The Children's Garden

The Children's Garden at the Arboretum is one of my 2 year old's favorite places to go. This place just rocks! It is a place that was built around all the stuff that kids LOVE to do, but don't always have a place to do it.

First, the basics. They are open in the spring and fall from Thursday to Sunday. In the summer, they are open on Wednesdays too. And, they are open from 10-5 except on Sunday, which is only from noon-5. The Children's Garden is located inside the Arboretum off Alumni Drive. If you are facing the big tree stumps, the entrance is on your left. They just put in bathrooms this year (yeah!) right next to the entrance and there are picnic tables there to enjoy food. They do not allow picnics inside the garden to reduce mess and pests, but I have never had anyone say anything when my kiddo has a pouch or small snack. The cost is free under 1, $3 per person over 2 or $10 for a family of 5. They also have a yearly membership for $75 for 5 guests. These 5 people do not need to be in your family. We have used this for friends and their kids too.

So, back to the fun stuff! You can play in a man-made creek splashing, wading, and stomping. There is a waterfall at the end that you can splash in and sit in. Every little kid that loves water's dream come true. We spend a lot of time here. A lot. Make sure to bring a spare change of clothing and shoes that can get wet since you must were shoes in the creek since there are rocks that could cut up feet.

They also have a house that they do story time in and a craft certain days of the week. And, a house that the kids can play in, hang laundry, pretend to cook, etc. They have a small boat that they can "fish" off of. There is a dirt pit they can dig in and put the dirt into wheelbarrows.

And, most kids favorite part, they have trains that run at 11:30 every day. There is a Thomas train and a Percy train. They are super cool and the kids totally love seeing them go by. There is also a sand area by the creek with sand toys. They can also water the plants there, run in the misters, and just run through the grass and explore. It is a super neat place and we go there a ton.

Things to keep in mind. Your kids will get dirty. And, I mean DIRTY! They will be sandy, they will be muddy, they will be wet. So, bring a change of clothing for sure. You won't want to put them into your car like that. Also, it is pretty sunny with very little shade. So, bring lots of water and coat them with sunscreen. And, have fun!