticed it cost $20 per person to enter the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, I hoped there was a more affordable option.

That’s when I scrolled down their web page and noticed that members of the American Horticultural Society (AHS) receive free admission … up to 2 tickets per membership.

So I opened the AHS website and saw that their membership was only $35, which appeared to admit two of us to botanic gardens across North America for free (no admission fees).

We could both enjoy endless trips to North American botanic gardens all year for just one $35 fee? I purchased an American Horticultural Society (AHS) membership.

Needless to say, we stopped by the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden as often as we desired while we were in Santa Barbara. And we did not have to pay admission fees.

We typically arrived at their 10 am opening, when school children, families, and elders also arrived. Yet it never felt crowded. We had lots of open space without others nearby.

Upon entering, one might be tempted to enjoy the gift shop and plant nursery, but we loved looking at the rock garden flowers, and turtle pond, then heading into the wild.

Easy-to-navigate paths led us through a large open field, down trails to the creek and woods, and back up to the plant nursery. Then we crossed the road and roamed up on the plateau.

In all, there were eleven beautiful California ecosystems to wander through. And up on the plateau, we could even peek out over Santa Barbara to the Channel Islands.