To see a complete list of Station locations on the map above, click on the “>” beside Highlands Biological Station. You can then click on the checkboxes of the areas you’re interested in (Gardens, Trails, etc.).
Hours & Admission
The Highlands Botanical Garden is open from sunrise to sunset and is free of charge. See below to view an online PDF of our trails and display gardens.
Entrances
Parking is available close to both entrances to the Highlands Botanical Garden. Refer to the map below for information on where to park.
1) The Highlands Nature Center (930 Horse Cove Road): Visitors wishing to visit the Nature Center should park behind the Nature Center or at the Sunset Rock parking area across the street. Follow the path behind the Nature Center along the margin of the Amphitheater to the Woodland Way trail. Continue down the trail and stone steps and walkway to the main Botanical Garden entrance a short distance up on your right.
2) Stowers Teaching Pavilion & Native Pollinator Conservation Garden (111 Lower Lake Road): Visitors wishing to visit our botanical gardens and hike our trails should park off of Lower Lake Rd. at our northern entrance. The Lindenwood Lake dam hosts the latest garden at HBS, the Native Pollinator Conservation Garden. Follow the gravel path through the garden and across the dam to access the boardwalk into the Highlands Botanical Garden.
3) Thelma Howell Administration Building (265 North 6th Street): Visiting researchers and students taking courses and workshops should park here or at the Valentine House. The majority of Station and Foundation staff work out of this building, and this is the main academic and professional building on campus.
Garden Guidelines
All pets must be properly leashed and cleaned up after.
Stay on marked trails to protect the plants.
Do not pick or remove plant material.
Do not leave trash on the Station grounds.
Please watch for uneven terrain, rocks, and roots.
A Naturalist’s Guide
Pick up a copy of our book Highlands Botanical Garden: A Naturalist’s Guide to make the most of your visits and get to know native plants more intimately: the back story to their names and discovery, pollinators and other partners, medicinal and craft uses, and more!
Featuring the photographs of Ralph M. Sargent, a founder and ardent champion of the Highlands Botanical Garden, A Naturalist’s Guide is the first-ever guide to the garden, with maps, historical overview, and profiles of a generous selection of its hundreds of native plants. Not so much identification guide as botanical celebration, this commemorative Botanical Garden volume introduces readers to little-known aspects of our native plants, from the backstory to their names to their ecology and natural history.
This book is a must for the botanically curious and is also a great way to support the Highlands Biological Station and Foundation.
$30.00 plus shipping.
To Purchase: call 828.526,2221 to order or email charlotte@highlandsbiological.org.