Explore the Center & Gardens
Sunnylands is on summer hiatus. We will reopen on Wednesday, September 9.
Free admission and parking | Tickets/reservations are not required
No pets | No smoking
Sunnylands Center & Gardens first opened to the public in March 2012. Upon entering the 15-acre site, a winding driveway takes visitors through a desert art garden to the glass facade of Sunnylands Center. The spacious, contemporary building houses a rotating art exhibition, café, shop, and multimedia offerings that detail the history of Sunnylands and its founders, Walter and Leonore Annenberg.
For groups of 20 or more, we ask that you complete a free registration form before visiting.
Things to do
These activities are available free for visitors Wednesday through Sunday while the Center & Gardens is open.
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Self-Guided Audio Garden Walks
Explore the Sunnylands gardens while listening to informational audio recordings on your mobile phone or tablet when the Center & Gardens is open. -
Exhibition: Curating Canopy: Trees at Sunnylands
The exhibition Curating Canopy: Trees at Sunnylands focuses on the history of the thousands of trees found on the Sunnylands estate. -
Film: A Place Called Sunnylands
Stop by the theater in the Center to see a 20-minute informational film about Sunnylands. -
Informational Kiosks
Explore our history through multi-media informational kiosks.
For more activities and upcoming events, please visit our What’s Happening Page
A Painting Comes to Life
The landscape at Sunnylands Center & Gardens was designed by the Office of James Burnett, with horticultural consultant Mary Irish. Inspired by the Annenberg collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings, the gardens were designed to reflect the importance of these paintings to the Annenbergs, who bequeathed the collection to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1991. Burnett’s signature designs are habitable and sensitive, with shade, quiet, and natural elements that appeal to the senses. Twin reflecting pools filled with river stones flank the rear windows of the Center and its patios. To the west, a labyrinth winds through rows of Wedelia (Sphagneticola trilobata), creating a contemplative and quiet space.
Plant Diversity
Over 70 species of native and arid-adapted plants from North and South America, Africa, and the Mediterranean are displayed in the nine-acre gardens.
“We like desert plants for their beauty, sculptural habits, and color.”
— James Burnett