UC Santa Cruz Arboretum & Botanic Garden

I highly recommend checking out this place when you visit Santa Cruz. There's three main areas: Australian, New Zealand, and South African. They also have a small succulent area right in front of the gift shop, which was my favorite. It took us about 40 min to see the majority of the plants. It's all outdoor and the area seems to get hot during the day so I recommend bringing a hat and sun cream. Plenty of parking space, and restrooms are available.

It’s a beautiful garden in a very natural setting. There are many sections with different regional plants which deserve a whole day to explore. Also we came here for it’s famous for Anna’s hummingbird. It’s quite true. You could hear their distinctive sound once entering the garden. It’s basically everywhere. Also we saw California quail. Although it’s not very greenish because of fall season it’s still quite pretty.

Amazing spot in Santa Cruz to see some spectacular plants and the wildlife they attract. There are four main places represented - South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and California, with thoughtfully arranged trails and sculptures among the plants. Saw so many hummingbirds when I was there, as well as a gopher snake, butterflies, bees, lizards and a huge array of other birds. It's free to enter the first Tuesday of every month, otherwise it's $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and $5 for kids. There's also a great shop where you can buy relatives of the plants you've seen to take home.

I’m a sucker for a good Arboretum!! Really interesting South African and Australian plants and trees growing there. Plenty of sweet little places to sit/admire! Teeming with bees, lizards, and little wildlife. Very dreamy—would love to have it as my backyard 😎🤩

This place is pretty amazing. All sorts of interesting plants originally from South Africa, New Zealand, and Australia. Very weird and fascinating things that bloom here. I have been maybe five times, and every time felt worth the trip. Whatever you do, don’t miss the maple syrup tree that is very near the gift shop. Ask an employee to point it out to you if you can’t find it. Or smell it. You stand anywhere near it and it absolutely smells like maple syrup!

Beautiful gardens, and fantastic location for viewing hummingbirds in the spring. Many trails meander through the different area, each with plants and trees from different parts of the world - New Zealand, Australia, South Africa. A beautiful succulent garden as well. The gift shop has a great collection of plants for sale, reasonably priced. Entry fees are low - $10 ($8 for seniors), self pay on honor system. Lots of benches all over.

The map is useless. Just wander. Be careful of your step. Few of the paths are wheelchair friendly. The plant labels need attention; more of them, please, and legible. Take care at the entrance. It's not well marked.

There was a good variety of plants and things blooming in early June. Most of the gardens didn't seem very maintained (lots of overgrowth), and not all of the garden was very accessible. Plenty of places to sit and eat though.