It’s quiet here. The weekday morning in Claremont, California is cool, although the sun is out, so I ditch my jacket in the car and enter the gardens. I am soon lost; physically I know roughly where I am, although my aimless wandering along non-straight pathways has me a bit turned around. But my cares and worries, and even my weariness, are soon gone, and I am lost in what can only be described as a wild beauty.

While I pass – and wave to – other morning visitors, I mainly share my experience only with birds, butterflies, squirrels, and lizards. Those sounds drown out the world around me. Blue skies, green plants, the smell of pine and sage… these are my companions. And I am at peace.

The California Botanic Garden sits on 85 acres, and bills itself as the largest collection of native California flora in the state, apparently with more than 2,000 species representing some of the most diverse landscapes in a state that plays home to every major biome outside of Arctic tundra and tropical rainforest. (Yes, my state is better than yours. Haha.) Gardens are organized loosely by biome, or by plant type, and only those native to California are allowed.

For example, let’s talk briefly about palm trees, one of the symbols of California plant life. While the state is now home to dozens of varieties, only fan palms are native. So only those are represented here at the California Botanic Garden, adorned by signage talking about this.

The gardens are spread over three basic loops on three different levels. Many paths are paved, but some are packed dirt or gravel, and moving from one loop to another necessitates going up or down a hilly ramp. These sort of distinct areas give a feeling of the garden being larger than it actually is, as well as allowing for a joy of discovery upon finding an entrance to a subsequent loop path.

While I do have some not-to-miss highlights that I’ll get to in a moment, I want to stress how different the California Botanic Garden feels to so many other amazing gardens here in Los Angeles or around the world. It feels natural and wild, as if these plants were here naturally, and the paths merely added for access. Of course, that isn’t the case, as visits to areas representing the Channel Islands or Redwood Coast easily show. But that is how it feels, and it is truly a special thing to accomplish. Occasional sculpture displays even seem to fit, and one can easily imagine a visit here to be akin to taking a well-traveled hiking trail.

Highlights are spread all over the gardens, from the Joshua Trees along the third loop which functions as an over a mile walking/jogging path, to a sage garden where visitors are encouraged to touch and smell the different varieties of the fragrant herb, to Channel Islands bush poppies, cacti, scrub oak, and nearly everything between.

While the California Botanic Garden is itself enough of a reason to drive the 30-60 minutes east of Los Angeles to the city of Claremont, one might as well get more out of a day here. Perhaps best known these days for the private Claremont Colleges (some of the best liberal arts schools in the country), the city is actually kind of cool. Claremont Village is where the town began, and the Claremont train station is a reminder of why.

This area was once home to some of California’s largest citrus fields, and a rail depot was needed to transport that raw produce. Warehouses were constructed nearby, and today, the Claremont Packing House boasts restaurants and shops rather than crates of oranges and lemons, although displays and signage along one side honor that former glory.

As the town grew alongside Pomona College, which moved here in 1889, housing was needed, and municipal buildings after incorporation in 1907. The former include some rather spectacular Victorian edifices, while city buildings seem to mostly be Spanish-style single story.

(For those who walk around Claremont Village to see some of the cool architecture, don’t miss an awesome sculpture outside City Hall, which represents a tree and is engraved with the names of all the tree species found here. It completes the loop with my earlier visit to the California Botanic Garden.)

Today, Claremont is an upscale suburb hybrid college town, and Claremont Village dining options run the gamut from luxurious to more budget-friendly options. I opt for happy hour taco specials at La Popular for sustenance before my drive back into LA.

Claremont, California isn’t exactly on tourism radars for most. But if you find yourself in the area, a day spent seeing a beautiful garden and wandering a cool old town is a day well worth it.

Thank you so much to the California Botanic Garden for hosting my visit!

Like it? Pin it!