Idaho Botanical Garden
Idaho Botanical Garden
4.5
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
About
Cultivate. Educate. Celebrate. Enhance your community and enrich your life. The Idaho Botanical Garden is a lush 15-acre tapestry of dappled shade and vibrant splashes of color. A peaceful haven nestled in the Boise Foothills, located in the heart of Old Penitentiary Historic District. The Garden promotes gardening in the Treasure Valley using native and domestic plants that are adapted to the intermountain region.
Suggested duration
2-3 hours
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  • CharlieinTexas
    Austin, Texas3,900 contributions
    Nice, But Nothing Special …
    Nice place to spend an hour or so. Could be better maintained and lacks imagination and creativity. St Louis and Denver botanical garden far superior, no comparison really (and, yes, far bigger cities). Roses, children’s area, and coy pond were my favorites.
    Visited September 2023
    Traveled solo
    Written September 20, 2023
  • Rheinhold Festung
    Oak Park, Illinois214 contributions
    Small but packed with beauty
    This is behind the Old State Penitentiary. If you belong to another arboretum, you might get in free. This is small in acreage, but is just packed with flowers of all different kinds. I took far more pictures here than I did on all of the rest of my trip to Idaho combined. Good signage telling you what flowers/shrubs you are looking at.
    Visited June 2021
    Written June 5, 2021
  • Mary L
    80 contributions
    Stunning and peaceful
    I am so glad that I went to the gardens. It is so much bigger than it looks from the entrance. The garden is divided into sections such as English garden, children’s garden, meditation garden, vegetable garden and on and on and on. Absolutely beautiful. This is a non profit garden. They have some employees but also a lot of volunteers. Everyone we spoke to was extremely proud of the gardens and were very eager to talk about it and answer questions. The koi pond is gorgeous and so pleasant to watch. The bathrooms are well taken care of and very clean. If I lived in Boise I would get a membership. But for you tourists I would definitely stop in for a visit.
    Visited June 2020
    Traveled as a couple
    Written June 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.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
Popular mentions

4.5
407 reviews
Excellent
253
Very good
120
Average
19
Poor
9
Terrible
6

T S
Boise, ID118 contributions
Aug 2022
I love the Botanical Gardens. It is a great place to visit. However, Outlaw Field is a terrible venue. We went to see Bonnie Raitt. Even though many people walked or biked or shuttled, they ran out of parking, including handicap parking. I heard attendants telling people who needed handicap accommodations that it was dropoff only. What would a handicapped driver do?? They told us to park on the street in a nearby neighborhood. We stood in line (in the heat and sun) for 30 minutes to enter. Once the sun went down, the walkways and restroom area were not lit. People were using porta-potties in darkness. I saw a woman injured from falling down in a walkway area--I am sure that she couldn't see where she was stepping. The gardens have many walking hazards (e.g., stone walls without rails) and these were not lit or marked. Stairs did not have reflective tape or anything to help people see them. This venue should not be allowed to cater to such large crowds. As much as I would love to see performers like Bonnie Raitt, I won't be back to Outlaw Field.
Written August 16, 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.

foodieattorney
Boise, ID37 contributions
Dec 2020
You would think that with so much time on their hands due to Covid they could spend a little more time decorating for the Winter Garden. Yeah, no.... It took up literally 10 minutes to do the entire thing and it looked very half done.
Written December 11, 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.

ranvanzan
Rochester, MN1 contribution
Aug 2022 • Couples
We were too late. A visit towards the end of August requires bringing your own… well, everything, including drinking water. The gardens haven’t been watered much either. Some, not at all. Ever. This could be an exceptional garden. What I saw was below average. It would be mean to include photos.
Written August 29, 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.

Denise
Green Bay, WI118 contributions
Jul 2022 • Family
I've been to alot of gardens, so I'm probably not easily impressed. It also starts off very slow.... at first I was like.. I hope there is more. Once waking, yes there were flowers. And they just did a nice Lewis and Clark addition. I was traveling with my mom in a wheelchair, it is ok for accessible. However, we had one spot she ran straight into some thorn bushes right on thr path - made me wonder how often they have wheelchair guests and/or inspect themselves to be sure it is safe for those guests. Koi pond js neat, would be nice if machines you could feed with
Written July 12, 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.

Pamela V
Scottsdale, AZ475 contributions
Sep 2021
You can visit the garden and penitentiary, they are a block apart backing up to each other. The garden has many interesting plants and lots of paths for walking up and down. There were many pretty flowers in bloom. I'd describe it as somewhat rustic. Bring sun protection. They do have some reciprocal admissions, so check, it might be of no cost if you are a member at another garden.
Written September 26, 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.

alpw
Placitas, NM2,187 contributions
Jul 2021
My husband and I were at the beginning of a road trip and Boise was the starting point. I love gardens and the weather was very nice, so decided today was a good day to go to a garden! It's located next to the Idaho State Penitentiary. The grounds of the gardens were the side yard of the penitentiary at one time. There are about 7 different areas and the gardens are nice, if small. Don't compare it to other big state gardens. Take it for the nice smaller garden that it is.
Written July 7, 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.

Kristen M
Vancouver, WA57 contributions
Aug 2020 • Solo
I’ll give it the benefit of the doubt that I went during an off season... aside from the English Garden, most everything was dead. The differentiation between the various gardens and how to get from one to another was poorly marked. What saves this garden is everything aside from the plants. The koi fish, little lizards, sculptures... the plant life is abysmal. Thankfully I only spent $8 on admission
Written August 12, 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.

Nina3287
Sonoma, CA162 contributions
Oct 2020 • Family
Beautiful and inexpensive. Explore the gardens with two small kids, they had a good time. Different themed gardens, an array of different types of plants and trees. The layout was also done in a way to keep it interesting. They also had fun festive activities for the kids: small corn maze, scarecrows etc.
Written October 21, 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.

4Bug-a-Boos
Oregon273 contributions
Aug 2021
Lovely Botanical Garden. We enjoyed our visit to this garden. Be prepared for walking with decent shoes as there is quite a lot to see here. It is interesting having the old penitentiary as a back drop. The nice thing is you can visit both if you are interested in doing so (the gardens and the penitentiary).
Written August 22, 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.

srmooreinLA
Los Angeles, CA2 contributions
Jun 2018 • Family
I traveled from California to visit my granddaughters who live north of the Boise area. During my visit, I wanted to take them to the Idaho Botanical Garden on Thursday, June 7. After driving for nearly an hour, we arrived at the Garden at 10:30 a.m., only to be informed that it was closed for the day in order to prepare for an evening event. I had researched the Garden in advance and also checked their website just prior to our visit. Their Visitor’s Information page stated that the Garden would be open on that day. There was no mention of the closure. The four of us were frustrated and disappointed to be turned away from the Garden. It is extremely thoughtless and unprofessional to provide prospective visitors with the wrong information about something as basic as when you are open to the public.
Written June 14, 2018
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.

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Idaho Botanical Garden - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)

Frequently Asked Questions about Idaho Botanical Garden

Idaho Botanical Garden is open:
  • Sun - Sat 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM


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Idaho Botanical Garden Information

Excellent Reviews

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Very Good Reviews

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Idaho Botanical Garden Photos

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