Volunteer Park Conservatory

Recently did a photo shoot here for a marriage proposal. It’s a lovely place — small but very charming. When we were there, it wasn’t crowded. You need to arrange the shoot in advance and be considerate of visitors. There’s a beautiful park nearby with more open space to continue the session.

What a wonderful Seattle gem. I always enjoy my visits here, they are short and sweet and I am always over the moon to be surrounded by their beautiful plants. This is a Victorian styled building located at Volunteer Park. It is filled to the brim with many varieties of orchids, ferns, pitcher plants, bromeliads, air plants and more. I fell in love with Staghorn ferns after seeing them here for the first time years ago. I also quite enjoy their cactus garden. They do have a sweet little gift shop with reasonably priced live plants, I managed to leave with only two of them today. We came specifically for the conservatory today but stay and enjoy all the other amazing things at Volunteer Park.

What a surprise! Love this place. Saw so many beautiful plants and flowers we haven't seen before. $6 admission fee for adult. $4 for kids or students.

Huge park with lots to do for just about everyone. It has a large British Victorian style Art Deco plant conservatory, a Museum of Asian Art, miles of trails amid lawns and flowers, lots of wildlife (ducks, songbirds, rabbits. . . You get the idea! It's definitely worth a visit!

I recently visited the conservatory on the first Thursday of April. The conservatory has a bunch of pretty flowers and few cacti. It's was nice to walk around and spend some time here. This is a Victorian-style greenhouse, housing an extensive collection of exotic plants. Would highly recommend to check out this place if you are in the area. The park is great to stroll around or relax on a warm sunny day.

Awesome greenhouse. So many cool plants, some I've never seen, and so many that are very old. Many things were in bloom. I'll definitely come back some time. We went on May 3rd 2025 and there was a plant sale occurring around the back of the greenhouse.

Cool and quiet place, nice plants! It's kinda small (You can tour it in like 15-20mins), or take your time and go slow

Lovely greenhouse. Worth an hour visit. Interesting cactus and tree fern collections.

Beautiful park! Here in a business trip and so after my inspection I needed some grounding with Mother Nature ! walked barefooted through this gorgeous & lush mini forestry trail . I fell in love with the redwoods, pines, and so many species of trees ! Saunter and engage with Mother Nature and hug a tree, the energy these grandfathers give are amazing . Recharge, Reset and get inspired ‍‍‍

I recently visited the conservatory on the first Thursday of April. The conservatory has a bunch of pretty flowers and few cacti. It's was nice to walk around and spend some time here. This is a Victorian-style greenhouse, housing an extensive collection of exotic plants. Would highly recommend to check out this place if you are in the area. The park is great to stroll around or relax on a warm sunny day.

Cool! If you live in Seattle you should stop by just to see especially if you like plants

It's not often one gets the chance to visit a conservatory. This one, nestled inside Seattle's legendary Volunteer Park, is a sight to behold with its elegant architecture and room after room full of everything from native plant specimens to desert-dwellers, tropical trees, and all sorts of amazingness. It's basically like a zoo, but for plants, and I'm here for it. The space is brightly lit, and each room has its own mini-ecosystem depending on what's planted there. The entry fee (collected at an electronic pay station upon entry) is $6/person with discounts for seniors, kids, and groups. There are a LOT of signs around about not using the facility for your own personal photo shoot during regular hours, but sadly there were still folks there using it for a fashion shoot, which made it that much more difficult to navigate the narrow aisles. I was excited to visit their tiny, but mighty, little gift shop, where I purchased a collectible magnet but was tempted to do some holiday shopping from their sweet collection of handmade jewelry, art, and other items. They also had some interesting books, but they were QUITE expensive. Parking here is free, and be sure to wander around the park when you're done.

This is such a beautiful spot! Tickets are $6 and are affordable and when we went on a rainy day it was pretty empty! It's not as big as some of the other conservatories I've been to in other cities but I appreciated this one. The staff are all very friendly and open to providing more information on plants you might be interested in learning more about. They also have little info labels on certain plants they are highlighting. Some area to sit and relax to enjoy the plants. There is also a cute little gift shop to purchase a souvenir or grab something that strikes your fancy.

A little greenhouse on a hill basically, we came on a 70* day and it was already unbearably hot in there and they had every door open. I would not pay to enter again. This should be a free attraction it took 5 minutes to sweat our way through a greenhouse. I've shopped at bigger greenhouses for free and saw way more flora and fauna...

We dropped into Volunteer Park Conservatory before visiting the Seattle Asian Art Museum. For me personally, I enjoyed the Conservatory more. We dropped in while they were having a Chrysanthemum contest, and thus got to vote on our favorites. Of the four sections the west end was probably the least interesting, with only a few flowers currently blooming. The section where you enter had gorgeous blooms and palm plants and we got a short walk through by the attendant on how they made the hanging beads into palm oil. The next section (towards the east) had the mums and different arrangements you could vote on. Personally, I found the 'no professional photography' signs to be rather confusing and wasn't sure if guests were allowed to snap photos in certain rooms with their phone or not, so I didn't get any pictures of the contest. Finally, the last room was my favorite - the cactus room. I had no idea a cactus could be furry like a sheep. One sported yellow wool and another, long white wool. These and some of the other cacti that develop into designs were the highlight of the visit for me. The service was friendly and helpful and they had student pricing which I always appreciate. If you are are a flower/cactus enthusiast or visiting the art museum, you should definitely drop into the Volunteer Park Conservatory.

Best date spot ever $6 Not overly crowded or loud, but water features and small talk make it not awkwardly silent either (rec: go ~2/3 - Last entry 3:45, slows down around 2). avoid eye contact and look at some of the oldest random plants instead (i.e. cacti, air plants, ferns, monsteras, etc) a few (4?) sitting spots. The 2 nooks by the big monstera are big and you can sit against the window and paint or read or just be present (see photo) In volunteer park so not far from food and drinkage, and nature and epic views of course.

love this place! my fav park; great place for all ages and those who like to have a picnic or a private smoke sesh

Had a good time taking a quick stroll with my friend (who loves plants). Cost is $6 per person. We came in with about 30 min before they closed, and that is about how long it takes for you to go through the spot, maybe faster if you zoom through. You can take pictures, but there is no photoshoots for prom/weddings/etc. That is separate and needs private appointments. The weird thing was buying the tickets. Someone was there when we entered and helped us order tickets through a machine and he had to hit a ton of buttons to simply get 2 tickets. I hope they change this system as it can definitely be improved. Street parking available. We were lucky to get a spot right in front of the conservatory.

The Positive: We love coming here for the beautiful botanical gardens, museums etc. During the spring and summer months, the amphitheater has live music, which is also fun to check out. They often have food trucks, and lots of fun activities for the kiddos. If you're visiting Seattle on vacation, this park is a must-see attraction. The Negative: The ginormous houses in this neighborhood are absolutely beautiful, but (low key) it made me a little angry, bc it reminds me of just how F'd up our country is, where you can really only buy a large house in a beautiful area if you're rich, white, and you were old enough to have purchased a home decades ago, when the American Dream was actually obtainable for a working class family. Income inequality in this country is a real thing, so if stuffy old white boomers are your demographic, or, you're wealthy enough to afford a multi-million dollar mansion, then this neighborhood is definitely for you.

The conservatory is such a pretty space! They have parking around the area/park that is completely free and you can walk up to the conservatory. The admissions is $4 per person and they accept cash or card. The lady at the front was very informative on how to walk to conservatory and what there is inside (a little cute shop is located inside). If you have the time and love plants, this is a nice place to drop by. Definitely recommend!

Volunteer Park Conservatory is the best place to go to during winter for much needed plant therapy during the cold winter months. They currently have beautiful Christmas trees and a holiday train (running only on weekends). It's always so warm and inviting inside and it's the best place to go to when my seasonal depression flares up.

For years this has been one of my favorites attractions in the area perfect for a photoshoot. I'm a photographer myself and I'm always looking for good background and this place is perfect. Basically is place to learn and admire all types of plants. The have common ones and exotic ones, they even have an area with desert plants (cacti). It's open from 10-4pm, prices are very accesible ($4 per adult , child under 5 are free) Parking is also free and once you're done plant watching you can walk around into the arboretum.

The conservatory is packed full of colorful vibrant plants. Each plants is so special on its own, but when combined makes you feel as if you're in a jungle. The tour for us took about 30 minutes. It was a nice little break from being outside in the rain. The gentleman working the door told my little ones he'd hid two little ducks that needed to be found to get a sticker. Soooo we couldn't leave until we found them of course. Such a fun little bonus!

This conservatory is small but very very nice. All the plants were in excellent shape and well-manicured. I visited with my sister, who is a plant goddess now due to the pandemic. She needed her plant fix so I thought why not go to one of the better conservatories in the area. It was nice to get out of the cold into the warm conservatory and watch my sister work her magic identifying all the plants in the conservatory. She's really quite good if I do say so myself. I digress. I'm glad the conservatory was open during the pandemic. Masks were required and so was proof of vaccination. The docent at the door showed us how to use the pay station to purchase our tickets to the conservatory and we made our way through the 4 different rooms of the conservatory and the gift shop. The majority of the plants were tropical but there were also a variety of desert plants and they had a room specifically set up with Christmas decor and poinsettias. Had my sister not been a plant geek, it probably would have been a quick stop but we were in there for about an hour and a half which is totally fine. Parking is free and seems to be abundant since the Asian Art Museum is close by and there is a huge park in the surrounding area so it's a great place for people just to hang out or play with their dog or picnic.

I LOVE glass conservatories! I make sure to go to them whenever I am in a city with one. Volunteer Park is great, and the glass building was phenomenal. It was only a few dollars to get in, and you can do a lap in about 20 min. I ended up chatting with the guy in the gift shop and didn't realize they closed so early, so I missed out on some of the plants. I wish they had told me when I was purchasing the ticket, 'btw you only have 15 minutes'. I prob would've come back when I had more time and coulda gotten my $6 worth.

This greenhouse has been in Volunteer Park since the early 1900s. Its architecture is based off of London's Crystal Palace and it includes five greenhouse rooms dedicated to certain plant categories: palm, bromeliad, fern, seasonal, and cactus. Cool little plant showcase, though I wished that there were more plant species labeled especially as some of them were quite hidden. For example, one of the staff members directed me specifically towards the "Life Saver" cactus as it was easy to overlook since it was concealed by surrounding cacti and had no label (this cactus has parts that look just like red Life Savers candies hence its nickname). The rooms are fairly small and taking my time I spent about a total of 30 minutes here. Overall not a bad spot if you have a little extra time in your day to see a nice array of plants. $4 admission.

Weather was rainy, so thought I'd scope out the conservatory during a trip to Seattle. Walking in, there's a self serve kiosk where you pay the $6 admission fee. There's a decent selection of plants, but the place isn't very large. There are a few rooms to walk through and going at a steady place, you can view the entire place in about 30 minutes. It was an OK spot to check out, but unless you're a true plant geek and take time to look at each specimen, it'll be a quick trip. I didn't feel it was fully worth the $6 admission, but it did help me kill some time on a rainy day.

Great place to walk around and see the beautiful flowers. Reasonable admission at $4 per person and you can easily walk through it in an afternoon. Would recommend if you are in the area and want to see some pretty gardening.

Great little find in Volunteer Park located in the north end (Capitol Hill). Entry fee is only $6.00 for adults. The actual greenhouse is small and can be walked in 15-20 minutes at a leisurely pace. Getting into a warm place with no rain is always a bonus in the Spring! The blooming flowers are amazing! Love the orchids and tropical varieties.

Free first Thursday of the month- score!!! Orchid collection from the era of private glass houses Bromeliads rub shoulders w coleus Ferns & Fuscia & fringed orchid

A tranquil, tropical oasis tucked away in the heart of Volunteer Park. The Conservatory is a beautiful glass greenhouse, eye-catching in all seasons with flora blooming year-round. Growing up in Arizona, the cozy cacti collection is charming to explore. The carnivorous pitcher plants are very fun to look at. During Christmastime, the Conservatory is bedecked in poinsettias and has a holiday train set running, complete with a miniature village - whimsical and fun! Admission is quite reasonable at $4 and helps fund the greenhouse's maintenance. The Conservatory's modest collection takes about 30 minutes to tour leisurely. Admission is not timed - tickets are sold on a walk-in basis, sold through a ticket machine, contact free. Highly recommend this urban gem - a quite welcome escape in Capitol Hill!

The conservatory is pretty small but nice and worth the 4 dollar entrance fee. Good place to find refuge from a downpour. When we were there, it was split into two climates, tropical and desert.

A beautiful, semi-tropical greenhouse located in the heart of Volunteer Park. Easy access to the playground and water tower, not to mention fields for relaxing, picnics and play. Few parking spots can be found at the roundabout directly ahead of the Conservatory entrance. Friendly docents welcome guests and even offer tours - solicited and otherwise. But so sweet, kind and helpful. The plants are extraordinary! Some were familiar, but most were amazing and new, beautiful and surreal. A room of ferns, another with cacti, and yet another with varying orchids. Wonderful, thoughtful and such a neat place to spend a little time. Free entry on the first Thursday of the month, but paying to get in is worthwhile, and helps support the efforts of everyone involved.

I first visited this place back in February, so entering the conservatory was great because it was warm! Besides that, there were so many varieties of flowers, plants, trees, and cacti which were well taken care of. I felt like I was somewhere else, it was truly very beautiful and green.

The Volunteer Park Conservatory is pretty small, but is still most definitely worth the visit!! It's $4 for adults and there's a surprising amount of plants to see. It's free entry on the first Thursday of each month if you're not inclined to pay the price. Take your time and really savor the plants and try to look for things that aren't readily obvious and you'll have a lovely time. I went in mid-January and several of the plants still had their flowers! There's a few places to park nearby. If not, there's a ton of street parking and then you have an excuse to walk through the park!

Great spot to spend an hour or so. For a reasonable price of admission you can tour the conservatory, which includes orchids and a desert garden area. We keep coming back and always include it in a Seattle day in or around Volunteer Park. Definitely put it on your list, especially during the rainy winter months!

I went in February when it was still free to attend due to a nice donation from a family in the community. Since it was free during this time, it was packed! It was hard to truly enjoy the plants when I felt I had to keep moving cause of the line. Regardless, that is nice that people in the community or even out of town can enjoy the conservatory. The plants are all well taken care of and they have a great variations of what is showcased. My favorite had to be the succulents and cacti portion of the conservatory. They're labelled nicely and are planted well in terms of landscape. Everywhere I turn and look there's a plant!

I've been to Volunteer Park several times but had never been into the conservatory, until this past weekend (we were enticed by the free admission, which continues through Feb 2019). The conservatory is located on the northern part of the park (pretty close to the circular Isamu Noguchi sculpture). We arrived shortly after it opened (around 10:30 a.m.) and the place was pretty empty, so we were able to look around fairly leisurely and take some pics (without tons of people in them). By the time we left, it was definitely starting to get more crowded! At the entrance, they have a laminated document that you can carry with you -- the document has some tidbits about each of the different rooms and some of the plants featured in each room so you can take yourself on a "guided" tour. I also learned that the conservatory has been around since 1912! So impressive. My husband and I both really enjoyed our visit! Having been to the botanical gardens in DC and several other gardens, etc. I was unsure what the conservatory would offer, but I was truly impressed! It is a bit smaller than some other botanical gardens, yet there are still MANY unique and interesting plans to look at, study, photograph and enjoy. There were plenty that I had never seen before and was fascinated by. The cactus/succulent room was great, as well! Also, for you Instagrammers...lots of photo opps! :)

We have been to Volunteer park a few times, but never went inside the conservatory before. We decided to check it out this time, at $4 per person it is affordable. They have an amazing collection of tropical plants, cacti, etc. Its warm once you enter, and a little humid, and a nice change for sometime when it's cold outside. We enjoyed our time in conservatory, and would recommend it to everyone, visit it at least once.

What an oasis! This was just what I need for my winter blues. It's only $4 dollars per person. They also have a cute little gift shop. It appears to be broken up into 5 different rooms. I absolutely loved the room with the tulips and hydrangeas. It reminds me of Easters back East when I was a little girl. It was wonderful. Definitely loose yourself in the desert room! It's nothing like the Seattle Surroundings. This is the perfect activity To do on a cold rainy Seattle day

Volunteer Park Conservatory is awesome! Came here for the first time last weekend with a group of friends and we all loved the place! Location and parking: located in North Cap Hill area, the park it's located in has a good view of the city! Parking was plenty when we were there and it was free! I think there's usually an admission fee of $4 or something, but the machine had a sign on it saying free admission so we didn't pay anything. They have 3 main rooms you can walk through and a gift shop in the back. I loved all the plants! So many giant air plants! Such an awesome place. It is a lil warmer inside the greenhouse, and it's a great spot to get some great pictures! I will be bringing all out of towners here from now on!

Oh yes! Such a wonderful selection of succulents and tropical! So many examples, usually seen only in lesser forms, grown to gigantic sizes, so well loved and cared for! For plant and nature lovers, this is a wonderful hidden gem! Pro tip: if you don't have a credit card or $1 bills for the $2.25 admission, feel free to head to the gift shop for other payment options.

UPDATED: The conservatory is no longer free. Admission is $4 (18+), $2 (13-17), and free for under 12. Definitely worth the cost, despite it being small. I brought my three kiddos (ages 2-7) and the older two were fascinated by all the plants (especially the stag horn ferns and the air plants) and loved taking pictures of plants that they wanted to sketch at home. On a sunny winter day, this place was such a warm refuge from the cold!

Not only is the exterior gorgeous with its Victorian-style structure full of glass panes and bordering flowerbeds, but so is the inside! The greenhouse comprises of different rooms, each with its unique theme and plethora of flora. Dress accordingly as some sections are humid and warm. It's neat that the conservatory hosts events and workshops as well. I came for the Northwest Orchid Society's fall orchid show and sale. The show displayed a long table of beautiful orchids, and the sale was in a greenhouse behind the building. Admission is free each first Thursday and Saturday of the month. Otherwise, adult tickets are a mere $4. I stayed for over an hour with most of the time spent admiring the orchids. Benches are also provided for those who just want to sit and relax.

If I had to pay to get in I'm sure this review would be less stunning, but as I went during their Lunar New Year celebrations it was gloriously FREE! My favorite price! Walking inside on a grey and cold day after just taking tons of ridiculously trite pictures in the water tower felt amazing. It is warm and balmy, just the temperature you imagine summer to be. The walkways go around the outside of each section, so it is really easy to do a big loop, and hopefully there are likeminded individuals so there isn't a ton of wrong way-traffic to deal with. I loved hanging out in here-- the tower combined with this place made for a perfect lazy Saturday post-brunch activity.

This place is a beautiful medium sized greenhouse. It's exceptionally well taken care of and had a number of beautiful specimens. They've got orchids, ferns, tropical vines and one greenhouse specifically for cacti. The entry fee is $4 which is well worth it.

they day we came it was FRee ... so thank you to the family that paid to make it free for all of us. it's a pretty place, plants are nice they do a good job, people working / staff - friendly. i think our group was done in about 30min but we are fast lookers ... we took some fun photos it was cold so we didn't walk the park but it looked nice.

I can only add to the glowing reviews. My sister and I went last Saturday and it was packed with people. For the month of February it is free. I believe the regular admission is $4.00. Saturday was a dark, gray day and the Conservatory was bright and colorful. One tip is to dress lightly because the humidity and temperature are very high. It consists of several rooms with each dedicated to A particular species of plants. Palms, ferns, and cactus are the ones I remember. There are laminated fact sheets with the building layout and specifics about each kind of plant. What a lovely way to brighten up our gray, winter days.

Great place to visit and spend some time inside. It was supposed to rain that day so that is why I picked this place (it didn't rain). I've been here a couple of times and while it's not huge, the price is right and there is plenty of variety. Also, we walked around the outside park and there was plenty to see and enjoy.

Within Volunteer Park is this conservatory. It is a greenhouse structure with a nice array of plants and flowers of different climates. There are five rooms in total. I am more about visiting the park for its wide open spaces, but if you are looking for an indoor diversion, this would be one of them. Although it is somewhat smallish, there is a great diversity of flora. You can find here tropical varieties as well as desert plants like cactus. Of course in different rooms, which are regulated in temperature. I am not a horticultural buff, so I can't tell you what most of the plants and flowers here are other than the obvious ones, but I can say that they are certainly nice to look at. Though I wished there was a description to read off what each was. If you are headed to Volunteer Park, take some time to visit the Conservatory and look at all the pretty things there.

While out and about in Seattle, we stopped by Volunteer park and went into the Volunteer park Conservatory. It was amazing! Beautiful plants, flowers and cactus. Worth a stop and no charge to go in! For all of you photographers, camera's may fog up at first while entering, but then you will be fine.

Came here on a few different occasions, and it wasn't repetitive/boring at all! The staff are extremely nice and knowledgeable, I happened to come with my Bio class one time, and we had an in depth tour of the place. Gorgeous plants, and layout is very easy to navigate. I love how the rooms are set up and how cozy it feels. During Christmas time, decorations are put up. A whole room is dedicated to poinsettias, a grand Christmas tree, and a cute little train going around the Center. Definitely a sight, and I wouldn't hesitate to bring my friends and family back again for more!

We went here this afternoon and it's very pretty. There are five greenhouses (all attached to each other), including a huge cactus collection. Admission is $4 for adults. Also, the woman working at the entrance was friendly.

If you ever wondered what some people in Souther California have in their gardens, this is the place to visit. Oh, and the gift shop is WAY over priced. *yelp wants longer reviews... Ain't nobody got time for that! So here are a couple of sentences to please the people of yelp who think that people need to keep reading reviews instead of getting on with their lives

It's a bummer that Seattle Parks is charging people $4 to come see these plants. It's been free my whole life until recently. Just another example of Seattle hating poor people. Then there's a white lady at the door to get in your business and make sure you pay. Plus the payment kiosk is right in the middle of the plants looking all ugly like a parking meter. Credit Cards only, moor elitist BS. Plants are OK. Not better than the free to look at plants outside. Just don't try to come in hear to get out of the rain if you're not here to pay.

Whenever I find myself in Seattle I feel the draw. Especially on cold wet days. I usually give in to temptation. The conservatory has five different rooms. Each has its own temperature and humidity. Each also has different kinds of plants. I think the fern room (with the waterfall) is my favorite. Though they are all great. There are always lots of flowers. If you are especially lucky the cactuses will be in bloom. I've seen it a few times and I am always happy! The first room, called the Palm room is a great starting point, I can spend a lot of time looking at the orchid collection. Note: pay your admission at the little credit card machine at the entrance, it is self serve. I also like the little gift shop when it is open. really all the rooms are nice, there are several places to sit, The bonus is I get a chance to forget the outside weather and look at plants. It may not be the biggest conservatory I have seen, but sitting in Volunteer Park, it is pretty great.

One of my favorite places to go on a rainy day, the Volunteer Park Conservatory is a glass-walled greenhouse/indoor garden that transports you to an entirely different world within the few short steps to enter it. The building is beautiful on the outside and gorgeous on the inside. You could see the entire place in about 30 minutes, but you probably won't want to. There are so many unusual plants and green spaces to linger over that I think I usually spend almost 2 hours there every time that I visit. Given its beauty and its ease of access, I am surprised it's never been crowded any of the times that I have visited it. It is exceptionally well-kept-up. I visited it for the first time in the autumn of 2011 and last visited it in the autumn of 2018. 7 years later, it looks almost exactly the same as it always has, which is wonderful! Don't change a thing!