This Denver garden has a Japanese tea house, a tundra trail, and bodies under the flower beds

It’s more than a garden in Colorado

Denver Botanic Gardens packs 24 acres into the middle of a major city, and that alone would make it worth a stop. But once you start digging into the layers here, the place gets strange in the best way.

A tropical greenhouse built from concrete and Plexiglas. A Japanese tea house shipped piece by piece from Japan.

A stretch of alpine trail high enough to put you in the tundra. And somewhere beneath the flower beds, a few hundred people who never quite left.

The grounds were once a working cemetery

The York Street campus sits on what was Denver’s original city cemetery, opened in 1859.

The city later converted most of it into Congress Park and Cheesman Park, but Mount Calvary Catholic Cemetery kept operating on the site until 1950.

That year, the city bought 18 acres and moved roughly 6,000 bodies. Roughly, because an estimated several hundred still lie beneath the gardens and the park next door.

The flower beds you’re walking through have roots that go deeper than you might want to think about.

A conservatory unlike anything else in America

The Boettcher Memorial Tropical Conservatory opened in 1966 and immediately did something no other conservatory had done before: architects Victor Hornbein and Ed White Jr. built it entirely from cast-in-place concrete and Plexiglas panels.

The concrete arches were a nod to Claude Boettcher, the cement magnate who funded it. Denver gave the building landmark status in 1973.

Inside, you’ll find more than 600 species of tropical and subtropical plants, along with waterfalls, pools, and a few resident ducks that seem to have no plans to leave.

Walk the paths of Shofu-en, Denver’s Japanese garden

Shofu-en means “Garden of Pine and Wind,” and landscape architect Koichi Kawana designed it in that spirit, completing it in 1979. The style is chisen kaiyuushiki, built around a central pond with strolling paths.

Two small islands sit in the water: Crane Island and Tortoise Island, representing longevity and happiness in Japanese tradition.

The tea house came from Nagano, Japan, taken apart, shipped across the ocean, and reassembled by Japanese craftsmen. A 2012 restoration added a sand and stone garden, a bonsai pavilion, and a bonsai courtyard.

Giant lilies float in the Monet Pool

Claude Monet painted his water lily garden in Giverny, France, dozens of times.

Denver’s version fills a pool with giant water lilies through the growing season, and the connection to the paintings is immediate once you’re standing at the edge.

The Four Towers Pool nearby runs a geometric fountain through blooming flower beds. The Science Pyramid sits right alongside it, with hands-on exhibits about plant biology and conservation.

These are some of the most photographed corners of the entire gardens, and you’ll understand why once you see the lilies in full bloom.

Denver invented xeriscaping right here in 1981

During a severe drought in 1981, Denver developed the concept of xeriscaping, a water-efficient approach to landscaping.

Five years later, the gardens built the world’s first Xeriscape Demonstration Garden, in 1986, showing how drought-tolerant plants from the arid West and Mediterranean climates can fill a landscape without a heavy watering schedule.

A newer Roads Water-Smart Garden near the entrance replaced thirsty Kentucky bluegrass with native and low-water plants.

The gardens also partner with Colorado State University on the Plant Select program, which tests plants suited to the high plains and intermountain region.

Kids can climb a marmot and dig in real dirt

The Mordecai Children’s Garden covers three acres and puts six Colorado ecosystems in one place.

The entrance sits atop the parking garage, bridging Josephine Street and York Street before dropping you into a space where kids can climb Marmot Mountain, splash through water features, dig in actual dirt pits, and explore small trails.

The ecosystems shift with the seasons, so the garden looks different in April than it does in August. Admission is included with regular entry, so there’s no separate ticket to track down.

Summer concerts fill the amphitheater after dark

The UMB Amphitheater has been hosting a Summer Concert Series for decades, bringing musicians to the gardens through a partnership with Swallow Hill Music. Concertgoers wander the surrounding gardens between sets.

The separate Evenings al Fresco series puts local musicians at spots throughout the grounds during golden hour.

Bring a low-profile chair or a blanket, grab food from one of the on-site cafes, and plan to stay until dark. The gardens feel entirely different at dusk, and the music carries across the flower beds.

Over a million lights take over in winter

Blossoms of Light has been running since 1985, and it remains one of Denver’s signature winter events.

More than one million LED lights transform the gardens along a mile-long walking path from late November through early January.

In fall, Glow at the Gardens takes over with Halloween-themed light displays and pumpkin art. Both events sell out.

Buy tickets in advance and choose a specific date and time when you book. Showing up without a ticket won’t get you in.

Chatfield Farms goes back to 1866

About 25 miles south of York Street, Chatfield Farms sits near Chatfield State Park on land that has been farmed since 1866. The historic Hildebrand Ranch complex is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The site holds a restored 1918 dairy barn, an 1886 one-room schoolhouse, and other original outbuildings. A Community Supported Agriculture program grows more than six acres of vegetables for subscribers each season.

Each July, the Lavender Festival brings artisans, live music, and demonstrations to the farm.

The corn maze cuts seven acres every fall

Each fall, Chatfield Farms cuts a new themed design into seven acres of corn. The maze runs Fridays through Sundays from mid-September through early November.

A 15-foot-tall bridge inside lets you look down at the design from above, which helps if you’re lost, though it doesn’t help as much as you’d think.

The October Pumpkin Festival opens a 10-acre pumpkin patch alongside carnival games, face painting, and barrel train rides for children. Kids under 10 get their own smaller maze.

Hike to 12,000 feet and walk through bristlecone pines

Mount Goliath sits on the shoulders of Mount Evans in the Arapaho National Forest, about 35 miles from Denver.

The 160-acre area holds more than 250 species of alpine and subalpine wildflowers and a grove of Rocky Mountain bristlecone pines that have been growing for more than 1,500 years.

The M. Walter Pesman Trail runs 1.5 miles one way, climbing from subalpine forest at 11,540 feet to alpine tundra at 12,152 feet.

Denver Botanic Gardens docents lead guided wildflower walks up here in summer if you want someone who can name everything you’re looking at.

Visit Denver Botanic Gardens in Colorado

The main York Street campus sits at 1007 York St. in Denver.

Hours vary by season, with longer hours in summer and shorter hours in winter, so check the official website before you go. Chatfield Farms is at 8500 W. Deer Creek Canyon Road in Littleton.

Mount Goliath opens seasonally via the Mount Evans Scenic Byway, about 30 minutes from Idaho Springs.

Advance ticket purchase is recommended, especially for Blossoms of Light, the Summer Concert Series, and the corn maze. SNAP EBT cardholders get in for $3 per person.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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