Visiting Sunken Gardens, St. Petersburg

Sunken Gardens opens every day, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, and sells its last admission at 4 p.m.

The garden's visitor page says it is open every day except Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and that the gardens may close for inclement weather (Sunken Gardens visitor page). The City of St. Petersburg attraction page lists the same daily hours but names only Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day as closures (City of St. Petersburg, Sunken Gardens). A visitor planning a December 24 trip should call 727-551-3102 first, since the two official pages disagree on that date (Sunken Gardens visitor page).

The business office keeps shorter hours than the gardens: it is closed on weekends and on all city and federal holidays (Sunken Gardens visitor page). The city's observed holidays include the day after Thanksgiving, Juneteenth and Veterans Day, and on those days the business office is closed even when the gardens are open (Sunken Gardens visitor page; City of St. Petersburg, facility closures). Visitors usually spend about 1.5 to 2 hours in the gardens, the History Center and the Garden Shop, by the garden's estimate (Sunken Gardens visitor page).

Sunken Gardens is owned and operated by the City of St. Petersburg, which bought it in 1999 with funds from a voter-approved tax (Sunken Gardens, About Us). The city's own historic register lists the garden as individually listed landmark 98-03, and a January 12, 2021 rehabilitation of its historic buildings went to the city's Community Planning and Preservation Commission as a Certificate of Appropriateness request (City of St. Petersburg, 2021 preservation commission report). The city describes it as St. Pete's oldest living museum, with more than 50,000 tropical plants and flowers, demonstration gardens, waterfalls and a flock of flamingos (City of St. Petersburg, Sunken Gardens).

Sunken Gardens admission is listed differently on two pages run by the City of St. Petersburg: $18, $15 and $8 on the garden's visitor page, and $12, $10 and $6 on the city attraction page.

Tickets and memberships cannot be bought in advance through the website or the admissions office (Sunken Gardens visitor page). Three $1 discounts apply per person with valid credentials: AAA, military ID, and a birthday discount for the person whose ID shows that day's date (Sunken Gardens visitor page).

The City of St. Petersburg attraction page lists $12 for adults, $10 for seniors and $6 for children 2 to 17, along with individual and family memberships at $50 and $100 (City of St. Petersburg, Sunken Gardens). The garden's visitor page lists $18 for adults, $15 for seniors 62 and older and $8 for children 2 to 12 (Sunken Gardens visitor page). Sunken Gardens is owned and operated by the city, so both are city sources, and neither page says which list is current; the table sets them side by side, and the garden's phone, 727-551-3102, is the way to confirm the price on the day.

Members get unlimited admission, but the garden warns that new memberships may not be processed or redeemed on special event days because of member demand (Sunken Gardens visitor page).

Sunken Gardens is at 1825 4th St. N., north of downtown St. Petersburg, and has nearly 200 free parking spaces on site.

The on-site lot is shared with Great Explorations and Carrabba's, and overflow parking is at Crescent Lake Park, a short walk away, where the garden asks visitors to use the crosswalk (Sunken Gardens visitor page). The city page also lists parking as free and on site (City of St. Petersburg, Sunken Gardens).

Carrabba's Italian Grill sits inside the historic 1926 entrance building, and picnic lunches are allowed inside the gardens (Sunken Gardens visitor page). The garden's address is 1825 4th St. N., St. Petersburg, FL 33704, and its phone is 727-551-3102 (Sunken Gardens, About Us).

Visitors to Sunken Gardens must stay on the paths, keep off plants and structures, and leave balloons, candles, alcohol, weapons and pets at home.

The garden prohibits balloons, candles or open flame, alcoholic beverages and weapons of any kind, as well as smoking or vaping, climbing on trees, rocks, ponds, waterfalls or animal enclosures, leaving the paved or mulched paths and carving into any plant or surface (Sunken Gardens visitor page). The City of St. Petersburg asks the same of visitors to one of the last remaining Florida roadside attractions: stay on the paths, do not touch or climb plants and structures, and view the animals from a distance (City of St. Petersburg, Sunken Gardens).

Only ADA service-trained dogs are allowed, harnessed or leashed and under the guest's control; pets and emotional support animals are not permitted (Sunken Gardens visitor page). Amateur and hobbyist photographers may take photos and video, but professional and commercial shoots, including engagement, graduation and family sessions, need an appointment and a fee, and wedding photography is limited to contracted wedding clients (Sunken Gardens visitor page).

Several of the historic Sunken Gardens paths are ADA accessible, covering three-fourths of a mile, and every area can be reached by an alternate route even where a path is steep.

Wheelchairs and walkers are allowed but not provided, seating is limited, and mature foliage gives shade with open, sunny areas in between (Sunken Gardens visitor page). Guests with accessibility questions can call 727-551-3102 before visiting, and the city page gives the same advice to contact the garden ahead of time (Sunken Gardens visitor page; City of St. Petersburg, Sunken Gardens).

Guests with service animals are encouraged to check with Guest Relations on the day of the visit, because some areas may be restricted that day (Sunken Gardens visitor page).

Sunken Gardens runs a paid flamingo experience, seasonal programs such as morning yoga and a native plant scavenger hunt, group tours, and weddings and private rentals.

The flamingo experience costs $40 per person, subject to availability, and begins at 11:30 a.m. Monday through Saturday and 1:30 p.m. on Sunday (Sunken Gardens, Flamingo Experience). Participants must be at least 5, children 5 to 12 need a paid participating adult, guests may not touch the birds, every guest signs a waiver, and tickets are sold only in person at the admissions desk on the day (Sunken Gardens, Flamingo Experience).

The October 2026 calendar lists a Florida Native Plant Month scavenger hunt from October 1 to October 31, yoga in the outdoor amphitheater in front of the waterfalls on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. from October to May, and a Nocturnal Wildlife 101 program on October 29 at 11 a.m. (Sunken Gardens, Events). The garden also offers docent-guided group tours, self-guided group visits, field trips, weddings and corporate rentals (Sunken Gardens visitor page; City of St. Petersburg, Sunken Gardens).

The two city sources differ here too: the city attraction page says tours, workshops, classes, programs and photo sessions are canceled until further notice (City of St. Petersburg, Sunken Gardens), while the garden's site takes group tour requests and lists October 2026 programs (Sunken Gardens visitor page; Sunken Gardens, Events). Neither page says which statement is current.

The story of how a drained pond became a St. Petersburg roadside attraction and then a city garden is told in the Digital Towns Sunken Gardens history guide.

That guide covers the Turner family years, the old market building on 4th Street North and the city purchase, and explains why official sources give different founding dates. On site, the History Center in the original 1940 entrance building, which the city opened on October 22, 2022, is part of a regular visit (City of St. Petersburg, History Center release; Sunken Gardens visitor page). Other city landmarks, from the St. Pete Pier to the Snell Arcade, are on the St. Petersburg landmarks hub.

Last verified: October 18, 2026, by re-reading four Sunken Gardens pages (visits, about, events, flamingos) and the city attraction page, whose prices and holiday list differ from them.