Your Safety is Our Priority

Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden is excited to welcome you back! As an outdoor attraction with 50 acres of gardens, there’s plenty of room for social distancing during this time of COVID-19. Your safety is our priority and there are a number of adjustments with this in mind.

Garden staff have been carefully planning the reopening for months, with your safety as our top priority.

The only indoor area you’ll encounter is the Visitors Center. Procedures are in place to ensure entry is quick, carefully controlled, and as contactless as possible. Here are some of the ways we’re putting safety first:

1. Controlled Ticketing: all tickets are available online ONLY (no walk-ups); the best link to purchase tickets is through our Visit Planner page. Tickets are limited in number and timed for entry at half-hour intervals. This allows the Garden to effectively manage the number of guests at any given time, making your safety our priority.
   

   You can scan your ticket from your phone or a printout.

2. Face Coverings: are required inside (in accordance with Executive Order 63) and are strongly suggested at all times. Exceptions are children under age 10 and those with medical conditions. Those with medical conditions who cannot wear a face covering are asked to practice social distancing at all times for the safety of others.
   

   A one-way route takes you through the Visitors Center and helps prevent guests crossing paths.

3. Social Distancing and One-Way Flow: the entrance and exit are separate. Entrance is through the Visitors Center and stanchions and signage indicate social distancing and one-way flow. This helps prevent guests from crossing paths indoors.
   

   Guests will scan their own tickets and members will also scan their own membership cards.

   Guests scan their own tickets and staff at the admissions desk are behind plexiglass barriers. Once outside in the gardens, there are more than 50 acres on the 80-acre property for guests to socially distance and enjoy. The exit is through an exterior side gate next to the Garden Shop.

   

   The Garden exit is now through a side gate, or you can exit through the Garden Shop.

4. Some Areas Closed: indoor features and high-touch areas in the Children’s Garden (including WaterPlay and the Klaus Family Tree House) are closed. Restrooms are open.
   

   While most indoor areas are closed, restrooms are open and there are more than 50 acres of themed gardens to explore.

5. Deep Cleaning: the Garden has reduced the number of days that it is open, allowing several days for deep cleaning per week and allowing any potential contamination to dissipate. Cleaning is according to Centers for Disease Control guidelines and includes frequent, regular cleaning throughout the day. There is a regular rotation of cleaning public restrooms, including sanitizing wipe down of high-touch areas. The admissions teams sanitizes kiosks before each business day and during the day as allowed with visitor flow. The Garden has hand sanitizer on-site, but also encourages guests to bring their own. You may want to bring your own water or water bottle, too. Touchless water bottle filling stations are operational, but water fountains are not available.
   

   Order online at lewisgintercafe.com and you can time your food pick-up at the Tea House with your arrival. You can also order food and drinks online while you are in the Garden.

6. Online Food: guests can order food and drinks online at lewisgintercafe.com for pick up at the Tea House and dining outdoors in the Garden (however, food is not allowed to be brought into the Garden). Orders can be placed in advance or when guests are in the Garden.
7. Dining and Shopping: The Garden Café and the Garden Shop in the Visitors Center are operating under safety guidelines set by the Commonwealth of Virginia and Centers for Disease Control. All guests must have an admissions ticket to gain access to the Café and Shop and, with the one-way flow, guests interested in dining in the Café should do so before entering the gardens. Those who wish to visit the Shop have the option to do that when exiting the gardens, as the exit gate is right next to the Shop.

The new exhibit M&T Bank Wind, Waves and Light features more than a dozen sculptures for guests to enjoy.

The Garden has many themed garden areas and an engaging new exhibit, M&T Bank Wind, Waves and Light. More than a dozen large-scale, stainless steel sculptures that change and move with the wind are placed throughout the Garden. To learn more about the Garden, including measures ensuring your safety is our priority, take a look at our Visit Planner. You can even get a sneak peek with this brief video overview. We look forward to seeing you soon!