Meerkerk Gardens

Great events, nice nursery and wonderful trails. Leashed dogs welcome. Love visiting Meerkerk Gardens

Garden Footprint

53-acre garden located on Whidby Island that specializes in Rhododendrons and also features a nursery for all your botanical needs.

The Good:

*Hardly "spendy," as some other reviewers put it, at a meager $5/ea entrance fee (under 16 is free).

*You can pay for your entrance fee using Google Pay™ or Apple Pay©

*Amazing views of Puget Sound

*Keep an eye to the skies, as Bald Eagles are all around.

*Gorgeous well-maintained garden

*Dog-friendly! Woof!

*As mentioned above, it's a self check-in, so you don't really have to talk to anyone the whole time you're there. :)

The Meh:

*Only ten of the 53 acres are actual gardens, with the rest being woodland trails (we didn't partake).

The Ugly:

*Mostly Rhododendrons, if they're not your jam, maybe best to skip it.

TLDR: Not the biggest or best garden, but def worth the price of admission and a few hours of your time when visiting Whidbey Island.

The best rhodies around with awesome display and huge selecti. I plan to put tons of color around my property. The gardens are relaxing

Beautiful gardens to walk through. They have several loops of walking paths. Plants are labeled for identification. They have benches around so you can just sit and enjoy the beauty. Has an area where you can buy plants at reasonable prices. There are lots of docile bees so if you are allergic beware. Anyone who loves flowers should make this a must see.

Wonderful lovely place benches to sit on paths to stroll on beautiful it's on whigby Island

Disclaimer - this review is only for July, not the rest of the year.

I had high hopes for this garden and I totally understand this is not Rhododendron season and that it is the middle of a hot July and that it is totally run by volunteers but there was nothing remarkable about this place for the $5.00 entrance fee. I was glad my son decided to hang out in the shaded entry way otherwise the cost would have been $10.00 and a total let-down for a 15 minute walk around the very dry, overgrown-in-parts garden.

The walk may have taken longer but a lot of the trails listed were overgrown and impassable with signs warning you of stinging nettles. No thanks.

I do believe this place is magical in the spring months but you'd do well to pass this up in the summer.

TIP: Meerkerk Gardens is a beautiful place to visit to that features more than 1,500 varieties of rhododendron species and hybrids. It's very spendy to go to Meerkerk Gardens, make sure you really want to see the 1,500 varieties of Rhododendrons.

Nice garden to walk around. We went in January, because we were close, but this place probably looks amazing come April/May with all the plants in bloom. Good place to bring a date, or little kids to run around.

The place is always beautiful with stunning trees and flowers galore in the right season, plus really lovely natural hiking trails. Plus at a recent visit, my spouse dropped an expensive pair of sunglasses. When we went back a week later, either Meerkirk staff or some other visitor had put them on the little table in the entrance building, and we really appreciated it. So nice to see people and businesses with integrity.

Beautiful! In full bloom in May, the rhododendrons are really something to see. There is also a great series of woodland trails for shinrin yuku (forest bathing). A great place to spend an hour or two strolling or sitting on benches to enjoy the views.