Olbrich Botanical Gardens

Amazing botanical gardens with beautiful walks and calming oasis along the trails. The Thai pavillion is the highlight with a truly tremendous structure and a calming water pond n front. The walkways around the gardens are magnificant and the landscaping is impeccable. The beautiful array of colors in the flowers and shaded benches to sit on a very hot day are all fantastic. The place is free and the inside conservatory is $ 2 so I would say this place is a gem! I found it to be serene and magical!

Not sure how anyone can rate this venue as less than 5 stars. It is free, beautiful with many photo ops, you can have your wedding here for $ 1k (not that im engaged or even have a bf but just sayin lol), is open year round with a change in shrubbery and florals (i didnt get to see the animal shrubs as they create those in the fall). There is also an option for $ 2 indoor conservatory/​greenhouse, and thats free until noon. There is also a gift shop which is kind of pricey. The staff were also very friendly and knowledgeable. One even suggested a tram ride which was about a 15 minute ride around the garden (also free).

Olbrich Botanical Gardens is a special place in Madison. Wonderfully arranged and maintained themed gardens that make for a relaxed and serene visit.

Being new (ish) to Madison, I’m still figuring out what to do here. We stopped by this place late one Saturday afternoon in May. Lot’s of wedding/​prom/​communion photos happening. But made no difference. It was a great place to walk around and take in nature.

On a day when the temperature didn’t break 3° paying $ 2 to trick your body into feeling like it’s in a tropical rainforest is completely worth it. Complete with chirping birds, koi and flowering plants, the dome really makes you feel like you’re walking through the rainforest. It is completely worth the entrance fee and I can only imagine what it looks like in the summer. We will definitely be back!

As you can probably guess if you follow my reviews, I love going to botanical gardens. This one was a stop on a trip to see friends in Madison, and we went at just the right time; the weather was gorgeous, the grounds were spacious without being exhaustingly huge, and the exhibits were lovely. We got to see the butterfly exhibit, which was fun and fascinating, and the staff was extremely friendly, helpful, and enthusiastic. Stop for a visit if you can.

The gardens were amazing. Such a peaceful escape from the city. A highlight for me was the pavilion at the Thai gardens. I can see why it’s the #1 attraction on trip advisor.

Sometimes you just need to walk and this is a great place to do it. So many wonderful things to learn about for the avid gardener. The pavilion is great to explore with kids. I like to visit the indoor space during the winter when I need a break, I’ll bring my sketchbook sometimes and draw the snow covered trees from inside.

Beautiful oasis, lovely gardens, don’t miss the butterflies! Even on a hot day there are cool & shady benches strategically scattered.

What a fantastic place for a day-​cation! My girlfriend and I spent the day there just walking around and admiring all of the beautiful artwork. Lucky for us, the butterfly exhibit was also taking place! That was a great experience with a reasonably priced admissions fee. I am giving this place 4 stars for two reasons: 1) No pets are allowed; and 2) No food for a picnic. Either one of those would had made for a much more pleasurable experience.
I do plan on returning again, especially when my family comes to visit from out of town.

The Olbrich Botanical Gardens make for a great (free!) summer afternoon. We went during the butterfly bloom, well worth the $ 7, and enjoyed the surrounding grounds.
The gardens are easily walkable, there is also a small bus, and can be viewed in an hour or so. Plenty of spots to grab a seat or read in the quiet. The gardens are well kept and the occasional guide is sure to have an interesting tidbit.
The month-​long butterfly bloom is awesome. The plant and bird life in the conservatory make for an interesting and eye-​catching backdrop to the butterflies.

Free Free Free, who doesn’t like free. My family decided to stop by Olbrich Botanical Gardens on our trip to Chicago. All I can say, is it’s a must visit place, especially on a beautiful day in Madison, Wisconsin. If you’re driving through Madison and have an hour or so to kill. Make sure you visit here! The garden is free (donations welcomed), while the conservatory is $ 3 for adults and $ 2 for children. I didn’t have a chance to go to the conservatory, but it looked like it’d be worth the trip.
The garden was beautiful; Green all around. Lots of different types of trees, flowers, bugs, mini waterfalls and lakes and a beautiful Thai Temple that was donated by the Thailand government. I came here with my family on a Thursday afternoon in June. It was not busy at all, I imagine it’s busier during weekends, so if you want some good shots, then come during the weekday! There are some gorgeous shots around the garden. Lots of arches, bridges, and other cool relics.
Check this place out if you have a hour or two to spare on your trip to Chicago or Twin Cities!

My husband & I stopped by here because we were in Madison and it looked like a nice place to visit.
The nice thing was, the main garden was free. It is only $ 2 (or so) for the conservatory.
The walk around the garden and it was a very nice garden. There were a lot of variety of flowers, trees, etc to look at. It was very relaxing.
I will definitely be back.

Went here in the very early spring and was still able to enjoy it.
The conservatory was kind of bustling but we went on a weekend so it was understandable. Assorted birds live in the habitat and they were so much fun to watch. Home to the biggest Koi that I’ve ever seen! They seem very well taken care of and healthy. Nice little place.
The grounds were a little confusing to navigate but we enjoyed ourselves.

Olbrich is a not-​so-​hidden gem in Madison. Their outdoor gardens, open during the warmer months, are free to the public, and are meticulously maintained. It always inspires me to see how they are using the space, and what plants they’ve chosen for their different pathways.
The Thai pagoda, a goodwill gift from the Thai government, and constructed by workers who came over from Thailand, is gorgeous, especially if you get there when the light is juuust right (think golden hour). Awesome spot for photo ops.
The conservatory is a mini tropical getaway for Madisonians in mid-​winter, providing much-​needed oxygen and humidity to visitors. They have beautiful orchids, and cute little birds, like chubby partridges, scurrying around. I think it costs like $ 3 to enter? Worth it.

5 * for the Gardens & the Conservatory on regular days
1* for their bimonthly «Cocktails in the Conservatory» event.
Let’s start with the good! Olbrich Gardens is a fun place to visit for both locals and out of towners. The gardens are lovely and admission is FREE. Be sure to walk all the way through the gardens so you get to see the Thai Pavilion which is a pretty impressive structure.
A lovely thing to do in the winter (or summer, I suppose, but definitely winter) is to visit the indoor Bolz Conservatory. Warm, humid and tropical, it’s fun to check out all the different plants and read the educational signage (which does rotate so you can expect something new). Admission is only $ 2 or if you go Wednesday or Saturday mornings (10 – 12) it’s free.
Ugh, now let’s get to the grand prize winner for «event most in need of improvement». The Cocktails in the Conservatory event sounds great in theory — come explore the Conservatory at night, there will be a DJ, lights, and cocktails! This event appears to be hosted every other month and admission is $ 6. I met up with a group here last Friday and the only way I could describe it is a fiasco. Doors opened at 7pm. By 7:30 they were «at capacity» and people were still streaming into the building. At this point they set up a line in the lobby to get into the Conservatory but it was a one-​in one-​out system.
Given that the crowd had just gotten there at 7pm, nobody was leaving anytime soon. To make matters worse, there did not appear to be anyone actually officially and methodically checking people out so plenty of people seemed to come out, visit the bar in the lobby, grab their coats, leave unnoticed, and nobody else was allowed in. Mind you, they have a ton of space in the building (a whole banquet room for weddings) so really they should probably take advantage of all this space and have the DJ /​lights /​speakers /​bar in there and let people wander in/​out of the Conservatory. OR sell tickets ahead of time so people know if they’re «in» and otherwise the event can be «sold out» ahead of time. We hung out in line (not realizing how this scene was actually working) until 8:30 and then gave up and left.
You just have to picture this scene — when we left (after an hour of waiting) the same people remained at the front of the line and the line behind us snaked 100+ people and extended all through the ballroom. Cars still cruised into the parking lot, people were dropped off in cabs trying to get in, staff stood outside telling people they weren’t even letting people into the lobby at this point. Oy vey!
So let’s just say this event has become «overly successful». Unless you plan on arriving at 7pm on the nose or they recognize some way to correct this issue, I would not plan on returning to this event nor recommending any friend go there.
BOTTOM LINE: Check out the Gardens or the Conservatory, by day. Hold off on the «Cocktails in the Conservatory» event until the kinks are worked out.

Came here in the winter (January) and still had a lovely time! Walked around the outside areas where we were told the things to see included grasses and bark…
Who doesn’t love a conservatory in winter? Nice steamy walk through an area teeming with life! Great variety of plants and trees to see along with some birds (mostly quail). For some reason I’m a sucker for pitcher plants, for which there were a number for me to see around the conservatory. Would definitely like to come back in spring/​summer.

This place is magical. I really don’t feel the need to expand on this statement too much. Go, just go! This is my only advice to you.
I suggest taking the tram ride if possible. This enables you to get a mini tour and see the lay of the land, it also provides shade on a hot day. We learned some really cool things about the Thai Pavilion we might not otherwise have learned if we didn’t take the tram ride.
Family friendly and affordable fun; It’s free to enter the gardens and $ 2.00 per person to enter the conservatory.
They suggest you make a donation, and so do I.
This is a Madison treasure, I hope to enjoy in all seasons!

I am not sure how fair this review is because my experience was a unique one. We chose this place to host our office Holiday party. Though I had not been here before, after hearing the different prices of a few of the other places that we were considering, Olbrich stood out because it was one of the best priced places for our budget.
On the visit before the event to meet and discuss the table layout I was impressed by how friendly the staff was. My idea of the staff did not change on the day of the actual event, in fact I found the stuff to be even friendlier than before! Even better was that they allowed our office to walk around the Conservatory; this was an added bonus and something that many people took part in. They were also very accommodating and even made suggestions in regard to caterers.
I would highly recommend this place. It’s not the fanciest place but after our caterers got some table cloths and napkins on the table along with our center pieces this place really shined. I look forward to stopping by during the day to experience all that this gem has to offer.

What a bonus Ohlbrich is… free and beautiful. Watch tha flowers bloom in the spring, in summer see the birds swooping in the twilight, in fall the colors are amazing and in winter the sun dazzles with the frosty foliage.
Hey, take your kids for a walk, steal a kiss from your lover, or bring a book and relax. This city treasure is in walking distance for me and is easily accessible by bus and bike (right on the bike path). Go, you won’t be sorry.

Flashback to the early 1980s, when a young Geekysteve, in his yellow-​and-​blue-​horizontal-​striped-​longsleeve-​shirt, Lee Dungarees (I always wanted Levis, but mom said these were less expensive and looked «just as good»), and totally rad Zips shoes was riding a school bus bound for Olbrich Botanical Gardens.
My second grade teacher stood at the front of the bus and told us about all of the wonderful things we would see at the garden. And, it probably was wonderful, but all that I can remember from that visit is the lukewarm can of Mountain Dew that mom swore would stay cool because she wrapped it in tin foil…
I’m happy to report that my second visit went much better than the previous one. No school bus, no high-​water Lees, no tepid Mountain Dew… just a gorgeous facility, filled with wonderful landscaping, beautiful foliage, incredible structures, and peaceful tranquility.
…enough with the dissertation/​reminiscence — I know what y’all want: the bulleted list of pros and cons.
+ It’s free to attend.
— Sort of. The gardens are free; the conservatory costs a few bucks; the butterfly exhibit costs either $ 13 or $ 20 (it was a tad unclear)
+ Staff were helpful and friendly.
+ You’re free to roam around and explore on your own
— Sort of. The gardens: free reign. The conservatory: you queue-​up and enter in small groups. Can’t comment on the butterfly exhibit, as I didn’t check it out.
+ The Thai Sala is beautiful. The reflecting pools are serene. This is a true gem.
+ The Sunken garden is almost as equally incredible. The rock, the water features, the bright plants, the raised structure. All excellent.
+ The various walking gardens each offer unique sitting/​relaxation areas
— The Rock garden gets a little noisy thanks to boaters in the adjacent parking lot and waterway
+ The conservatory is very tropical. I’m not sure how else to describe it… very interesting and gorgeous as well.
— They were in between exhibits when I was there, so there weren’t any special displays.
All-​in-​all, this is a fantastic venue, and we’re lucky to have such a great place nestled in the heart of Madison’s east side. I’ll definitely return.