Botanic Park/Tainmuntilla

Upgrades in action

From April – August 2022, Botanic Park is getting an irrigation upgrade.Some parts of the Park may be closed during your visit.We apologise for any inconvenience.

Right next to Adelaide Botanic Garden is the glorious Botanic Park/Tainmuntilla, a 34-hectare, green oasis a short walk from the Adelaide CBD.

Adelaide Botanic Garden purchased the land for the park in 1866. From 1890 onwards, lively public debate was to be had at Speaker's Corner on a Sunday. This gave Botanic Park/Tainmuntilla a reputation as Adelaide's version of Hyde Park, the celebrated locale for free speech in London.

Botanic Park/Tainmuntilla is adjacent to Adelaide Botanic Garden, separated by a stately avenue of plane trees planted in 1874, and on the northern side by the River Torrens and Adelaide Zoo.

Many a lazy afternoon has been wiled away, staring up into the canopy of the century-old Moreton Bay Fig trees, with their huge trunks and gnarled buttress roots.

Not just a popular venue for picnics, Botanic Park/Tainmuntilla is also an outstanding venue for major events including WOMADelaide and Moonlight Cinema.

Find out how we care for the park before and after events.

Guided walks

Free guided tours, taking in the history and significant plantings of the Park, take place every Monday at 2pm (except Christmas Day and Good Friday), departing from the Friends' Gate, Plane Tree Drive (in front of North Lodge).

For more information or to organise special interest or private walks visit the Friends of the Botanic Gardens website.

Please note all guided walks are cancelled on days forecast to reach 36 degrees or more.

Getting here

Botanic Park/Tainmuntilla is directly north of Adelaide Botanic Garden, and south of Adelaide Zoo.

It can be accessed any time either from Hackney Road or from Frome Road, or by walking through Adelaide Botanic Garden when it is open.

Botanic Park can be accessed by bus and tram. Please check Adelaide Metro for public transport services into the city centre.

Parking

Ticketed car parking is available on Plane Tree Drive and in front of the Goodman Building and State Herbarium (in front of the Rose Garden, closest to the Hackney Gate marked as C17 on the map). Both car parks are accessed from Hackney Road.

Ticket machines accept credit or debit cards and coins (excluding 5 and 10 cent coins).

Funds collected from ticketed parking directly support The Botanic Gardens and State Herbarium’s world-class botanical collections and education and conservation programs.

Parking spaces are also available for disabled visitors and motorcycles. Bus layover zones and loading zones are also available.

There is free parking on Sundays and public holidays.

Parking fees apply from 8am - 6pm on Monday - Saturday.

Find out more about parking at Adelaide Botanic Garden and Botanic Park.

Maps

• Botanic Park map (black and white)
• Botanic Park map (colour)

Grey-Headed Flying-Foxes (bats)

Grey-headed flying-foxes have made Botanic Park home since 2010 and they play a vital role in the ecosystem.

They are protected under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972because they are vulnerable to extinction.

Heat waves cause stress to bats and their pups, and can cause them to fall to the ground. Visitors to Botanic Park are asked not to handle any bats, including the Grey-headed flying-foxes.

If you come across a bat that appears to be dead, injured or in distress, please contact Fauna Rescue’s 24-hour bat phone: 08 8486 1139.

Botanic Gardens and State Herbarium staff help reduce heat stress by cooling the roosting area with sprinklers. We may also put exclusion zones in place to protect both the flying foxes and our human visitors. Please use any detours in place to help reduce additional stress to these vulnerable animals.

Find out more about the Grey-headed flying foxes from Green Adelaide.

Debunk 4 myths about Adelaide's Grey headed flying foxes here.