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ARTHUR AVENUE, BRONX

New York Botanical Garden

250 acres of gardens, glasshouse and old-growth forest, founded in 1891 on the model of Kew.

The white glass dome of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory framed by a pink weeping cherry in bloom
The Haupt Conservatory, the garden's glasshouse and its best rainy-day room.Courtesy of NYBG

More photos

  • An aerial view of the Haupt Conservatory among the Garden's trees, with the Bronx stretching to the horizon
    Courtesy of NYBG
  • The Palms of the World Gallery inside the Conservatory, reflected in a still pool
    Courtesy of NYBG
  • The Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden from above, its beds in full bloom around a central gazebo
    Courtesy of NYBG
  • Magnolia trees in full pink bloom arching over the lawn
    Courtesy of NYBG
  • The 1840 Stone Mill on the Bronx River, reflected in the water
    Courtesy of NYBG
  • A path through the green canopy of the Thain Family Forest
    Courtesy of NYBG
  • Daffodil Hill in spring, yellow and white daffodils under flowering trees
    Courtesy of NYBG

The New York Botanical Garden began with a trip to England. Nathaniel Lord Britton and Elizabeth Gertrude Knight Britton, both botanists, came home from the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew and campaigned for a garden like it in New York. The state legislature created one in 1891 and gave it the northern half of Bronx Park. Today it covers 250 acres between Fordham and Bedford Park. There are lawns, specialty gardens and a stretch of the Bronx River, along with the Thain Family Forest, one of the largest old-growth forests left in the city. Its trails follow Native American hunting routes past rock marked by glaciers and under trees that date back to the American Revolution.

The set pieces belong to the Gilded Age. The Enid A. Haupt Conservatory is a glasshouse with galleries of rain forest, desert and aquatic plants under a high palm dome, and it is the reason to come on a gray day. Uphill, the garden's original museum building was put up in 1898–1901 to Robert W. Gibson's design as the first American museum devoted only to botany, and it now houses the library. You reach it along a Tulip Tree Allee planted from 1903, past the bronze Fountain of Life, where plunging horses startle a merman and mermaid in the basin.

From mid-November into January the Conservatory hosts the Holiday Train Show. Model trains run past nearly 200 New York landmarks built from palm fronds, pinecones, cinnamon sticks and other plant parts. The rest of the year the garden changes week to week, and NYBG's bloom and foliage trackers show what is at its peak. Arthur Avenue is a walk away, so cannoli can follow the forest.

Editor’s tip

Go into the Thain Family Forest first, while the morning is still quiet, and save the Conservatory for later, when you'll want somewhere warm.

Good to know

New York Botanical Garden, answered

Is the New York Botanical Garden ever free?

On Wednesdays, grounds admission is free all day for NYC residents and from 10 to 11 a.m. for other visitors. It doesn't include the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, special exhibitions or the tram tour, which need an All-Garden Pass. Source

When is the 2026 Holiday Train Show?

November 14, 2026 through January 10, 2027, with a members-only preview on November 13. It runs inside the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory and is included in the All-Garden Pass. Source

When was the New York Botanical Garden founded?

The New York State Legislature established it in 1891, after botanists Nathaniel Lord Britton and Elizabeth Gertrude Knight Britton pushed for a garden inspired by Kew. Its original museum building, now the library, was built in 1898–1901. Source

Eat & drink nearby

While you’re nearby

Details checked against official sources on October 19, 2026. Hours and prices change — confirm with the official site before you go.