UC Santa Cruz Arboretum & Botanic Garden — Attraction in Santa Cruz

It's in the name: ARE-bore-dumbs ARE boring and dumb. In fact it's more fun to read reviews about areboredumbs than to visit. And that's not saying much, hahaha.

But UC Santa Cruz arboretum is somewhat less boring than certain others! There are ocean views and hummingbirds and even an homage to smell-ovision in their Aroma Garden.

The first Tuesday of the month are free too. That's a significant discount, son!

This makes it a good option for a brisk walk before lunch. Bring food, a book or, if you're an undergrad, a Nintendo game boy, and just relax on one of the park benches there.

As some have pointed out on Yelp, the best time to visit is in the spring. I would submit that it's worth a visit in the fall too because Monarch butterflys are abundant during this season. There's an eucalyptus grove where they try to hide people who want to stomp them.

The longest walk in this garden is only a little over one mile. The paths at Santa Cruz Arboretum are well labelled making this spiraling labyrinth of botanicals navigable. Follow the "world tour" signs and you'll get to see shrubs from such far away biochores as New Zealand, Watsonville and Pacoima!

Tip: do pick up the paper map as an additional guide while you're moving through the grounds. It indicates where the various lookouts points are located with a binocular icon. Oh, you may want to bring your boring...

A fascinating collection of plants from several Mediterranean ecoregions of the world: Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and coastal California. There is also an aroma garden, a succulent garden, a Pelargonium area, a California native garden, and a butterfly garden. Next to the gardens there is also a major conifer collection.

One of the most interesting features is a group of geodesic domes containing three "future gardens", with plant groupings repeating inside and out that are treated with varying watering regimes. The three experimental gardens are meant to represent possible future climatic conditions: extremely wet, extremely dry, and extremely oscillating. The plantings have been left mostly alone to observe which species survive, which die away, and which thrive. The plantings are repeated inside the domes and outside. Those inside are kept in a slightly warmer environment to stimulate warming temperatures. It's a very thoughtful experiment that has been underway for some decades.

Anyway, lots to see at any time of year. As a naturalistic garden, this place draws an abundance of wildlife, such as hummingbirds, bees, butterflies, squirrels, lizards,...

I read that on average visitors spend half an hour here. I can't think that's right. We spent 4 hours there in upper 90s heat yesterday and still didn't see it all. There are plenty of nice wooden benches placed around for resting, observing birds, butterflies and just enjoying the place. Yes, the gift shop is nice and has a really nice selection of live plants, but I wouldn't list it as the highlight. In fact, I can't easily pick a favorite featured area. Anyone who loves our local unique climate should enjoy learning of the other places on the globe that share the same. Admission is very reasonable. Generalized map available paper or download to your phone. I would like a more detailed map because it easy to miss some of the many trails. I can't wait for cool weather to go mill around on an overcast day. Right now highlights are the scent garden (sages rule!), cactus...