Always a treat to visit these gardens, be it in summer or winter. The summer brings with it beautifully bright flowers and lush green grass. It's a great and quiet place to relax, meet with a group of friends, or bring your family and kids to while enjoying the nature and well crafted landscape

The park is open and not crowded during lockdown adjusted level 3. The operating hours are 09h00 to 18h00 but note that only two entrances are currently being used. These are the two main gates on Thomas Bowler St and Olifants Road. The park has become strict about the closing time and adhering to Covid-19 regulations. Your details might be taken when entering. Wearing a mask is mandatory even if you are running but there is plenty of room for social distancing of course. Perfect for walking, dog walking, running, or just having a picnic in one of the beautiful gardens. Be sure to also visit the Serial Thrillers shop at the Thomas Bowler St main gate. Dave sells great books and games at very affordable prices. Importantly, entry is free! Please like this review if you found it useful.

Beautiful spot for a picnic, walking with family or cycling. There's also fishing and kayaking. There's also the Rose garden and water feature, however the grass is a bit dead because of winter and the water features were off. There's an information board at the entrance so you have a map of the area. It does meet up with the dog walking part of Emmerentia dam. Would be absolutely beautiful in spring. There's no entrance fee so it's a wonderful free adventure for family and friends. It's really safe so you can bring your children as well. Plenty of built in picnic equipment like chairs, benches and tables. Otherwise there's ladies selling picnic blankets.

Beautiful park, not crowded till 2.30 PM. I walked for 4.5 KM inside. Multiple entrances are there. Car parking is available. On request via bolt app, taxi will come here. No entrance free. For taking pictures using cameras, you need to apply for permission via online during weekdays.

Beautiful and tranquil place to visit whether you want to ride your bike, take a walk, picnic, feed the ducks or sit by the water (plus more). Don't always feel too comfortable around the rose gardens though as the people that congregate there like to point their cameras in your direction, especially if you are with a female or children. This issue has never been addressed appropriately

If you’re expecting a botanical garden 🪴 with a clear picture about the diversity of plants and some info about, think again. Although is still well kept it got some particular features, I would suggest to take some picnic and have an enjoyable and relaxing meal

Nice place to visit if you looking for a peaceful and relaxing day. We went on a Saturday and there were many families and/or groups of people enjoying the park’s beauty. The park is dog friendly. There’s a comic book store that has much to see , my kids were not interested as it was from a different generation. We expected to spend more time there but our stay was shortened. There a rose garden that we would like to view on our next visit.

A lovely place for a stroll with the dog! The Botanical Gardens are well enough secluded from the Jo'burg rat race to help restore some inner peace and connect with nature. The doggo should also enjoy a swim in the smaller ponds, should you bring it along.

What a lovely place, green, clean with huge lawns and plenty beautiful trees to enjoy. Next to Emmerencia dam so many ducks and geese to feed, ample benches to sit and take in nature, perfect picknick spot. Rose garden, fointain, walking routes, icecream vendors. Dogs allowed on a leash. No entry fee, portable toilets, security at the parking area.

Good place for a family picnic. Great for kids to run around. The Emmerentia Dam adds to the charm. Beautiful views of the water. The park could be better maintained but all in all a good place for a family outing.

It was a nice day out. Cool place to have a nice pleasant walk with your dogs. Will recommend to all. Please note that this is the Emmarentia Dam and NOT Johannesburg botanical gardens. Unsure why Google picked it up as Johannesburg botanical gardens. Johannesburg botanical garden doesn't allow pets (rightly so think).

Open from 9am to 6pm. Entrance was free when I visited. An absolute gem in Johannesburg if you want to spend some quality time with mother nature. You can enjoy a picnic, walk your dogs, go for a jog/ peaceful walk or even ride your mountain bike. It's beautiful and very peaceful. I love this place. You can go down to Emmerentia dam and watch the ducks or people kayaking. It's the perfect place to spend the afternoon by yourself, with that special someone or with your family and friends. There's also a succulent garden to admire. It truly is a wonderful location. 5/5

This is a really nice place to relax, I personally enjoy sitting my the dam. There is a lot of grass space for picnics, nice benches all over the garden, there is a stream as well. People do come here to walk their dogs so if you are not a fan of dogs keep that in mind. I highly recommend it

This place is Tranquility at its best and very safe. It's keep very clean and the atmosphere is very good. Went for festival and it was amazing!!!!!!! “We will be straight from the festive, and after everything that people go through, this fest is to thank God and also to start a new year with thanksgiving,” #ThankGodfest

Visited to view the cherry blossoms on 25 September 2022. The the flowers and trees were beautiful and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to see cherry blossoms.

This is such a wonderful place to go to. Well kept, neat and tidy. The views are amazing, the ice cream vendors are very friendly. And to think you can experience the wonderfull jem for free..

Very well kept place. Lots of dustbin and a cute play area for kids. Definitely recommend this place for picnics

A relaxing amazing garden w/ a variety of plant life. Gorgeous scenery & a calm relaxing environment. Get your picnic basket & book ready

The gardens are huge and beautiful. Great for walking,running,picnics or just for a chill session with family or friends. The only downside is that people walk their dogs in no dogs zone which made people afraid of dogs uncomfortable. I didn’t notice much security around the park which is a disadvantage if you need assistance. The bathrooms are also quite far. Might want to consume liquids considerably. I also wished there was more signage for the plants and directions around the park.

Consider this place my back garden. We're so luck to have access to this lovely space everyday.

Beautiful park in bustling city. Visited in dry season but must bloom beautifully in rain. Abundant space for pets. Lots of intimate benches to sit and enjoy views. Great running venue too

Love this Park. Great for walking, running and cycling. A loop around the inner fence Emmarentia is approximately 5kms. The dams are easily accessible and great for dogs to swim in and there is plenty of space for them to run. The bike trail is also tame enough for novices and fun enough for experienced cyclists. There is plenty of safe parking with mindful car guards and gates at the entry points. The park is safe and free of vagrants. A Gem in Jhb.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time here. Came for a lovely picnic, entrance was free with secure parking. Cyclists and children are welcome too, as well as dogs. Gorgeous, vast place, and super clean and well cared for. I love it!!

Beautiful and well-maintained with amazing roses and lovely shade under trees to have a picnic! We loved our experience here. However, there was an enormous amount of people here for a lovely Somali wedding and the attendees were so disrespectful and inconsiderate, throwing their empty plastic water bottles and waste all over the garden. It was SHOCKING. They just didn’t care. Such an amazing space and people just treat it like a garbage dump. I was SO disappointed. Other than that, this place is a BEAUTIFUL space to hang out and have a cute picnic with friends.

I had a splendid experience. It's a big area with enough space for car packing. Entrance to the garden is free. Awesome place for family picnic.

Love this space. Well maintained. Just could use some new flowering plants, such as the roses. The rose garden side is beautiful, but needs a lot more new bushes added. Mandla is amazing at keeping majority of the dog bombs off the path. Only downfall are people who visit and don't clean up after themselves or animals.... Oh and a few cyclists who think they own the paths.

Very beautiful place. Gorgeous gardens. The place is huge and very clean. Great parking. Safe neighborhood. Amazing experience. Definitely worth a visit.Definitely going back.

Good place

A place for sporting activities. Looking run down though...

Excellent news that the client had to the pick point of your support for the drivers and overloaded to deposit money near future i have to you lovely azimuth and the distance between the estate agent and I need extra time so you can eat it fine with me coz I'm not sure if u can't either way to the meter taxis of years ago and extra for you to the tree e

Still one of the best places to visit. Unfortunately lots of visitors still don't adhere to rule regarding Dogs Litter Loud music

Great park with a beautiful and large rose garden and an incredible succulent garden. Great spot for picnics and walks with a wide array of different trees and plants. An incredibly peaceful oasis in Joburg.

Lovely escape in the city - really didn't know what to expect and was totally pleased with th experience. A vast reserve, could easily spend the entire day and not see everything. Can't wait to come back and explore more!

I haven't been here in years. I really enjoyed the early morning walk. The "rose garden" is a shambles or maybe they are busy working on it? Somehow I don't think so but let's hope. I was also surprised at the amount of people walking. Everyone seemed to be in good spirit

Visited here after a long time and it was sad! Everything is dry, no flowers or plants. Every fountain was dry! No water at all. Half the gardens are now under construction and no kids play area. The staff knew nothing about the lack of water or construction. It's apparently been like this for a while.

Well maintained park with memorial benches. Ideal for dog walks, nature walks and family picnics. There is a river that flows through with interesting flora.

This garden will always live rent free in my head. Yes there are few place I found some littering but, I also see people cleaning them. I request anyone visiting here treat the place with respect and dont litter. But rest a calm and peace full place to visit with your loved once.

This is a beautiful place to spend time with family, friends or work colleagues. It is well maintained and taken care of. I experienced a breeze as if I was out of jhb. And it's quite affordable.

Well maintained and good facilities at the park/ garden. Had a pleasant and peaceful time.

Beautiful gardens to relax in. There is currently no entrance fee and they are allowing picnics. There were even a few birthday parties happening when we were there. Bring cash with you to buy some toys or snacks

Beautiful Scenario, lovely time I had there. Took lovely pictures there

Nice place to go for a walk with the dogs, or take your bicycle out for some fresh air.

Lovely spot to visit with the family. Well maintained gardens, no litter.

Nice place, but I expected to see more plants and flowers like other botanical gardens have. Looks more like just a park

Love walking there and enjoying the change of seasons and the magnificence of nature.

A couple of years ago the Joburg Botanical gardens was left dwindling. But, after my recent visit I was left in awe as the CoJ has done a fantastic job in turning it around. It's a beautiful place to spend time with family and friends and I must give praise where it's due. Guards are on the ball and the gardens are kept clean and tidy.

Great place to get a bit of fresh air with lots of recreational options available in or around the gardens. The plant life could be more impressive for a botanical garden.

Lovely and safe atmosphere. Totally loved it!

Simply beautiful.

Nice picnic spot

Nice calm place. Great to relax

Beautiful location. Great for dogs and kids.

Magical experience

Good place .

Peaceful secure spot to be with family, the well mentained Flora and Fauna are amazing.

Beautiful, totally clean, child and pet friendly, really lovely for day out!

Need security so it is safe to walk in the park. Dog owners should control their dogs.

Lovely picnic spots and view of the dam

Good place to relax close to the city.

Beautiful, I Enjoy this place.

A place of tranquility

Well it has big fishing at the dam and u can go swimming and row a boat to get fit or u can simply enjoy the views

Great place for a picnic. Very clean and beautiful

It has really been improved quite a lot. Only sad part was the lack of water in the fountains by the Rose Gardens

Well maintained

Lovely place

Beautiful well kept park.

Overall peaceful experience, security is lacking

Perfect picnic spot

It is a beautiful place for family outing or lovers

Your website doesn't not provide any information about booking for taking a picture. We got there and we were only informed when we got there....it's such a inconvince that we are from far and we had to turn back🚮🚮🚮nonsense... These are the pictures of the man who threw us out without any explanation

Very good place and people are very friendly. Always trying to help where they can

Great place for a picnic.

Awesome vibe, huge park with lots of different things to see and do. Great for kids.

Great for picnics, there's a kids play area, beautiful lake.

Safe clean and great for a family picnic. Take your pets with also. Entrance for pets is near dam

Always a good place!

Always a great place to walk with my family or to have a picnic with them. We love it here

It requires mie3

The place is well maintained and open spaces are always good when you have kids.

Flowers blooming, green grass everywhere , and lastly the most beautiful lake weather you're hiking or just out for a picnic or just feeding the ducks 🥺, this is always the Spot

Going for a walk in the botanical gardens is a regular weekend occurrence for us. There are beautiful walking paths and wide open spaces. We love the rose gardens and watching the birds (and dogs chasing the birds) at the water front areas. While not quite as beautiful as the Walter Sisulu Botanical Gardens, the Johannesburg Botanical Gardens are much closer and easier to access if you want to go for a short walk. There is safe parking at both entrances. This has been an easy place to social distance as there is a lot of open space to choose from.

I love walking in these gardens. I find the area near the water particularly pretty. I unfortunately was in an armed robbery at the Judith Street side and would suggest that their are guards stationed in that dark area adjacent to Marks Park. I would love to see a community garden being set up in the park and more flower and indigenous plantings. It is well maintained and a staple place for me to walk.

This is still the only park my family goes for walks in. The gardens, grass area and overall park is well maintained (comparing to other SA parks, even paid ones) Almost thought there was a "dog evet" there today with the number of pups. Sadly security doesn't seem to keep standards because about 2 months ago I was forbidden to bring a puppy into the Thomas Bowler street / Book Store entrance but today there was a free flow of dogs through there

Great spot for outdoor runs or mountain biking. Excellent to take the family. Clean. A few incidents reported recently but safe when sticking to the main routes.

Peaceful place to chill. Enjoy time with friends outdoors. Would definitely recommend families with children, they have a play area. The view of the dam is amazing. The rose in full bloom is just beautiful

Spent Valentine's day here with the wife. It is so relaxing and a great day out. Charlie, our Cocker spaniel, loves it too!

Perfect place for a Saturday/ Sunday picnic. Very beautiful/

Harassment from security

One of the best place in jhb to take the kids and dogs

I love to go walk or jog here. Beautiful gardens to clear the mind.

Beautiful place to relax and unwind, take a breather and get away from the clutter of life. It's must be a definite on your to do list.

It is a peaceful place to go and spend quality time with your partner, family or even alone to meditate. The scenery is breathtaking as well❤

Foundations dirty no water

So beautiful and calming atmosphere. Doesnt even feel as if you are in Joburg at all.

Best place to take your family.. highly recommended

Beautiful place to take a walk on a Saturday morning

Not a boutique garden, but a great arboretum! Lots of space for picnics, too.

This a beautiful place to bring your famliy and just take a walk, to reconnect with each other and nature the dress code is casual sporty and wear good shoes some of the of beat trails can get a rough. All in all its nice place to just let your kids go and be free.

Very neat and accommodating

So peaceful

Very nice place well maintained as well

OK

Clean, open space for chilling, picnics and some sporting activities.

Such a nice place.

Good atmosphere,,,well looked nature reserve

Love the walk, sadly Rose Gardens looking very sad...weird would think it blooming having little traffic!??

Fantastic

Outdoor adventure.

Nice place

Lovely place to ride bikes, walk dogs or simply relax by the beautiful dam.

Linden is blessed with wide open spaces on its borders...dogs love it...birds love it...we love it..as close to that country feel as you can get! We treasure it

Well taken care of and well patrolled! Thanks all 🙏🏾

It was a wonderful experience. Loved walking with the dogs next to the streams.

Beautiful place for the family and nature scenery

Relaxing, clean, beautiful, well maintained, loved it ❤️💯

Really beautiful and well maintained, perfect place for a relaxing stroll or even a picnic

Always a nice day out and well worth the visit

Our favorite park, but beware the staff who drive their cars fast along the internal walkways. My daughter was nearly run over. When I queried the driver his response was "do you know who I am", the arrogance!

Great place to walk the dogs, go for a run etc etc.

Lovely gardens for a walk or picnic!

Clean, safe and undeniably the most peaceful place in JHB. If you're looking for a day out with the family, your dog or just a moment of isolation, this is the perfect stop. The restaurant and shop is currently under construction so make sure to bring some water and a snack if you plan to spend some time wandering.

Summers at the zoo are the best. Well kept trees and lashy Grass

Ordered a main course of Chicken Souvlaki, R135.00, came with 1 kebab only! More like a starter portion, also overcooked, salad was ok. Asian Calamari starter, too salty. Castle Lite draft at R40.00 a bit overpriced, Dunkeld Sports Club& Old Parks much cheaper, nice venue, good watrons

Lovely chillas with the grounds view, the barmen are well trained and understand the customers needs, i didn't get a chance to go through the menu to see what the restaurant offers as we had a certain section booked and the food we had was made especially for us other than that its lovely, soft suggestion get the toilets cleaned often in the day to keep them clean and smelling fresh due to other sports clubs activities happening and making use of the same restroom..

A good place to meet with friends and have outdoor fun.

There are cricket ground and restaurant, bar also.

Such a great place to do workout

Serve good food. Nice deck overlooking sportsgrounds. The have a lot of sports activities here. Even archery.

There is a swimming pool side and playground for kids and it's quite cool as theres also adult entertainment like brai areas

A fantastic establishment, meets all the requirements, child friendly. Brilliant venue for functions as well

This is one of those good places to go when they are sports events happening, the service are good

Beautiful

Beautiful place.

Good sports club

Best sports club

Beautiful view

Excellent

Socer Grounds needed better maintenance

Pleasant spot on a summer's day.

Is a very nice lovely place

Amazing

Lovely space for the kids

Quiet and local

Good

Nice club with many sports trainers and good club house. One can go with family too

Were'nt there. We went to ZooLake to the kids playground . No service.

I'm fortunate don't drink

Fantastic and good vibe.

Excellent as always...Moffat is my favourite..he is attentive and professional

(Translated by Google) Dancing (Original) Dansing

Decent service and decent food, don’t need much more than that in a nice setting

We had a nice tym

Had a great time

Great experience

Panettone cafe is a good place to watch sport. I was watching the rugby final ENG vs RSA, which Bokke won with pride

Great sports ground for soccer & cricket very poor lighting for night games.great non halal family restuarant and bar

Nicely situated sports club with ample parking. Spacious grounds with really good restaurant

Hey place to playing boxing outdoor

Coming from Cape Town and visiting the Johannesburg Botanical Gardens for the first time, I did not know what to expect. Straight off the bat, do not visit during winter. I am sure it is beautiful in summer, but I was quite surprised how dreary it really is during the winter season. The lake was good and watching the ducks was cute. It really is a bit of a gem. I give it two stars because of my personal first experience, but I'm sure during summer and peak season it will get a well deserved 4 to 5 stars.

Very nice, open space. Great for walking and playing with dogs. A nice enough picnic area, as long as you ensure you bring all you need. Very little, and sub par, stalls to buy anything besides bottled water. Cute bookshop at the main entrance. Overall, the place looks very run down. Granted, it's late winter, so the gardens aren't as lush as they could be, but they are very neglected, overrun with weeds and dead leaves and actual plant 'name tags' are faded, broken or not present at all. Benches are dirty, some broken. None of the Flora buildings were open, with no signage as to why (whether it's seasonal or construction or just not business hours). Botanical Gardens can be such education spaces, this one however is not. It just looks like it was set up 10 years ago, and just left to it's own graces. So much wasted potential. A simple coffee shop, educational signs, cleaning the gardens from weeds... small things could make a great. Quite disappointing.

Lovely walk with a few magic areas now and then. Not too far out of town.

Very nice place for a picnic and outdoor fun with the kids. The rose garden is quite nice, at the time the ponds did not have water. The ponds are set up to overflow into each level as drops down to the rose garden floors

Really good park Fresh air and quietness in the city

Beautiful, clean and quiet place if you want fresh air and peace of mind

Great outdoor place perfect for relaxing and having a picnic or braai with family and friends. There's enough parking and some areas have a place to sit

A place to walk around, do a picnic, feed birds, enjoy games and also for meditation! a wonderful place to get some fresh air.

Beautiful gardens, well maintained and spacious. Lovely spot for a picnic. Both times that we visited, there were no crowds - even on an afternoon of a public holiday. Great spot just to be outdoors.

Beautiful and lush green. The gardens are a great place for pictures, a picnic or some alone quiet time. There is also a open nursery.

This is my favourite place in Johannesburg. A little refuge in the city

I lime that there are a number of paths to take.. Wonderful experience

It is a safe place to take a walk alone especially in the mornings. Many people walk their dogs in the morning and are very friendly whenever you pass by them

Very well maintained garden, with lots of wild life (birds). The park itself was very clean and safe. This is a great place to enjoy a walk, spend time with family/friends or just to sit and relax nature.

If you're looking to visit botanical gardens for the educational benefit, this is not the place for you. Not a big diversity of plants and very few information. But if you just want take a stroll in nature, have fun on a trampoline, feed some geese or walk your dog, it's a beautiful park to do so. And it's free!

Very nice 👌 botanical garden. It's very clean, well managed, the views are breathtaking. It's simply the best in Gauteng Province. It's a great place to hangout with loved ones and friends. To top it all entrance is free. There's security all around the park. There's a place to walk your dog 🐕. There's a dam for boat rides etc.

If you want to have a picnic and have kids, this is the spot to be. Kids have a huge area to run freely, it's safe and you can feed the ducks by die dam. Plenty of shade, just bring a blanket to sit on the grass that's very well maintained.

The gardens are very well maintained, with beautiful flowers blooming everywhere you look. The grounds are litter free and provide a safe place for walks and quality family time. Plenty of Pokémon gyms and stops for fans of the game.

Very sad to see this beautiful garden in such a state. The toilets have been vandalised. The water fountains are not working.

The botanical gardens are always a great way to spend a day. Walking around and getting enough sun is healthy and good with loved ones. The gardens are reasonably clean and well maintained. I haven't seen any threats of safety. A good way to spend a day.

Every time we go...I get to see a different part of the gardens! The tree canopy is memorising...so many shades of green 💚 serene ...

Been going here for years. This time was a quick mtb ride to test my new pedals & clipless shoes. Place is clean & lots of folks walking dogs, cycling, picnicking etc. I will always go back. Love it!!!

Visited here on 2 December 2023. Although the gardens itself are well attended my Car was stolen out of a busy parking lot on Olifants road at 1pm. It’s amazing that out of the 5 car guards there, no one saw anything. 2 of the guards smelt heavily of alcohol too. Such a pity as it’s a nice place to visit. Never again!!

Very refreshing place to hang out with family and friends. I enjoyed the beautiful scenery.

Visited with international guests and they could not believe such a place could be so tranquil given the busy city all around. Very well maintained gardens always changing with the seasons.