The Yampa River Botanic Park is a six-acre botanical garden in the heart of Steamboat Springs. Tucked away in a valley next to the Yampa River at an altitude of 6,800 feet, the Park experiences a frost-free growing season of just 60 days, with warm, dry summers and cold, snowy winters. Due to the high altitude, vastly different temperatures in summer and winter, and elevated levels of ultra-violet, the park features an array of native species, mostly perennials that thrive in these harsh conditions, as well as various other high and low altitude species from around the world.
The Yampa River Botanic Park is home to 50 different gardens, ranging from herb and hidden to pioneer and pond gardens. The Park is a popular venue for weddings and other special functions and events, including classical and contemporary music concerts held at lunchtimes known as ‘Music on the Green.’ The Green is also used for yoga, live theater, opera and other activities, and a popular Children’s Garden features a playhouse, an amphitheater, bird nests and hands-on garden activities.
The Yampa River Botanic Park’s headquarters are based at Trillium House, which houses restrooms for the public, a small office, and a meeting room with a kitchen with beautiful views of Emerald Mountain and the Yampa River. The conference room can seat up to 30 people inside and over 100 on the patio and can be used for intimate weddings and public functions.
Gardens
The Yampa River Botanic Park is home to 50 different gardens, including an Iris Garden, a Medicinal Herb Garden, a Children's Garden, a Tranquility Garden, a Rainbow Garden, a Rose Garden, and a Spring Bulb Garden, among many others.
The Botanic Walk Garden rests at the northern entrance to the Park and features native red osier dogwoods, narrow leaf cottonwood trees, and riverine Hawthorns, while the Blue Garden is one of six Rainbow Gardens that produces sweet-smelling grape hyacinths in spring, blue iris, monkshood and balloon flowers in summer.
The Crevice Garden can be found in the Hummingbird Neighborhood and uses flat rocks for creating crevices in which alpine rock plants grow, and the Lily Garden (located in the Sundial Neighborhood) puts on a stunning show of lilies all summer long.
The Medicinal Herb Garden is an elegant garden with dry-stone beds and a lovely patio and features medicinal herbs from all over the world, and the Coreopsis Corner is a beautiful three season garden with pasque flowers in the spring, Columbine in June, and coreopsis in the summer and the fall.
The Garden for All Seasons has an array of plants, shrubs, and trees growing amongst massive sandstones that bloom continuously between spring and fall, while The Hidden Garden is a sheltered cove surrounded by tall cottonwoods, and features an array of beautiful shade-thriving flowers, a beautiful trillium and the ‘Little Bear’ sculpture.
More Gardens
The world’s only garden dedicated to the genus Penstemon, the Penstemon Garden honors the plant, which originates in the Rocky Mountains, with over 273 species, of which 60 are native to Colorado. Jeff's Garden is a lovely south-facing garden that boasts volcanic rocks found on the sides of the Flat Top Mountains and containers filled with seasonal plants and shrubs.
The Spring Bulbs Garden is full of crocus, daffodils, hyacinths, and tulip bulbs that burst into bloom during the spring, while the Foliage Garden is a shady grove that focuses on leaves instead of flowers, such as Lungworts, Hostas, and Ornamental Grasses.
Sascha's Rock Garden overlooks the Yampa River and features alpine blooms from around the world, and the Annuals Garden is home to a variety of annuals that are replanted every year. The Rose Garden has a variety of shrub roses grown in a manicured garden of raised beds next to West Creek, and Dorothy's Garden is a dry xeric garden with an array of native plants which attract a variety of pollinators.
The Stumpyland Fairy Garden is a beautiful place for children to explore, discover and use their imagination to learn more about plants and the environment in which they live.
The Yampa River Botanic Park is also home to an array of sculptures which are dotted throughout the Park, including The Turtle, The Frog, Peter, Cherish, The Trumpeter, Nammu, Wings, Buddha, The Stag, and the Apollo Armillary Sundial.
Visitor Information
The Yampa River Botanic Park is located at 100 Pamela Lane in Steamboat Springs and is open to the public for free from dawn to dusk from May through October.
1000 Pamela Lane, Steamboat Springs, CO 80487, Phone: 970-846-5172
