Carleen Bright Arboretum — Attraction in Woodway

My husband and I entered the arboretum from an unlocked gate entrance. We are new to this area and assumed this portion of the arboretum was open, due to the fact that once we entered the area, there were signs indicating that other areas of the arboretum were closed… but there was nothing to indicate the area we were in was closed. After we exited the area, a woman stopped her car in front of us and very condescendingly asked, “Can I help you?” She then proceeded to explain to us in an extremely sassy and unkind manner that the arboretum was closed for construction. I have no idea who this lady was or what her affiliation with the arboretum is, but she was condescending, rude, and treated my husband and me as if we knew we were doing something wrong. She treated us like raucous teenagers. If this is an employee of the arboretum, I would suggest she be taught how to treat the public kindly. It really made my blood boil, and I am not impressed. My suggestion would be that if an employee or worker happens to find someone accidentally doing the wrong thing, please give them the benefit of the doubt. Something along the lines of, “Hey, guys. I work for the arboretum, and I’m so sorry to let you know this, but that area is closed. No worries for now! Just letting you know for next time!” Treating us like fellow dignified human beings...

I wish I would give this place a -5 star review. From the beginning, one staff member (who I believe is gone now) was incredibly rude and not at all pleasant and had an attitude about rescheduling our wedding due to COVID. The City of Woodway knew about a sewer project for OVER A YEAR but waited until 60 days before my wedding to tell me I would not have access to the gardens or gazebo. In wedding timelines, this is absolutely nothing. And their “apology” was absolutely pathetic. Find another venue at the same price in 60 days or take $500 your fee. The day of, the attendant was rude to my family and coordinator. She made my coordinator and family sweep the ENTIRE building at the end of our reception which was not in our contract, and then tried to rush my family out the door at 11:00pm when we paid for the building until 1:00am. When asked why my family was treated so poorly I got an “I’m sorry, I have no idea,” answer with no follow up. I wish I NEVER had my wedding here. Brides beware that this place may be pretty but the City of Woodway and the staff will make...

Lovely arboretum. Newly renovated, so glad that it's back open. The new trails are nice though the gravel was a little deep, we had issues pushing the stroller around, It will settle though and in the future be much better I think. Very glad that they have a lot of native plants to look at. As well as some very beautiful gardens. I can't wait to see it when everything, is blooming and more established. It's great that it is a really quick drive from most places in Waco. Definitely check out the bird blind with all the native bird species posted. The new additions of a kids play area is great along with the upcoming splash pad. This will be a great area for the families in the Waco area to enjoy nature. Parking is a little confusing at the moment, with parking around the pavilion but in time I think this is a better spot in general to park. The kids area has a toy box. Hopefully that will stay around because it was nice to have some frisbees and soccer balls to play with. Again, this is a great area for families in and...