1900 Associated Rd, Fullerton, CA 92831
Hours:
- 9 AM-4 PM Monday-Sunday
Admission Fee:
- Entrance to the gardens is free but a $5 donation is suggested.
Are dogs allowed in the Arboretum?
- Sorry, dogs are not allowed in the Arboretum.
Overview
Fullerton Arboretum is a fantastic, under the radar arboretum, located on the campus of Cal State Fullerton. The 26 acre Botanical Garden consists of over 4,000 plants that visitors can view. Paved paths take guests through four major collections among beautifully manicured grounds. This is a phenomenal Botanical Garden to visit for families with kids, as a very nice children’s area is present here in which kids will love as well as a fun bamboo forest that youngsters will enjoy running and playing in. These gardens are typically pretty quiet and I personally find them to be incredibly underrated.
Features
The gardens are broken up into 4 major collections. These sections include Cultivated, Woodlands, Mediterranean and a Desert section. The Arboretum provides a great, downloadable, interactive map on their website to make it easier for visitors to get around.
Cultivated Section
After entering the park, visitors will pass over a bridge with a pretty cascading waterfall and then will arrive at the visitors center and bathrooms. Some of the best areas lie just beyond the visitor center. The focal point of the park is almost assuredly the Heritage House, which was built in 1894.
Heading past the Heritage House is one of my favorite parts of the Arboretum. A beautiful arbor allows visitors to walk through it and embrace the beauty of the gardens with beautiful citrus gardens lining the area to its side.
Children’s Garden
Just past the arbor sits what will surely be most families favorite part of the gardens. The fantastic Children’s Garden features a “Earth House” that will catch the kids attention and leave them playing in it for some time.
The kids garden also houses a learning and chimes area along with a lot of creatively constructed areas that children will enjoy exploring.
Just to the side of the Children’s Garden is a great seasonal garden that offers a seasonal sunflower field among other seasonal flower opportunities.
The Cultivated section of the park also features a fantastic Rose Garden, Rare Fruit Grove and Orange Grove. Overall, I believe the Cultivated area of the gardens is the most spectacular on the grounds.
Woodlands Section
The woodlands section of the park offers some great opportunities as well. The main areas of this section include Subtropicals, a Thorn Forest, Palms, Deciduous Woodlands and Conifers. One of the highlights of this area is the phenomenally attractive Ombu tree.
Kids will have a blast climbing amongst this massive tree. Further down is a beautiful Lake/Pond with some surrounding Sequoias. The Deciduous Woodlands area, adjacent to the lake, is one of my personal favorite parts of the Arboretum.
From here, A small bridge crosses into what is sure to be another fan favorite with the kids. An eye catching bamboo forest lines the edge of the lake and allows visitors the fun opportunity to make their way through it.
Mediterranean Section
Here visitors will come into contact with native gardens to California. One of the better areas in this section is the Channel Islands area. I typically do not spend a lot of time in this portion of the gardens but plant lovers may find this section enticing.
Desert Section
The last section of the park is the Desert section. This area is made up of Desert plants with tons of winding trails allowing visitors to explore an abundance of cacti, cholla and other desert plants. This area is rather large and offers a good diversity of desert plants.
Scout’s Story and Visits to The Fullerton Arboretum
Over the past few years the Fullerton Arboretum has become a very special place to our family. It has given us a beautiful place, relatively close to our house, where we could go and clear our minds for a short period of time. Our first visit here was exactly four months to the day that cancerous tumors were found in our year old daughter, Scout’s, liver and pelvic area. As Scout continued her fight against stage 4 cancer, we were eager to still allow her to get outside, while also being cautious to not have her get sick with her weakened immune system. Fullerton Arboretum presented us with a great and relaxing area to bring Scout and enjoy nature.
We would visit the Arboretum countless times and each trip has been very special to us. The Arboretum never seems crowded and is truly a delight to walk through. Some of Scout’s favorite areas are the bamboo forest by the lake and the Children’s Garden with it’s “Earth House” that Scout loves walking into and hearing her voice echo.
The covered trellis, just before the Children’s Garden is one my favorite areas to walk through. The great thing about the Arboretum is there are different things to see depending on the season. However, regardless of what season one decides to visit, you will always be greeted by grounds that are beautiful and stunning to walk through.
Getting to Fullerton Arboretum
A paid parking lot is located directly adjacent to the arboretum entrance. The price to park is $4/hour or $10/day. Visitors can pay through the mobile parking app displayed on the signs in the parking lot.
