Cornell Botanic Gardens
Cornell Botanic Gardens things to do, attractions, restaurants, events info and trip planning
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While visiting Ithaca, stopping by the stunning Cornell University is a must! This college has a stunning botanic garden that is free to visit! The entire campus is stunning with nature scattered about the historic buildings. We enjoyed our drive thru the campus to get to the botanic garden. They have a nice sized parking lot & then you get out & venture around. The botanic gardens is free, you just have to pay a small parking lot fee which is $1.50 a hour I think but the system was down when we arrived- so we did not even have to pay for the lot. Lots of stunning plants, flowers & trees to check out. I like how everything was labeled so you do get a learning experience with the beauty. We walked around for about a hour & got to see a LOT. You can easily spend a couple hours here if you pace yourself & take your time. We did not have a lot of time to spend here but enjoyed our visit.
Heather BoswickHeather Boswick
30
Beautiful botanical gardens comparable to best NY down state gardens like NYBG, Planting Fields Arboretum, Wave Hill and Bayard Cutting arboretum. Several gardens are located around Nevin Welcome center, my favorite ones were Winter Garden, Herb Garden and Rhododendron collection. Parking here provides opportunity to circle Beebe Lake and check out Triphammer waterfalls from footbridge. Newman arboretum is further down the road and definitely worth visiting, it’s huge and well landscaped. Multiple free parking areas could be found along Arboretum road. Mundy Wildflower garden area located between botanical gardens and arboretum could be skipped if you are short on time (no flowers in mid-summer). Spending 3-4 hours on gardens and arboretum is quite reasonable, but you could also spend whole day exploring…
Mike ZMike Z
00
The place is amazing during the warmer months of the year, they have an incredible amount of different species of plants from conifers to herbs. They have a vegetable garden, a winter garden, basically a whole entire forest, and a lot more. Walking around isn't a bad idea, though driving is preferred if you don't want to walk around in 40° weather for an hour and a half. It's a great educational and natural experience for everyone without literally going into the middle of the wilderness. During the mid fall to early spring months, half the fauna is dead but it's still nice.
Bryan VadhinBryan Vadhin
10
This place was truly amazing to walk through and very educational. All of the plants and trees were grouped in a theme: winter garden, edible, medicinal, ground cover, etc. There were beautiful trees and then aromatic herbs. It was neat to see what the different plants looked like in their natural state and not an herb bottle. Everything was labeled with common name, scientific name, as well as a description of it and its uses. If you are a true botanical garden fan this is a must see and plan to spend some time here
Jason CliseJason Clise
00
Great place to spend a couple of hours walking through the various natural (formal gardens, arboretum, wildflower gardens) - most trees and plants have tags or plaques to help with identification. Spring flowers start blooming around mid April and foliage changes colors in September/October. There is also an interesting sculpture garden designed for "framing" photos near the ponds. Finally, a rare find for Ithaca, NY: banana trees in the Crops of the World Garden.
Daniel ChapmanDaniel Chapman
00
This is a lovely place. I only gave it 4 stars because the information you read before hand does not indicate that many of the plants were spring flowering, so were past prime when we went (ie, Rhodedendron). Still, plenty to see. Not all plants were tagged/identified. We did enjoy ourselves and took advantage of driving around the arboretum. There's one or two nice vistas. Gift shop was nice, but t-shirt collection did not have a big range of sizes.
Michelle Marcus (Michelle Marcus)Michelle Marcus (Michelle Marcus)
20
Nearby Attractions Of Cornell Botanic Gardens
Cornell University
Cornell University
The Cornell Store
Triphammer Falls
Nevin Welcome Center
Martin Y. Tang Welcome Center
Temple of Zeus
Cornell Outdoor Education
Robert Trent Jones Golf Course
Teagle Down Fitness Center

Cornell University
4.6
(650)Click for details

Cornell University
4.6
(630)Click for details

The Cornell Store
4.5
(483)Click for details

Triphammer Falls
4.5
(227)Click for details
Nearby Restaurants Of Cornell Botanic Gardens
Coal Yard Cafe
Taverna Banfi
Trillium
Big Red Barn
North Star Dining Room
Morrison Dining
Gimme! Coffee
The Terrace Restaurant
Café Jennie
Mac's Cafe

Coal Yard Cafe
4.6
(236)Click for details

Taverna Banfi
4.5
(150)$$$
Click for details

Trillium
4.2
(136)Click for details

Big Red Barn
4.5
(120)Click for details
Basic Info
Address
124 Comstock Knoll Dr, Ithaca, NY 14850
Map
Phone
(607) 255-2400
Call
Website
cornellbotanicgardens.org
Visit
Reviews
Overview
4.8
(828 reviews)
Ratings & Description
outdoor
family friendly
accessibility
Description
The Cornell Botanic Gardens is a botanical garden located adjacent to the Cornell University campus in Ithaca, New York. The Botanic Gardens proper consist of 25 acres of botanical gardens and 150 acres of the F. R. Newman Arboretum.
attractions: Cornell University, Cornell University, The Cornell Store, Triphammer Falls, Nevin Welcome Center, Martin Y. Tang Welcome Center, Temple of Zeus, Cornell Outdoor Education, Robert Trent Jones Golf Course, Teagle Down Fitness Center, restaurants: Coal Yard Cafe, Taverna Banfi, Trillium, Big Red Barn, North Star Dining Room, Morrison Dining, Gimme! Coffee, The Terrace Restaurant, Café Jennie, Mac's Cafe

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