Sagruilla P.

This is truly a hidden gem and worth visiting, especially for a picnic. We enjoyed the trails through the lovely garden that was filled with birds, butterflies, art, and thoughtful paths. When we first arrived, we thought it was small, but they squeezed a lot into this space, and we could have stayed longer. There are clean bathrooms and lots of places to sit and meditate or read poetry or sketch.

Todd R.

Surprising large estate above El Cerrito, in Kensington, owned by UC Berkeley, the landscape design program is working consistently on this location. And it is a wonderful old estate, kind of haunting how the Spanish style mansion is slowly decaying. Many interesting plants are nestled at this wellspring of Cerrito Creek, many paths lead through redwoods, Koi Ponds, beautiful lawns, and numerous benches with a view. Their nursery allows a donation to acquire some of their plants, very affordably. It's a wonderful spot, a great place for a short hike/walk, and you can even bring your dog!

Debbie F.

Amazing free entry garden nestled in the Kensington hills. Views of San Francisco too the bridge. Parking on site. Vintage home not open to the public with koi filled ponds

Joan A.

One of the many hidden gems in this area. Note that this garden is only open on weekdays during business hours, but boy is it MAGICAL. This garden has beautiful views of San Francisco, wonderful shaded paths, two public restrooms (!!), and plenty of open space to wander. It's really something you'll have to experience yourself. There is a small parking lot adjacent to the gated entry.

Selina L.

I cannot believe this garden is free admission and free parking! I found this treasure of a place through Yelp so it is only fair that I write my own review of the place. Browsing through the pictures on Yelp, I had no idea how big this garden would be, so needless to say I was totally wearing the wrong type of shoes for this visit. There's some major walkways that are paved, but most walkways are dirt. I am pretty sure I ruined my favorite wedges. I thought we would only spend an hour there, but ended up spending 2 hours because it's so big and we wanted to walk on every single path. My husband and I came on a Wednesday. There's not many visitors, a couple of people walking their dogs and a photographer taking photos for a couple. From the highest part of the garden, you can see the Golden Gate Bridge. There's some little creeks with running water, I can't tell if it's natural or man-made. There's a lot of wild flowers and "easy" plants in this garden, it was fun looking around and seeing many varieties of plants that I had collected from neighbors through Buy Nothing over the years. I wish they had a gift shop for people to buy little plants. I surely would be interested! The pond in front of the house has really big Koi fishes. I wonder what they eat. The water doesn't look very clean.

Ethan H.

As others have noted, this place should really be open better hours. Because it's wonderful! An expansive botanical garden with tons of different interesting sections, great paths, twists and turns, various environments, bridges, a historic house, and a nice main greenhouse/lobby center. I learned the history of the house and the gardens only through overhearing other people talk, so I wish they had actual historic information on display too. But, despite some areas for improvement, this place is still so completely worth it. Can't be missed.

JoAnn S.

I stumbled upon this place online, and asked my friend if she wanted to walk around there with me. She had been visiting there for decades. A great place to: do a walking meditation; do Yoga or Tai Chi; to catch up with an old friend; to take kids to run and play (however tree climbing, rock climbing, straying from the paths is not allowed), or arrange to volunteer in the garden. We went there in the beginning of November. Not so much blooming at this time of year, but each season brings its own beauty. By the way, this is only opened on weekdays. Next time my grandkids visit, I hope to bring them here!

Jennifer N.

I never heard of, let alone visited Blake Garden until yesterday, having been inspired by a recent article about it in SF Gate. It's truly an under-the radar and hidden gem tucked away in the hills of Kensington. It's not open on weekends and the lot is rather small. When I arrived around 11 on a Friday, I snagged the last spot. The gardens are free and the property is owned by UC Berkeley, cared for by their horticulture students. Quite a lot was in bloom on this April day and while the lot was full, the guests were spread out and solitude could be had. The garden is organized in sections that range from a Redwood Canyon to Mediterranean to a small koi pond and more. There's also a home on the property that is now vacant. I'd read it used to be occupied by presidents of the whole UC system. One visitor I spoke to mentioned that the amount in bloom and the care of the garden has improved over the years. She was equally in awe after multiple visits as I was for my first. Given I have a flexible workday, I hope to be back and spend more time here as well as see the garden change over the seasons. Lots of benches and overlooks to while away an afternoon. Gates close at 4:30. Tip: while the lot was full before noon, it was emptying out once I left. If it's full, Tilden regional park is nearby as a plan B.

Stephanie K.

This is a beautiful clean small garden. In the spring it's filled with blooms. It's open on weekdays, understandably, as it is a teaching facility, not a commercial venue. It is free, and parking is free. It's pretty well maintained and an example of "together we can still have nice things if we take care of them." In the summer-time it's a lovely place to walk your dogs because they keep it largely free of foxtails, but do leash your dogs. I found the staff friendly and helpful as we tried to find our way back. It has amazing view of the bay, too.

Ed U.

I didn't know this bucolic place existed until I was reading about the town of Kensington on Wikipedia and saw it identified as a point of interest. In fact, it's the only point of interest that was cited. As a Cal Bear, I am embarrassed to find out that this is actually a random extension of the UC Berkeley campus, but in my defense, I never took a course in landscape architecture or environmental planning. I wasn't an outdoorsy type of undergrad. Instead I went for astronomy as my elective and still can't accept the conclusion that Pluto is not a planet. But I digress as I finally visited this garden for the first time when I snuck out of work a couple of hours early. Don't you judge me as I have worked plenty of overtime. Plenty. The problem is that while the garden is free to enter, it's open only on weekdays between 8AM and 4:30PM. That basically means we working lemmings don't get to enjoy the tranquility of the garden or the panoramic view as much as students and stay-at-home moms. Maybe that's a good thing as the rest of us shouldn't take this patch of greenery for granted. A sort of mini-Hearst Castle with a hint of Tuscan villa, the Blake House is the centerpiece (photo: http://bit.ly/2EhBqac), and the university president lived there up until eight years ago. It's not open to the public, but the surrounding gardens are what you want to see anyway. Shielded from the bay winds by the mansion, the formal gardens is flanked by a dramatic reflecting pool (photo: http://bit.ly/2Egf3BT). An arresting Chinese mandarin statue holds court in this part of the grounds (photo: http://bit.ly/2BWDeQp). A Mediterranean-style garden sits at the back of the house (photo: http://bit.ly/2FH0owD), and there's a cottage garden toward the parking lot with a pond (photo: http://bit.ly/2nEH50c), a scarecrow (photo: http://bit.ly/2FLa5Kl), vegetable garden, and vividly blooming blossoms (photo: http://bit.ly/2E53QVy). However, the focal point has to be the wooden benches and stone path on the bluff (photo: http://bit.ly/2EFKzXL). The view is gorgeous on a clear day, but you may be competing with a lot of baby strollers at any given time. The Art Deco-style entrance is nice (photo: http://bit.ly/2Egzn68), but you could easily miss it as it melts effortlessly into the residential area away from Arlington Avenue.

Laura M.

I visited this beautiful garden in April of this year and was so happy I did. The garden was in full bloom, gorgeous and lush! There was a nice variety of color, form and texture plus a grove of redwood trees representing flowers and trees we see around the bay area. I highly recommend this garden! It's only open during the week. http://flic.kr/p/25oSsEa http://flic.kr/p/H8Hz2g http://flic.kr/p/JFKs6E

Terry T.

Brittany N's review really made me want to visit this garden. I knew about it, however, I never realized what a great place it is to walk about in. Tucked away in a residential Kensington neighborhood it really seems like a hidden place. I felt like Mary Lennox in the "Secret Garden" when I walked in. Some of the things that make this garden special: The view of the Golden Gate, the sounds of birds singing, the insects flying about, gnarly tree trunks, reflection pools and meandering paths to explore. The sweet garden smell that transported me back to my childhood. The garden is only open on weekdays. It makes it a lot less crowed, but then people who work can not enjoy his special place. I guess I'm selfish, I like having the garden almost all to myself.

Andrea Y.

A wonderful little hideaway, a walk in the woods, sneaking into the neighbor's garden, or an escape into the wilderness, can be had within this park and much more. Local families with kids who don't want a long car ride for a nice escape for a picnic and a hike will appreciate this special garden, the redwood tree area is especially nice to explore for the little ones.