We have been to Sunnylands multiple times to visit the gardens, but decided this time to do the historic walking tour around the house. (Tickets to tour the inside of the house are difficult to get! I would definitely recommend going online to purchase them immediately after they become available or you have no chance of tickets being available for that tour) We enjoyed walking around the property, seeing the outside of the home, and learning about the history of the home and gardens, and its owners. It was mostly paved surfaces that we walked on for the tour, and a little bit of grass. It’s a very easy and low impact walk. Our guide was both knowledgeable and friendly. We will return again sometime when we can get tickets to see the interior of the house. No tickets are needed to visit the community center and its associated gardens and art installations. It is free.

Absolutely beautiful and serene place to visit! Even though the gardens had many visitors, you are surrounded by peaceful energy. We loved seeing the children (not our own) play on a grassy part while we enjoyed iced coffee and light lunch. The gardens are absolutely gorgeous!

Didn't even know this place existed, of course, I'm not in that kind of crowd to know 😂but a quick Google search on what to do in the area gave us this little gem. What a gorgeous place it is with so much political history. The gardens are beautiful and it's great that they share them with the public. Be sure to watch the video in the visitor center to learn the history of the property.

I want to love this truly unique place, but there are some concerns. It's currently free to attend, but do not confuse it with the adjacent mansion turned museum which does charge admission. I visited on a weekday and yet parking was challenging as was any attempt to enjoy the crowded gardens. Similarly, the cafe was overwhelmed as was the undersized gift shop. Maybe the crowd was unusual, but the offering of overflow parking tells me it's a common occurrence. It might be time to charge an entrance fee. The gardens were at best a modern interpretation of strolling gardens with a pleasing focus on drought tolerance. There is an online plant list to the gardens; I only know this because of a posted QR code I forgot to peruse. Some trees set in a formal ring with benches and pathways provide some shade, otherwise the gardens may be inhospitable during excessive heat. Some additional shade structures would be beneficial for visitors. Much of the cacti and succulent gardens over relied upon laying out large masses of single species planted in a formal grid pattern. This might be appropriate for a modern aesthetic, but as a strolling garden, over use of row after row of barrel cacti can be both tedious and predictable for the casual stroller. Venturing off primary paths does provide variety, but these side gardens are few. Good designs will create distinctive separations from one garden to the other, but the only gardens that provided such distinction were the primary lawn, maze and wildflower field. As a destination, the site merits more. To be frank, I don't know what to make of the wildflower field, so more research is needed. At the time of my visit, it appeared to be heavily irrigated and used a variety of non-native species. I hope I'm wrong, but if not, the implications of wildness may not be appropriate. Still, it appeared to be a good source for pollinators, so it's not completely unworthy of such a vast spatial allowance. This area seems to be in waiting for more designed gardens, which I believe visitors would appreciate. The docent at the entrance was super friendly and helpful providing a brief overview and history of the garden.

Beautiful gardens filled with awe-inspiring nature that ignites the senses. We visited during Desert X in April, so the trees were full of intoxicating blooms, buzzing bees and chirping birds and rustling of tree branches dancing in the wind.