Halton region's Royal Botanical Gardens is among the rare tourist attractions still open in all of Ontario. The new Winter Wonders program, running from now until January 3, 2021, is offering a safe program for families to enjoy the gardens by day and their elaborate light displays by night.
The Royal Botanical Gardens (RBG) is the largest botanical garden in Canada, and we as Oakvilleans are lucky to have them right in our own backyard. But there's lots to see outside their usual springtime bloom, most of all their brand-new holiday light display.
It's true that active cases have slowly been rising in Halton over the last six weeks, and regional health is advising all recreation should only be enjoyed both outdoors and only with people from your household. If you're still looking for a safe way to enjoy a family outing for the holidays, however, RBG fulfills those requirements.
"The best part of Winter Wonders is that it's a safe and distanced environment where people can also do something that's fun and festive," says Nick Kondrat, one of the managers at RBG. "There's different activities during the day and then also when the lights start at night."
Kondrat also shares an often overlooked bonus: you're allowed to visit both programs, day and night, on the same-day, singular admission. "If you come in the daytime, the same ticket is good to come at night."
Oakville News visited the gardens to explore the 2,400 acre property and experience the different activities offered both by day and by night.
Daytime Events
Royal Botanical Gardens is actually comprised of five separate locations at four different addresses:
- RBG Centre, where the main entrance and exhibits are
- Hendrie Park, located next to the centre with gardens and hiking trails
- Rock Garden, a 1km drive from the centre featuring an easygoing, hillside walk
- Arboretum, a large campus with outdoor displays, greenhouses and longer hiking trails, a 3km drive from the entrance
- Laking Garden, next to the rock garden (and currently closed until April 2021)
While the Centre and Hendrie Park are open day and night, the Rock Garden and Arboretum are only open for day guests between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. daily.
It sounds somewhat confusing to think of the different areas, but upon your arrival to the main RBG Centre the entrance staff provide maps and explain what's available to see and where. (On our visit, we found our bearings within the first 15 minutes.)
Here are some of the daytime highlights:
- Gardens at Hendrie Park, the outdoor displays, gardens and main exhibits, including 27km of walking and hiking trails. This area also has access to the Woodland Garden and Cherry Hill trails.
- RBG Express Train Ride, a 15-minute train ride through Hendrie Park. The train covers the same areas are the walking paths through the park, but on a fun "faux-comotive" engine train with colourful cars on a paved path. It's an additional $5 per family, but also a heckuva lot of fun for young children and kids at heart.
- Indoor Mediterranean Garden, a large display featuring two stories of plants from six of the seven continents of the world. Thousands of flowers, trees, cacti and plants are viewable via accessible pathways.
(Two other things worth knowing about the Indoor Garden: First, this area is also open at night, and after walking through the outdoor lights you're encouraged to visit this garden, too. Second, while large, this exhibit is currently limited to 10 people at a time and there may be a short wait.)
- Lunch at the Greenhouse Cafe, the indoor restaurant overlooking the gardens. Most of the menu offerings are made one site and features produce grown at the RBG.
Another offering at the Cafe are take-home gift boxes of cookie decorating kits and hot chocolate bombs. There's a limited number for sale daily and are sold at night if there are any left, but most of the time they sell out by day. Preorders are also available by calling 905-527-1158, ext. 331.
- Rock Garden and Arboretum, which are more leisurely and calmer settings than Hendrie Park. The Rock Garden venue especially offers a few indoor displays, but the real draw here are the sweeping vistas of the valley.
Nighttime Winter Wonders
When the sun goes down and the holiday lights come is when Winter Wonders really comes to life. While the nighttime events don't start until 5 p.m., the line to get usually starts forming an hour in advance.
Once inside, it's a leisurely walk with lots of elbow room; it feels like you have the gardens to yourself. But be prepared the line for general admission could take 30-45 minutes. (And beginning December 16th, all nighttime-only admission will be done via reserved, time-stamped tickets due to popularity.)
- Winter Wonders Light Display, a 2km walk through Hendrie Park with seven holiday themed exhibits though the gardens. This is the main attraction of the event, and it's a single linear path that takes you through all the area. It takes about an hour to complete the trail, but once inside you're allowed to take as much time as you want.
A popular question is about masks: Masks are required in all indoor areas, and staff wear them both inside and outside. While visitors are not required to wear masks in the outdoor gardens, they're still encouraged to wear them throughout their visit. Halton Regional Health also recommends wearing masks when outside your home, and as an added benefit, they also help keep your face warm in the cold.
- Teahouse Treats, a small, indoor snack stand with savoury snacks, baked goods, hot chocolate and alcoholic drinks. (On a personal note, this reporter recommends the M&Ms cookie which he could've eaten about a hundred of.)
- Weekend Dinner at the Greenhouse. On Friday and Saturday nights only, a special, prix-fixe dinner is made for visitors in the Greenhouse Cafe. There's only two seatings per night for ten people at tables of no more than four each.
Also inside at night and open to visitors are the RBG Centre exhibits and Indoor Mediterranean Garden.
Tickets for all daytime visits and nighttime Winter Wonders until Sunday, December 13, 2020 are general admission. Nighttime only visits to Winter Wonders must be purchased with a timed-entry ticket from December 16, 2020 to January 3, 2021.
Learn more about the daytime and nighttime programs at the Royal Botanical Gardens and purchase tickets online.
One final note from the author: while this is a family-oriented event, it's also a lot of fun for adults and seniors without children. And don't let that stop you from enjoying activities like the cookies or riding the daytime train...it's equally enjoyable for children at heart.