Elizabeth Park Rose Garden — Attraction in West Hartford

As a wedding photographer, Elizabeth Park is one of my top recommended venues for capturing stunning and timeless images.

I’ve had the pleasure of photographing many weddings and engagement sessions here, and it consistently delivers exceptional results. Located in West Hartford, Connecticut, Elizabeth Park offers a beautiful combination of well-maintained gardens, historic architecture, and natural landscapes, making it one of the most photogenic outdoor locations in the region.

The Rose Garden, especially during peak bloom from mid-June to early July, is a truly iconic backdrop. The vibrant flowers and formal layout create elegant, romantic scenes that look polished and editorial right out of the camera. Couples often comment on how magical their photos look here.

What sets Elizabeth Park apart is the variety of backdrops within a single location. There are vine-covered pergolas with soft, filtered light, charming stone bridges, wide open green spaces perfect for golden hour portraits, and the historic Lord & Burnham greenhouses, which add a timeless, vintage feel. The gardens are thoughtfully designed and always in excellent condition, offering endless opportunities for creativity.

There is ample space for family group photos, wedding party shots, and intimate couple portraits—all within easy walking distance. Whether I’m capturing candid moments near the pond or more structured portraits under the rose arches, every area of the park photographs...

I went to Elizabeth Park Rose Garden later in the day at around 3pm.

There was easy parking right outside of the park. Not being from this area I had never visited this park before. Looking at the pictures I did have a completely different vision of what the park would look like.

In the google pictures you do see the center part of the park. That has a lot of green, the rose garden, and other small bundles of plants.

But what I experience was not really knowing where anything in the pictures are was a bit confusing. If you follow the path you will get the center of the park where you see everything eventually but until then you can't help but think "am I in the right place?". With that being said the walk on the path to the center of the park is really very beautiful, full of trees, little streams and other bushes.

Once you do get to the center of the park it is as wonderful as the pictures you see. There are lots of people taking wedding, graduation & family pictures because of this. The center of the park also has a wonderful Café that is in front of a body of water that is full of ducks and swans. All a wonderful asset to this park.

The entire walk takes about one hour and half is you are strolling and open to peaking around the whole park. All in all,...

This beautiful, historic, 102 acre park, is located in West Hartford and Hartford. A financier, Charles M. Pond, left this land to the City of Hartford and it was to be named after his late wife, Elizabeth. Elizabeth Park is known for its historic 2.5 acre rose garden; the garden is a municipal garden and the oldest in the US. It is being maintained by the City of Hartford and Elizabeth Park Conservancy. There are various types of gardens, greenhouses, paths, recreational facilities, a Pond House Cafe, and a pond. There are many events hosted there; one of the popular ones is the summer concert series.

We found parking near a baseball field. One part had lovely views of the Hartford skyline. It was a beautiful place to walk around especially in the rose garden. We didn't go during peak rose season and it was still lovely. We went to the gift shop and they had clean restrooms there. The park was bustling when we went but there was enough space with peace and quiet at different areas. Overall, a wonderful park and it...