A Magical Children’s Garden
Rainbow tunnels, misting volcanos covered in vines and a little secret blue door that leads you into a very magical Children’s Garden. Nestled inside the The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens sits one of our favorite places for any age.
The Huntington is a lot of ground to cover physically and descriptively. The Library, which houses more than 430,000 rare books; the Art Gallery, which has a serious collection and rotating exhibitions; and perhaps most famously the Botanical Gardens, which contain over 150,000 plant varieties on 120 acres. There is a Chinese Garden, Japanese Garden, Rose Garden, and the Desert Garden to name a few. There are ponds with turtles, large open grassy areas with goslings roaming and even an herb garden. But our favorite of all is the Children’s Garden.
After entering through a kid-sized blue door and passing under a tunnel of roses, children find themselves in an imaginative landscape that invites them to observe, imagine and play in all elements of nature. Disappear in a swirling bank of fog, catch water in a whirlpool, run through a rainbow tunnel of prism-diffracted sunlight, or have magnetic energy run though their hands with iron particles in the play area filled with sand.
Summer days are perfect here as there is just enough water play (bring a change of clothes and water shoes) and the misting volcanos will refresh both kids and adults on a hot summer day. We prefer to pack a lunch and eat inside one of the structures covered in greenery that has a child’s size set of tables and chairs; it’s like their very own magical fairy house.
For a treat before or after playing in the garden visit The Red Car Coffee Shop opposite their gift shop near the entrance to enjoy a scoop of Fosselman’s Ice Cream Co. ice cream.
Ticketing: The best value is to become a member if you are local. Tickets for one day are the following: Adults: $25/$29, Seniors (65+): $21/$24, Military (with ID): $21/$24, Students (12-18 or full-time/ID): $21/$24, Youth (4–11): $13, Children(under 4): Free
Parking: Large free parking lot; weekends are the busiest times to find parking
Address: 1151 Oxford Road San Marino, CA 91108
Hours: Open Daily 10-5pm, Closed Tuesdays
For More Information: https://huntington.org/
