Orton Botanical Garden

Our yearly Christmas adventure. Fun for the kids to run around and enjoy the beautiful lights. It’s free to walk through, but donations are welcome. If you’re on a budget and wanna have fun with the whole family, come check out this place. I’ve only been during the winter, but want to come check it out during the summer.

This was more impressive than expected. It appeared to have very little fanfare so we weren't sure about it. There was limited parking inside the gates so we ended up parking along the street and apprehensively entered. There is no fee to enter and, as we began walking around, we quickly understood what we were experiencing. This place was an incredible little slice of heaven hidden in plain sight. There were so many plants everywhere. Pathway after pathway had new varieties of desert plants and flowers to take in. It was much much larger than expected and lovingly planned out. Like Cleo's Ferry Museum, you could tell that this place was a labor of love. The time and energy put into this garden, privately, and without any government subsidizing or control, was incredible. In some ways it exceeded the Boise botanical garden. You should definitely take in this wonderful garden if you're in Twin Falls, on a weekend in the Summer. Be sure you check to make sure it will be open. They keep very minimal hours. If you like it, as we did, they do take donations in two boxes near the entrance/exit.

I just heard about this and the lights were amazing. It was very cold but so worth the visit. I did notice several couples pass by the donation box without making a donation. This is how they keep this going. If you are in Twin Falls or passing through, you definitely need to stop and walk through the garden.

A great collection of plants including an extensive Eriogonum collection, with everything labeled clearly! Sweet!

Way bigger than I expected with tons of cool cacti, Joshua trees, and other yucca varieties. Very neat!