A living plant museum with a big glasshouse Conservatory and outdoor gardens: free, no tickets, with Sensory Bags to borrow (noise-reducing headphones, weighted lap blankets and fidgets), a sensory tip sheet, and free sensory-friendly openings of the Season's Greenings holiday show for registered families.
Sensory supports. Sensory Bags to borrow, sensory tip sheet, no tickets.
Hours
Season's Greenings runs from Thanksgiving Day (Nov 26 2026) to Jan 3 2027. During the show the Conservatory and the outdoor train display are open 10 am to 5 pm daily, closed Dec 25, and stay open until 8 pm on Dec 8, 10, 15, 17, 22 and 29 2026. On Dec 5 2026 the gated outdoor gardens open at 10 am. The Terrace Gardens and Bartholdi Fountain and Gardens are open dawn to dusk daily. The rest of the year the Conservatory is typically open 10 am to 5 pm daily, including weekends and most holidays (closed Dec 25); the gated outdoor gardens are open 7:30 am to 5 pm, and until 7 pm from April through mid-September.
100 Maryland Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20001 (Conservatory entrance on Maryland Avenue)
Stay close“Use caution when crossing wet pathways and bridges. Please refrain from entering areas of water.”
“As you move through the Conservatory, noticeable temperature shifts occur due to the environmental needs of the plant collection.”
“The Garden is busiest on holidays and the weekends surrounding holidays.”
“Visitors are not subjected to a physical security screening.”
The Garden's sensory tip sheet walks through the Conservatory room by room: the very large ceiling fan, the automatic sliding doors, the misters, the temperature changes and the water features. It's a good one to read together before you go.
The Garden holds sensory-friendly mornings and evenings outside public hours, and lists them on its programs calendar under Sensory Friendly Hours. Questions about access and these programs go to USBGaccessibility@aoc.gov.
Visitor Services staff and volunteers in the Conservatory lobby can help you plan your visit. If touching a plant would help your kid, you can ask a staff member; if possible, they will work to make that happen.
For a full-size copy your child can use, open this page at squaredsteps.com, tap Make it yours, then print.
More about U.S. Botanic Garden
Sensory Bags with noise-reducing headphones, weighted lap blankets and fidgets, lent with a photo ID by Visitor Services in the Conservatory lobby.
Free sensory-friendly openings of Season's Greenings for registered families: Sat Dec 5 2026 (full, waitlist) and Sat Jan 2 2027.
No admission fee and no tickets; closed Dec 25.
Louder, in the Garden's words
Throughout the Garden, indoors and out (automated nature sounds, high-velocity ceiling fans, plant misters, waterfalls, fountains, sliding doors and visitor conversation)not stated
Garden Court, Tropics and Hawaii (active fountains along both sides of Garden Court, a tiered waterfall in the Tropics and a large natural waterfall in Hawaii)not stated
Restrooms (automatic faucets, toilets and soap dispensers, and high-velocity hand dryers)not stated
Holiday evenings until 8 pm (select Tuesdays and Thursdays in December) (live holiday music from 5 to 8 pm, with food and drink vendors)not stated
Quieter, in the Garden's words
Benches with backs and armrests throughout the Conservatory, including in the air-conditioned East and West Galleriesquiet zone
Getting there: the Garden recommends public transit. Take the Orange, Blue or Silver line to Federal Center SW, walk north on Third Street SW for two blocks, cross Independence Avenue and go one more block to Maryland Avenue. Metrobus D10 stops behind the Conservatory at Independence Avenue and First Street SW, and the D1X stops on Independence Avenue SW by Third Street SW. Ride share, taxis and paratransit can drop off on Maryland Avenue in front of the accessible paths.
Parking: the Garden has no parking lot. There is metered street parking, including accessible spaces, within a few blocks, and a limited number of accessible spaces in front of the Conservatory on Maryland Avenue SW.
Food: food and drink are allowed in the Garden, and you can use the tables and chairs outdoors; please pack out your trash, as there are few trash bins outdoors. During Season's Greenings, Vintage Views sells coffee, hot chocolate and other drinks and snacks just inside the gated outdoor garden near the trains, on weekends and every day the week of Christmas. On the late evenings, food and drink vendors join the live music. Drinking fountains and a water bottle refill station are in the south of the Conservatory near the restrooms.
Restrooms and changing tables: every restroom has two accessible stalls, infant-size changing tables and stepstools. In the Conservatory they are in the south lobby, next to the World Deserts and Medicinal Plants houses, and it can take a few extra minutes to get there on busy days. Breastfeeding is welcome everywhere; there is no private lactation room, and there is no fridge or warming for milk or formula.
Strollers are welcome, but you must keep your belongings with you at all times. Wheelchairs, including a bariatric wheelchair, are lent first come, first served with a driver's license or government-issued photo ID, and stay on Garden grounds. There is an elevator in the northeast corner of the Tropics.
Wet and slippery spots: path materials, water features and misters can make puddles or slippery areas in the Garden Court, the Tropics wood bridge, the Canopy Walk metal grating, Hawaii, the Primeval Garden, the Orchids wood pathway and around the Bartholdi Fountain. Outdoors the paths change from flagstone to loose gravel to grass. The outdoor train display may not run in bad weather.
Touching, animals, crowds and heat: the Garden asks visitors to look with their eyes and not touch plants on purpose. Service animals are welcome everywhere; leashed pets are allowed in the outdoor gardens. The Garden is busiest on holidays and the weekends around them, and in general January to early March and mid-July to early September tend to be the least crowded. In summer, take care with extreme heat; the Conservatory has several air-conditioned spaces.
