South Texas Botanical Gardens & Nature Center

While in the Corpus Christi, TX area make sure you plan a visit to the South Texas Botanical Gardens & Nature Center. This 182-acre showcase on Oso Creek offers a unique and varied take on botanical gardens.

The center was formerly known as the Corpus Christi Botanical Gardens and Nature Center. The gardens can be traced to 1987 when a 1 acre cottage garden and nature trail opened in Corpus Christi. Today's gardens are on a different site that opened in 1996. The gardens have been actively developed since that time. The Botanical Gardens & Nature Center is a Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail site, with a birding tower overlooking Gator Lake. Save some time at the end of your hike for the recently expanded and remodeled Nature’s Boutique in the Visitors Center.  

Major gardens and floral exhibits at the botanical garden include Orchid and Bromeliad Conservatories; Butterfly House; Rose Garden and Pavilion; plus Children’s Play Area, including the Monkey Mansion Treehouse; Plumeria, Sensory, Arid, Hummingbird, Tropical, and EarthKind Demo Gardens,. Other development includes upper and lower native habitat trails, wetland boardwalk, Palapa Grande, and Birding Tower on two wetland estuaries.  

 The site also contains a mesquite nature trail through 30 acres (120,000 m²) of brush. It features some 35 species of woody trees and shrubs, herbs, grasses, and cacti, as well as white-tailed deer, collared peccaries, and coyotes.  Admission is $8 with a $2 deduction for all the standard items.