Botanic Park Adelaide sits beside Adelaide Botanic Garden in the city’s east end, making the two green spaces easy to combine in one outing. The garden has conservatory displays and free daytime entry, while Botanic Park offers a historic arboretum and open space.
- Location: Adelaide’s east end, next to one another.
- Garden size: 50 hectares; allow an hour or a few hours, depending on how much you want to see.
- Botanic Park size: 34 hectares.
- Garden entry: Free during the day, including public holidays.
How the garden and Botanic Park fit together
Adelaide Botanic Garden and Botanic Park/Tainmuntilla are separate places next to each other, so you can visit both without treating them as a single site. The garden covers 50 hectares; its visitor guidance suggests allowing an hour or a few hours, depending on how much you want to see.
Botanic Park covers 34 hectares and lies a short walk from Adelaide’s central business district. It is a tree arboretum with conservation and historic importance, as well as a meeting place for Kaurna people and a social and cultural hub.
The Governors of the Botanic Gardens acquired the park in 1866. It was established as a park and planted over the years from 1873.
Garden areas and features to look for
The Bicentennial Conservatory is a major garden feature, with lowland rainforest plants from northern Australia, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and nearby Pacific islands. Some of the plants are at risk or endangered in their natural habitats.
Opened in 1988, the conservatory was designed by South Australian architect Guy Maron. The garden describes it as the Southern Hemisphere’s largest single-span conservatory.
It measures 100 metres long, 47 metres wide and 27 metres high, with 2,434 square metres of toughened glass. Its lower walkway crosses the forest floor, while the upper walkway passes through the canopy; both are wheelchair accessible.
The South Australian Museum is another cultural stop to pair with the Museum of Economic Botany, where entry is free. For the conservatory’s usual daily hours, plan around 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; it closes on Christmas Day.
On hot days, safety rules can change access: it closes at 2 p.m. when the forecast reaches 36°C and does not open when the forecast is 40°C or higher.
Botanic Park paths and open space
Botanic Park combines tree-lined space with a significant cultural and conservation story. Its history as an arboretum and a place of gathering gives the park a different character from the cultivated garden next door.
Opening hours
- Monday to Friday: 7:30–17:30
- Saturday and Sunday: 9:00–17:30
Last checked November 2026. Hours can change on holidays and for special events.
The park also hosts events, including Moonlight Cinema and WOMADelaide. The garden describes WOMADelaide as having a 30-year partnership with the Botanic Garden, connecting the event with the surrounding green space.
More than 50,000 vulnerable Grey-headed Flying-foxes roost in Botanic Park during the day. Around sunset, they leave to forage across Adelaide.
Opening information and visitor access
Adelaide Botanic Garden opens daily, including public holidays, and daytime entry is free. Its hours change with the seasons and daylight: from April through September, weekday hours are 7:15 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., while weekends and public holidays run from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
From October through March, the closing time is 6:30 p.m. on both weekdays and weekends or public holidays; weekday opening remains 7:15 a.m., and weekend and public-holiday opening remains 9 a.m.
The garden has six entrances: North Terrace (Main Gate), Botanic Road (East Lodge Gate), Plane Tree Drive (Friends’ Gate and Conservatory Gate), Hackney Road (Hackney Gate), and Frome Road (Ginkgo Gate). All are wheelchair accessible except Hackney Gate, which is inaccessible because of its gradient.
Paved and bitumen paths run throughout the garden, though some areas have gravel or sawdust paths. Most of the site is flat, with steep paths leading to the Sunken Garden and Threatened Seed Orchard. Accessible toilets are available at five locations, and a Changing Places bathroom at map reference A4 requires an MLAK key.
Wheelchairs can be hired from reception in the Goodman Building on Hackney Road. You must pre-book; weekend bookings need to be made before 3 p.m. on Friday. Bikes and scooters can be used to get to the garden but not inside it. You may walk a bicycle through the garden, and bike racks are outside the entrances.
Hours and access arrangements can change, so check the official site before you go.
How do you get to the gardens from central Adelaide?
The Botanic Gardens tram stop is about 100 metres from the garden’s Main Gate on North Terrace, and tram travel within the city centre is free. A free City Connector bus stops on North Terrace and East Terrace near the Main Gate. For other bus services into the city, the garden advises checking Adelaide Metro.
The gardens can fit into a one-day Adelaide walking route from the city centre.
The South Australian Museum is another cultural stop in the North Terrace precinct, making it easy to pair with a garden visit.
From BreakFree Adelaide, about 2.0 km from the gardens, the outing is a central-Adelaide option to combine with the North Terrace cultural precinct.
FAQs
Are Botanic Park and Adelaide Botanic Garden the same place?
No. They are separate neighbouring places in Adelaide’s east end, with different areas and features.
What is the history of Botanic Park?
The Governors of the Botanic Gardens acquired it in 1866, and it was established and planted as a park from 1873 onward.
Can you take a bicycle into Adelaide Botanic Garden?
Bicycles are not permitted to be ridden inside, but you may walk one through the garden. Bike racks are available outside the entrances.