South Coast Botanic Garden — Attraction in Unincorporated Rolling Hills Estates

Lovely botanical gardens hidden near the Palos Verdes area. I like that they have a reservation system to keep crowds to a minimum. I went during a Summer morning during the week and it was already a bit active than I expected, but it is Summer vacation and the weather is nice. But this means weekends will likely be busier. Plan accordingly.

I only noticed it was a bit crowded or busy in the front sections though, but as you continue on past that it's more serene and emptier. You're alone for awhile, then the occasional person walks by with a smile and a wave or is sitting on a bench soaking it in or even typing on their laptop. The employees are super friendly almost like a friend you run into, which makes it inviting. I didn't expect that as employees nowadays tend to be on the cold side. The visitors were also nice and friendly, which was another surprise since this is L.A. where people can be a bit standoffish and unfriendly. The nature setting is calming so that likely helps. :) People also seem to be mindful of others that are enjoying a solo moment on a bench to just breathe in the quiet surroundings.

Although some warning, you will be putting in a bit of a workout. There are many hills and a great deal of walking, which is fine for me as I'm an active exercise guru, but I'm giving a warning if that's not your thing. You can just hang out in the front part which is just as beautiful. In fact, it's the front part that seems to house a great deal of kids as I believe there was a park and things for them to do. If many kids running around isn't your thing and you just want to chill in nature without noise, don't worry, because as you continue on past that front part, it's void of that.

If you're planning on doing a great deal of walking, I would recommend comfortable clothing and shoes, maybe even workout clothes and some water. I don't know if they allow you to bring your own small water in, but it does seem like it might be needed to hydrate if you are putting in a brisk walk. You could end up at the far end of the place and realize you're dehydrated. I didn't notice any places that sold water while I was there, or even on the other end of the place, but I might've missed it.

This place is also extremely large and vast. A great deal of winding pathways. If it's your first time, you might want to make sure you pick up a map since it's that big you could get temporarily lost. There were brief moments I thought, "Hmm, how do I find my way back."

It's also so big that you may likely not see it all in one visit. You'll lose steam before you decide to head back towards the exit. I enjoyed this place as I love being outdoors in nature. Those can be hard to come by in Los Angeles, but hidden gems like this exist for us nature people. A big 5 star thumbs up...

The garden is a good size, but: ◦ it was poorly organized - the middle chunk of the garden has many paths, but it's hard to find themed groupings of plants. For example, we were looking for the acacia grove, but the blurry map wasn't very helpful. We eventually found 1 acacia, but in a different section In fact, we were looking for the Japanese Garden, which was place #23 on the map, but the numbers on the map were random AND the box for #23 was empty. I took a photo of the map so you can see for yourself. When we finally found the Japanese garden it was very underwhelming. In addition, there were signs for different trails, but it was hard to tell where they pointed. Ironically, the "Hidden Meadow" was so easy to find but there wasn't much to see there. ◦ plants often weren't labeled: there were many times that I or my FIL knew what a plant was, but there was no label to be found anywhere. Obviously I don't expect all of the thousands of plants to be labeled, but I could have sworn there was a myrtus comunis on the main path going to the tram ring road, but sadly no label and so I'm not 100% sure what it was. ◦ lacking in variety (which is the whole point of a botanic garden): the garden of senses was mostly common herbs that you can find at Home Depot. The "Mediterranean garden" was tiny and cramped. The "exotic fruit trees" section included apple trees and other very non-exotic trees. I've been to botanic gardens in Vancouver, Seattle area (Bellevue), San Diego, and San Antonio. They don't have to be prim and proper like an ornamental garden (e.g. Butchardt Gardens) - instead they're like a living library of plants. But this garden has a lot of room for improvement! How to fix these issues? Print a higher quality map, with a better numbering system..maybe have it available online so not so much paper is wasted. Have clearer trail markers. Bring in more plant variety, especially where you have repeated plants out of their grouping. It's doable and while it will take time a capital, would make this a much better and truer...

Beautiful and interesting plants to see year-round. The children's discovery garden is a cute place to walk and is close to the entrance for tots that don't like long walks. Watering the plants with the watering cans in the discovery garden is a favorite activity as well as visiting the fish in the koi pond. They have a rose garden, some fountains, a picnic area, and the died up lakebed (not as pretty as a lake, but it was lush with soft grass when I visited.) A full exploration with only a few stops will let you see the whole garden in roughly two hours, but there's so much to see that a leisurely walk with curious kids could burn a good 4 hours if you explore every path. Lots of shade and benches to provide relief to tired legs, but even little legs and not so little legs should be able to get around just fine, especially on the main path. The more forested paths may be tricky for the young and elderly as the roots are tripping hazards, but the main path is paved and most of the trails are navigable for the cautious.

Summer is a great time to visit. There are usually many plants in bloom as well as lizards, butterflies, beetles, and maybe even a falcon or two for you to see on your walk. Winter still offers many sights, gotta love that California sun, but if you're hoping for insects and wildlife to admire, there will be slimmer pickings.

Ideal spot for picnics, nature walks, and introducing kids to the wonders of nature. Most plants have plaques so the inquisitive can learn to identify both native and foreign flora. Cheap admission but every third Tuesday is free! Restrooms are clean, but they're at the edges of the garden, making it a bit of a trek if you're at the lakebed and need to go. Snacks are available near the entrance, along with a small gift shop! Occasionally, there are Pokemon Go! Events for older kids (and adults) who need...