The Arboretum State Botanical Garden of Kentucky — Attraction in Lexington

I love touring botanical gardens and arboretums, so when I learned that we had a state Arboretum and Botanical garden, it was a must-see. The reviews online were good, so I packed up the kids and drove 1.5 hours to experience the garden. Expectations were high - we live near a vast, well-developed arboretum, and are used to going there to spend time hiking and exploring.

The arboretum is small, but well-maintained. There are a ton of wildflower areas that look wild yet beautiful. The pollinators love this place. They've got signage that details the different geographical and geological areas of Kentucky, with information on the vegetation native to each along the main paved walkway. There's also a story walk for the smaller kids.

I deducted two stars because we went on a Monday and the Kentucky Children's Garden was closed. I visited the website prior to planning, I read reviews and hours of operation on Google, and there are several places on the website and Google where it says the Arboretum is open daily, from 7-7. Only when you click several pages deep into the website do you learn that the Kentucky Children's Garden is a separate entity, nested within the Arboretum, that operates on different hours (closed Monday and Tuesdays) and also charges admission, whereas the rest of the Arboretum is listed as free on Google and the website. So, we found a locked gate when we went to have a picnic in the Children's Garden. I was quite shocked by this, as I have never been to an Arboretum or Botanical Garden that locked its Children's area behind a gate, or charged seperate admission for it. This was disappointing, as the garden was the main reason we traveled to Lexington. There were several other visitors with kids who approached the locked gate while we were there and left dissappointed, so I do not think we are alone in misunderstanding the special hours of operation.

I understand that there may be reasons I am unaware of as to why the garden has limited hours, but the communication on it's unique hours needs to be improved somehow. If someone checks Google, they think it has daily operations. If someone pursues further to the website, that assumption is confirmed again. It's not until they click a link specifically for the Children's Garden section (which is IN the Arboretum) that they learn it has special hours and a fee.

We salvaged our day by exploring some other attractions in Lexington to make the...

Spent a weekend out with the spouse. Decided to stroll through the arboretum to digest. Had not been in the three years I've lived here and my husband from the area never had. First off the trail is lovely from a stroll, run, bike etc. Nice paved area and everything. So if you live locally perfect. For us we adventure in the woods constantly and were looking for a more enlightening experience. As in local trees with placards etc. Granted there are some. Ultimately I expected more. There was s lot of hype with the place from locals. I've been to arboretums before and thought this would be a cool way to really get more in depth. Maybe we missed something after taking the entire path and a lot off the paved trail. In a way I was slightly disappointed. We were also taken back whilst being understanding when we first got there went to the visitors center to read up on the area etc. Found out it was closed due to a volunteer meeting. Don't take me wrong I love volunteers. We both volunteer for many things. The moment was on of really the one time we come here and it's closed so y'all can hsve cake? Even after explaining we just wanted to check out some pamphlets and literature real quick and we never come and are not in town often the girl at the desk still wouldn't let us by. So we were polite and went exploring. Something on the website would have been nice at least. If not for us for the folks who drive far and wide and may have come especially for the arboretum etc. So there you have it. I give it 4 stars on the lack of what I know arboretums to be and for the visitor center closer. I don't believe in bad reviews. I do believe in honest takes and impressions. I definitely would recommend stopping by and finding out for yourself if it's your...

I really enjoyed my visit to the Arboretum. I'm so thankful that so many species of plants and trees are available to view and to study. I especially enjoyed the buckeye trees and the other nut trees that are popping out. Looks like the Arboretum needs a little more support money wise. The grass was pretty long in many areas, I know it's expensive to care for it. Many identification tags, that are so important. seem to be missing. I drove 25 minutes to get to the Arboretum to look at a specimen of an Eastern Cottonwood tree. That species seems to be a little scarce in this area of Kentucky. I'm a botanical collector and I needed leaf samples from that species. I at 1st wanted to see a speciman and note the condition of the tree. I made use of the Walk Through Kentucky website and the Arboretum's map and location guide for the tree. I found it. But much to my dismay the tree was not alive but still standing in place. No leaves. I searched but as far as I could tell there were no other trees of that species. I hoped for someone at the main office to be available for me to question regarding that tree. But the arboretum hasn't had that kind of staff for a while. More need for funding I suspect. I hope some corporate sponsors from the Lexington area see this comment then send some generous donations. Or maybe the college could move some funds toward the Arboretum. But thanks to everyone who is working on behalf of the Arboretum for what...