VanDusen Garden is a botanical garden in Vancouver. It’s home to events like the Sakura Days Japan Fair, All British Field Meet and Festival of Lights.
VanDusen Botanical Garden is 22 hectares (55 acres) of beautiful botanical gardens with plants from around the world. The garden is owned by the City of Vancouver.
For the garden’s official website, visit vandusengarden.org.
Topics in this article include the following:
Admission Prices | When to Visit | Spring Events at VanDusen | VanDusen Video in Spring | The Garden in Autumn | VanDusen Video in Fall | VanDusen Garden at Christmas | Other Information
Click any of the above links to jump to specific information, or continue reading to learn all about Vancouver’s VanDusen Botanical Garden.
VanDusen Garden
Located at 5251 Oak Street in Vancouver, VanDusen includes a large collection of gardens full of trees and wide variety of both native and exotic plants.
At VanDusen Botanical Garden there are a couple of small lakes and ponds, a stone garden, a hedge maze and Japanese, Korean and Chinese garden areas.
The venue also boasts beautiful rhododendrons in the spring, large open lawns and beautiful plants, flower gardens and trees of all kinds throughout the property.
There is free on-site parking at the venue, as well as street parking in the area. The Oakridge 41st Avenue SkyTrain Station is also just a 15-minute or so walk away.
To give you an idea of what to expect at the gardens, click VanDusen in Spring Video for a visual tour of the site.
Admission Prices at VanDusen
The regular entrance price at VanDusen Garden is reasonable. It costs more than free Stanley Park or Queen Elizabeth Park, but less than many other attractions.
As of 2024, adult admission costs between $9.80 and $13.80, depending on the season, although a bit more for special events. Senior and teenager admissions are $6.85 to $9.65, and children admissions are $4.90 to $6.90. If you like gardens, this one is definitely worth visiting.
Visit vandusengarden.org. for the garden’s official website.
When to Visit VanDusen
VanDusen Garden is worth visiting any time of the year, but especially in the late spring with its blossoms and flowers in bloom. Other great times to visit include the summer, as well as in the fall when the leaves are changing colour. The holiday lights at Halloween and Christmas time are also spectacular!
Special Events and Seasons at VanDusen Garden
Exceptional times to visit VanDusen Botanical Garden are when there are special events and activities on-site in the spring, fall and at Christmas.
Spring at VanDusen Garden
In the spring VanDusen Garden has special rates and activities over the school Spring Break, at Easter and over the May Long Weekend.
Below is a video showing what the gardens look like in May. It’s followed by information about the various events that take place at the venue in spring.
VanDusen Gardens in Spring Video
To give you an idea of what the gardens look like in spring, check out the following video. It was taken in the middle of May, in 2020, just before the Victoria Day Long Weekend. As you’ll see, late spring is one of the most beautiful times of the year to visit.
Spring Break at the Gardens
VanDusen Garden usually offers free admission to children under 13 years old when accompanied by an adult, senior or youth paying regular admission during the school Spring Break in March.
Easter at VanDusen
The Gardens are also a great place to visit at Easter as that’s when the Eggciting Easter Hop (formerly called the Great A-Maze-ing Egg Hunt) takes place for children ages 0 to 5.
Sessions typically run hourly starting at 10:00 am, 11:00 am, 12:00 pm and 1:00 pm. During those times kids hunt for eggs and then exchange their findings for candy or a chocolate.
The cost for the Eggciting Easter Hop is usually around $18 for children (0-5 years old), $14 for adults, $11 for seniors and youth (13-18 years old), and $8 for non-egg-hunting children (ages 6-12). The price for VanDusen Garden members is typically about $9. GST is included but online service charges are extra. The above rates include general admission to the gardens.
The Easter event happened last year, but was cancelled in 2024. Hopefully it returns next year!
Visit vandusengarden.org. for the garden’s official website.
Cherry Blossom Season
April can be a pretty time to visit VanDusen Garden. That’s when leaves are slowly starting to appear on the trees, tulips are beginning to bloom and cherry trees are turning pink.
Late April is usually the prettiest time of the month, but mid-April is when the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival’s Sakura Days Japan Fair takes place at VanDusen. That’s when, in addition to admiring the garden’s regular botanical features, visitors can experience a Japanese-style festival featuring Oriental foods and cultural exhibits.
Admission to Sakura Days usually costs between around $14 and $17 for adults, depending on whether you buy your tickets online or on the day at the gate.
In 2024 the Sakura Days Japan Fair happened on April 13th and 14th.
Click Sakura Days Japan Fair for more information.
VanDusen Plant Sale
On the last Sunday of April each year VanDusen Garden usually holds its annual Plant Sale. On that day admission to the site is free and thousands of plants are for sale.
Late April is when the trees are beginning to turn green and spring flowers are starting to bloom, which makes the last Sunday of the month an especially pleasant and affordable time to visit VanDusen. It’s also a great time to pick up some new plants for your own personal garden.
Last year, instead of happening at the end of April at VanDusen Botanical Gardens, the plant sale took place beside the Bloedel Conservatory in Queen Elizabeth Park on Sunday, May 13th. This past year’s sale featured about 500 plant varieties and ran from 10:00 am until 4:00 pm.
In 2024 the event was cancelled entirely. The garden said it hopes to bring it back next year.
May Long Weekend Car Show
Another fabulous time to visit the gardens in the spring is over the Victoria Day Long Weekend when the All British Field Meet (ABFM) takes place.
On the Saturday of the long weekend, hundreds of vintage British cars fill the lawns at the gardens. There are MGs, Jaguars, Rovers, Minis and all kinds of beautiful collectible vehicles!
If you like gardens and classic cars, then the Saturday of the May long weekend is the perfect time to visit! (TIP: VBGA members of VanDusen Botanical Garden get discounted admission to the car show with proof of membership.)
Click VanDusen British Car Show for more information.
All British Field Meet Video
To see what VanDusen Garden looks like when it’s full of classic British cars, check out the video below. It shows scenes of the All British Field Meet when it took place a few years ago. As you’ll see, both the garden and the cars are beautiful!
VanDusen Garden in Autumn
Autumn is an exceptional time to visit VanDusen Botanical Gardens. From mid-October until the first or second week of November, the fall colours in Vancouver are usually at their best.
Harvest Days at VanDusen Garden
VanDusen Garden has celebrated the fall season the last couple of years with Harvest Days.
In years prior to the pandemic, late October was usually when Glow in the Garden took place at night. During that event the place was full of Jack-o-lanterns and Halloween-themed illuminations. Instead of Glow Garden at night in 2022, VanDusen Garden began its new Harvest Days event which features family-friendly things to see and do during the day.
Harvest Days operated on Saturdays and Sundays in October last year. The fall-themed activities also took place on October 9th (i.e. Thanksgiving Monday) and on Friday, October 20th. Dates for Harvest Days in 2024 are to be confirmed as of mid-June.
VanDusen Gardens in Fall Video
To give you an idea of what VanDusen Botanical Garden looks like in autumn, check out the following video. It was filmed in mid-October in 2023. In the video you’ll see scenes from around the Winter Walk and Autumn Stroll, as well as scenes around Livingstone Lake an other areas in the in the north and northeast part of the garden.
(Music in this video is Upbeat Scandinavian Sunbathers by 22842325 from Pixabay.)
The Gardens at Christmas
For many visitors, the most beautiful time of the year to visit VanDusen Garden is at night time in December. That’s when the Festival of Lights takes place and the gardens sparkle with millions of holiday lights.
If you like Christmas and festive lights, then you’ll love the gardens in December.
Admission to the Festival of Lights ranges from $11 to $24, excluding taxes and online fees. For the 2023/2024 season, the Christmas illuminations were up between November 24th and January 7th. Details for this year are TBC.
Click Festival of Lights for more information.
Other Information
To learn more about the garden, see the VanDusen Garden‘s official website.
For a map of the gardens, click VanDusen Map.
For similar places to visit, see Vancouver’s Best Parks and Places in Nature which includes free venues like Stanley Park and Queen Elizabeth Park, but also comparable places to VanDusen that charge admission like the UBC Botanical Garden.
Other articles that might be of interest include the following:
- Attraction Tickets Thru Tiqets.com
- Metro Vancouver’s Top 100 Places
- Vancouver on a Budget
- Vancouver’s Calendar of Events
