Tofino Botanical Gardens
Tofino Botanical Gardens
4
8:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Monday
8:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Tuesday
8:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Wednesday
8:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Thursday
8:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Friday
8:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Saturday
8:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Sunday
8:00 AM - 8:00 PM
About
Tofino Botanical Gardens are 12 acres of gardens, forest, and shoreline that explore the relationship between culture and nature. A network of paths and boardwalk will take you through our Cultivated Gardens, Sculpture Park, and Old-Growth Temperate Rainforest, where clearings have been transformed into a series of pocket gardens. Some of these gardens display plants that thrive in temperate rainforests around the world including Chile and Japan. Others celebrate cultural groups that have made Clayoquot Sound their home now and in the past, particularly the Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations, early Japanese fishing families, and, of course, hippies. The Gardens extend to the Tofino Mudflats, an incredible expanse of intertidal mud teeming with life, revealed twice a day at low tide. Events including Tofino Winterlights, Tofino Lantern Festival, Surfrider Foundation film festival, Food and Wine,Musicians, Weddings and more are hosted within the eclectic scenery.
Duration: 2-3 hours
Suggest edits to improve what we show.
Improve this listingTours & experiences
Explore different ways to experience this place.
What is Travelers’ Choice?
Tripadvisor gives a Travelers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travelers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Top ways to experience Tofino Botanical Gardens and nearby attractions
The area
Address
Reach out directly
Best nearby
Restaurants
49 within 3 miles
Attractions
31 within 6 miles
Contribute
Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.0
373 reviews
Excellent
161
Very good
115
Average
60
Poor
21
Terrible
16
Veronika F
Herbolzheim, Germany18 contributions
May 2022 • Couples
Very disappointing and not worth the money (20$ admission for adults)!
The "garden" is tiny and looks almost like a wild grown part of the forest. There was nothing to be seen that would earn this place the name "botanical garden", for there are no special plants or landscaping skills to be seen. We were told to come here to learn about the Canadian First Nation peoples, but there are only three signs about a canoe there and that's about all for the cultural-historical part of the gardens. There were two totem poles that are still in the making and look really cool, though, but sadly, as it was the weekend, there was nobody there to explain the meaning of them.
It is not okay to charge any money for this place in our opinion, as there are more artistic flower landscapes to be seen at places that can be seen for free!
We advise everyone looking for a real botanical garden to go to the Butchart Gardens in Victoria instead that are really worth their money.
The "garden" is tiny and looks almost like a wild grown part of the forest. There was nothing to be seen that would earn this place the name "botanical garden", for there are no special plants or landscaping skills to be seen. We were told to come here to learn about the Canadian First Nation peoples, but there are only three signs about a canoe there and that's about all for the cultural-historical part of the gardens. There were two totem poles that are still in the making and look really cool, though, but sadly, as it was the weekend, there was nobody there to explain the meaning of them.
It is not okay to charge any money for this place in our opinion, as there are more artistic flower landscapes to be seen at places that can be seen for free!
We advise everyone looking for a real botanical garden to go to the Butchart Gardens in Victoria instead that are really worth their money.
Written June 3, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
StevoinMinnesoto
Cottage Grove, MN546 contributions
Sep 2019
The pothole filled dirt road off of highway 4 should have been a dead giveaway for us but we gave this place a try anyway. First off, it isn't cheap and they do not offer senior discounts. Once inside the trails are poorly marked as are the plants and most vegetation is in need of pruning and, especially weeding. Not worth a second visit.
Written February 24, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Elodie R
Vancouver, Canada8 contributions
Aug 2020 • Family
We spent a lovely few days staying at the Ecolodge. It was peaceful and the gardens are wonderful. We thoroughly enjoyed our morning walks in the forest, admiring the many sculptures after a breakfast at the Darwin Café. The staff was very helpful and friendly. Covid-prevention measures were in place and gave us peace of mind. We would have loved to stay longer!
Written August 8, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Oceana1955
6 contributions
Sep 2020
It felt like Nature was saying, "Yeah, you humans are good at some stuff, but look what I can do. The art was interesting and fun, but everywhere we looked, there were all these amazing and magical natural art installations, mini gardens high up on moss covered branches, delightful arrangements of ferns, moss, roots, flowers, leaves, dripping water, windy paths. It was my second visit and I was so happy to share it with my sister who had never been before. The community gardens are very well put together as well.
Written September 22, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
VSL-11-11
Seattle, WA38 contributions
Aug 2023 • Couples
The gardens may have been nice in the past, but they are in a sorry state and in great need of attention. When we asked about the cafe as we checked in, we were told that the gardens were under new ownership and didn’t have enough staff to open the cafe. The cafe space was an eyesore piled with what looked like junk. The gardens were overgrown, had remnants of previous artwork, had visible weeds, were poorly signed, with some old, random labels here and there. The nice views are still there, but these are similar to those in much nicer parks & trails around town. Broken boardwalks, remains of long-gone exhibits, and an unclear purpose contributed to our wondering why the garden was even and charging admission when it clearly is in no condition to call itself a tourist « attraction » at the moment.
Written August 21, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ShirazHouse
Northampton, UK36 contributions
Jun 2022 • Couples
This is a fantastic place to visit. On our visit there was hot sun streaming through the foliage making the colours of the rainforest pop out. Lots of interesting planting as well as ancient, dense tropical rain forrest. The forest walk is on a raised boardwalk so access is easy everywhere but there are a few steps to negotiate. Along the pathways there are various bits of artwork and what I’d describe as curiosities. Some are really obvious, others very subtle and cleverly executed. Go slow and look hard so you don’t miss things.
I hope you get to see the guy that’s carving the massive totem poles. Stop off for a chat because he has much to tell you and the smell of freshly shaved cedar wood. Wow.
I don’t think this would suit families with very small kids. There are a few drop offs, a pond with an alligator (so the sign said) and various toddler magnets. There are warnings of bears, cougars and other bitey things that we didn’t come across on our visit.
This place is no longer referred to as a Botanical Garden. It’s been taken over as a heritage site.
Cages for animals were all empty, hooray for that.
We used the Tofino free shuttle bus to get there. The stops are really close by.
I hope you get to see the guy that’s carving the massive totem poles. Stop off for a chat because he has much to tell you and the smell of freshly shaved cedar wood. Wow.
I don’t think this would suit families with very small kids. There are a few drop offs, a pond with an alligator (so the sign said) and various toddler magnets. There are warnings of bears, cougars and other bitey things that we didn’t come across on our visit.
This place is no longer referred to as a Botanical Garden. It’s been taken over as a heritage site.
Cages for animals were all empty, hooray for that.
We used the Tofino free shuttle bus to get there. The stops are really close by.
Written June 26, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
JJawandering
Lethbridge, Canada344 contributions
Sep 2021 • Solo
This garden has a number of themes and you can pick up a guide to some short, pleasant trails through the beautiful rainforest. There were some objects and structures that I felt rather spoiled the “wildness” of this western garden.
There are bird hides that provide good viewing platforms for birdwatching. Wear sturdy shoes and bring binoculars.
There are bird hides that provide good viewing platforms for birdwatching. Wear sturdy shoes and bring binoculars.
Written September 8, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Pangaean
San Francisco, CA129 contributions
Jun 2022 • Couples
“Botanical garden” brings to mind something formal and stuffy for us, so we were thinking “pass” when we drove by… but then we happened to read about the frog pond (more on that in a moment) and have a little time, so we went. And we’re so glad we did! It’s a actually much smaller than we’d thought, and the frog pond is actually Frog Pond (i.e. the name of the pond, but no frogs in sight), and… there’s onsite wood carving (we saw two totem poles in process), in addition to the regular ground exhibits, which are botanically interesting (including attempts to plant species native to Chile, given the similar climates), funny (look for the skulls, and then read about them), informative (I hadn’t known about the Japanese fishing community in Tofino, who were interned in WWII) and touching (see the tsunami memorial). And, of course, the huge, old trees are just beautiful. Definitely worth the perambulation through the grounds…
Written June 24, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
655parisam
15 contributions
Jun 2020
Arrived at the cafe. Waited for 7 minutes while the woman behind the bar chatted with a friend, she saw us waiting. Her colleague asked whether we should wait outside or inside. She just said outside and went on chatting with her friend.
We left.
I don't know if this interaction is at best their normal bad customer service or at worst a racial profiling incident (I suspect the latter but am willing to give them the benefit of the doubt) but either way, not recommended.
We left.
I don't know if this interaction is at best their normal bad customer service or at worst a racial profiling incident (I suspect the latter but am willing to give them the benefit of the doubt) but either way, not recommended.
Written June 16, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Julia A
Toronto, Canada32 contributions
Sep 2021 • Friends
Check ahead to see if amenities are open as cafe and shop are subject to independent hours. Grounds demonstrate interesting facts on natural habitation and growth. Old growth forest was excellent. Great vista's for scenic shots. Garden signs are dated and there are no tour guides or directional signs. Staff is limited and not welcoming. Parking is easy.
Written September 8, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Showing results 1-1 of 1
*Likely to sell out: Based on Viator’s booking data and information from the provider from the past 30 days, it seems likely this experience will sell out through Viator, a Tripadvisor company.
Is this your Tripadvisor listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim your listing