Matthaei Botanical Gardens

I recently visited Matthaei Botanical Gardens and had a wonderful experience. The conservatory is impressive, with separate sections for tropical, desert, and temperate plants. It feels like stepping into different climates all in one place. The outdoor gardens and trails are peaceful and very well maintained. The children’s garden and prairie area are especially nice for a calm walk or quiet time with family. Parking is convenient, and admission is free, which makes it an easy spot to visit anytime. Overall, this is one of the best places in Ann Arbor to enjoy nature, take a relaxing walk, and explore a wide variety of plants. Highly recommended.

Matthaei Botanical Gardens is an absolutely beautiful and magical place, especially if you're into photography. My daughter and I spent 5 hours there (inside and outside) and it felt like no time at all. There is so much to marvel at from familiar native plants to tropical fruit trees to 75+ year-old bonsai trees, hummingbirds, frogs, bees, more flowers than you can count, and the occasional chipmunk. 😁 You can stroll through the building, walk the trails, or just sit on a bench in the flower garden and enjoy the scenery. This place is nothing short of spectacular.

Absolutely gorgeous botanical gardens. Indoor green houses with tropical and desert spaces with water features. Outdoors has plenty of peaceful walking trails, children's play area, picnic areas, and gorgeous curated and wildflower gardens. We highly recommend visiting here when you are in Ann Arbor!

Very nice botanic gardens. It was like... 6 dollars for parking and entry to the garden was free itself. There were parts of the Botanic Garden which were quite unfinished, but, the overall walk was peaceful and beautiful. It is definitely worth the trip if you're nearby.

I took these pictures on Friday, April 25th, 2025. There isn't a whole lot going on at the gardens currently. They were doing a lot of clean up and there were not flowers or plants blooming in most places that they grow plants. So, it is a bit preseason still although that doesn't mean it won't be enjoyable. The daffodils were gorgeous if you want to see those. The conservatories are very pretty as always.

The Gardens and Conservatory start at the Visitor Center. There are numerous 'houses' and gardens, both indoors and outdoors, to see. I would guess that the average person would spend about one hour here. On the other side of the property, there are four nature trails ranging in distance from .4-1.2 miles. If you decide to walk the trails you could certainly spend much more time there. Admission was free and parking was $2.40 per hour, which was very reasonable. The parking pay stations were broken on the day of my visit but you can also pay for parking inside of the Visitor Center.

Great place for some nice nature walks on well marked trails. The wait was to pay for parking as they only have 2 machines...my advice to keep things moving if there's a line is to just pay the max of $6 rather than to try paying for a few hours. Everything else is free to enjoy so $6 for a carload is a pretty good deal!

Totally worth visiting for the day. The only cost is parking. Nature walks and other sections of the gardens are beautiful to see, and it's nice to be in nature. I would recommend checking it out, especially the bonsai tree section!