Above the Cal campus in Strawberry Canyon, the UC Botanical Garden lets you go from California redwoods to Asian magnolias to southern African deserts in one afternoon. The garden says its 34 acres hold more than 10,000 kinds of plants, including many rare and endangered species.

A short history

E.L. Greene, the first chairman of UC's botany department, started the garden in 1890 near Haviland Hall to preserve Pacific Coast plants, according to Wikipedia. The university bought Strawberry Canyon in 1909, and the garden moved there in 1925 under Thomas Harper Goodspeed, who later served as director from 1934 to 1957. From 1933 to 1934, Civilian Conservation Corps workers built roads and dams that supported later projects. Although it's run by UC Berkeley, the garden sits just inside Oakland's city limits in the Berkeley Hills.

Most outdoor collections are arranged by geography, and nearly all the specimens were collected in the wild. Wikipedia counts more than 20,000 accessions, with large collections of cacti, lilies, sunflowers, heaths and orchids. Greenhouses hold succulents, ferns and carnivorous plants.

What to look for

  • Mather Redwood Grove: a stand of coast redwoods with an amphitheater, renovated for the garden's 125th anniversary in 2015.
  • The Japanese Pool: California newts and rough-skinned newts have bred in this roughly 80-year-old pond for decades. In 2023 the garden raised $150,000 to seal leaks that were trapping and drowning them, Wikipedia reports.
  • Julia Morgan Hall: a historic hall the garden rents for events.

Hours and upcoming events

The garden was open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Oct. 30. The garden shop and plant nursery are open 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and closed Tuesdays. Upcoming programs listed on the official site include an iPhoneography class on Thursday, Nov. 5, and a November bird walk on Friday, Nov. 13. Check the official site for admission prices and the hours on the day you plan to go.

To see native plants just up the hill, read our Tilden Regional Park guide, which covers the separate Regional Parks Botanic Garden.