For Schools & Teachers

Field trips are free to all school groups from pre-school to college aged. Your group needs to have a minimum of 10 people to make a reservation. 

Generally, field trips can be scheduled on weekdays with the exception of holidays, free days and rare facilities closures. Please scroll to the top of this page for more details or apply now.

The Japanese Tea Garden does not accept school group reservations during the summer or school breaks. 

• The Botanical Garden can host up to 10 groups of 10-42 people (including chaperones) each day. 

• The Conservatory of Flowers can host one group of 10-42 (including chaperones) people per 2-hour timeslot. 

• The Japanese Tea Garden can host one group of 10-42 (including chaperones) people per 2-hour timeslot. 

Please refer to the following chaperone limits that depend upon the age of your group. If your group has accessibility needs or other reasons for requiring additional adult chaperones, please indicate that in your application. 

Preschool 

• Minimum: 1 adult per 8 students
  Maximum: 1 adult per 2 students 

K-8 

• Minimum: 1 adult per 8 students
  Maximum: 1 adult per 4 students 

High School 

• Minimum: 1 adult per 15 students
  Maximum: 1 adult per 4 students 

Addresses: 

• Botanical Garden Main Gate: 1199 9th Ave. 

• Botanical Garden North Gate (on MLK, near the Music Concourse) 

• Conservatory of Flowers: 100 John F Kennedy Dr. 

• Japanese Tea Garden: 75 Hagiwara Drive 

School/ Charter Buses  

The most accessible bus loading/unloading zone for all three Gardens is at 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive, in front of the DeYoung Museum. From this location it is a short walk to all three Gardens.  

Street parking for buses is often available on MLK Drive, near Mother’s Meadow or on JFK Drive near Lindale Meadow. 

Cars  

Parking is available on surface streets for a limited time (up to 4 hours in Golden Gate Park) or in the underground city garage, but we cannot validate parking.  

Accessible/ Disability Parking for cars can be found for… 

• the Conservatory of Flowers, near the Goldman Tennis Center.  

• the Japanese Tea Garden and San Francisco Botanical Garden at the Bandshell All-Accessible Lot along Martin Luther King Drive. 

• Here is a Golden Gate Park usability map from SFRPD. The paths marked in yellow are the best for people who need mobility assistance. 

Public Transit 

Muni routes that serve the Gardens are: 5-Fulton, 7-Haight/Noriega, 29 Sunset, 44-O’Shaughnessy, N-Judah.  

San Francisco-based schools can participate in the Free Muni for Youth Program, which provides all San Francisco youth ages 5-18 with free Muni service. Find your school on this page to explore the nearest routes available. 

The Gardens are committed to accessibility and inclusion. We strive to make our spaces, programs, and services as accessible as possible to everyone, regardless of physical or developmental ability. If your class has person(s) with accessibility needs, please contact: education@gggp.org.  

• Caregivers, Companions & Interpreters: A professional or family caregiver, and interpreters accompanying a visitor with disabilities will receive complimentary Garden admission. 

• Wheelchairs/ Mobility Aids: Some areas in the Gardens are not wheelchair accessible without assistance.

• • Please check out our Maps or check in with a staff member if you need clarification on accessible routes.  

• • The Gardens have a small number of non-motorized wheelchairs available for visitors to use (*at their own risk) on a first-come, first-serve basis. Visitors are welcome to bring power-driven mobility devices, but they must be operated at walking speed in the Gardens.  

• • Here is a Golden Gate Park usability map from SFRPD. The paths marked in yellow are the best for people who need mobility assistance on their way to the Gardens. 

• Guests with Sensory Needs: The following tips and resources are designed to help guests of all ages with a variety of autism spectrum disorders or sensory sensitivities feel safe, comfortable, and welcome at the Gardens. 

• • Get comfortable in advance by perusing these social stories to familiarize yourself and your group with the Gardens in advance. 

• • • Botanical Garden Social Story 

• • • Conservatory of Flowers Social Story 

• • • Japanese Tea Garden Social Story 

• • Visit the Gardens on lower-attendance days and times: Fall and Winter, and afternoons on weekdays. 

• Service animals: Service animals are permitted throughout the Gardens. Service and support animals must remain under control, and on leash or in a carrier unless free movement is required for service. Pets, including dogs, are not allowed in the Gardens. 

• Parking: Accessible/ Disability Parking for cars can be found for… 

• • The Conservatory of Flowers, near the Goldman Tennis Center.  

• • The Japanese Tea Garden and San Francisco Botanical Garden at the Bandshell All-Accessible Lot along Martin Luther King Drive. 

• Restrooms: All restrooms at the Gardens have accessible stalls. 

Groups are welcome to visit the Children’s Garden, located within the Botanical Gardens. Here is a map for how to get there, and information on what you can find. 

• Conservatory of Flowers & Japanese Tea Garden – No outside food or drinks may be eaten inside, but you are welcome to picnic on the lawns in front of the Conservatory, or at the benches in the Music Concourse. 

• San Francisco Botanical Garden – You may bring your own food and beverages inside, but please take all of your trash out with you.

We are in the process of updating age-appropriate options for each garden. If there are past materials you wish to access, please contact education@gggp.org.  

We highly recommend that you make a reservation so you can be guaranteed entry and get the most up-to-date information. If you show up with a group AND do not have a reservation, you might NOT be permitted entry if the Garden is at capacity. You will also be required to fill out an online reservation form onsite.