Betty Ford Alpine Gardens

The Highest Botanical Garden In North America, At Around 8,200 Feet In Vail'S Ford Park. Founded In 1985 And Named For Betty Ford, Who Lived In The Valley, It Grows Alpine Plants From Mountain Ranges Across The World In The Conditions They Actually Come From. · Vail, Colorado

Almost every botanical garden grows alpine plants in an artificial rockery and works hard to keep them alive. This one is at eight thousand two hundred feet in a Colorado valley, which means the plants are simply at home - short seasons, thin air, hard frost and brutal sun are the conditions they evolved for. It is the highest botanical garden in North America, founded in 1985 in Vail's Ford Park and named for Betty Ford, who lived in the valley for decades. What grows here comes from the Rockies, the Alps, the Himalaya, the Andes and the Siberian mountains, laid out across a few acres of terraces, streams and a waterfall, with the Gore Range standing behind it. The season is short and it is the whole point: in July this is one of the densest displays of alpine flowering anywhere, and by October it is under snow. Admission is free, by donation, which for a garden of this standard is rare - and the research done here on alpine plants and a warming climate is real rather than decorative.

522 South Frontage Road East, Vail, Colorado, 81657, United States

SHORT AND SEASONAL. The garden is open daily and free from roughly late spring to early autumn, with the peak display in July, and IS UNDER SNOW FOR MUCH OF THE YEAR - the site remains walkable in winter but there is little to see. The education centre and shop keep their own hours in season. Ford Park parking is shared with the amphitheatre and fills completely on concert days. Admission is by donation, which is unusual for a garden of this quality.

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